2010 Capstone Abstracts
Design by Rachel Schaengold (AU Honors 2008)
This volume is dedicated to the members of the faculty
who have inspired, counseled and mentored these Honors graduates
and to all those celebrating their accomplishments from afar and in spirit.
Table of Contents
Letter from the Director ............................................................................................ 1
Annual Capstone Research Conference and Related Awards ..................................... 3
Honors Capstone Research Conference Award Winners ........................................... 5
Honors Capstone Research Conference Honorable Mention Recipients .................... 7
Honors Capstone Research Conference Judges .......................................................... 9 - 11
Honors Capstone Research Conference Participants ................................................. 13 - 15
Honors Capstone Abstracts ....................................................................................... 17 - 87
Friday, May 7, 2010
Dear 2010 Honors Graduates,
Congratulations!
Your Honors Capstones, which are summarized in these pages, represent a culmination of your
academic achievements at American University. They are remarkable for their academic rigor,
their great breadth of topics and the significance of the issues with which they grapple.
For some of you, your Capstone has integrated your learning in a number of different courses
studied during your undergraduate years. It is likely the largest academic project that you
have ever attempted. For others, the Capstone experience has built upon your studies more
tangentially, but allowed you to take an academic risk and to attempt a project for which you
felt a burning passion. For all of you, the completion of your Honors Capstone is a milestone of
great significance for which you should be very proud.
I know how proud your Faculty Capstone Advisor is to share in your educational
accomplishment. As Director of the University Honors Program, I know how much our
program has tested you. You have met the challenge and all of us at the University Honors
Program are very proud of you. In this 50th anniversary year of the program, we offer our special
congratulations and welcome you to our life-long community of Honors scholars.
Sincerely,
Professor Michael Mass
Director, University Honors Program
2
2010 Capstone Abstracts
University Honors Program
Annual Honors Capstone Research Conference and Related Awards
The University Honors Program annually hosts a day-long celebration of students’ Capstone work,
known as the Honors Capstone Research Conference. All Honors seniors are invited to apply to
participate. For selected students, it is an opportunity to present their work in progress and to gain
the valuable experience of participating in an academic conference.
This year, more than 80 Honors students – a record number – applied to participate in the Honors
Capstone Research Conference and 41 individuals, representing all AU schools and a range of
majors and topics, were selected to share their Capstone work in oral and poster presentations. A
32-member panel of AU faculty and staff served as judges for the April 14, 2010, event, which was
open to the public and well attended.
Students’ presentation topics varied widely. They ranged from dramaturgy, heritage tourism and
personal body image to sustainable safe drinking water, sustainable tourism in inland China, the
changing global marketplace, and the social media revolution. Presentations explored gender role
attitudes in youth and in award-winning children’s books, the links among religiosity, spirituality
and suicide, autism as a theme in literature, and the shaping of art in Communist regimes. Other
presentations focused on seagrasses as warning signs of nutrient pollution in Guam, language
standardization and prescription in French, Spanish, and English, the exploitation of women
and girls by U.N. peacekeepers, South African health communications about HIV/AIDS and
tuberculosis, and the proportion of women in the Canadian Parliament and its impact on
constituents’ confidence in government.
Reflecting that Honors Capstone work can take a form other than the traditional research papers,
the conference also highlighted students’ original creative works, which included a provocative play,
two compelling Web sites, a new edition of a published non-fiction book, an engaging animated
video series geared to teach basic Chinese language skills, and an innovative board game about U.S.
presidential elections.
Deciding the best among such conference presentations is quite a challenge. The jury selected six
students to win the 2010 Honors Capstone Research Conference Award on the basis of oral or
poster presentations. Another six students were recognized with an Honorable Mention award.
Thirteen students who participated in the 2010 Honors Capstone Research Conference presented
Capstone work supported by an Honors Capstone Research Grant. This year’s grant recipients
include three 2010 Honors Capstone Research Conference Award winners and one Honorable
Mention recipient. Of the 41 conference participants, seven are recipients of an AU Undergraduate
Research Grant given during their studies leading to their Capstone work.
On the next few pages, you will find a list of the 2010 Honors Capstone Research Conference
Award winners and Honorable Mention recipients, as well as the full program of this year’s Honors
Capstone Research Conference oral and poster presentations. Following are abstracts of the
Capstone work of each graduating senior, listed alphabetically by last name, and noting the faculty
Capstone Advisor(s).
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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4
2010 Capstone Abstracts
2010 Honors Capstone Research Conference Award Winners
Aaron H. Barnard-Luce, University Honors
“Opting in or Staying Out: Comparative Institutionalization of Regime Opposition Groups
and Its Effects on Mobilization Strategies”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Todd Eisenstadt
*Sarah E. Brown, University Honors in Women’s and Gender Studies
“African Women’s Movements: Toward a Feminist Conception of Security, Citizenship,
and Nationhood”
Capstone Advisors: Professors Susan Shepler and Gay Young
*^Trent C. Buatte, University Honors in International Studies
“Space, Race, and the City: How Marseille Survived the 2005 French Riots”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Cathy Schneider
*^William F. Flynn, University Honors
“Effective 4- and Higher-Body Interactions of Neutral Bosons in Optical Lattices”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Philip Johnson
Abigail Leavitt LaBella, University Honors in Biology
“Allometry and Insulin: The Insulin Receptor Pathway and Its Contribution
to the Development of Allometry in Beetles”
Capstone Advisor: Professor David Angelini
^Peggy Wu, University Honors
“Ming Bai: Say Bye to Confusion, Ni Hao to Understanding”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Kyle Brannon
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
^ Recipient, AU Undergraduate Research Grant, offered through the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, Office of the Provost
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
2010 Honors Capstone Research Conference
Honorable Mention Recipients
Morgan E. Halvorsen, University Honors
“Keep Going: An Honors Capstone Project”
Capstone Advisors: Professors Javier Rivera and Cara Gabriel
Meredith Lesley Jachowicz, University Honors in Sociology
“Courage, Charm and Compassion: Gender Roles in Newbery Medal Winning Books”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Andrea Brenner
*Ryan Louis Korn, University Honors
“The Democracy Game: A U.S. Presidential Elections Board Game
and Applied Literature Review”
Capstone Advisors: Professors Benjamin Jensen and Peter Brusoe
^Timmy F. Moore, Jr., University Honors in History
“The Disneyfication of Stone Mountain: A Park’s Response to Its Visitors”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Robert Griffith
^Kate E. Pinkerton, University Honors in Environmental Studies
“Status of Seagrasses as Indicators of Nutrient Pollution in Guam”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Kiho Kim
*Greta Katherine Wicklund, University Honors in International Studies
“Parenting and Politics from El Salvador: Empowered Belonging in the United States”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Linda Lubrano
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
^ Recipient, AU Undergraduate Research Grant, offered through the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, Office of the Provost
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
2010 Honors Capstone Research Conference Judges
The University Honors Program would like to thank the following individuals for their invaluable
