Political Science Commons^™

Modern Artificial Intelligence: Philosophical Context And Future Consequences, Mark Kumleben

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This paper analyzes the state of modern artificial intelligence research from a philosophical perspective, in order to argue for interdisciplinary cooperation in building an effective AI research paradigm. I assess four different aspects of AI: its ability to perceive the world through pattern recognition, its ability to act in the world through reinforcement learning, its role in technological society as predicted by Heidegger’s theory of technology, and its future development into potential superintelligence. By connecting these to an unexamined theory of the human mind underpinning AI research, I seek to show the relationship between our understanding of natural minds and …

Latino Evangelicals: How Their Multiple Identity Influences Their Political Preferences, Noemi Hernandez Alexander

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The pews of the American Evangelical church are browning, and so is the Evangelical voting bloc. Latino immigrants are fueling the growth of the Evangelical church in America and Latinos have the potential to influence the Evangelical voting bloc writ large. However, we have a limited understanding of the political needs of the Latino Evangelical who identifies as an ethnic person and a religious person. As the discipline of political science attempts to predict, describe, or explain the political attitudes of Latinos, understanding the political preferences of the Latino Evangelical is essential. This study seeks to understand how race and …

The 2020 U.S. Presidential Race: Mobilize The Base Or Persuade Swing Voters?, Jonathan Miller

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis will attempt to determine the optimal election strategy for the Democratic nominee in the upcoming presidential election. As it currently stands, there are two primary schools of thought about the Democratic election strategy among political scientists and strategists, both of which are often framed as mutually exclusive. According to one theory, the Democratic candidate/campaign should prioritize persuasion and target undecided voters to garner their support. Policies such as the expansion of the Affordable Care Act and modest income tax increases on the wealthy are examples of policies that are often designed to garner support among undecided voters. The …

Discourse Analysis Of Nyt’S Headlines On Terrorism And Climate Change: How Media Reflects Our Conceptualization Of Security, Helena Gabrielle Ong

Pomona Senior Theses

Although climate change and terrorism are both considered national security threats by U.S. military experts, the American public views these threats differ- ently, with climate change at lower risk and priority in comparison to terror- ism. This reflects a difference in how the public conceptualizes security threats. This paper aims to address that gap through media coverage. This study ex- amines the language of newspaper headlines for terrorism and climate change in order to identify the dominant representations of these issues in the media. I analyze the discourse of two security issues—terrorism and climate change– by comparing news headlines from …

Design For Sustainment: Governance Engineering In Major Acquisition Programs, William Baker, Kaitlynn M. Castelle, Joseph M. Bradley, Lucas C. Marino

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

During acquisition for a sustainment-dominated, major capital asset, decision-making and action to develop the sustainment system must begin early in the acquisition process to sufficiently align the necessary integrated logistics support demanded by these systems. Effective governance improves the likelihood of success for delivery of the asset and accompanying sustainment system to ensure the asset meets expected performance and remains functional over its planned decades-long service life. The service life of a Navy vessel can range from 25 to 50 years. In this case study, we examine the operation of the governance system for major maritime acquisitions, wherein a fleet …

Racial Bias And The Death Penalty In Nebraska (2005-2019), Natalie Bielenberg

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Ample evidence exists to suggest that the death penalty in the United States is affected by racial bias. Nebraska has a complex history with the death penalty, and in this study I investigate whether or not that racial bias is present in Nebraska’s capital punishment. Using a list of every Nebraska Department of Correctional Services inmate since 1982, I test for a relationship between race of inmate and sentencing outcome and a relationship between race of victim and sentencing outcome. No significant relationship was found between either race of inmate and receiving the death penalty nor race of victim and …

Public Opinion On Intellectual Property, Danielle K. Buckles

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Several studies have tracked the rise in music piracy following the creation of Napster, analyzing the attitudes and behaviors associated. But new developments, such as streaming services and social media, have transformed the relationship between creators and users. This paper seeks to revisit the topic, reexamine past results, and evaluate public opinion in this current technological landscape. Understanding the new attitudes and behaviors associated with illegal music downloading through a questionnaire reveal important implications for the future of intellectual property legislation. These findings give some insight into the perceptions of ownership over intangible property to hopefully improve consumer and industry …

