Political Science Commons^™

Striking A Balance: Market Shock & Responses In Automotive Components Manufacturing, Emma Lane Mcgahey

All Theses

This thesis examines the effects of extreme market shocks on supply chain dynamics within the automotive industry. Through an analysis of demand data from an automotive manufacturer to its component suppliers (January 2018 to May 2024), the study investigates the relationship between market shocks and supply chain responses, providing insights into how auto components inventory management handles downstream responses to market shocks. With supporting public data—from FRED, BLS, and the U.S. Census Bureau resources—we explore two primary relationships: the impact of market shocks on the Average Standard Deviation of Demand (SDO) and the effect of demand variability on expedited pricing …

Wine-Rs Or Losers: Assessing Socio-Economic Impacts Of Eu Regulations On Climate-Exacerbated Plant Diseases And Pests Within Northern Italian Viticulture, Kyley N. Fishman

Undergraduate Honors Theses

As climate change furthers weather events and unprecedented hot and wet seasons, European farmers are amongst those challenged by these threats. Balancing sustainable and traditional practices while maintaining socio-economic stability can be difficult, especially under European Union (EU) agricultural regulations. A key area of concern for some agro-regulations is viticulture, or grape growing, which is amongst the most climate-sensitive agricultural sectors. These agro-regulations address multiple goals, including sustainability, exports, and cultural heritage protection. Yet, to what extent EU climate-driven agricultural regulations influence regional wine-growing operations’ socio-economics remains unclear, particularly in managing climate-aggravated pests and plant diseases. My thesis aims to …

Determinants And Consequences Of Electrification In India: A Cross Sectional Analysis Of Socioeconomic Inequities, Devin Oommen

Honors Capstones

This study examines the effects of village-level electrification on socioeconomic welfare in rural India, with a focus on inequities in access and outcomes. Electri- fication is widely regarded as a catalyst for development, improving productivity, educational attainment, and income. However, the distribution of these bene- fits remains uneven. Using cross-sectional data from the Socioeconomic High Resolution Urban Geographic (SHRUG) dataset, this paper investigates the re- lationship between eelctricity access and estimated monthly consumption per capita, a proxy for welfare.

The analysis employs multiple linear regression to control for factors such as in- come, poverty rates, gender composition, and land ownership. …

Constitutionalism, Social Justice, And Social Contract: Unpacking The Debate On Scheduled Caste Reservation For Christian And Muslim Dalits, Arvind Kumar

National Law School Journal

This article examines the constitutional, historical, and political debates surrounding the demand for extending Scheduled Caste (SC) status to Christian and Muslim Dalits in India. Drawing on Constituent Assembly Debates, archival materials, judicial decisions, government affidavits, petitions, and my previous scholarship, it challenges the claim that SC reservation was originally conceived as religion-neutral. The article argues that SC reservation emerged as a specific pre-constitutional agreement rooted in the Poona Pact and designed to address the historical injustice of untouchability within Hindu society. Its provisions were subsequently extended to Sikh and Buddhist converts under particular historical and political circumstances but did …

Utahns’ Generally Agree On Top Environmental Concerns, But Climate Change And Related Issues Reveal Political Polarization, Sarah E. Wilson, Jessica Ulrich-Schad

Utah People and Environment Poll (UPEP)

Utah is renowned for its unique landscapes and abundant opportunities to connect with the natural environment. However, the state is currently grappling with serious environmental challenges, including poor air quality, dwindling water supplies, and the alarming desiccation of the Great Salt Lake. These and other issues have major ecological and economic implications, and combating them will likely require large scale efforts. However, rising levels of political polarization are a common problem in the United States that many feel stifles our ability to combat societal problems, including those related to the environment and human health.

Job Talk: Candidate Gender And Presentation Of Prior Experience In Television Ads In The Us, Eric R. Hansen, Connor Mautner

Political Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Does gender influence how candidates in the United States present their prior political experience to voters? Messaging one's experience might demonstrate a history of power-seeking behavior, a gender role violation for women under traditional norms. As a result, men should be more likely to make experience-based appeals than women candidates. For evidence, we analyze the contents of 1,030 televised advertisements from 2018 state legislative candidates from the Wesleyan Media Project. We find that ads sponsored by experienced men are significantly more likely to highlight experience than ads sponsored by experienced women. However, we find that women's and men's ads are …

How Does Fracking-Related Information Influence Fracking Risk Perceptions? Examining The Roles Of Ideology And Information On Fracking Risk Perceptions, James Ivey

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in the United States has created an economic boom that has helped fuel an ongoing policy conflict between environmental sustainability and human health versus energy independence, expansion of national security, and future economic prosperity. With little federal regulation regarding fracking, policy decisions associated with fracking have fallen to state and local jurisdictions, making the attitudes of officials and lawmakers at the local level the center of many debates regarding fracking and related policies. This paper examines how ideology and information regarding fracking interact to shape risk perceptions associated with fracking. Specifically, this paper uses a survey experiment …

Sorry Not Sorry: Presentational Strategies And The Electoral Punishment Of Corruption, Dean C. Dulay, Seulki Lee

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

A growing literature has explored various factors that hamper the electoral punishment of corruption. Most studies have focused on how voters react to a corruption allegation, but this focus leaves out an important, common aspect of corruption allegations that voters also encounter: politicians' blame avoidance strategies. This study examines how politicians' presentational strategies in response to corruption allegations affect voter sanctioning. Employing an online survey experiment on a sample of 3531 U.S. citizens, we find that politicians' action-oriented strategies, such as denying allegations, acknowledging a problem but denying responsibility, or acknowledging a problem and taking responsibility, are more effective than …