contributions as judges for the 2010 Honors Capstone Research Conference:
Dr. Lynne Arneson
Prehealth Programs Coordinator and
Adjunct Lecturer, Biology, College of Arts and Sciences
Professor Naomi Baron
Language and Foreign Studies, College of Arts and Sciences
Professor Ivy Broder
Economics, College of Arts and Sciences
Marcy Campos
Director, Community Service Center and
Lecturer, Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences
Professor Elizabeth Cohn
School of International Service
Kelly Donnellan, MFA
Manager, New Media Center, Center for Teaching, Research and Learning
Dr. Sara Dumont
Director, AU Abroad
Joan Echols
Associate Director, Office of Merit Awards
Professor Farhang Erfani
Philosophy/Religion, College of Arts and Sciences
Professor Mary E. Hansen
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Economics, College of Arts and Sciences
Professor Patrick Thaddeus Jackson
School of International Service and
Director, American University General Education Program
Karen Froslid Jones
Director, Institutional Research and Assessment, Office of the Provost
Matthew Klinger
University Honors Program Alumnus (1995)
Managing Director, Advisory Board Company
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
2010 Honors Capstone Research Conference Judges … continued
Professor Sherburne Laughlin
Arts Manager in Residence, Performing Arts
Professor James Lee
School of International Service
Associate Director, Center for Teaching, Research and Learning
Abby Levine
University Honors Program Alumna (1994)
Deputy Director for Advocacy Programs, Alliance for Justice
Professor Robin Lumsdaine
Kogod School of Business
Susan McElrath
University Archivist
Matthew Parin
University Honors Program Alumnus (2007)
Middle East Analyst, Joint Chiefs of Staff (J2 Intelligence), U.S. Department of Defense
Professor Zehra Peynircioglu
Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences
Associate Dean Rose Ann Robertson
School of Communication
Bernard Schulz
Special Assistant to the Vice President of Campus Life
Professor Anastasia Snelling
Health and Fitness and
Associate Dean, School of Education, Teaching and Health, College of Arts and Sciences
Professor Rodger Streitmatter
School of Communication
Professor Sue Taylor
Public Anthropologist in Residence, College of Arts and Science
Dr. Nadia Tongour
Advisor, Office of Merit Awards
Professor Christopher Tudge
Biology, College of Arts and Sciences
Associate Dean Meg Weekes
School of Public Affairs
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Other 2010 Honors Capstone Conference Participants
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Amanda Augustine (KSB: Bus., Lang. & Culture.) “Changing the Global Marketplace
through Chai: The Expansion of Tata Tea Limited”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Richard Linowes
*Heather Bauer (CAS: Psych.) “Everybody is SomeBODY: How Evaluating Your Body
Affects Your Evaluation of Others’ Bodies”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Kathleen Gunthert
Nicole Bazik (SPA: Pol. Sci. & CAS: Psych.) “Gender Role Attitudes in Youth”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Noemi Enchautegui de Jesus
Jennifer Bryer (KSB: Bus. Admin. & SPA: Law & Soc.) “Amazon E-book Rental Service”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Richard Linowes
*Laura Busche (KSB: Bus. Admin.) “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed
and Something Blue: The New Creative Agency”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Richard Linowes
*Shea Cadrin (CAS: Graph. Design) Live Simply Campaign”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Chemi Montes
*Rachel Cannon (SIS: Intl. Studies) “In Defense of Heritage Tourism”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Naomi Baron
*Leah Chavla (SIS Intl. Studies) and
*Kaitlan Peterson (SIS: Intl. Studies) “Hispanohablantes’ Perceptions of Muslims and Islam”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Diana Marinova
*Han Chen (SIS: Intl. Studies) “How Rural Tourism Becomes a Good Development Strategy
for Inland China: A Guide to Sustainable Tourism for Tourists and Tourism Agencies”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Judith Shapiro
Alyssa Christenson (SIS: Intl. Studies) “The Exploitation of Women and Girls
by U.N.Peacekeepers”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Vidya Samarasingh
Meghan Finney (CAS: Psych. & Phil.) “Religiosity, Spirituality and Ideas about Suicide”
Capstone Advisor: Professor James Gray
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
13
^Evelyn Fisher (CAS: Psych.) “Autism in Literature: The Negotiation between Syndrome
and ‘Silent Wisdom’”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Richard Sha
Yelena Galperina (SIS: Intl. Studies & CAS: Art Hist.) “Nations and Art: Shaping of Art
in Communist Regimes”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Patrick Thaddeus Jackson
Michael Ginsberg (SIS: Intl. Studies) “Political Engagement and the Chemical Warfare
Clean Up at American University”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Paul Wapner
Robert Green (CAS: Comp. Sci. & Applied Math.) “X86 Process Simulator for Mobile Phone”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Michael Black
Michelle Holleran (KSB: Bus. Admin. & SIS: Intl. Studies) “Sustainable Safe Drinking Water:
Business Analysis and Local Sustainability”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Richard Linowes
Emma Kerr (SOC: Journ.) “Plants or People? The Challenges of Tackling Environmental Issues
in Developing Countries”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Maggie Stogner
Michael Levy (CAS: Econ.) “The Effects of Microfinance on Women’s Empowerment
in Zimbabwe”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Caren Grown
Natalie Matthews (SIS: Intl. Studies) “Impact of the Internet and Political Development
in China”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Pek Koon Heng-Blackburn
Aaron Montenegro (CAS: Phil.) “Re-Thinking Diversity and Multiculturalism
at American University”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Bette Dickerson
Leah Pope (CAS: Theatre & Lit.) “Dramaturgy: The House of Bernarda Alba”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Cara Gabriel
Alexander Priest (SOC: Public Comm. & KSB: Bus. Admin.) “The Social Media Revolution:
How New Networks for Conversation Are Changing the World”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Rodger Streitmatter
^ Recipient, AU Undergraduate Research Grant, offered through the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, Office of the Provost
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
*Molly Sauer (SOC: Public Comm. & CAS: Hist.) “Health Communication for HIV/AIDS
and Tuberculosis in South Africa”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Lauren Feldman
April Saylor (SOC: Public Comm.) “A Strategic Communications Plan for Roxanne Conlin,
Candidate for U.S. Senate”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Dotty Lynch
Sonia Tabriz (SPA: Law & Soc. & CAS: Psych.) “Life Without Parole: Living and Dying
in Prison Today”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Robert Johnson
Jenelle Thomas (SIS: Lang. & Area Studies: Fr./Eur. & Lang. & Area Studies:
Span./Latin Amer.) “That Ain’t Right!: Language Standardization and Prescription in French,
Spanish, and English”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Jeff Killman
^Stephen Tringali (SOC: Vis. Media) “Music Video Production”
Capstone Advisor: Professor Kyle Brannon
Jon Weakley (SPA: Pol. Sci.) “The Feminine Touch: Examining the Relationship between
Proportions of Women in Canadian Parliament and Constituents’ Confidence in Government”
Capstone Advisors: Professors Karen O’Connor, Kimberly Cowell-Meyers
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
^ Recipient, AU Undergraduate Research Grant, offered through the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, Office of the Provost
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Honors Capstone Abstracts
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Lisa Ailloud
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Christopher Tudge
Sustainable Seafood in France
This Web site is intended to provide individuals with a clear and comprehensive understanding of the underlying
factors that make a fishery sustainable. By presenting information relating to the fields of biology, technology and
population ecology, this site enables individuals to make environmentally sound choices in their seafood purchases so
as to support the sustainable use of our resources. For centuries, mankind has fished in our rivers, lakes and oceans
as if they were an infinite bounty – today, we are well aware of the fact that this resource has its limits. We must, as
consumers, call for a shift in the fisheries sector, a shift that will ensure the sustained productivity of our oceans for
future generations to come.
