Research Papers with Excerpts

Research paper titles are organized based on subject (Political Economy, Political Science, and Interdisciplinary), and then organized chronologically. A partial list of courses and seminars that contributed to these papers includes: Environmental Economics, Applied Regional Economics, Economic History of the United States, Political Economy of Latin America, Congressional Politics, Presidential Politics, Constitutional Law, and Media Law.

Political Economy

"Transportational Economic Development Impact System: High Speed Rail" (December 2011)

“These two extremes correlate with one another, as a majority of the funding and costs that go into this project before and after completion are for personnel, which do not produce cost-efficient figures. What policymakers attempt to do is create programs to internalize externalities by means of taxation, subsidization and mileage charges. Congestion causes lost time, which has a high opportunity cost, if going with assumptions that most of time wasted is while commuting to work...”

"Econometrical Approach to Understanding the Prison Effect on the Unemployment Rate" (May 2012)

“In almost every case, prison construction creates a temporary economic boom for a centralized region, which gradually wears off like most other infrastructure government projects. The difference with prisons; however, is prisons then become a permanent aspect of the local economy once put into use, so as the construction benefits wane, the permanent usage benefits gradually increase, creating a quasi-stimulus. This trickle-down effect works through the regional multiplier. A large portion of the change in unemployment comes from private sector job growth; because it is the private sector that has to supply everyone else with the goods they want and need...”

"Economic Development and the New Left in Latin America" (May 2012)

“Political parties in Latin America emphasize that change of continuity is the best solution to moving their nations forward, that progress takes time, and that a single term for a leader is not enough for the policies to really sink in and take their proper effect. The New Left emphasized that democracy and human rights trump domestic security, meaning as long as individuals are protected of their rights, security can be compromised...”

"The Current Economic/Financial Crisis and how Economists' Reputations will Recover" (May 2012)

“Academics argue that macro and financial economists were distracted by the inflation crisis that they failed to see the looming economic/financial crisis that we are currently facing. Academics also argue that in this time of constancy, where markets remained fixated on a particular level, that economists were formulating theories about market efficiency, which should not be done when there is a crisis of any sort...”

"Presidential Electoral Forecasting via the Unemployment Rate" (December 2012)

"The economy was not a determining factor in the election results. Take a look at the r-squares of the tests above run against only the eleven swing states. The results are slightly better, but still, none of the variables correlates to one another at a level anywhere near significant. The only thing these tests prove is that of all fifty states, these economic variables account for just 28% of the election results, and in the isolated swing states, slightly under 40%. The economy was not the deciding factor, or even a substantial factor in these election results. Pundits, and television personalities told you otherwise prior to the election, but these tests prove that the hypothesis that economics play a large role in election results is false, at least in the case of 2012."

"How the 21st Century 'Great Recession' Undermines the US Constitution" (In Progress)

Excerpt coming soon...

Political Science

"The Founding Father's Intent on the Size of Government" (November 2010)

“Thomas Jefferson was an advocate for smaller government; government controlled by states and municipalities, while James Madison advocated for larger government. According to Jefferson, Madison took aspects of the Constitution that would appeal to the fear of many people and expanded on just that small portion; propagandized it to deceive the People and pull them in with political rhetoric. Jefferson stated that powers not specifically given to the federal government were given to states to determine...”

"The Clothing Production Industry in Honduras" (December 2010)

“There are clear and known problems with working conditions in poor countries, but the United States government does not address these human rights issues, specifically in Honduras. The trading of goods between Honduras and Brazil, and specifically clothing, is done so through the United States. The United States has an opportunity to address these issues by regulating working conditions…As an economic power, trade bans are a more effective foreign policy than war, but to maintain dominance and protect our allies, the United States must first weigh in all options to stop and destabilize our enemies in the least costly and by the most effective means possible...”

"A Comparison: Presidential Leadership Following the Pearl Harbor and 9/11 Attacks" (April 2011)

“President’s lead with their party in mind, but these types of crises and like the one in Libya, should be handled along the lines of President Bush and Roosevelt; non-partisan, productive, and confident. Both of these presidents accomplished those three things in different ways, but were both effective leaders of their times. The country united behind them because of this form of leadership that they gave...”

"Unrest in North Africa: How the Man on Fire Ignited a Region" (April 2011)

“Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are amongst the many states in the region of North Africa and Southwest Asia where uprisings have occurred in a quest for democracy. What the events in this region have proven has been the political philosophy of John Locke; that individuals are in charge of their own lives and futures, not government. This is a classic example of the fight between freely led and dictator-led societies. History repeals itself, and time after time again, uprisings like those that have happened in North Africa and Southwest Asia have begun from individuals becoming fed up with government oppression...”

"Philosophy of War" mentored by Andrew Fiala, PhD - Fresno State Ethics Center Director (May 2011)

“If humanitarian aid is meant to be humanitarian aid, then it should be in the resources that constitute humanitarian aid. Tiptoeing around, calling military intervention ‘humanitarian aid’ is just a simple fallacy. There is nothing unethical with the concept of helping those in need through the true meaning of humanitarian aid; however, it must be carried out ethically. Militarism is not humanitarian aid. The more prominent form of military intervention, war, should not be the first resort to solve internationally conflicts, because that does not promote peace, but instead promotes death and bullying of states by states. Politics and the utilitarianism involved have desecrated United States militarism...”

