Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Evaluating The Relationship Between Conditionality And Foreign Aid Reliance, Rory Ann O'Neil

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Data Disparity: Tiered Pricing As An Alternative To Consumer Iot Data Privacy Regulations, Matthew Lostocco

Honors Theses and Capstones

In recent years, Internet of Things (IoT) devices have exploded on the consumer scene. These emerging products bring new technological capabilities into our everyday lives. IoT is projected to contribute anywhere from $4-11 trillion to the global economy and companies are investing billions of dollars into the technology. However, with the vast amount of data that IoT devices collect, consumers are burdening the risk of having their personal data breached or sold to third parties. This paper first identifies why consumers may be weary or willing towards providing their personal data and how unconscious biases in the purchasing process cause …

They See Me Scrolling, And I'M Hating: Instagram Usage And Its Effect On Self-Esteem And Body Image, Keva Brianna Natalie Chang

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Research has consistently shown that exposure to thin-ideal media images negatively influences self-perception. Given the escalation of reliance on social media and the heavy online presence of young adults, particularly women, it is essential to identify ways that social media can influence perceptions of body image and self-esteem. This research proposal presents an exploratory investigation into the impact that social media, specifically Instagram, has on women’s views of themselves and their bodies. The aim of the present study is to examine the potential effects of celebrity images, compared with equally attractive peer images and scenery (control) images, on body image …

Ward Manor: Care For The Elderly And Digital Memory, Anne Tilghman Comer

Senior Projects Spring 2019

The Bard College campus dormitory known as Ward Manor has a rich and fascinating history. Using ethnographic research and multimodal methodology, this study has revealed a heretofore unknown story of the residents who lived out their lives in a collective residential community and are buried in the Ward Manor Cemetery. The story of this facility is explored as part of a more significant social and philanthropic endeavor within the United States in the early twentieth century. No longer forgotten, this critical aspect of Bard College is brought to life through this research.

An Exploration Of Musical Performance Anxiety (Mpa) And Its Relation To Perfectionism And Performance, Gitta Marko

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Musical Performance Anxiety (MPA) is a critical and common issue for musicians, as much of their success and income depends on their quality of performance. MPA is the experience of distressful apprehension about and/or impairment of performance, not reflecting the individual’s musical abilities. Since the pressure to perform their best is extremely high for musicians, striving for perfection in this field is typical. In my senior project, I investigated the elements and mechanisms behind the development of MPA and its relation to perfectionism. Seventeen Bard Conservatory musicians’ levels of MPA and perfectionism were assessed using established measures prior to their …

The Racialization Of The Pan-Ethnic Asian American Identity, Nina Tanujaya

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Sustainable Paths, Cailin Flores Drew-Morin

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Body Dissatisfaction: Searching For A Link Between Depressive Symptoms, Body Image, And Eating Patterns, Lucy Sorrell

Senior Projects Spring 2019

The ideal body sizes for men and women in the United States have decreased significantly over the last 50+ years, while average body sizes increased. This discrepancy has been accompanied by elevated levels of body dissatisfaction in both women and men. In turn, body dissatisfaction can predict unhealthy eating habits and weight loss behaviors such as dieting. Body image research has found a relationship between body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms. The present cross-sectional study aimed to test if depressive symptoms moderated the relationship between body dissatisfaction and eating patterns. The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) measured depressive …

Beyond Repair: An Investigation Of The Experiences, Interpretations, And Self-Construction Of Black Women Welfare Recipients In The Deep South, Eniyah C. Willingham, Eniyah Willingham

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Based on six in-depth interviews with Black women in the Metro-Atlanta area who have at some point in the past ten years received welfare assistance, this project serves to understand how Black women relate to the welfare system in the current moment. To best understand their circumstances, I set forth a three-part question: how do Black women welfare recipients experience the welfare system in the current moment?; how do they interpret these experiences?; and lastly, how do these experiences and interpretations lend to how they conceptualize, construct, and/or manage their identities as Black women welfare recipients? I argue that my …

Dispatches From The Nest: Falconry And Pest Management In Semiotic Worlds, Finn Domingo West

Senior Projects Spring 2019

How did a line of ink become a line of crows? Read the project to find out.

