Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ending The Spanish Exception: Explaining The Rise Of Vox, Ethan J. Vanderwilden

Honors Theses

The “Spanish Exception” refers to Spain’s lack, until recently, of a populist right-wing party. Vox became the first party to the right of the conservative PP to win seats in a regional election in 2018 and in general elections in April and November of 2019. Vox is currently the third largest political party in the Spanish parliament, bringing an end to Spanish exceptionalism. This thesis addresses the rise of Vox through a conceptual framework of political opportunity structure. The framework allows for multiple explanations to account for Vox’s sudden breakthrough. I argue that opportunities present in 2018 and 2019 at …

Ground To A Halt: A Mixed Methods Approach To Understanding U.S. Government Shutdowns, Ian R. Baum

Honors Theses

Government shutdowns are a relatively frequent, yet understudied, phenomenon in American politics. To better understand these shutdowns, I present them as competitions between parties in two areas: First, the policy space, in which each party tries to end a shutdown with a policy that coincides with that party’s ideology and; second, the public opinion space, in which each party attempts to win support from the public. I use both qualitative (case studies), and quantitative (formal and statistical models) methods to evaluate shutdowns using this lens. Through my case studies, I found that parties which propose shutdown-ending policies that are close …

All The President’S Men? Politicization And Executive Control Over The Rulemaking Process, Josh Goldberg

Honors Theses

In the age of the administrative state, the battle over who controls the federal bureaucracy and the rulemaking process decides much of the direction of American public policy. The president has emerged from this milieu as the strongest political actor in the administrative state because of their ability to leverage political appointees and the centralized EOP to protect their agenda from entrepreneurial bureaucrats and a rivalrous Congress. Yet, little is known about the effectiveness of political appointees as a tool of presidential control outside of case studies of individual agencies in the large federal bureaucracy. Using data from the Office …

La Pma Pour Toutes : Comment L'Histoire Et La Société Façonnent La Médecine Et La Bioéthique En France, Lauren A. Ruddy

Honors Theses

La diversification des configurations familiales continue à susciter de vifs débats en France, où il existe encore une sorte d’intolérance à l’égard de ceux qui sortent du modèle « traditionnel » de la famille. Ces dernières années, le développement des techniques de procréation médicalement assistée (PMA) est devenu le sujet d’une forte controverse. Plus spécifiquement, la question de l’accès à la PMA pour des mères « non-normatives » telles que des femmes lesbiennes, célibataires et âgées est d’un intérêt particulier. Jusqu’à maintenant, la discussion sur le droit d’accéder à ces procédures se concentre principalement sur les barrières biologiques, éthiques et …

Acoso Visual: Staring Back At The State And Gender Conformity, Juan Luna

Honors Theses

A semi-autoethnographic piece that uses a radical transfeminist lens to interrogate hegemonic systems of gender and race in the Dominican Republic through the violence that Trans and Gender Nonconforming people face. While focusing on trans violence, this thesis explicitly turns its gaze away from Trans/Gender Nonconforming people and interrogates the state, cisnormativity, and gender conformity. This thesis explores how acoso visual (visual accosting) is a historically informed process that works to border trans/gender nonconformity out of the idea of Dominicanidad. Ultimately, this text reminds Trans/Gender Nonconforming individuals that they are not the reason for the transphobia that they experience, and …

Food System Resilience In The Face Of Covid-19: A Study Of Maine’S Food Sovereignty Movement, Hania M. Lincoln Lenderking

Honors Theses

As the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities in the United States’ industrialized food system, the need for a more resilient alternative is stronger than ever. In Maine, food sovereignty - the right of people to determine their own food system - has been enacted at the local level through the adoption of the Local Food and Community Self-Governance Ordinance (LFCSGO). Using unstructured interviews with leaders of Maine’s food sovereignty movement conducted prior to the pandemic, this study aims to link food sovereignty in Maine to the concept of food system resilience. Participants defined food sovereignty specifically in relation to …

Pressure Through Economics: Assessing The Effectiveness Of Us Policy Across Shifting Geopolitical Contexts, Hailey Reed

Honors Theses

While some US policymakers argue that economic sanctions always work and continue to use them as a key foreign policy tool, and while some other scholars argue that sanctions never work, this thesis focuses on when, not if, sanctions work. Contextualizing a discussion of the effectiveness of sanctioning undemocratic regimes in the Middle East and North Africa around the early 2000s shift away from US hegemony back to multipolarity, I conclude that the rise of Russia, China, and smaller states in the early 2000s affected the process through which the US is able to sanction adversarial regimes. Through an analysis …