"The Pre-Political Paternal Government according to Hobbes and Locke" (May 2011)

“To be viable, liberal government grounded on some version of a social contract requires strong families. When parents separate, divorce, or raise children unmarried, the children recognize that during their transition to rational independence. The behavior of paternal figures affirms the Rousseau-style human nature, which is not the way the natural man is supposed to operate. The natural man is supposed to educate his children, both academically and practically…The natural man must educate the child to prevent the child from becoming a civil man. Rousseau-style society is filled with civil men, not natural man. Family is the foundation of society; without family, we have no society...”

"Democratization via the Bush Doctrine" (October 2011)

“The United States will continue to be a global superpower as long as it maintains responsible democratization abroad. The moment the United States steps out of line, is the moment the United States loses control of the way the world works. Keeping citizens of the United States safe is what is most important, and as explained, spreading democracy abroad gets us closer to a completely safe world, and enhances our domestic security...”

"The Effect Term Limits would have on Congress" (December 2011)

“The state legislatures have proven to be far better at budgetary management than the federal legislature. The problem is the budget is one of the only long-term issues states are addressing successfully. State legislatures with term limits that allow for little time show the worst improvement on long-term solutions whereas state legislatures with term limits that allow for longer amounts of time or no limits at all show the most improvement. If the effect of term limits and anti-corruption is consistent across state legislatures in the country, then it should be just as effective in the United States Congress...”

"The United States is not a Democracy" (May 2012)

“Throughout the United State history, minorities have been prohibited certain rights, but through the evolution of the nation, minority rights have surpassingly increased. African Americans have been given the right to vote, the right to work, and are to be treated equally as those of other races. Women have been given the right to vote, the right to work and are to be treated equally as men. Additionally, the debate in modern era is whether to give homosexuals treatment equivalent to that of heterosexuals...”

"21st Century Discrimination in the United States" (In Progress)

“Discrimination has dominated social sciences throughout United States history. Discrimination has been most prominent of African Americans, Native Americans, and Latin Americans; however, in recent years, the social struggle of a new minority of Americans has been among few things dominating political gridlock, and societal outrage has enhanced the debate. The United States’ conservative political party, the Republican Party, has taken a strong stance against allowing homosexuals the ability to be married; however, the stance has taken form to a deeper, and more profound social phenomena. While the original intent of the Republican Party’s gay-marriage stance was restrained to marriage, Party supporters have evolved the view from anti-gay-marriage to anti-gay, which is hazardous for social discourse...”

"The Politics of Dinosaur Excavation: Washington's Impact on Domestic Paleontology" (In Progress)

"This paper will focus on the political aspects of dinosaur excavation, specifically to determine whether legislation passed by Congress and executive orders implemented by bureaucracies overseeing the paleontological world has positively or negatively affected exploration of dinosaurs in the United States. Many times, missing links in the evolutionary model have been figured out due to fossil discoveries that can be traced back to prehistoric dinosaur periods. While a majority of dinosaur excavation takes place outside the United States, discoveries of dinosaur fossils in the United States are still important, by helping shape the big picture of how the world began, and how Pangaea split. This paper will look at historic legislation dealing with domestic dinosaur excavation and examine the impacts those pieces of legislation had to determine whether Washington DC politics have helped or hurt progress in domestic paleontology."

Interdisciplinary

"The Influence the Industrial and French Revolutions had on Literature in the Romantic Age" (May 2009)

“From the heavy influence of the Industrial and French Revolutions, people thought for themselves without worry of criticism by others, and this led to the freedom to explore numerous different styles of writing, all of which are still found today. Those influences from the Industrial and French Revolutions made the writing style spectrum inconsistent because people did not follow a set guideline of what was acceptable...”

"The Myth of Higher Education" (November 2009)

“Education is a system in culture that is not being used properly due to wrong attitudes from students, teachers and administration. There is a lack of excitement from both students and teachers and there is a lack of respect. If boredom and disrespect can be eliminated from the education system, the actual education would be much more useful and real. The education system in America will not be fixed on its own; it has to be initiated politically...”

"How Creationism and Evolutionism can Coexist" (February 2010)

“Just because you are religious does not mean you have to throw science out. Just because you are not religious does not mean you have to throw intelligent design out. Combine intelligent design and historic science and you do not have to face contradicting yourself. The age of the Earth is not specified in the Christian Bible; none of the Bible’s genealogies is the full genealogy; the Bible says that it does not include every generation included…Through scientific discoveries via excavation, geologists have found layers of earth in the same order as recorded in Genesis...”

"Adolescent Bullying, Depression and Suicide told through songs by Sia and Kelly Clarkson" (November 2012)

“Adolescent behaviors toward bullying, depression and suicide are like the common cold, they differ person to person. What society needs to do is stray away from developing a cure for bullying, or a cure for depression, or a suicide proof therapy program; what society needs to do is develop an approach from which to derive the root of each individual’s emotional psychology holistically and develop individual-specific solutions, not lumped together under a one-size-fits-all umbrella...”

"Theropods and Ornithopods" (November 2012)

"While therapods and ornithopods likely evolved throughout the millions of years they existed, evidence shows by the timeline and by geography that the species within both clades examined did not evolve from one into the other, but rather evolved as its own species. The evidence also indicates that therapods and ornithopods did not evolve from one into the other but rather coexisted. Evidence indicates that evolution that took place was in four anatomical regions that directly affected each dinosaur’s day-to-day life and that the evolutions of those individual bodily structures were impacted directly by the geography of the dinosaur. This paper compared the evolutionary traits of the sacral vertebrae, cervical vertebrae, digits, and cranium of the species of Therapoda and Ornithopoda..."