​ Manga In China’S Reform Era: Transformation, Assimilation And Imagination Of Popular Culture, Danhui Chen

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Brookhaven Landfill: An Environmental Case Study On Politics, Policy, And Perceptions, Katlin Dakota Stath

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Russian Climate Politics In 2019: Concessions And Trade Offs, Nikita O. Minin

Senior Projects Spring 2019

In the paper portion of this project, Russia’s political justifications for the signing of the Kyoto Protocol and the refusal to sign the Paris Accord are analyzed. Russia’s current adaptive strategies and trajectory towards creating a potentially devastating future for the planet are assessed in terms of their economic justifications. Overall this paper argues that the Paris Accord needs to be amended to be economically and politically fair for all signing countries. Currently Russia could lose GDP if they signed the accord, and this is presented as the primary reason for Russia’s refusal to sign. The thesis of the paper …

Affects Of Elimination: Foundations Of Collectivity, Oskar Coltrane Dye-Furstenberg

Senior Projects Spring 2019

This paper examines specific indigenous social movements in the United States. Two examples are considered: the occupation of the decommissioned Fort-Lawton, Seattle military base in 1970 and the contemporary movement for missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW). Both are examples of resistance to assimilation and ‘elimination’ in the form of collective action by indigenous persons. The paper explores the relation between coming together as a group and responding to the experience of violence, injury, or suffering. This dynamic between collective formation and shared affective experience constructs the foundation upon which these movements imagine and work to enact a social and …

A Hundred Houses: Pauline Leader And The Spatial Poetics Of Disability, Carl Robert Nelson

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College.

To Conceive Of Consonance In Chaos: The Influence Of The Harmonic Series On The Perception Of A New Musical System, Luke Sandbank

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Languages and Literature of Bard College.

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Atoms For Peace: Revisiting The Promise Of Nuclear Power On The Cusp Of Climate Catastrophe, Amelia Louise Tiemann

Senior Projects Spring 2019

When people think about nuclear power, they typically identify with one of two binary positions: either they believe nuclear power is an important part of the solution to climate change, and favor its expansion; or they believe its risks far outweigh any benefits it may provide. Those in the latter group might picture vast areas of uninhabitable land, massive evacuations of people from their homes, or the famous three-eyed fish from The Simpsons. Those in the former might view nuclear power as an often overlooked clean energy source with enormous potential to perform in the midst of uncertain climate …

A Wizard Hat For The Brain: Predicting Long-Term Memory Retention Using Electroencephalography, Noah Libby

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Learning is a ubiquitous process that transforms novel information and events into stored memory representations that can later be accessed. As a learner acquires new information, any feature of a memory that is shared with other memories may produce some level of retrieval- competition, making accurate recall more difficult. One of the most effective ways to reduce this competition and create distinct representations for potentially confusable memories is to practice retrieving all of the information through self-testing with feedback. As a person tests themself, competition between easily-confusable memories (e.g. memories that share similar visual or semantic features) decreases and memory …

An Ethical Examination Of Libertarian Paternalism: The Impact Of Retirement Savings Nudges On Autonomy And Welfare, Edward E. Dunn V

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Behavioral economists have recommended the use of nudges to promote welfare through public and private policies as a form of ‘libertarian paternalism’. It remains a controversial topic and opponents of nudging claim that it violates individual liberty and autonomy. Even so, nudging has found success in helping people save more for retirement. Automatic enrollment and the Save More Tomorrow™ plan use defaults to encourage higher participation and contribution rates in 401(k) retirement savings plans. I argue that these policies violate individual autonomy and fail to determine individuals’ preferences. Ethical interventions prioritize the intelligibility of preferences, enhance individual autonomy, and promote …

Constructing The Sympathetic Addict: Dominant Narratives And Typologies Of Opioid Using Women In The News Media, Charlotte Noel Kasmin

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Still Sitting On Men: Understanding The Continuities Of Indirect Rule Through Pre-Colonial Forms Of Female Resistance, Ethnic Power Politics And Economic Violence In Southeast Nigeria, Evan Richardson

Senior Projects Spring 2019

This project exposes that Indirect Rule in Southeastern Nigeria has had direct, significant ramifications on the Political Economic Development of Nigeria through the present day.