Laura Kate Anderson
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisors: Linda Lubrano, Max Paul Friedman
Dictatorship to Democracy: How Indigenous Movements Affect New Republics
International relations scholarship has shown that some new democracies are stronger than others. Therefore, my
research question is: what is the relationship between indigenous political movements and the success of democracy
in South America? I defined democracy in terms of high citizen participation, high government responsiveness
to citizens and low electoral volatility/party fragmentation. I examined the effects of indigenous movements on
democracy in a comparative case study of Bolivia and Chile since 1990. I collected data from LatinNews articles,
supplemented by Chilean and Bolivian newspaper articles and secondary sources, in order to analyze the impact of
key events in the histories of indigenous movements. Ultimately, the effect on democracy depended on whether
the movement gave rise to a viable political party. In Bolivia, the overwhelming success of one indigenous party
strengthened all three components of democracy, whereas in Chile, indigenous parties never gained access to the
political system and actually weakened democracy by working outside it.
Alexa Antonuk
University Honors in Communication: Public Communication
Capstone Advisor: Maria Ivancin
Use Your Teaism: A Social Media Communications Plan
This comprehensive plan is the result of collaboration with Teaism, a Washington, D.C., chain of tea shops, to create
a social media-based communications plan for the spring and summer of 2010. Research regarding the company, its
local and national competitors and the definition and structure of the modern social media landscape is provided. The
competitive use of social media is analyzed and used to create an inclusive plan for the tea company, with an overall
goal of loyalty promotion, customer retention and relationship building. The plan targets both current customers
(the primary audience) and longer-term potential customers (the secondary audience) in the social media space, which
they are already using to talk about and promote Teaism amongst themselves. The plan presents a set of social media
strategies and tactics, along with a timeline, budget and evaluation suggestions.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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*Elena Atkinson
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Cathy Schneider
The Effect of the Domestic Deployment of Armed Forces on Crime:
The Case of Monterrey, Mexico
In 2007 the Mexican Army was brought into the city of Monterrey to fight skyrocketing drug violence because the
police forces were proving to be inadequate. This paper seeks to explore the change that the presence of the Mexican
Army had specifically on the crime of Monterrey during the period of 2007-2010. It found that while the military
was able to reduce crime during specific operations, its presence had no effect on the level of crime in general and
contributed to an increase in organized crime. In terms of perception, the military made citizens feel more secure, yet
the associated increased organized crime made citizens feel less safe.
Amanda Augustine
University Honors in Business Administration
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
Changing the Global Marketplace through Chai: The Expansion of Tata Tea Limited
Tata Tea Limited is the second largest manufacturer and distributor of tea in the world, specializing in growing,
processing and distributing India’s favorite beverage, masala chai. The purpose of this research is to analyze and
provide an educated opinion on Tata Tea’s recent foreign acquisitions of coffee and tea companies, focusing on those
in the United Kingdom and the U.S. Using consolidated financial statements and annual reports, this project analyzes
the company’s market-entry strategies, provides an indication of the success or failure of the acquisitions and details
their impact on domestic and foreign market share. Possible reasons for the performance of these acquisitions were
discovered through research of consumer trends, specifically a comparison of “tea culture” worldwide. The results
of the research and analysis will illustrate the growing power of India in today’s economy, as a country that capitalizes
on its competitive advantages in key industries.
*Stephanie Ayeh
University Honors in Economics
Capstone Advisor: Robert Lerman
The Effects of the Implementation of an External Trade Agreement on Trade
within a Customs Union: The Case of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)
on Intra-Regional Trade in ECOWAS
This study examines the effects of an external trade agreement on trade within a customs union. The hypothesis implies
that a trade agreement outside of a customs union would undermine trade activity within the union, using the case of
the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and its effect on internal trade within the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS). Major findings show that overall exports from each of the ECOWAS states
increased after 2000, regardless of whether the exporting nations were in AGOA. Exports to the U.S. did increase
after entering AGOA; however, as a country remained in the program its exports to the United States declined.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Kathryn Bailey
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Benjamin Jensen
Indicators and Warnings for Internal Terrorism in Western Europe
This Capstone explores internal terrorism in Western Europe, specifically that of nationalist and left-wing organizations. The paper looks for patterns in attacks and draws conclusions of what kind of warning signs can be seen before
each individual type of terrorist attack. There are a significant number of shared characteristics between the two types
and only a few differences. These conclusions then led to the creation of an Indicators and Warnings (I&W) matrix,
which is a tool used by the intelligence community to identify the steps that precede a specific event, in this case, a
terrorist attack in Western Europe.
*Kyrie McCauley Bannar
University Honors in Sociology
Capstone Advisor: Andrea Brenner
The Romanticism of Teen Dating Violence: The Twilight Series as a Case Study
Despite the fact that girls ages 16-24 are the most at-risk age group for dating violence, very little attention is given
to the issue. In fact, Rhode Island is the only state that requires any education on teen dating violence. One way to
understand violence is through the way media sources, namely film and books, romanticize relationship violence for
adults. Unfortunately, now the same is true for media impacting youth. I examined the wildly popular young adult
literature sensation, the Twilight series, for evidence of the romanticism of teen dating violence. Through content
analysis, I noted the unhealthy relationship themes of violence, obsessive behavior, controlling behavior and suicide –
all included within the context of a love relationship – that pervades the four novels. In Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and
Breaking Dawn, there are 172 examples of unhealthy relationship behavior. Considering the popularity of the novels,
the potential impact that this series may have on youth is extensive. In conclusion, I identified the influence that the
romanticism of violence may have on this demographic, youth ages 12-24, considering the high rates of victimization
and little education they have on the subject.
Aaron Barnard-Luce
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Todd Eisenstadt
Opting In or Staying Out: Comparative Institutionalization
of Social Movement Organizations
Why do some social movement organizations (SMOs) decide to pressure the government from the outside while others opt into electoral politics and pursue their goals from inside the system? This paper looks at the study of social
movement theory and two case studies. The cases are the Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo in Argentina and the damnificados (homeless people) in Mexico City who participated in a nascent leftist political party and presidential campaign
in 1988. These two organizations have much in common but have one primary difference: the damnificados joined
a political campaign to advance their agenda, whereas the Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo remained outside of electoral
politics entirely, pressing the government from the outside. This paper argues that this “inside-outside” distinction
is critical. Through the use of social movement theories, it is shown that, while political opportunity structures can
account for the emergence of social movements, the mobilization of resources can overcome a closed political opportunity structure and can affect the success of the movement.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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Andrew Barron
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Tania Burton
Empire of the Soul: A Selection of Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s Poetry in Translation
This project is an English translation of 15 of Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s poems. More famous as a playwright
and librettist, the Austrian Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874-1929) was nevertheless an excellent poet – though one
destined for relative obscurity compared to his contemporaries, who included Rainer Maria Rilke, especially outside
the German-speaking realm. The poems translated include classics like “Die Beiden” and “Ballade des äusseren
Lebens,” as well as others like “Nox Portentis Gravida” that are quite rare in English translation.
