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Red Blue and You: how political ads use your psychology for their advantage
Full text linkIn this podcast, we are going to discuss political advertisements and the neuroscience behind why they are so effective.https://scarab.bates.edu/mediamindyou/1003/thumbnail.jp
Melodies in Motion: How Movie Soundtracks Shape Our Perspective
Full text linkThis podcast explores how movie soundtracks influence our perception and emotions. The speakers dive into the neuroscience underlying these phenomena, and then provide an example from The Titanic to illustrate what they mean.https://scarab.bates.edu/mediamindyou/1000/thumbnail.jp
Corporate Social Responsibility: Strategic Benevolence or Genuine Social Impact? An Analysis of FedEx\u27s Governance and Sustainability Efforts
No full textThis thesis explores the application of Michel Foucault\u27s concept of governmentality to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), analyzing FedEx\u27s initiatives within this theoretical framework. The study scrutinizes the extent to which FedEx\u27s CSR activities, including environmental sustainability efforts and vaccine distribution logistics, serve as tools for corporate governance and societal control. By examining the biopolitical aspects of CSR, the thesis argues that such initiatives, while marketed as contributions to societal welfare, often extend corporate influence into public policy and community norms. Utilizing Foucault’s theories, the research reveals how corporations like FedEx enact governance beyond traditional business practices, influencing societal behaviors and shaping regulatory landscapes to fit their strategic interests. This critical approach aims to provide a deeper understanding of the intersection between corporate power and social responsibility, challenging the perception of CSR as mere acts of corporate goodwill
To Remember, To Forget: Political Actors’ Use of Collective Memory During Democratic Transitions in Spain and Chile
Full text linkWhy do some countries choose to remember past civil conflicts while others choose to forget? Following the Francisco Franco dictatorship, Spain institutionalized forgetting through the Pact of Forgetting. In contrast, Chile chose to remember civil conflict under Augusto Pinochet through multiple truth and reconciliation commissions. Through analysis of political actors’ arguments during periods of constitutional challenges and maintenances, I seek to answer how political actors use or chose not to use collective memory to make constitutional arguments. Spain and Chile provide key case studies given their contrasting institutional memory choices. To conduct this analysis, I examine newspaper articles, speeches, and advertisements from conservative and liberal sources. I will analyze two different periods: the 1980s and the 2010s/2020s. Specifically, the days leading up to and following the 1981 attempted coup in Spain, the 1988 Chilean plebiscite, the 2017 Catalan Independence Movement, and the 2020 Chilean plebiscite. I will examine the intersections between political conditions, the choice to remember, constitutions, and national identity. I suggest that the political conditions of potential transitions impact political actors’ decisions to utilize collective memory. Political actors employ collective memory to appeal to social cleavages when the state legitimizes potential transitions in state-codified referendums. However, when coups unconstitutionally threaten the stability of the nation, political actors suppress mnemonic narratives of civil conflict to unify the nation
The Effects of Post-Identification Feedback on Witness and Photospread Administrator Behavior
No full textGiving participants confirming feedback after an identification affects their reports of the identification decision and the witnessed event (Wells & Bradfield, 1998). The purpose of Experiment 1 was to investigate if post-identification feedback corresponded with observable behavioral changes of eyewitnesses. In order to test this question, videos of participant-witnesses from Smalarz and Wells (2014) were analyzed. Witnesses given confirming feedback were rated as more competent and accurate than witnesses who received no feedback. Feedback did not affect how long witnesses talked or how many words they spoke. Experiment 2 investigated whether feedback affects photospread administrators by having them interact with a witness who has received confirming feedback or not on an identification decision. Then, participant-administrators constructed a photospread for the witness’s second identification. The primary dependent variable was how difficult the photospread was, as measured by the similarity between the filler photos and the suspect. The average similarity rating was not significantly different across feedback conditions. These experiments contribute to knowledge about eyewitness identification decisions, the primary cause of wrongful convictions
Rehabilitation for enduring change: Toward evidence-based corrections
Full text linkSince Robert Martinson’s famous declaration that there was little evidence on the effectiveness of rehabilitation, correctional research on what works to reduce recidivism has proliferated. There is a vast body of literature indicating that programs and interventions, when applied appropriately in prison or in the community, can be effective. Intervention approaches with relatively strong evidence include (1) educational/vocational, (2) cognitive-behavioral therapy, (3) substance use/abuse, and some evidence for (4) sex offender programs. However, there is a large amount of variability in the results of evaluations, and the sources of that variability need to be interrogated. While there is increasingly good evidence about the effectiveness of correctional programming, much more rigorous evidence is necessary for both prison- and community-based interventions. Further, to truly assess rehabilitation, which implies “enduring change,” corrections should take a desistance-focused approach and expand the measurement of outcomes and of follow-up time frames
