American Politics Commons^™

Partisan Perspectives On Trust & Corruption In America, Victoria Ascencio

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Facing accusations of bribery, abuse of power, and the unethical exchange of political favors for financial gain, Robert Menendez has been urged to resign as a senator. This case has been highlighted through many outlets, yet his case is only one of many instances of political corruption in recent years. This recurring pattern is leaving Americans to have less and less faith in political actors to uphold moral behavior in their position of power.

In this paper, I examine the contrasting perceptions of political influence held by Republicans and Democrats regarding various agents of the political system, including state and …

A Modern Moral Dilemma: A Utilization Of Culture Wars For Political Gain Within The United States Government, Abigail K. Lowry

Honors Theses

The present study researches the background of culture wars within the United States and showcases how these culture wars are being utilized by political entrepreneurs in order to achieve a goal separate from resolving the expressed policy issue. In an effort to investigate this phenomenon, this paper analyzes the historical timeline of several prominent culture wars within the United States and then uses this background as a lens to examine the political successes and failures of two United States governors who attempted to utilize culture wars in order to advance themselves politically. By examining the rhetoric used by Ron DeSantis …

Morality, Outgroups, And Politics, John Jostes

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Moral differences between Democrats and Republicans contribute to affective polarization, or how negatively each side feels toward one another. Partisans are also generally aware of and sensitive to which social groups comprise the other political party. The present study examines if changes to the United States population, and thus levels of support for the two parties, will influence affective polarization. To do so, participants were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions in which they read about demographic changes reported in the 2020 U.S. Census, or a control condition. I find that the treatment conditions did not have a …

Impact Of State-Level Family Policies On Female Labor Force Participation And Entrepreneurship, Kathryn Staczek Rudloff

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aims to investigate the impact of state-level family policies on women's participation in the labor force in the United States, focusing specifically on the rise of self-employment and solopreneurship among women. The research seeks to answer the following question: "How do family policies at the state level impact participation of American women in the labor force?"

The study utilized a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. A composite index of state level family policies was created to conduct cross-sectional exploratory data analysis of female labor force participation. Additionally, a qualitative phenomenological study of solopreneurs provided a deeper understanding of the …

Casar Public Lecture: The Results Are Out! Implications Of The Us 2024 Elections On Egypt & The World: Looking At A Broader Perspective’, The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar

Performances, Events, and Presentations

DONALD TRUMP WON THE 2024 US ELECTIONS!

CASAR Public Panel Discussion: The results are out! Implications of the US 2024 Elections on Egypt & the World: Looking at a Broader Perspective."

Speakers: From AUC: Amb. Karim Haggag - Dr. Manar El-Shorbagi , and from the University of Central Florida Mr.David Dumke.

The panel was moderated by CASAR Director Dr.Mark Deets.

The panelists deliberated about the possible implications of this election round from several perspectives, analyzing the impact on Egypt, the region & the world.

Learn more about CASAR and follow us: CASAR website: https://gapp.aucegypt.edu/academics/c...

Facebook: / casar-auc-egypt-461110727349183

Instagram: https://instagram.com/casar2003?igshi.. …

With Fear, Favor, And Flawed Analysis: Decision-Making In The U.S, Immigration Courts, Karen Musalo, Anna O. Law, Annie P. Daher, Katharine Donato, Chelsea Meinders

Publications and Research

Immigration judges (IJs), housed within the Executive Office for Immigration Review within the Department of Justice (DOJ), make decisions in asylum and withholding claims, which are life or death matters. And although their title is “judge,” IJs are DOJ attorneys who lack independence and are par- ticularly susceptible to political pressures. Federal court judges and scholars alike have criticized the quality and fairness of IJ decision-making, and many studies have been carried out to better understand the factors that impact it. The prior studies have relied principally on quantitative data because IJ decisions are not publicly available or searchable in …

Clacls Reportage, Vol. 1, Fall 2024, Pierina Pighi Bel, Phoenix Paz, Ana María Granados Romero

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

This publication unites three compelling articles that offer diverse perspectives and a shared dedication to bridging the gap between academic research and public engagement.

Phoenix Paz presents a vivid ethnographic account of recent migrants in New York City, revealing how state inefficiencies marginalize a sector that contributes daily to the city’s economy.