Student, Athlete, Or Neither At All: A Closer Look Into The Experiences Of Black Basketball Players In The Ncaa, Armando D. Dunn

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Fortress State: How The American System Protects Vested Interests And The Status Quo, Axel Clavier

Senior Projects Spring 2019

The Founders consciously designed the American system to divide majoritarian energies, gridlock the government, and skew the political game towards vested interests and knowledgeable insiders. The result is a political system which disproportionately caters to small and intensely-motivated constituencies while raising the bar very high for majoritarian change. But, if majoritarian forces are persevering enough, if their repeated assaults are able to muster the forces needed across many places and long stretches of time, the system is able to integrate and domesticate change without breaking, and without fundamentally altering itself. Judged by its longevity, the Fortress State is the most …

Motivation In Minority Populations: Perceived Locus Of Control And The Effect Of Ethnic Matching, Matthew R. Agosto

Senior Projects Spring 2019

The aim of this study is to measure the differences in perception of the locus of control of a target individual in two motivational scenarios and discover the effect of ethnic/non-ethnic matching conditions. Two different motivational strategies were used to assess the role of ethnic matching in perceiving other people as well as identifying with them. Rotter’s Internal External locus of control scale (I-E scale) is utilized in a novel way. Subjects were asked not to report their own control beliefs, but rather, the beliefs they perceive the target individual to hold true. The following study measures participants’ perceived locus …

Another Massacre In Mexico, Sidney B. Smith

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Power Of Social Movements To Influence Government Action In Urban Water Crises: A Dual Case Study Of Flint, Mi And Newburgh, Ny, Mary Grace Mcnulty

Senior Projects Spring 2019

As the problem of urban water pollution continues to grow, so does the need to ensure clean viable water sources that are irrefutably safe for public consumption. The growing need to regulate clean water creates a sense of urgency amongst marginalized low-income communities, with less power and therefore less of a fortifiable claim to the inalienable right of a citizen to clean, toxin free drinking water. Although the United States acknowledges its obligation to protect the wellbeing of the people under its leadership, there is a continual disregard for at-risk communities, unless they actively take a role in fighting for …

Democratization Of Finance In China: The Role Of Internet Finance In China’S Economic Transformation, Shuying Han

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Democratization of finance in China is both effective and risky. This is a comprehensive study of the benefits and risks associated with China’s Inclusive Finance Policy and the rapid development of Chinese internet financial industry. Through a retrospective of the emergence of finance, this study will introduce the concept of democratization of finance and evaluate its development in China. The author further examines the approach of Inclusive Finance and Internet-based financial industry and their contributions to the overall financial industry. In addition, this study will also explore the role of Internet-based financial industry to Chinese economy in the context of …

Reproducing Culture Through Terroir: Following Raclette Du Valais From The Alps To The Consumer, Sophia Rose

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Keeping It In The Family: How Family Functioning And Childhood Environment Impacts Social Anxiety In College Students, Shira Prusky

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) affects approximately 7% of the United States population yearly. Certain factors such as disturbed family functioning and the occurrence of adverse life events during childhood or adolescence significantly increase the risk of developing social anxiety later in life. This study proposal examines the relationship between childhood experiences with the severity and occurrence of SAD in the college population to see if childhood experiences affect the ability to focus on a single task after exposure to socially salient information. 250 undergraduate students will be randomly placed in either a control condition, without any exposure to a social …

Preserving The Archives In The 21st Century Classroom: Designing History Classes Around Primary Source Research., Julie Harper Pace

Georgia Educational Researcher

This article details an experiment in an 11^th and 12^th grade 3-week intensive course, the Science and History of Contagious Disease. The course was an interdisciplinary survey of how diseases are spread along with an examination of social responses. Although both lecture and discussion based, the course revolved primary around a trip in which we led approximately 22 students through archival research in the City of Savannah Municipal Archives on the Yellow Fever epidemics of 1820, 1854, and 1876. The article describes the numerous advantages of archival work, from direct contact with rare and unique primary sources to …