Schedule of Events

 Although the Aral Sea, the Salton Sea, and Owens Lake all face unique circumstances in the implementation of projects, the environmental situation experienced by each is remarkably similar to the other, while political responses have been drastically different. Likewise, each project has resulted in an array of accomplishments and challenges, suggesting that the evolution of these environmental restoration projects depends not entirely in the scientific process, but more so the political process and stakeholder interest in achieving sustainable and long-term solutions to these catastrophes. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of government-led water restoration projects on addressing the health and environmental concerns of communities affected by shrinking bodies of water. The study concentrates on the completed restoration projects in Owens Valley and the ongoing efforts in the Salton Sea and Aral Sea regions in order to form a collaborative foundation for political responses to shrinking bodies of water by answering three important questions: 1) What are environmental restoration projects, and which projects lead the restoration effort in each region? 2) What relationship exists between local, state, federal, and non-governmental bodies in these projects?3) How can lessons from past actions at Owens Lake, the Salton Sea, and the Northern Aral Sea be merged to provide a strong foundation for future environmental restoration projects?

Sir Isaiah Berlin, the celebrated political theorist and historian of ideas, is a rather enigmatic figure by the standards of contemporary Anglophone philosophy. Whether because of his abiding interests, remote as they sometimes were from those of his peers', or his departure from, and even rejection of, certain central tenets of the Western philosophical tradition, many academics have not been quite sure what to make of his singular corpus. While Berlin may well be one of the last great thinkers of the Enlightenment, he is simultaneously one of its most incisive critics. My principal aim is to clarify his foremost arguments, and demonstrate that Berlin deserves recognition for his novel contributions not only to political philosophy, but to moral philosophy as well. It is my intention to show that a rich and coherent ethical theory, comprised of an interwoven set of beliefs concerning philosophical methodology, human nature, and values, underlies the fabric of Berlin's thought.

Contemporary concerns of police legitimacy from damage caused by aggressive policing methods have tarnished a positive perception towards the police. In retrospect to the good-willed intentions for creating a law enforcement organization, the series of events that exposed the apparent abuse of authority and power within the policing system influenced a growing disparity between police officers and the citizens. In light of the ongoing stigma confronting traditional policing practices, Community-Oriented Policing (COP) is an optimistic, goal-oriented approach that prioritizes crime prevention rather than crime solution. Despite backlash from critics who deem it unrealistic and rhetoric, quantitative data from various case studies suggest the reaping benefits of COP practices, specifically in cities with low levels of social capital and trust towards the police. In an effort to illustrate the positive progress of enacting COP practices, my presentation will focus on analyzing case studies, particularly in the United States, to demonstrate the legitimacy and impact of community policing. To build on the body of literature examining the effects of community policing, I synthesized social capital, trust, and outcome related police performance (e.g. crime rates and citizen trust in police) to explore the possible causational relationship that exists in relation to community policing efforts. 

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of reconstruction efforts in Cambodia.It is important to determine the effectiveness of reconstruction strategies to help successfully support and rebuild nations and countries affected by ethnic conflict.This study will examine guidelines for reconstruction as outlined by The Responsibility to Protect. Reconstruction is defined as the degree of effectiveness a country has in reintegrating groups into society, economic standing, and political stability post conflict. Ethnic conflict is defined as political, social, economic and/or religious contentions between two or more groups that result in a struggle for one group’s place in society. The term ethnic conflict will be used as it often denotes the occurrence of war crimes and/or human rights violations and does not carry the same legalistic weight as the term genocide. Additionally, by using a broader term, policy and regulations to facilitate reconstruction can be applied to more situations and thus have a larger impact.

The 2008 Supreme Court case opinion on DC v. Heller, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, provided an entirely new interpretation of the 2nd Amendment and created the idea of an individual constitutional right to own a gun for the purpose of self-defense. This was a huge departure from previous interpretations and cases and has had a strong impact on the world since, especially relating to gun ownership. This paper will look at the method of interpretation made famous by Justice Antonin Scalia, known as textualism, and contrast this method of textualism as described in A Matter of Interpretation with the method actually used to interpret the case, which relied heavily on intent and historical record. This seems problematic as textualism is generally seen as an opposite response to intentionalism. Then a theoretical opinion on the case will be offered, an attempt will be made to interpret this case as closely to textualism as possible, and the two opinions will be briefly compared to highlight the differences and show that the main method of interpretation used by Justice Scalia on DC v. Heller was not proper textualism.

The purpose of this study is to analyze hip hop culture and whether it is still a viable political tool for social, economic, and cultural changes within minority communities. This study will examine the historical impacts that the hip hop movement has had and if it still has the same influence in today’s society.Hip hop through history has been used to not only bring people together but to also make strides in communities and on certain issues. Therefore, it is useful to examine how all the various aspects of this art form have brought people together and allowed them to feel connected to major social and political issues. However, this art form has evolved and is not being compared with how it was years ago through our current media outlets. Hip hop contains much more substance and is more politically significant now than what is portrayed in the mainstream media.

In 1995, Sweden chose to join and adopt the policies of the European Union but decided to not embrace membership in the Eurozone and assume the Euro as their national currency. Over the years, Sweden has attended and worked as a member of the European Union attending most council meetings which debate policy and coordinate European Union law. The purpose of this study is to examine the benefits and disadvantages of Sweden adopting the Euro, and becoming a full-fledged member of the European Union. This study will use interviews and policy analysis. The following questions will be examined: What are the membership requirements and tiers of the European Union and the Eurozone? What are the benefits and disadvantages of Sweden adopting the Euro? Should Sweden move forward with adopting the Euro? The data for this study was taken from interviewees with experience and knowledge on the topic. Some of my major findings included that the European Union has a set list of requirements that must be completed in order to join as a full-fledged member. Moreover, it was established that American educators had a more negative view of the Euro versus Swedish scholars who felt that the Euro could provide Sweden with a larger international economy.. Three recommendations were given before making a declared decision of adopting the Euro: increasing the wealth of the Kroner for stability, waiting out Brexit, and listening to the people of Sweden as they had a referendum in 2003 already.

Before World War II, the United Kingdom and the United States carried out capital punishment in their criminal justice system. Emotions, death, and vengeance effect and change the United Kingdoms view on the death penalty, but not the United States. The information gathered for this project contains; cases, statistics, and theoretial piecees assesing how Word War II and emotions changed both criminal justice systems, in particular the death penalty. Vengeance is very prominent in the United States making it a retributive system, while the United Kingdom has shifted towards a more rehabilative system. The findings in this project shows that a World War and emotions can shape a criminal justice system in two different directions, one with less violence and revenge, and the other with a spike in violence and continuance of vengeance.

With the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals set to be completed by 2030, the organization's top goal still remains a prominent problem across the globe: eradicating extreme poverty. This first goal also directly relates to Goal 5: to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Governments, NGOs, and social enterprises have tried to do their part in ending poverty, however recent research has shown that their efforts are hurting more than helping. This study will focus on how the economic empowerment of women promotes development, specifically using the example of sustainable trade among female artisans and entrepreneurs. If entrepreneurship has been proven to help individuals, can this be applied on a larger economic and social scale? The most developed, first world countries have integrated women into their workforces, and in turn have higher rates of gender equality and lower rates of poverty than in developing countries that have yet to do so. However, being able to utilize these methods sustainably and ethically is the key to properly integrating these countries into the global economy and combating extreme poverty.