*Heather Bauer
University Honors in Psychology
Capstone Advisor: Kathleen Gunthert
Everybody is SOMEbody: How Evaluating Your Body Affects Your Evaluation
of Others’ Bodies
This Capstone investigates whether women’s evaluations of a stranger’s appearance are altered by prompting women
to consider their own appearance first. It also investigated whether self-esteem, non-clinical narcissism and perceived
similarity to the stranger would alter this effect. Women were randomly assigned to two groups: those who rated their
body first and those who rated the stranger first. No differences were found in the stranger ratings of the two groups.
Self-esteem, non-clinical narcissism and similarity did not moderate the effect. When women rated the other person
first, their self-evaluation was correlated to their evaluation of the stranger.
Nicole Bazik
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Noemi Enchautegui de Jesus
Gender Role Attitudes in Youth
The role of women in America has changed dramatically over the past 60 years. Compared to the 1950s, today’s young
women have many more choices in terms of their education, family and professional lives. Using data from the 2008
study, “Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of American Youth,” this quantitative report analyzes predictors
of gender role attitudes in high school students. The dependent variable is gender role attitudes, which are defined
on a continuum from traditional to egalitarian. There are three categories of independent variables: demographic
(age, sex and race), parental (paternal and maternal educational attainment and maternal employment) and civic life
(political affiliation, religious attendance and GPA). General trends about today’s youth are also discussed, such as
overall levels of egalitarianism and the extent of maternal employment during childhood. Finally, this paper analyzes
the effect of childbirth on attitudes about work arrangements.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Anjali Bean
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: David Fiorino
I Heard It on the News: Mainstream Media and Its Effect on Public Opinion
and Environmental Policy
Coverage of environmental issues by mainstream media outlets is a relatively new phenomenon and a news beat
constantly accused of bias and misinterpretation by both sides. Like other science-based issues, environmental
reporting requires a level of expertise in the subject that can lead writers to develop very strong opinions about the
issues they cover. When these issues are seen by many people to be some of the most pressing of our time, the
way in which environmental reporters cover environmental stories becomes increasingly important. Using PCB
contamination and mountaintop removal coal mining as case studies, this paper explores the factors that influence
environmental coverage. From these cases, it is clear that the story itself is only one element driving coverage of
environmental issues. The level of opposition, number of affected parties, visual appeal, availability of focusing
events and composition of the reader community all play parts in shaping the frame in which important issues
are presented to the public. Despite being part of a business passionate about objectivity and balance, it is nearly
impossible to report on the environment from a truly impartial standpoint.
Elsbeth Bennett
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: John Shosky
Bosnia Post-Dayton: Political Party Assistance in an Ethnically Divided Society
In post-conflict Bosnia-Herzegovina, political parties are increasingly nationalist. This phenomenon has been caused
in part by the legacy of the Dayton Peace Accords, as well as actions taken by outside actors, such as the United States,
the United Nations and the European Union. United States political party assistance strategy has had both positive
and negative results in attempting to reduce the dangerous effects of nationalism. By examining the effects of its
actions, the United States can better predict what actions may be necessary in the future. The international community
must understand how nationalism in Bosnia has come to permeate the national political discourse in order to avoid
making the same mistakes in future post-conflict settings.
Jessica Berardinucci
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisors: Linda Lubrano, Anthony Quainton
The Impact of Power on Water Rights: A Study of the Jordan
and Tigris-Euphrates Basins’ Riparians
In water-scarce riparian regions, states utilize geographical and structural power to maximize their access to water. In
the Jordan River Basin, which includes Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories, and the TigrisEuphrates River Basin, which includes Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, certain states cannot access enough water to have
their human right to water fulfilled. By conducting a dual case study of the Jordan and Tigris-Euphrates Basins, this
Capstone seeks to ascertain how state power can affect the fulfillment of water rights. This dual case study is rooted
in the realist tradition of international relations literature and contemporary water rights research. It explores the
actors’ historical use of economic, political and military “instruments of power” in attempts to maximize their access
to water. This paper determines that the riparian state with the greatest ability to utilize “instruments of power” is able
to control water allocation, and thus determines the fulfillment of water rights throughout the basin.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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Lauren Bernhardt
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Rodger Streitmatter
Kommercializing Kids: Advertising to Children Since Deregulation
There are now more than 52 million children under the age of 12 living in the United States, the largest population
since after World War II and the height of the baby boom era. This group of consumers is a massive market for
advertisers, a market more and more advertisers are vying for the attention of. Marketers do this because advertising
is a $250 billion per year industry with over 900,000 brands to sell. The means by which marketers access the child
demographic have changed drastically since the 1984 deregulation of the industry in the United States. Because of
this deregulation, companies can access children almost everywhere they turn without worrying about government
regulation. In order to provide the most successful marketing campaigns possible, advertisers are turning to psychology
to fine-tune their campaigns and to technology to insert their campaigns into a child’s every moment. This study
highlights the use of the latest advances in psychology and technology by youth marketers since deregulation to turn
America’s youth into one of the most powerful and profitable markets in the world.
*Karinna Berrospi
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisors: Narem Kumarakulasingam, Anthony Quainton
Understanding Fujimori’s 1990 Election: How Meaning and Identity is Constructed
Fujimori’s electoral success was a historic event because he was the first president of Peru of non-European ancestry.
He won over Mario Vargas Llosa, one of the most distinguished novelists in Latin America. For this Capstone
I conducted a discourse analysis of the campaign by looking at primary sources such as pictures, slogans and the
presidential debate. My findings show that the racial difference between Fujimori and the indigenous people did
not matter when compared with the commonality between them. This study suggests that we need to look more
systematically at the role of identity and meaning in electoral politics, and not just at electoral strategies.
Anastassia Bogosian-Scissors
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Benjamin Jensen
Electoral Conflict in Iran: Causes and Visualizations
In June 2009, the Iranian government held presidential elections resulting in the contested victory of incumbent
conservative candidate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. Following the election,
amidst claims of electoral fraud, widespread protests and civil unrest erupted around major cities. This paper evaluates
how demographic transitions, such as the significant youth bulge in the Iranian population, have acted to magnify social
and economic tensions resulting in the production of civil unrest. Visual representations of the electoral conflict are
provided within the platform of Google Earth. Photos, videos and graphical representations are used to help visualize
the conflict and its progression by way of narrated tours of individual protests. Finally, a six-sided conflict model is
produced to visually explain some of the root causes of the conflict explored in the paper.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
24
2010 Capstone Abstracts
Rebecca Brighton
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: April Shelford
Medicine in Early Modern France
In the latter half of the 20th century, the study of medicine of the early modern period, an underdeveloped if not ignored facet of history, began to attract the notice of historians of many different specializations. As such, particularly
within the realm of French medicine, the treatment and analysis of medicine began to shift. This paper attempts to
not only document the development of medicine in France during the early modern period, but to also assess how different historians approach the subject of French medicine. As such, this paper focuses on four different approaches:
encyclopedic, literary, intellectual and sociological. The result of this study is a holistic view of a very intricate subject
matter as well as insight into the different methods and perspectives of historians within the field.