Impacts Of A Movie's Rivals' Releasing Decisions On Its Domestic Box Office Revenue, Yuanyuan Dong

Honors Theses

This paper uses the OLS regression model to investigate and quantify the competition effects in the film industry, aiming to help film distributors in the making releasing decision. To do so, I define the movies that release within the same week as rivals and use the rivals’ characteristics variables to capture the competition effects. The regression results show that a movie’s rivals’ total production budgets and the number of opening weekend’s theater have significantly negative impacts on this movie’s box office revenue. After adding control variables and indicator variables for seasonality, the competition effects become less obvious with less precision. …

Give Me A Choice: Perceptions Of Freedom And The Anti-Vax Movement In Maine, Louisa Goldman

Honors Theses

While vaccination has proven to be an incredibly effective method of disease prevention, the growing ‘anti-vax’ movement threatens the population-level benefits conferred by widespread immunization. Recent findings indicate that anti-vax beliefs are not, as had been previously assumed, necessarily the result of scientific illiteracy but rather, are likely produced by intertwining social and situational contexts. With these considerations in mind, the goal of this study was to identify potential motivations underlying anti-vax behavior by performing a deep examination of anti-vax rhetoric, coupled with demographic and situational analyses. I focused specifically on the anti-vax community in Maine, with a special interest …

Effects Of Exposure To Chinese Imports On School Spending And Revenue From Property Tax, Yilei Bao

Honors Theses

I analyze the effect of exposure to Chinese import competition on school revenues per student from property tax, from local sources, and school expenditures per student in 676 Commuting Zones (CZ) from 1990 to 2007. I discover a negative relationship on the CZ level between exposure per worker to Chinese import competition and school expenditure per student, as well as school revenue per student from local sources. In contrast, impact on school revenue per student from property tax is not statistically significant. On average, in a given period, an increase of 1000 dollars in import exposure is related to a …

Naloxone Access And Opioid Use: A Theoretical Analysis, Caroline Dunsby

Honors Theses

Naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan, is a medication that reverses the potentially fatal effects of an opioid overdose. Amidst the opioid epidemic that has taken tens of thousands of lives each year, many policies have been enacted to increase the public's access to naloxone, allowing non-medical personnel to save lives. There have been two distinct reactions to these policies. Those that support the policies state that harm reduction measures are necessary to save lives. Those that oppose the policies claim that by providing naloxone, states may be increasing risky opioid use - suggesting that naloxone leads to …

The Lonely Only: An Analysis Of The Theorizing Of United States Quota Culture Competiveness On The Modern-Day Black Woman, Russell Chamblee Wilder

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Temporary Assistance For Needy Families' Reach Across The U.S., Alison Keenan

Honors Theses

One way the federal government attempts to alleviate child poverty and the associated trauma and expenses is through welfare. Cash assistance helps families make ends meet and maintain stability, reducing poverty and its effects. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF) is one source of welfare in the United States. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the state in which a child lives matters, as TANF’s reach varies considerably across the U.S. The purpose of this thesis is to understand why some states reach more needy families than other states and to suggest policy recommendations to …

From Libertine To Incel: How The "Manosphere" Has Fostered The Continuation Of Gender Violence In Western Culture, Lauren Ziolkowski

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I examine the similarities between the ideologies of the Restoration libertine and the present-day beta-male, the social and cultural forces that shape those ideologies, and the practices of flirtation and seduction shared by the libertine and beta-male. This thesis addresses the expansion of female agency and power in the mid-eighteenth century and twenty-first century, as well as how this expansion of power threatens the social, cultural, and economic privilege held by the Restoration libertine and beta-male respectively. In the eighteenth century, this expansion of power manifests in the emergence of the bourgeoisie class and the development of …

The Power Of Language: An Analysis Of Language Use And Attitudes In Moroccan Universities, Mikaela K. Thomas

Honors Theses

This study examines the connections between language use and attitudes in Moroccan universities. Morocco is a North African country that is historically multilingual, with communities speaking Moroccan Arabic (Darija), indigenous Amazigh, French, and English, in addition to the Standard Arabic used in government and by the Muslim community. The French Protectorate from 1912 to 1956 ushered in colonial language policies and imposed the French education system that enforced linguistic hierarchies. While the subsequent Arabization period attempted to reestablish the importance of Standard Arabic in Morocco, the policies failed to promote true multilingualism by ignoring the Amazigh and Darija languages. Today, …