Pierina Pighi Bel explores the growing appeal of the Republican Party among Latino voters in election cycles, delving into the complexities and inherent contradictions within this trend.

Ana María Granados Romero provides profound insights into migration, gender, and domestic work through her exploration of "La Parada"—a corner in …

State Capacity And Covid-19 Responses: Comparing The Us States, Kiran Auerbach, Joshua Y. Lerner, Hannah M. Ridge

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

This article addresses the interstate differences in outcomes from the coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on state capacity. State capacity refers to states’ ability to create and implement policy. We posit that states want to limit death and destruction within their borders. COVID-19 created an instance in which states had a shared, preferred outcome but had very different levels of success. Using a novel measure of state capacity that allows for subnational comparisons – and is independent of ideological political will – we show that states with greater capacity experienced fewer excess deaths during 2020 and more successfully distributed …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 100, No. 1, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Magazine edition of the College Heights Herald for the period October 9 - November 11, 2024.

• Wilborn, Price. Letter from the Editor – Elections
• Ivory, Larkin, Cameron Shaw, Libby Simpson & Abigail Vickers. How WKU Students Are Approaching the Ballot Box
• Todd Alcott Shares Vision for Bowling Green

• Freidhof, Natalie. A College Student’s Guide to the Swing States
• Reed-Whalen, Bradlee. What Is Amendment 22? – School Funding
• Di Palermo, Dominic. More to Accomplish – Todd Alcott, Bowling Green Mayor
• Todd Alcott for Mayor In His Own Words
• Patti Minter for Mayor In Her Own Words
• Randolph, Eli. A Day in …

Casar Student Discussion Series #6: 'The 2024 Us Election Results Are Out!The 2024 Us Elections Results Will Affect The Middle East Region Positively', The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar

Performances, Events, and Presentations

Every semester, CASAR AUC holds miscellaneous student debates discussing the hot controversial topics in the US, Egypt and from around the world in hopes of raising awareness about these topics & broadening the perspectives of our students as they learn to engage in fruitful discussions as they share different opinion on the topic being deliberated. At this CASAR Student Discussion event #6 in light of the current 2024 US Elections, we debated this statement: 'The 2024 US Elections results will affect the Middle East Region positively' A brief into was given followed by short videos to watch before opening the …

Cake And Conclusions: Rhetorical Roots In “Sheetcaking” And Fallacious Community Responses, Marissa Lammon

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

The convergence of politics and comedy within political entertainment has created a new environment, dissemination of information, and formation of public opinion. In response to white nationalist rallies, comedian Tina Fey utilized her political comedy platform to satirically comment on the inaction of several privileged consumers. Community response to the satirical skit reflected the complexity of satire as rhetorical strategy, notably when present online and within popular culture discourse, and the cognitive demands that result in fallacious tendencies. The following examines the fallacies that arise in response to Fey’s satirical message and the implications for political entertainment media.

Don’T Sweat The Technique: Rhetoric, Coded Social Critique, And Conspiracy Theories In Hip-Hop, Josh Chase

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Conspiracy theories are once again a topic of heated debate in both popular and scholarly media. Critics on one side of this debate often take for granted an “underlying assumption that conspiracy theories should be subdued if not eliminated” (Uscinski 444). Other scholars have expressed concern over the ways the “conspiracy theorist” pejorative stifles dissent and regulates political rationality (Rankin; deHaven-Smith). Bratich argues that social anxieties about issues like emerging technology and race “get managed” through the public debate about conspiracy theories as an “object of concern” (160–61). This paper asks, what are the consequences when “conspiracy panic” spreads beyond …

The Many Ways Of Wakanda: Viewpoint Diversity In Black Panther And Its Implications For Civics Education, Justin Frank Martin

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Like many of its superhero film predecessors, Black Panther (2018) achieved widespread popularity both domestically and internationally. Although the film examines the focal character T’Challa’s (Black Panther) attempt to balance his dual responsibilities as king and protector of Wakanda, the viewpoint diversity displayed by its citizens suggests that the film’s central character is Wakandan society. Drawing on events and themes from the film, the essay argues that social domain theory (SDT)—a theory that attempts to explain the development of sociomoral concepts across the lifespan—provides a useful lens to examine Wakandans’ viewpoint diversity as portrayed in the film, specifically with regards …

Pop Culture And Politics: Engaging Students In American Government Through Art, Music, And Film, Laura Merrifield Wilson