*Sarah Brown
University Honors in Women’s and Gender Studies
Capstone Advisors: Susan Shepler, Gay Young
African Women’s Movements: Toward a Feminist Conception of Security, Citizenship,
and Nationhood
Notions of statehood, citizenship and security are conceptualized in many ways, but often share a systematic hierarchical and patriarchal ideological structure. I examined three African women’s movements that form their activism
around transforming the state and re-imagining ideas of security. Through discourse analysis and qualitative coding
of Web site and published materials, I investigated whether the language and semantics of mobilization used by these
groups represents a shift in the conceptualization of the political. Findings indicate that the women’s activism challenged dominant notions of masculinity and state structures simultaneously, dismantling the false idea of a privatepublic dichotomy and infusing values of love and community into state and security ideals.
Jennifer Bryer
University Honors in Business Administration
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
E-Book Rental Proposal for Amazon.com
This Capstone consists of an analysis of the e-book industry and Amazon.com’s current services, and a proposed
business expansion. The project includes an in-depth look at the factors influencing the e-book industry and future
growth in the industry. Currently, Amazon.com is experiencing pressure from publishers to raise prices and is receiving intense competition from other e-book reader providers. This Capstone proposes that an e-book rental service
would increase both readership among adults and market share in the e-book. The suggested e-book rental service
would be modeled after Amazon’s current on-demand video service. The project also seeks to show that an e-book
rental service would address publisher pressure to increase the price of e-books while still following customer wishes
for lower price.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
25
*Trent Buatte
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Cathy Schneider
Space, Race, and the City: How Marseille Survived the 2005 French Riots
In October 2005, the suburbs of Paris erupted in a flash of violence incited by police brutality and years of social
tensions. Within days, riots spread to immigrant communities in Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Lille and 272 other
French cities. After four weeks of violence, 9,000 vehicles were torched, 4,000 rioters were arrested and 125 police
officers were wounded. While riots raged all over France, one unlikely city survived 2005 unscathed. Marseille is
France’s second largest city and is home to more immigrants than any other city in France. Although many scholars
of racial and migration studies have postulated reasons for the outbreak of urban violence in 2005, no one has been
able to explain why Marseille remained calm despite all predictions otherwise. This investigation combines interviews
of the Marseillaise community and government officials with historical, demographic and geographic research in
order to understand the unique social boundaries in Marseille. The paper concludes that an even distribution of
public housing, a community-based police policy and a consultation policy between the mayor and ethnic leaders have
helped Marseille diffuse ethnic tensions for the past 18 years.
Olivia Buck
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Julie Mertus
Greenbacks vs. Gut: Human Rights Policy in Cuba Over Four Important
U.S. Administrations
This research explores the motivations, actions and consequences of U.S. foreign policy in Cuba during the Kennedy,
Carter, Reagan and Bush, Jr. administrations. This is a treatment of their policies in terms of their rhetoric, executive
decisions and legislation enacted during their administrations and an analysis of whether rhetoric and legislation was
motivated more by concerns for the Cuban people than by geo-strategic and political interests. Have U.S. actions
and rhetoric towards Cuba, which often involve the words “human rights,” been an abuse of the emotional nature
of human rights policy, or have they resulted from an honest attempt to improve the lives of everyday Cubans? This
comparative case analysis is used to argue that presidential rhetoric and even intent vis-á-vis with Cuba can rarely lead
to concrete action.
George Tyler Budde
University Honors in Performing Arts: Theatre
Capstone Advisors: Cara Gabriel, Randy Baker, Derek Bowley
Shirley Dreaming
American University’s Department of Performing Arts features an annual production created and performed by
the year’s graduating seniors. This year, the class of 2010 is producing six full productions as part of a festival of
new works. As a culmination of my dramatic writing experience for both screen and stage, I wrote the libretto for a
feature length musical entitled Shirley Dreaming. The show tells the story of Shirley, a college graduate who embarks
on her first day of her first job in the real world, only to be promptly fired upon arrival. As Shirley fights for her
job, she learns about the differences between living and surviving, between learning and doing. Randy Baker, the
Artistic Director of Rorschach Theatre, directed and workshopped the piece in preparation for the new works festival
performance in the Katzen Studio Theatre on April 24. The show has also been accepted into Washington, D.C.’s
Capital Fringe Festival for a five-show run in July 2010.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
26
2010 Capstone Abstracts
Jacqueline Buente
University Honors in Business Administration
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
Domestic and International Expansion Plan for HELP (Hospital Elder Life Program)
As fertility declines, life spans increase and the Baby Boomer generation continues to age, the United States and the
rest of the western world will begin to experience a dramatic shift toward an older population. The current hospital
care structure, including rounds, volunteer programs and dispatch evaluation, was created to accommodate younger
patients. Because the elderly are not given the correct attention during admittance, patients develop delirium and
functional decline, causing increased costs for the hospital. Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) was developed as
an innovative approach that uses professional and volunteer assistance to prevent delirium and functional decline in
hospitalized elderly patients. The Capstone outlines a domestic and international expansion plan for HELP, which
currently has 48 United States sites, three Australian sites, nine Canadian sites and one site in Taiwan. Recently,
12 sites have been funded for the United Kingdom and inquiries are in Oklahoma, Maryland, Vermont, Japan, the
Netherlands and Singapore.
*Catherine Bullard
University Honors in Performing Arts: Theatre
Capstone Advisors: Cara Gabriel, George Berg
The Arab in Drama: Writing, Performing, Producing
For my Honors Capstone, I sought to examine the Arab in theater from multiple perspectives. I translated A Bridge to
Eternity, by Palestinian playwright Ghassan Kanafani, from Arabic to English, studying the role of the Arab as a writer.
For the second stage of my project, I studied physical theater at Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre in
Blue Lake, California, to learn new ways to approach producing Bridge as a nonwestern, nontraditional theatrical piece.
I worked with Prof. Javier Rivera to implement my studies in my own performance as an actor in his production of The
House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca, for which I researched and played a Moorish character, studying the
perception of Moors and Muslims in theatre. I then worked with Prof. Cara Gabriel to produce Bridge with the New
Works Festival for the Department of Performing Arts Senior Capstone. During the production process I produced
several drafts of adaptation for the script and used physical storytelling methods I learned at Dell’Arte in rehearsal,
studying the relationship between the Palestinian crisis and Kanafani’s work. The culminating performance is the
English language premiere of Kanafani’s play.
