We Can Fix It: How Right To Repair Policy Is Enacted In Different States,
2026
Illinois State University
We Can Fix It: How Right To Repair Policy Is Enacted In Different States, Zachary Ryan Johnson
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis explores early signs of policy diffusion within right to repair legislation across 10 states. Data points from each bill includes the devices protected, exempted, vote share of Republican legislators, parts pairing bans, and other provisions of bills. Bills that pass have unique aspects that show signs of policy learning from successive states. This thesis seeks to establish a framework for future research to explore policy diffusion in a new area of consumer protection.
Where Did All The Democrats Go? An Analysis Of Defection And Disengagement Of Biden 2020 Voters In The 2024 Election,
2026
University of Central Florida
Where Did All The Democrats Go? An Analysis Of Defection And Disengagement Of Biden 2020 Voters In The 2024 Election, Scott S. Healy
Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026
In the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, Donald Trump slightly increased his vote total compared to 2020 while the Democratic ticket led by Kamala Harris received several million fewer votes than Joe Biden had received four years earlier. Since third-party voting remained relatively flat, most of the Democratic decrease seems to be explained by voters who previously supported Biden but abstained from voting in the presidential race in 2024, though some appear to have switched support to Trump. This paper studies why some who voted for Biden in 2020 chose not to support the Democratic nominee four years later. Drawing on …
The Politics Of Style: How Black Fashion Redefined Identity In The Civil Rights Movement (1950s-1970s),
2025
Wayne State University
The Politics Of Style: How Black Fashion Redefined Identity In The Civil Rights Movement (1950s-1970s), Ava Saleh
Rushton Journal of Undergraduate Humanities Research
This paper explores how fashion served as a powerful political tool during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s-70s, tracing its evolution from the polished Sunday Best to the Afro and militant style of the Black Panther Party. By examining respectability politics, the rise of the Black is Beautiful movement, and the Black Panthers’ visual strategies, this research explores how clothing and style reflected shifting approaches to resistance. It argues that Black Americans used fashion to challenge Eurocentric standards, reclaim heritage, and express pride, leaving a legacy of empowerment that continues to influence social movements.
The Penumbras: Religious Entities, Economic Stagnation, & Covid-19,
2025
Lipscomb University
The Penumbras: Religious Entities, Economic Stagnation, & Covid-19, Alitrise Soderstrom Theodoriches
Student Scholar Symposium
During the Covid-19 pandemic small businesses found themselves gasping for air as their employees felt the disaster. In an attempt to aid these choking businesses, the United States Small Business Administration alongside the Department of Treasury implemented the Paycheck Protection Program. Its aim targeted keeping employees paid and businesses open. The plot twist here is about who fits into that category of small businesses. Religious entities were included in this aid and suddenly, not only was the economic wall hit, so was the wall between religion and government. The US federal government, through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), funded approximately …
The Decline Of Public Trust In The Federal Government: Causes, Consequences & Restoration,
2025
Lipscomb University
The Decline Of Public Trust In The Federal Government: Causes, Consequences & Restoration, Shythaly Herrera
Student Scholar Symposium
Public trust in the United States federal government has significantly declined over the past several decades, reaching historic lows in recent years. A 2024 study by the Pew Research Center indicates that only 22% of Americans trust the federal government to do what is right most of the time, which is a drastic decline from 55% in 2001. This paper aims to explore the root causes of this decline and the implications this has for the American public. By examining research and empirical data that observes political, social, and economic factors. Political polarization, government corruption, and inefficiency are some of …
The Equity Dead Zones: Legal Intersectionality Failure Points In Chapter 13 Bankruptcy,
2025
Purdue Global University Law School
The Equity Dead Zones: Legal Intersectionality Failure Points In Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Tearria N. Simmons
The Guardianship Journal
Legal intersectionality failure points describe the systemic fractures that occur where overlapping legal, social, and economic inequalities converge, potentially producing compounded barriers to relief. Each failure point marks a site of marginalization. In what ways do individuals already recognized as vulnerable in Chapter 13 bankruptcy face a heightened risk when multiple forms of disadvantage intersect? When these intersections combine in mutually reinforcing ways—racial, economic, and relational disparities colliding with structural deficiencies in family, property, and bankruptcy law—does it result in pronounced negative outcomes, and, if so, what are those outcomes? Within this convergence, could there be a space where compounded …
Framing Of Immigration In The News And Its Effects On Social Media Discourse On The Southcoast Of Massachusetts,
2025
Providence College
Framing Of Immigration In The News And Its Effects On Social Media Discourse On The Southcoast Of Massachusetts, Mariel Surprenant
Political Science Undergraduate Theses