Evaluating Passive And Assertive Secularism: A Comparative Study Of France And Sweden, Odessa Clear

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to identify the reasoning behind different outcomes of secularism in both France and Sweden in the context of Ahmet Kuru's passive and assertive secularism model. While explaining the historical causes and evolution of secularist thought, it aims to effectively evaluate contrasting approaches to how secularism is applied. To address the current gap in studies intending to assess secularism, this argument identifies how various factors are impacted by secularist-state policies. Through this analysis, it reveals the determinants in secularist approaches and their consequences on religious tensions or tolerance. This assessment of similar European countries experiencing both immigration and …

The Impact Of Refugee Resettlement Programs On Local Communities In America: A Case Study Of New York City, Ojeikere Akhadelor

International Studies (MA) Theses

The goal of this study is to examine the impact of refugee resettlement programs on local communities in the United States, focusing on New York City. This study explores how complex dynamics of refugee integration shape the socio-economic, cultural, and political dynamics of host communities. New York City, being a diverse urban city center, the high number of refugees significantly influenced the city’s dynamic cultural landscape, with an estimate of 8.468 million migrants from different cultural backgrounds (Rida, 2023). Resettlement programs facilitated by a network of nonprofit organizations, and governmental agencies, provide essential services - employment related training, housing, and …

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 …

Perspectivas De Liderazgo En La Frontera: Un Anã¡Lisis De Las Experiencias De Los Presidentes Y Cónsules De El Paso Y Ciudad Juã¡Rez, Horacio Estavillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Ciudad Juárez y El Paso son el reflejo de México y Estados Unidos a nivel municipal, sin embargo, esta unión de ciudades a nivel fronterizo abre las puertas a oportunidades únicas al igual que desafíos significativos, los cuales pueden ser el resultado de las relaciones macro de ambos países, pero también de ambas ciudades. Por lo tanto, las ciudades fronterizas son el ejemplo de una amalgama de representación local y binacional, ya que los líderes que se encuentran en estas ciudades; como cónsules generales, y presidentes municipales, reflejan no solo la personificación de la ciudad, sino también el símbolo e …

Analysis Of School Lunches- A Systemic Approach, Maggie E. Eguko

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

1.1. This capstone explores the persistent issue of food waste in public school lunch programs and the critical role that grant writers can play in addressing this challenge. School food waste has become a significant concern, with studies indicating that up to 50% of food served in school cafeterias is discarded, contributing to both environmental harm and inefficient resource use (Schwartz & Cohen, 2015).

1.2. The paper highlights the lack of effective waste reduction strategies, and the underutilization of available funding sources aimed at combating this issue. Grant writers, who are often underrepresented in school districts, can secure vital funding …

(In)Visible China: Understanding Chinese Global Orders, Hassan Karrar, William A. Callahan, Carwyn Morris, Stephen Whiteman

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Where is China going? What does its alternative global order look like? We hear a lot about China’s grand projects like the Belt and Road Initiative, but how are they experienced on the ground in Africa, South America, and Asia?The Chinese Global Orders project brings together twenty-two scholars from five continents to explore these questions. As these four commentaries show, it seeks to pluralize the discussion by exploring “Chinese” beyond the PRC nation-state, “Global” as a space beyond the international, and “Orders” as a plural set of norms.The project seeks to do more than just describe Global China’s material impact, …

The Feminist Cultural Exchange Between Japan And The United States: A Study Of Articles 14 And 24 In The Japanese Constitution, Kiara Adams

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper explores the feminist cultural exchange between the United States and Japan, focusing on how this exchange has shaped each country’s respective feminist movement. A central component of the paper is its examination of the histories of women’s rights in both nations, shaped by key historical events such as war, economic crises, and feminist activism, and how these histories have influenced current gender policies. It also explores how cultural narratives, including the creation myths of Japan and the U.S., have defined gender roles and women’s rights in each country. Through historical analysis, the paper examines the reciprocal influence between …

Aid Or Abuse? A Review Of U.S. Police Assistance Programs In Latin America During The Early Cold War, Brianna Mcnally

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

During the Cold War, the United States used police assistance programs in under-developed countries to stop the spread of communism. Police aid aimed to improve a country’s economic stability and internal security to curb the rise of communist revolutions. The U.S. government charged the Office of Public Safety (OPS) within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) with managing police assistance programs around the world, including in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Despite its seemingly good intentions, the OPS became a short-lived program now known today for its ties to human rights abuses, especially throughout Latin America. Several Latin American …

The Personality Profile Of Libya’S Muammar Gaddafi, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This research report, prepared for the France 5 television documentary “Le Monde en face: Kadhafi, la folie d’un dictateur,” presents the results of an indirect personality assessment of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

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 …

Intellectual Property, Global Inequality, And Subnational Policy Variations, Peter K. Yu

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter criticizes the oversimplification of the binary North–South debate on intellectual property, innovation, and global inequality and highlights the wide geographic, sectoral, and income inequalities within middle-income countries. It begins by explaining why the arrival of these countries has called into question the North–South debate. The chapter then moves from the widely studied subject of global inequality to the underexplored topic of national inequality. Focusing on the intellectual property context, the discussion highlights the considerable subnational variations in the economic and technological conditions of middle-income countries. To combat national inequality, this chapter concludes by recommending interventions in three areas: …

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 …