*Dana Burns
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisors: Linda Lubrano, David Bosco
Dolus Specialis: The International Criminal Tribunals’ Interpretations
of Genocidal Intent
In 1941, the “crime of crimes” was a “crime without a name.” The 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of
the Crime of Genocide criminalized “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial
or religious group, as such.” Despite that definition, how does the interpretation of genocidal intent vary in international
criminal law? This study demonstrates that interpretations vary as judges balance the qualitative and quantitative natures
of the crime, or the essence of the human tragedy and the extent of the biological destruction. It includes a discursive
analysis of the judgments in which the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda acquitted
and convicted individuals for genocide. The research aims to move beyond the debate on the genocide’s definition in
order to examine the effects of the academic debate on the term’s legal application.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
27
Justin Butler
University Honors in Political Science
Capstone Advisors: Alan Levine, Kimberly Cowell-Meyers
Reconsidering Anarchism
Anarchism has been categorized by mainstream political philosophers as either mere utopianism or as resulting in
complete chaos. These misunderstandings of anarchism have lead to false stereotypes concerning the only philosophy
that seriously challenges the core assumption of all political philosophy: government is necessary. In reality, only three
beliefs separate anarchists from traditional statist philosophers; anarchists believe that all men are interconnected
through the impact of their actions, that humans are capable of self-regulation – at least to an extent that allows for a
peaceful society – and that human nature is not only fluid, but is malleable. Anarchism is not a coherent philosophy
unless all three of these beliefs are deemed valid. This Capstone defends these three propositions and is thus a
systematic defense of anarchism.
*Shea Cadrin
University Honors in Graphic Design
Capstone Advisor: Chemi Montes
Live Simply Campaign
The Live Simply project is a campaign to promote a way of life that is less complex than the over-consumptive and
over-achieving lifestyle our current industrial society encourages. Voluntary simplicity emphasizes happiness and
personal fulfillment rather than social status and competition. The project entails research into the many benefits
of simplifying, both individual and world-changing, as well as advice on how to do so. The research is presented
through the development of a visual campaign that included the creation of a logo, a comprehensive Web site
(www.livelifesimply.com), and an informational booklet.
Elizabeth Cameron
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Alina Israeli
Leningrad 1941-1944: How Culture Survived 900 Days Under Siege
Although no longer the capital de jure, Leningrad (St. Petersburg) remains the cultural capital of Russia. During
World War II, its existence was threatened by the Germans as they surrounded the city. For nearly three years,
Leningrad suffered a devastating famine and bombings. Focusing on the role of culture as a motivational force, this
study examines the preservation of the Hermitage museum and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, which was
dedicated to the city. The citizens of Leningrad were fighting for their lives as well as the preservation of Russian
cultural heritage. This Capstone is written in Russian.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
28
2010 Capstone Abstracts
Elana Canetti
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: David Kearns
Deepened Extinction of Conditioned Suppression in Rats and the Implications on the
Treatment of Behavioral Disorders
This study investigates the effects of deepened extinction on conditioned suppression in rats. The purpose is to
investigate more effective methods of breaking the contingency between drug-associated stimuli and drug-seeking
behaviors in order to develop better treatments for drug addictions and prevent the occurrence of relapse. Rats were
trained to lever press for food and were then trained to suppress behavior in the presence of conditioned stimuli
paired with an aversive shock. The rats underwent deepened extinction of the stimuli and were tested with compound
stimulus presentation. The deepened extinction is expected to decrease suppression with the conditioned stimuli
that underwent deepened extinction. The principles of deepened extinction are discussed in reference to behavioral
disorders such as autism, OCD and phobias. Deepened extinction may have important implications for the treatment
of behavioral disorders by more effectively weakening the association between cues and the elicited responses to
reduce symptoms.
*Rachel Cannon
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Naomi Baron
In Defense of Heritage Tourism
Heritage tourism is a niche within the tourism industry, as heritage tourists specifically visit sites of historical
importance. Most of the literature on heritage tourism assumes that if a region capitalizes on its own culture to draw
in tourists, this marketing will be detrimental to the “true” culture of the host society. The present study challenges
this assumption, arguing instead that commodification and marketing of culture to tourists can, if implemented in
particular ways, be beneficial to the host society both economically and culturally. The study focuses on Gaelic College
in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, founded in 1938 to preserve local Scottish culture. It has also become a destination for
international tourists. Comparing the successes and challenges Gaelic College has experienced over the years with
heritage tourism in Greece and Ireland provides a comparative context in which to examine the possible outcomes
of heritage tourism.
Charlie Carroll
University Honors in Communication: Journalism
Capstone Advisor: Amy Eisman
Changing the Game: The Live Nation Merger
On January 25, 2010, two of the largest players in the live entertainment industry, Ticketmaster and Live Nation,
completed a merger that had been the cause of considerable controversy among politicians, consumer advocates and
industry professionals for nearly a year. While the company viewed the new entity, Live Nation Entertainment, as a
way to revitalize and innovate modern music distribution, many believe that the combined companies will hold an
unfair monopoly over the live music industry and may weed out competing promoters and ticketing companies. The
project includes interviews with local Washington, D.C., venues and additional research pieces, along with a number
of scholarly and news articles. The research finds that, while both sides of the issue had compelling arguments,
uncertainty among industry professionals paints a bleak future. This study shows that the merger is likely to foster
anti-competitive action for major performance venues, while smaller companies and venues will refocus into the
specialized niche markets to stay afloat.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
29
Kathryn Carroll
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisors: Linda Lubrano, Lynn Addington
Understanding Disability Law Cross-Culturally
Persons with disabilities are often overlooked or ignored in political science research, even though they represent
approximately 10 percent of the world’s population. Research on people with disabilities is extremely relevant
today, when disability awareness is a priority of international non-governmental organizations. The United Nations
acknowledged the need for universal acceptance of rights for people with disabilities with the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, and, more specifically, with the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This
paper brings the rights people with disabilities have today, not tomorrow, into focus. It provides a new interpretation
of the cultural categorizations defined by Hofstede, Trompenaars and Hall. Additionally, it helps identify areas where
culture has greatly influenced differences in public policy in different countries.
Lauren Cater
University Honors in History
Capstone Advisor: Laura Beers
Religion and Discourse in the 19th-Century Greek Revolution
The 1821 Greek Revolution has often been depicted as a conflict of Christians against Muslims. However, previous
studies on the role of religion and identity in the Ottoman Empire have demonstrated that the conflict was much
more complex, and was less the result of religious antagonism than of the challenges facing the empire as a whole
at the time. This research does not examine the discourse that developed as a result of the revolution, particularly
as it concerns interactions between Greeks and the foreign nations. The failure to address this discourse has thus
obscured an important element in the process of religious politicization and identity formation during the revolution
and its impact on national identity in the years following it. This paper explores this discourse in greater detail with
the intention of shedding light both on the environment in which the revolution emerged and the process by which
religion became integrated in the social, political and historical identity of the Greeks.