Why do immigrant communities often express anti-immigrant sentiment? This study will focus on examining what political discourse about immigration dominates the news ecosystem of the Southcoast of Massachusetts, and what effect that discourse has. Immigration in the U.S. has become an increasingly politicized issue, dominating political discourse, motivating voter behavior, and shaping regional political identities. This study will use content analysis of Southcoast newspapers to examine how the local news frames immigration and discourse analysis to examine the opinions of everyday citizens revealed as by their social media comments on posts about immigration by the same local news sources. The …
Testing Tocqueville’S Troops: American Democracy At War In Mexico,
2025
University of Texas at Tyler
Testing Tocqueville’S Troops: American Democracy At War In Mexico, Corbin V. Cali
History Theses
This thesis explores Alexis de Tocqueville's theory of democratic armies through the lens of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), testing his predictions about how democratic social conditions influence military institutions and performance. Tocqueville argued that armies in democratic societies would face tensions between egalitarian ideals and military discipline, with citizen-soldiers resisting hierarchy while professional officers, often isolated from civil society, grew dangerously ambitious for war. He predicted that democratic armies would show energetic initiative but struggle with weak formal discipline, and that equality would fundamentally change the relationship between the military and the broader society. The Mexican-American War serves as an …
How Armenia And Azerbaijan Are Lobbying For Influence In D.C.,
2025
Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY
How Armenia And Azerbaijan Are Lobbying For Influence In D.C., Gibran C. Boyce, Dawn Kikel
Capstones
In the wake of President Trump taking office, foreign government agencies and U.S.-based non-profits serving Armenian and Azerbaijani interests have been hiring lobbyists in Washington, D.C. as part of their concerted efforts to curry favor, gain influence, and seek policy changes that would benefit the rival post-Soviet nations.
Loneliness And Support For Political Violence Within The United States,
2025
Chapman University
Loneliness And Support For Political Violence Within The United States, Kellen Downey
Political Science Student Papers and Posters
Although loneliness is a growing public health issue in the United States, its political effects remain understudied. This paper seeks to understand the relationship between loneliness and the support of political violence by utilizing the Chapman Survey of American Fears (CSAF Wave 11). This survey, which is a component of the 2025 Chapman Survey of American Fears, includes the three-item UCLA Loneliness Scale, as well as two separate items specifically measuring political violence. Using a national survey (N=1,015), I address the following questions: (1) Are lonely individuals more likely to support violence on political grounds? (2) Does strongly identifying with …
Representation In Science And Trust In Scientists In The Usa,
2025
University of Rochester
Representation In Science And Trust In Scientists In The Usa, James Druckman, Katherine Ognyanova, Alauna Safarpour, Jonathan Schulman, Kristin Lunz Trujillo, Ata Aydin Uslu, Jon Green, Matthew Baum, Alexi Quintana Mathe, Hong Qu, Roy Perlis, David Lazer
Political Science Faculty Publications
Scientists provide important information to the public. Whether that information influences decision-making depends on trust. In the USA, gaps in trust in scientists have been stable for 50 years: women, Black people, rural residents, religious people, less educated people and people with lower economic status express less trust than their counterparts (who are more represented among scientists). Here the authors probe the factors that influence trust. They find that members of the less trusting groups exhibit greater trust in scientists who share their characteristics (for example, women trust women scientists more than men scientists). They view such scientists as having …
Ideology, Issue Consistency, & Rationality In Political Preferences Among Bgsu Students,
2025
Bowling Green State University
Ideology, Issue Consistency, & Rationality In Political Preferences Among Bgsu Students, Cassidy Kroggel
Honors Projects
Affective polarization — negative feelings toward the opposing political party — is increasing in the United States. As partisanship becomes weaponized, an individual’s ideological consistency becomes an important determiner for their negative feelings toward other individuals with different beliefs. This concern reaches beyond mere disagreement, and has serious implications for the future of our democratic principles: open dialogue, compromise, and policy making. Rationality and the ability to change one’s mind seems to be at the forefront of this issue, acting as a bottom-up driver for policy preference formation. This research analyzes the connection between ideological consistency, rationality, and affective polarization …
What Could Have Been? Surveying The Labor Impact Of The 2025 Executive Orders On Glam Workers,
2025
Alabama State University
What Could Have Been? Surveying The Labor Impact Of The 2025 Executive Orders On Glam Workers, Raegan Stearns, Alphie Garcia, Jina Duvernay
LWLC Faculty Research
What Could Have Been? is a collaborative project designed to document the labor lost as a result of federal cuts and grant terminations, especially within GLAM institutions. This survey was inspired by a sub-group of members of the 2025 Archives Leadership Institute (ALI) Cohort who came together to collect evidence of the personal and professional losses resulting from the current sociopolitical landscape. While the project seeks to document the effects on the GLAM communities, What Could Have Been? also acknowledges the loss of personal livelihoods and vilification of public servants in addition to amplifying the impact of the erasure of …