Green Toys: an analysis on toy companies through an environmental lens
No full textThis is a podcast dedicated to uncovering and sharing the impact large toy companies that rely heavily on plastic have on the environment. Sustainability has increasingly become a major concern in the focus of large corporations. In recent times, we’ve seen public interest shifting towards holding companies accountable for what they use to make their products with. People want to know that when they buy products for themselves or loved ones, they aren’t buying cheap, disposable products from a company that sends a bad message. In this podcast, I discuss different toy companies, such as LEGO and Mattel, and some of their main products, considering how they are (or aren’t) being sustainable
Will Eating Them Beat Them? Establishing Culinary Markets for the European Green Crab
No full textThe European green crab (Carcinus maenas) is one of the most destructive invasive species in the world’s marine environment. Since its arrival, this crab has wreaked havoc on Maine’s fragile marine ecosystems and their reliant economies. Across the northeast Atlantic seaboard, this crab has perpetuated the long-term degradation of eelgrass habitats and significantly reduced bivalve, crab, and finfish populations. Furthermore, its dense population levels threaten Maine’s softshell clam fishery, marine ecosystems, and threaten the future of Maine’s most beloved crustacean, the American Lobster. Given the green crab\u27s remarkable reproductive persistence and high rates, regional mitigation efforts have shifted away from the unattainable goal of total eradication. Instead, the focus has transitioned to achieving functional eradication, involving the reduction of green crab populations below critical thresholds to minimize ecosystem impacts. While various regions and localities have explored diverse approaches to this method, none have fully harnessed the vast economic potential inherent in this abundant resource. In recent years, a burgeoning movement has gained momentum, aiming to extract green crabs from waters and integrate them into culinary markets. Several dedicated individuals have spearheaded this initiative. Establishing commercial markets for green crabs serves a dual purpose: not only does it alleviate the pressure of these ubiquitous predators on delicate marine ecosystems, but it also offers a strategic avenue to diversify Maine\u27s fisheries and economies amidst the uncertainties brought about by climate-induced unpredictability. Collaborative efforts between harvesters, researchers, chefs, and policymakers would transform the green crab into a sought-after resource whose harvest addresses ecological concerns and opens avenues for economic and environmental sustainability in Maine.
Link to the capstone\u27s website: https://elysse.bates-catapult.net
Running the Risk: Why Citizens Choose to Engage in Political Protest in 21st Century Russia
Full text linkThis thesis examines why Russian citizens living under the authoritarian Putin regime choose to protest despite the incredible risk. This thesis first examines the history of Russian activism since the end of the Soviet Union, and the crackdown on Russian civil liberties since the fallout of the 2011 Russian Election and Putin’s return to the presidency. I will then focus on three significant protest movements in Russia, the 2011-2013 Protests, the protests in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and the protests against the 2022 Invasion of Ukraine. These movements are chosen due to both their scope, and their position in Russian history, which shows the increasing authoritarianism in Putin’s regime. In examining why the protesters chose to participate, I examined existing literature on the protest movements, as well as interviews with Russians who chose to attend. In these accounts, I examined the prevalence and relationship of four factors; moral emotions, ideological identification with the movement, biographical availability and existence of organizational and relational ties to social networks. Through the examination of these four factors, I hoped to answer the question of what causes Russians to protest
Point A to Point B: Understanding Mobility Justice in Lewiston, Maine
No full textLewiston, Maine is a mid-sized city in Maine that has grown in population since the booming of the mill industry in the nineteenth century. The increase in population over the past 150 years has created a sprawling effect on the city landscape. The sprawl influences the patterns of transportation Lewiston residents experience. Sprawl can create disproportionate access to grocery stores, creating food deserts and food injustices. The people of Lewiston have historically been of a lower socioeconomic group, therefore, not every resident is able to pay for a car. Access to transportation types is dependent on a person’s wealth, abilities/disabilities, or proximity to different types (bus, car, foot, bike, train). Regardless of a person’s set positionality in a space, all people should be able to move freely to sites that are necessary for living. This research paper uses ethnographic observations from personal transportation experiences throughout Lewiston, to understand what mobility looks like in different parts of the city. To mimic routine trips locals travel, all three sample locations were located in populated neighborhoods, and the destination was a nearby grocery store. The study uses field observations with lenses of mobility justice, transportation justice, and urban planning, to see where these frameworks overlap with infrastructure in Lewiston. The experimental routes suggested that Lewiston was a car-dominated society, but city planners are currently working to expand the existing mobility regimes. The Lewiston Comprehensive plans aim to make Lewiston transportation more accessible so that people do not have to rely on cars