The Welfare State In The Twentieth Century: A Case Study Of The Swedish Public Pension System, Oumaima Jaayfer

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This is an attempt at depicting welfare state developments in one of its most notable success stories: Sweden. As a major subsector of the Nordic country’s welfare state, this paper focuses on the evolution of social insurance, particularly the public old-age pension system from its liberal beginnings in 1913 all the way to 1998, when the novel three-tiered pension system was introduced. In addition to its policy emphasis, this paper examines the relationship between the welfare state and social democracy by studying the implications that cross class alliances and social reformism had on the political viability of the Swedish Social …

Obergefell V. Hodges: Majority Opinion Got The Analysis Wrong, But The Answer Right, Rumor Watts

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Although the U.S. Supreme Court reached the correct result in Obergefell v. Hodges, its substantive due process and equal protection analyses were wrong. First, the majority opinion discusses the concept of equal dignity, which has no legal definition nor has it been used in prior Supreme Court jurisprudence. The majority made another mistake in using substantive due process when Obergefell could have been decided on the basis of equal protection alone.

Despite these mistakes, there were parts of the opinion the Court did decide correctly. The end result -- that same-sex couples have the right to marry -- was the …

The Obama Paradox: Policy Success, Political Failure, Laura Chiu

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The presidency of Barack Obama presents us with a paradox, in that it was both a policy success and a political failure, two states that seemingly contradict with one another. His presidency is considered a policy success due to its ability to successfully pass many key pieces of legislation, despite several challenges. On the other hand, Obama's presidency is also considered a political failure primarily due to the election of Donald J. Trump, someone who is not an ally to the Obama administration and has worked to undo Obama's accomplishments as president in nearly every area. Today, Obama's legacy as …

The Political Preference Of Arkansas Farmers And Ranchers, Rachel J. Barry, Donna L. Graham

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Access to information is critical to improving production efficiency, but little is known about how farmers are informed on the policy or issues influencing programs related to farming. This research sought to determine the sources of communication used by farmers and ranchers to form opinions about agricultural policy and candidates, identify the issues important in voting, and their level of participation in the political process. Face-to-face interaction was the preferred form of communication in farm organization meetings, with friends, or farm agencies. Magazines were the preferred source of print communication, and university/extension websites were preferred for internet sources. Broadcast media …

Spies And The Virus: The Covid-19 Pandemic And Intelligence Communication In The United States, Ana Maria Lankford, Derrick Storzieri, Joseph Fitsanakis

Intelligence and Security Studies

This paper introduces a crucial parameter to the novel coronavirus response in the United States, by shedding light on the early-warning role of intelligence agencies. It argues that the intelligence components of the federal government's Biological Defense Program offered actionable forewarning about an impending pandemic in the years leading to the COVID-19 outbreak. Yet, almost from the opening stages of the pandemic, senior US government officials, including President Donald Trump, have repeatedly claimed that the virus "came out of nowhere"and that "nobody saw it coming."We show that these assertions contradict more than 15 years of pandemic preparedness warnings by intelligence …

Rejecting Bolivarianism: Political Power In South America, Jaiya Mcmillan

Undergraduate Research Awards

By the time he was 36, Simon Bolivar had freed six countries from Spanish rule, often fighting armies of thousands with a couple hundred militia rebels. Bolivar was an incredible military strategist with a liberal approach, and went on to govern both Peru, and then-Gran Colombia, which was made up of modern-day Colombia and Venezuela. After his death in 1830, each of the countries he liberated mourned his loss, and in the almost two centuries since then, leaders have constantly used his name in order to revive his spirit and bolster their own political agendas. One such example is the …

Constitutional Reflections Of The People: Representation In The Constitutions Of The United States (1789) And Chile (1833), Zoe E. Nelson