18 To Buy, Any Age To Die: Why Do Americans Fear Gun Control Amidst Rampant Gun Violence?,
2025
Chapman University
18 To Buy, Any Age To Die: Why Do Americans Fear Gun Control Amidst Rampant Gun Violence?, Taylor Gadsden-Deterville
Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters
In the first 303 days of 2025, there were 350+ mass shootings in the United States. Recent research has shown mass shootings are one of the primary fears among Americans, and if unaddressed, could continue to cause political and social division. Using the Chapman University Survey on American Fears (CSAF), a national representative sample of American adults, my research highlights the influence of primary factors such as gender, political orientation, and media intake. This research will examine the correlation between gun violence and opposition to weapon regulation. Mass shootings have become rampant in spaces that should be safe, like schools, …
The Cult Of Clean Hands: Why No One’S Innocent In America’S War On Corruption,
2025
Chapman University
The Cult Of Clean Hands: Why No One’S Innocent In America’S War On Corruption, Elizabeth Doan
Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters
This study examines how fear of corruption functions as both a political weapon and a national ritual of moral reassurance. The focus lies in understanding why Americans across party lines express deep mistrust in political institutions while simultaneously seeking purity through accusation. Drawing on a nationally representative survey of U.S. voters, the research examines how partisan identity, media narratives, and generational memory influence the emotional economy of corruption—what citizens fear, whom they blame, and why those fears persist. Testing the initial expectation that Republicans would express greater concern about corruption revealed that such fear is shared widely across parties, reflecting …
The Erosion Of Credibility: How Government Control Shapes Distrust In Journalism,
2025
Chapman University
The Erosion Of Credibility: How Government Control Shapes Distrust In Journalism, Ellie Bickelhaupt
Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters
In the past few months, talk show hosts have been canceled for speaking out against the president, deepfakes and AI have become more accessible, there has been an increase in propaganda and state-sponsored media, and through all this, we have seen a continuous increase in government control. All of these factors offer potential explanations as to why there has been an increased distrust and loss of respect regarding journalism throughout the United States in recent years. This research aims to demonstrate that when the government heavily monitors and controls the country, Americans are less likely to trust the media and …
Nativism As The Engine Of Fear Toward “Illegal” Immigrants,
2025
Chapman University
Nativism As The Engine Of Fear Toward “Illegal” Immigrants, Amilie Cai
Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters
Contemporary concerns about “illegal” immigration reveal deep-seated anxieties about race, cultural, and national identity in the United States. In this paper, I examine how xenophobia, media consumption, and Christian nationalism collectively shape fear of illegal immigrants. I build upon previous literature, such as the Group Threat Theory, which posits that dominant groups mobilize to preserve social hierarchies when their status is threatened, and the Agenda-Setting Theory, which emphasizes the media’s power to shape public perceptions. Using Wave 11 of the Chapman Survey of American Fears–a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults collected in 2025–I provide a comparative analysis of these …
Loneliness And Support For Political Violence Within The United States,
2025
Chapman University
Loneliness And Support For Political Violence Within The United States, Kellen Downey
Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters
Although loneliness is a growing public health issue in the United States, its political effects remain understudied. This paper seeks to understand the relationship between loneliness and the support of political violence by utilizing the Chapman Survey of American Fears (CSAF Wave 11). This survey, which is a component of the 2025 Chapman Survey of American Fears, includes the three-item UCLA Loneliness Scale, as well as two separate items specifically measuring political violence. Using a national survey (N=1,015), I address the following questions: (1) Are lonely individuals more likely to support violence on political grounds? (2) Does strongly identifying with …
How Do People Talk About The Political Parties?,
2025
Bucknell University
How Do People Talk About The Political Parties?, Carol Anne Bredeson, Cassandra Smith, Meghan Rentner
Student Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Media Bias Explained: Its Impact On Political Opinions,
2025
Liberty University
Media Bias Explained: Its Impact On Political Opinions, Janae Joachim
Senior Honors Theses
Even though the media does not maliciously warp public opinion, it can distort the public understanding of reality. Journalists desire to educate the people but are powerless against their own bias. Complicating matters is that they recklessly seek to increase engagement, exacerbating political polarization and a negative view of government. Factual reporting is more important with the rise of social media as a news source because Gen-Z’s political opinions are informed by social applications. While media bias existed before social media, it now remains mostly unchecked. Political reporters must be cognizant of the impact they have on voters and subsequently …