Transformation As Desistance Inside: Temporality And Identity Reconstruction Among Men With Life Sentences, Richard Stover

Honors Theses

This thesis is an investigation of destistance strategies among men sentenced to life in prison in a medium security prison in Pennsylvania. Desistance here is defined as the process leading to the cessation of formally deviant behavior. Drawing from life narrative interviews conducted among 22 men, I argue that desistance is intrinsically tied to how inmates conceptualize themselves within the institutional context of the prison and can be expanded to include people who are still incarcerated. I build off of Peggy Giordano and colleagues symbolic interactionist perspective on desistance and expand it to chart how men with life sentences order …

Can We All Just Get Along?: Affective Polarization And Its Impact On College Campuses, Sam Rosenblatt

Honors Theses

American politics have become increasingly polarized, but not just in how sharply we disagree on issues. There has also been a rise in affective polarization, or how positively we view members of our own party and how negatively we view those of the opposite party. This behavior manifests on college campuses, where some students struggle to discuss politics with those who disagree with them while others refuse to engage in such conversations at all. While affective polarization is not a new phenomenon, it appears especially pronounced on college campuses following the 2016 U.S. presidential election. My thesis seeks to understand …

The Electoral College: Size Really Does Matter, Alexander Kirk

Honors Theses

The goal of this paper is to explore and ultimately convince the reader of the merits of the Wyoming Rule method of congressional apportionment as a method for altering the functioning of the Electoral College in United States presidential elections. This is conducted through an analysis of the role that the Electoral College has played throughout the history of American elections, in depth looks at four common proposals for changing or replacing the Electoral College, and finally discussion of the intricacies of the Wyoming Rule and the effects that it would have on American politics.

Profitability And Corporate Social Responsibility, Alexander Kirk

Honors Theses

This project examines the relationship between net margins and measures of corporate social responsibility for the companies in the S&P 500 index. This is conducted through linear regressions of overall, environmental, social, and governance scores on net margin percentages for firms from their annual 10-K reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The corporate social responsibility measures were taken from Sustainalytics via Yahoo Finance and combined with dummy variables for Global Industry Classification Standard sectors. Results indicate very limited role in corporate social responsibility measures for predicting net margins, instead favoring sector specific variables as driving net margins to …

Tuition Resets: An Economic Analysis, Claire Mendelson

Honors Theses

American higher education today is defined by rising tuition and decreasing enrollment. As higher education institutions prepare for a looming enrollment crisis, tuition resets – when colleges or universities decrease their sticker price of tuition – are becoming a newly popular strategy. Although much research has been done regarding the economics of higher education and what influences tuition, no quantitative research study has been done on tuition resets. This research study contributes to the existing literature by quantitatively testing the effect of a tuition reset on an institution’s financial health, as measured by net tuition revenue from students and undergraduate …

Estimating Value-At-Risk Of An Unconventional Portfolio, Elizabeth N. Mejía-Ricart

Honors Theses

Since the 2008 financial crisis, interest rates and bond yields have been low all through the recovery and expansion that followed, and they are still low. As a result, more investors have been attracted to US equities, a space of possibly higher returns. However, these returns come with a potential downside: risk of loss. One of the methods to assess this potential downside is value-at-risk (VaR), which gained momentum in the late 1990s. At the time, the market risk amendment to the 1988 Basle Capital Accord required commercial banks with significant trading activities to put aside capital to cover market …

The Crowbar Sabotaged The Machine: Effects Of Verb Intentionality And Syntactic Structure On Fixation Times During Reading, Michael Pittman

Honors Theses

Research conducted by linguists has indicated that inanimate entities are incompatible with verbs that connote intentionality because inanimate entities lack the facilities to complete intentional actions. However, there are currently no studies that have analyzed this inappropriate relationship in real-time. To address this gap, the current eye-tracking experiment investigated the infelicitous nature of this relationship, as well as how it may be modulated by different syntactic structures. The experiment implemented a 2 x 2 within-subjects design, in which the independent variables were verb type (neutral versus intentional) and syntactic structure (main clause versus relative clause), and the dependent variables were …

“Put Your Phone Down, And Say Hi!” Cultivating Positivity Resonance At Ur, Natalie Szumel

Honors Theses

The goal of this study is to advance our understanding of outcomes related to experiencing positivity resonance and additionally to examine the role of technology as a potential barrier to experiencing positivity resonance (PR). I expect to see positivity resonance associated with physical, psychological, and social well-being, while phone use will predict lower levels of positivity resonance.