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Strategically and thoughtfully employing popular culture in teaching political science can enable students to better understand, analyze, and relate to the material. In a discipline that can be viewed by students as too boring, too distant, and too polarizing, the use of relevant music, TV/film clips, toys, memes, and other popular culture artifacts can engage otherwise unengaged students in a meaningful way. This paper argues that using popular culture in teaching political science can demonstrate relevance, serve as a generational translator, expose the bias of experience, and enable an expression of self. In demonstrating relevance, popular culture makes material fresh …

A Heartbeat Away: Popular Culture’S Role In Teaching Presidential Succession, Jay L. Wendland

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

The role of popular culture in civic education is important. Many television viewers learn about the American political process through various dramatized depictions. The 25th Amendment has often received much attention from Hollywood, as it provides writers, directors, and producers a tool with which to further dramatize presidential succession. Through the television shows West Wing, Designated Survivor, Commander in Chief, Madam Secretary, and Political Animals, viewers are exposed to storylines revolving around the 25th Amendment. By viewing these dramatized versions of presidential succession, viewers are better able to understand the process and political science instructors …

The Personality Profile And Leadership Style Of U.S. Vice President And 2024 Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris, Aubrey Immelman, Anne Marie Griebie, Elise Vomacka

Psychology Faculty Publications

The paper presents the results of an indirect personality assessment of U.S. vice president Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential nominee in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

Psychodiagnostically relevant data about Harris were collected from biographical sources and media reports and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and DSM-5-TR.

The personality profile yielded by the MIDC was analyzed in accordance with interpretive guidelines provided in the MIDC and Millon Index of Personality …

A Field Guide To Teaching Agency And Ethics: The West Wing And American Foreign Policy, Kayce Mobley, Sarah Fisher

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Though political science undergraduate courses reflect a rich theoretical tradition, they typically lack opportunities for students to express intangible concepts through the interpretation of creative works, a standard exercise of critical analysis. Educators can address this dearth in many ways, such as through utilization of popular culture texts. We employ the television series The West Wing to ground debates in American politics, specifically American foreign policy. Although this show has been on air since 2006, Netflix and Amazon have recently released the entire series for streaming, significantly reducing the hassle and monetary cost of using this source in the classroom. …

The Wallet And The Gut: Forecasting The 2024 Presidential Election With A State-By-State Adaptation Of The Time-For-Change Model, Simeon A. Betapudi, Hadassah Betapudi

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

This study adapts Abramowitz's Time-for-Change model to a state-level framework to forecast the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The Time-for-Change model’s focus on the popular vote has become less relevant in recent years, given the growing divergence between popular vote outcomes and electoral college results. Our model addresses these issues by adapting the original Time-for-Change predictors (presidential approval rating, GDP, and time in office) to the state level. Using data from five election cycles (2004–2020), we employ an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression to predict incumbent two-party vote share. Unlike the original model, state-level GDP and incumbency duration were found to …

Euphemism In Ai Discourse As Colonial Harm & Effect: Learnings From Subaltern Puerto Rico, Jacqueline Oquendo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Through three integrated studies, this dissertation explores complex human-AI interactions by comparing the perceptions of two groups of U.S. citizens: subaltern Puerto Ricans and stateside Americans’ interactions with ChatGPT. This corpus-assisted Critical Discourse Analysis or CLCDA, triangulated with 1:1 semi-structured interviews, validates scholars’ concerns about the biases inherent in generative AI. Contributing to those concerns, this dissertation reveals that ChatGPT deploys discourse strategies that, when executed, facilitate digital colonialism. Euphemistic language is prominent among its discourse strategies, replacing controversial words, phrases, and topics with more palatable ones. When prompted on events of historical significance, I find that ChatGPT’s discourse obscures …

Casar Panel Discussion: The 2024 Us Elections: Expectations And Implications Around The World, The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar, Mark W. Deets

Performances, Events, and Presentations

This panel discussion talked about the possible scenarios of the 2024 US election round from several perspectives, analyzing the impact on the region & the world. The speakers were AUC Faculty: Dr.Alaa El-Hadidi (CASAR) - Dr. Sean Lee (Political Science)- Dr. Mouness Hojairi (History) and the event was moderated by CASAR Director Dr.Mark Deets. Sun. Nov. 3rd, 2024 - AUC New Cairo Campus