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This paper is a comparative analysis of the American Constitution of 1789 and the Chilean Constitution of 1833, as well as the political writings of major political theorists prior to the making of each constitution. In comparing the historical development and making of Constitutions in post-war, newly independent American nations, this paper seeks to understand the similarities between American and Chilean Constitutional institutions and underlying political theory from a historical perspective. Bearing this purpose in mind, this paper asks, “In what ways were the Constitution making measures of Chile and the United States in 1833 and 1789, respectively, a reflection …

Labor Union Members' Stance On Major Social Issues In The 2016 General Election, Matthew Sauser

Political Science Theses and Capstones

In 2016, Democratic Candidate for President Hillary Clinton faced off against Republican Candidate Donald Trump in what was expected to be a lopsided victory for the Democrats. As the campaigns and researchers did a post-mortem on the results, they saw that white voters in key states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan weren’t as motivated to get to the polls for Candidate Hillary Clinton versus her opponent Donald Trump. I took a deep dive into trying try to find the reason that why labor union members could have broken from their traditional ranks of Democrats to vote for Donald Trump by …

Predicting Positive Attitudes Toward Immigrants With Altruism, Kati Elizabeth Stafford

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Immigration is one of the most salient and divisive issues in the US and a host of other countries, with public opinion polarized and elites deadlocked on the issue. One limitation of research on immigration attitudes is the tendency for scholars to focus exclusively on dark motivations driving hostility toward immigrants rather than those leading to compassion and support for immigrants. Using 2016 American National Election Studies (ANES) data, I examine the relationship between attitudes towards immigration and several Big Five personality traits, focusing on Altruism. I find that personality traits, especially those related to Altruism, are crucial determinants of …

Why Weak States Balance: National Mobilization And The Security Strategies Of Post-Soviet States, Eteri Tsintsadze-Maass

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the 14 post-Soviet states adopted dramatically differing security strategies towards Russia: some sought security by bandwagoning with Russia while others strove to balance against it. Why did states with similar experiences under Soviet rule and similar asymmetric power positions vis-à-vis Russia adopt such diverse security strategies in the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s disintegration? In contrast to prevailing theories focusing on power, economic interdependence, and cultural similarities, I propose that these variations in post-Soviet states’ security strategies can be best explained by their diverse experiences with national mobilization. The central argument of this …

The Gender Citation Gap In Undergraduate Student Research: Evidence From The Political Science Classroom, Li-Yin Liu, Christopher J. Devine, Heidi Gauder

Political Science Faculty Publications

Previous studies have documented a “gender citation gap” in political science, whereby women are less likely to be cited in published research and course syllabi, especially by male scholars. However, no previous study has examined citation patterns among students in political science courses to determine if similar patterns are evident in their research. This article analyzes an original database of individual, as well as group, research assignments from an undergraduate research methods course. Our analysis indicates that male students are significantly less likely than female students to cite research published by women – whether as first authors, any of the …

For-Profit Managers As Public Fiduciaries: A Neo-Classical Republican Perspective, Rob Atkinson

Scholarly Publications

This Article examines the fiduciary duties of for-profit managers in modern liberal society. To arrive at the right "mix" of these duties, it compares the fiduciary duties implied by a standard descriptive model of our society with two competing normative models: Lockean libertarianism on the "right" and neo-classical republicanism on the "left." This comparison shows that all three versions of liberalism, even the one with a Lockean nightwatchman state, require far more extensive duties than we now expect, including a professionalization of management itself. And it shows that the version of liberalism with the most expansive state, neo-classical republicanism, requires …

Black Resistance: Interpretive Agency Enacted Against Mutable Violence, Meera Kolluri

Scripps Senior Theses

Titled Black Resistance: Interpretive Agency Enacted Against Mutable Violence, my research discusses a reformed understanding of racial trauma and autonomy. I elaborate on the common reading of slavery in political thought and defend my argument with modern examples of resistance and theory. This text aims to shine light on assumptive narratives by classifying and redefining mutable violence against black America.