*Leah Chavla
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Diana Marinova
Capstone Partner: Kaitlan Peterson
Hispanohablantes’ Perceptions of Muslims and Islam
This study investigates hispanohablantes’, or Spanish-speakers’, perceptions of Muslims and Islam in Spain and three
Latin American countries – Costa Rica, Chile and Argentina. This topic has been extensively studied post-9/11,
but only in English-speaking countries. The resulting gap is one that necessitates study due to the increased contact
between Spanish speakers and the Islamic faith, as well as the prominent role Islam plays in the modern globalized
world. After administering 55 written surveys in each country and interviewing students from the aforementioned
countries, we found that the perceptions of Muslims and Islam are undeniably negative. Factors such as largely
homogeneous populations, lack of information/education about Islam, identity insecurity and the dynamics of a new
immigration wave are found to greatly impact perceptions.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
30
2010 Capstone Abstracts
*Han Chen
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Judith Shapiro
How Rural Tourism Becomes a Good Development Strategy for Inland China:
A Guide to Sustainable Tourism for Tourists and Tourism Agencies
This research project provides insights into current tourism development in rural, inland China. It is intended for
tourism practitioners and sustainably minded tourists. Tourism literature from the business and hospitality fields,
international relations and development studies, sociology, anthropology and economics have been incorporated.
This interdisciplinary project draws on experts and academics from all these areas because tourism must be viewed
in a holistic way. It cannot be understood as solely a development method, an economic growth tool, a business plan
or a product of culture. Tourism produces all these results. This research is not purely academic. It uses scholarly
works to present strong arguments for a more sustainable tourism model. More appreciation of tourism’s costs and
benefits will encourage practitioners in one field to consider the costs to other sectors when developing tourism. For
the interested traveler, this project can serve as a guide on choosing to travel sustainably.
Alyssa Christenson
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Vidya Samarasinghe
The Exploitation of Women and Girls by UN Peacekeepers
Peacekeeping forces are supposed to ensure protection and security for the communities and civilian populations
amidst conflict and post-conflict situations. However, reports beginning in the 1990s of UN peacekeepers exploiting
women and girls demonstrated that peacekeeping, in many cases, does not provide the security intended, and actually
increases the insecurity and horrors experienced by local civilian populations. This research focuses on examining
the role of women in conflict situations, particularly focusing on the cases of victimization by UN peacekeeping
officers. This paper also analyzes the processes of UN peacekeeping operations and to what degree they may or may
not contribute to the exploitation and insecurity of women and girls. Ultimately, this paper looks at what needs to be
done moving forward to prevent such cases of sexual exploitation.
Emily Conrad
University Honors
Capstone Advisors: Bryan McNeil, Sabiyha Prince
The District Divided: Race, Class, and Inequality in Washington, D.C.
Despite the national economic recession, Washington, D.C.’s economy is stronger today than it was a decade ago, as
evidenced by the recent housing market boom, resurgence in the city’s population and increased investment in local
development. However, while these benefits have brought advantages to some D.C. residents, they have created
increased disparities throughout the metropolitan region. Income inequality in the District is greater than in nearly
every major U.S. city and the number of residents living in poverty is at the highest level in nearly a decade. While
residents of the western half of the region have reaped the benefits of Washington’s economic revitalization, residents
of the eastern half carry the burden of poverty and social inequity. This Capstone examines and analyzes how
classism, racism and systemic policies of inequality affect the imbalanced distribution of and access to resources –
such as jobs, housing, transportation and education – among residents of the city.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
31
Caitlin Crotty
University Honors
Capstone Advisors: Madhavi Menon, Glenn Moomau
[Don’t] Step Away from the Edge: Anticentric Writing in a Logocentric World
Often, the way a story is written reflects the importance that the writer or the writer’s audience places on logos –
the Western idea based in the work of Plato and Aristotle that the words and their construction in a story hold one
meaning. But, as Ferdinand de Saussure argues, there can be no one meaning for a word because the ideas, objects
and emotions that they represent are defined by that word’s “not” relationships with other attempts of representation.
In logocentric writing, there is no questioning of meaning, but rather a faith in reality, an acceptance of established
tradition, a submission to logic and a desire for order and evidence. Based on the work of Jacques Derrida and
theories of deconstruction, this project challenges the belief in the infallibility of language. This Capstone employs
a new type of writing – termed “anticentrism” – and explores the idea through a collection of four original short
stories. Anticentric writing lacks a center, finds meaning in the periphery of the text, allows for open meaning and has
a structure that is perhaps “illogical” but, surprisingly, cohesive. Anticentric writing provides an alternative to closed,
immobile text and reflects the “play” created by putting words to paper.
Hilary Crowe
University Honors in Anthropology
Capstone Advisor: William Leap
Where Have All the Virgins Gone?
It is a recent development that the only thing worse for a young woman than being typed as promiscuous is being typed
a virgin. Where the “slut” once stood, now stands the “virgin,” the new social pariah and bad citizen. This Capstone
argues that such a transformation is due to the fact that in capitalist economies, the best citizen is the most productive
citizen – making money, spending money, and, the most important activity for capitalist societies, reproducing the means
of production. Forty years ago Louis Althusser conferred on the Ideological State Apparatus (ISA) the responsibility of
such reproduction. In turn, the ISA has conferred that responsibility on women, in this case via procreation. Through
secondary sources and interviews, this paper is a discussion of how globalization and the accompanying specter of
international homogenization have led to this reterritorialization and resultant fetishization of the “American Woman” in
the U.S., how women have tried to rebel against such appropriation of their sexuality and how holding on to one’s virginity
may be an expression of disidentification from the state appropriation of female sexuality to fortify nationalism.
Remle Crowe
University Honors in Business, Language and Culture
Capstone Advisor: Parthiban David
Avoiding the Caffeine Crash: A Strategic Analysis and Recommendations
for Starbucks
Whether you are in Manhattan, Munich or Mexico City, Starbucks in any language is synonymous for coffee; however,
a slew of recent store closings and the general economic downturn have brought forth new challenges for the coffee
giant. This project examines Starbucks’ current strategy and position, as well the forces affecting the specialty coffee
industry as a whole, including the introduction of cheaper premium coffee beverages at quick-service food chains like
McDonald’s. Finally, the paper offers recommendations for how Starbucks should face these challenges head-on. In
particular, the findings indicate that Starbucks should focus on the promotion of its new soluble coffee product, VIA.
32
2010 Capstone Abstracts
Darren Cunningham
University Honors in History
Capstone Advisor: Laura Beers
God and Hope: Shia Islam and the Lebanese Civil War
Before civil war erupted in Lebanon, its Shia population was largely marginalized, neglected and impoverished. After
the Lebanese Civil War, the Shia were at the forefront of Lebanese politics and were associated with a militant group
more powerful than the Lebanese Army: Hizballah. This paper details the social and political transformation of the
Shia through the lens of their involvement in the Lebanese Civil War as the militias Amal and Hizballah. It thoroughly
examines the role of Iran and Syria in this transformation, as these states provided material and ideological support
to the Shia of Lebanon and were the parties most responsible for the Shia’s post-war prominence. Political posters
from the war, intelligence community documents and interviews are used as primary source material to support the
Syrian-Iranian connection to the Shia of Lebanon.