This study is unique because it focuses on a college campus population and analyses how their well-being is affected by their social behaviors. This study is especially important for a campus like UR given how segregated and exclusive the student population has become, …

Internal Migration Of Foreign-Born In Us: Impacts Of Population Concentration And Risk Aversion, Thin Yee Mon Su

Honors Theses

Internal migration in the US has been declining since the 1990s and research has mostly focused on labor market dynamics and aging population to explain the migration trends. This paper analyzes migration patterns of foreign-born groups in the US from 2000 to 2019. Along with the migration determinants such as education and employment, the paper focuses on population concentration as a factor that shapes foreign-born decisions to relocate in the US. Population concertation is defined to be a measure of how geographically concentrated each foreign-born group is across the US. I find that the likelihood of migrating to another state …

Public Perceptions And Knowledge Of Transplantation, Kimberly Smith

Honors Theses

Objective: Organ transplantation is currently the most preferred treatment method for end-stage organ disease. Despite this fact, the need for transplants is currently higher than the availability of organs, resulting in approximately 20 deaths each day. The objective of this study was to use qualitative research methods to better understand attitudes towards and public knowledge of organ transplantation. Method: Fourteen focus groups with 58 participants were conducted by a research team. Thematic analyses were conducted using a phenomenological framework. Results: Knowledge of the transplant process was found to play a critical role in one’s decision to donate an organ. Individuals …

The Relationship Between Nature, Media Use And Psychosocial Well Being In A College Population, Eve Gilles

Honors Theses

Time in nature is associated with a variety of mental, physical and emotional health benefits while the effects of media use on psychosocial well being are unclear. Although our society is increasingly urbanized and technology-focused, there is a lack of research examining the relationship between nature, media and psychosocial well-being. The aim of this research was to explore these variables in a college-age population. Method: 82 participants participated in a survey using measures of Psychosocial Well Being, Media Use and Nature Connection and Exposure. Results: Media use partially mediates the relationship between nature relatedness and social anxiety. Conclusions: There is …

Gratitude, Resilience And Post-Traumatic Growth Among Kidney Transplant Recipients, Lillie Credle

Honors Theses

Chronic health conditions, such as end-stage renal disease (ESRD), can produce detrimental physical, psychological, and emotional effects (Schulz & Kroencke, 2015). While transplantation helps to alleviate the physical symptoms, other psychosocial problems can remain. The present study sought to investigate whether organ transplant recipients utilize certain strength-based attributes—gratitude, resilience, and post-traumatic growth—when coping with life post-transplant. This mixed-methods study recruited eight (N=8) kidney transplant recipients, who took part in semi-structured interviews followed by a survey. Though quantitative data was limited due to COVID-19 interruptions, the qualitative data revealed evidence of gratitude, resilience, and post-traumatic growth being used by the participants …

Associations Between Hookup Culture And Social Group, Ross Abrash

Honors Theses

Differences in hookup culture and behavior were examined across different social groups at the University of Richmond. Specifically, I examined the difference between Greek life members, varsity athletes, and the general student population. The sample consisted of 174 students (123 females, 51 males) from the University of Richmond. The sample was 33.3% Greek life, 25.9% varsity athletes, and 40.8% general student population. I distributed a web-based survey for participants to complete in a quiet place of their choosing. Fraternity members, sorority members, and male athletes scored higher than the comparison group on a measure of personal attitudes towards hooking up. …

After School Programs And Their Effect On Children's Well-Being, John Steenrod

Honors Theses

As female labor force participation has gone up, families have turned more and more towards after school programs to provide adult supervision for their children, especially in low income areas. This paper utilizes longitudinal household data to examine the effect of these after school programs on noncognitive outcomes in children, and, in particular, follows the early education literature in using within-family comparisons for identification. I find that children who participate in after school programs are less likely to be depressed, and are more likely to have a high degree of emotional, social, and psychological well-being. Generally, participation is associated in …

The Residential Location Choices Of Chabad Households: An Analysis Of Decision Making With Non-Price Constraints, Chasity A. Mcfadden

Honors Theses

Where an individual chooses to live informs many of their economic decisions and may be the single largest economic decision one makes in their lives. Through understanding the way that people choose their residential locations, we are able to better understand the opportunities available to them. Within the Chabad community, there is a large focus on emissary work, which calls Chabad Jews to move outside of large Jewish communities in order to help secular Jews become more religious. There are also certain religious amenities that are necessary to live a Chabad life, such as a local synagogue. So the question …