*Kathryn Daily
University Honors in Communication: Visual Media
Capstone Advisor: Bill Gentile
Give & Getaway Volunteer Travels
This project is a documentary/travelogue video that highlights experiences of volunteering abroad as an alternative to
traditional vacation travel. The piece follows a group of volunteers that travel to the Dominican Republic to offer their
time and services at an orphanage for one week. Volunteers share in their experiences and their individual thoughts,
including their choice to volunteer abroad, the impact they hope to make and their personal growth throughout the
course of the trip. The final piece plays out like one episode in a series of many volunteer abroad trips. The project
involved the development, production, shooting, hosting and editing of the 20-minute piece. A shorter version also goes
to the organization, Orphanage Outreach, to use as a promotional tool.
John Danise
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: James Gray
Mail It Back: Helping Behavior among the Non-Religious
Behavioral studies that examine helping behavior among the religious and non-religious have led to the consensus
among researchers that there is no correlation between one’s degree of religion and actual helping behavior. While
most previous studies have broken down religious individuals into numerous categories attempting to find a correlation,
non-religious individuals are often grouped together. In recent years, however, research has begun to show that
atheists both believe and act differently when compared to either agnostics or non-believers. This Capstone conducts
a statistical analysis to explore whether there are differences in the self-reported helping behavior between nonreligious individuals that identify as agnostic, non-religious, or atheistic. Based on the findings, a study was conducted
in which 120 letters were dropped throughout the greater New York City and Washington, D.C., areas at either
religious or atheistic events, with secular locations as a control group. Helping behavior was measured by the amount
of “lost” letters returned from each location. The study finds that letters lost at religious events are significantly more
likely to be returned than letters lost at atheistic events.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
33
Alexandra Dart
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Daniel Levin
Developing an Experiential Curriculum for Sustainable Agriculture
and Food Systems Education
Facing concurrent crises in personal health, economic stability, global justice and environmental well-being, our society
is waking up to the consequences of a century of careless, unbridled consumption. Recognizing that responding
to these crises will require today’s youth to reconsider some of the fundamental elements of our daily lives, this
curriculum uses the modern food system as a framework for exploring present challenges and empowering young
people to design a sustainable future. The curriculum is grounded in experiential education theory, a transformational
approach that engages students in meaningful experiences and reflection. The activities within the curriculum support
a framework of core ideas about agriculture and food systems developed in consultation with experts in the fields
of sustainable agriculture and agricultural education. Through a week of quality educational experiences, ranging
from simulations about crop biodiversity to exploring a grocery store and a sustainable farm, students expand their
understanding, develop a sense of personal investment and build the skills needed to respond to modern challenges
and work towards a better world.
Jennifer Dearden
University Honors in Literature
Capstone Advisor: Madhavi Menon
Between Self and Siblings: Relationally Reading The Catcher in the Rye
At the close of The Catcher in the Rye when it becomes clear that Holden Caulfield has been sharing his narrative with
not only the reader but also a psychoanalyst, the question arises, what exactly drove Holden over the edge? If we
were to conduct a psychoanalytic reading of this text, to what conclusion would we come? There exist two major
readings to date, which utilize Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, but these do not offer sufficient explanations
of Holden’s plight. The Freudian reading is particularly troublesome, as it reductively draws on repression and the
Oedipal complex, concluding that Holden has a repressed sexual desire for his little sister. This Capstone reads the
novel through a relational psychoanalytic lens, one that takes into account intersubjective potential in addition to
intrapsychic processes. The resulting reading demonstrates that Holden’s siblings define his fragile sense of self, and
that when he is forced to recognize his sister as a separate subject, Holden falls apart.
Emily DeCamillis
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Leonard Steinhorn
The Presidency and the Media in the 20th Century and Beyond
Since the founding of our nation, all presidents have used media to advance both their policies and personas, but a few
presidents in particular have distinguished their White House years – and reputations – through media mastery. These
presidents use all available media forms, especially the new media of their eras and changed them from functional tools of
communication into art forms that defined their presidencies. Franklin Delano Roosevelt is permanently linked with fireside
chats, a fundamental component of his public communication strategy that capitalized on radio as the first mass medium
to reach into America’s homes. John F. Kennedy’s contributions will always be linked to television because of his landmark
televised presidential debate with opponent Richard Nixon in 1960, as well as his keen understanding of the power of
televised images to shape public opinion. Ronald Reagan’s name is synonymous with the “Great Communicator,” having
taken presidential communications to a whole new level with his stage managing of events and visual articulation of his
presidential message. Less well known is how Theodore Roosevelt used available media and photographic images to connect
with the American people, but in the context of his times, his media management rivals that of his more widely celebrated
presidential peers. This paper traces how these four presidents used available or emerging forms of media to establish an
emotional connection with the American public, and also looks for potential lessons for President Barack Obama.
34
2010 Capstone Abstracts
Heather Dewey
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Barry McCarthy
Of Abolition, Aftermath and Aftercare: The Restoration of Former Sex-Slaves
in the United States of America
As current statistics show more than 27 million individuals are being trafficked in slavery around the world, many are
mobilizing to reestablish the abolition of the slave trade. According to UNICEF, 1.2 million children are trafficked for
sexual exploitation annually. Non-governmental organizations, human rights lawyers, activists, medical professionals
and law enforcement officials are the modern abolitionists who daily free slaves. A question arises: How do former
slaves reintegrate and achieve healthy well-being after severely traumatic experiences? This Capstone analyzes the
practices of aftercare treatment for former young female sex slaves and compares treatments for post-traumatic stress
of former sex slaves in the United States with those in India. It also explains how those treatments have changed over
time, as well as identifies the similarities and differences of therapy practices for former sex slaves in India and the
United States in the context of interdependent and independent culture. Research is conducted by assessing studies
and scholarly opinions of after-care treatment and post-traumatic stress, collecting stories of former slaves and their
after-care journeys, and analyzing after-care strategies with the goal of contributing to enhancing best practices.
Stefania Di Mauro-Nava
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Cathy Schneider
Italian Regional Identity as a Microcosm for the Larger EU Identity Question
The goal of this project is to explore the question of collective identity formation, particularly national and pannational, by examining how the unification of the Italian state occurred and why regionalism continues to exist. The
effects of this regionalism has a larger impact on the body of the European Union in general because, while economic
policies have been legitimized and established in the EU, newer policies that affect citizens in those issues tied more to
national identity will have a harder time getting the approval and support. While scholars are still debating the effects
of the EU on the collective identity of citizens in member states, this paper concludes that much like the Italian case,
overcoming centuries’ worth of cultural narrative to create a new Pan-European identity is several generations away,
if it could ever be fully attainable.
Christopher DiPrima
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Patrick Thaddeus Jackson
The Human Adventure is Just Beginning: Star Trek: The Next Generation
and the Future of Humanity
Star Trek has been, and always shall be, much more than “just a TV show.” It is a worldwide entertainment phenomenon,
with fans ranging from Stephen Hawking to the Dalai Lama. The reasons for Star Trek’s unprecedented success have
always been its optimistic view of the human future and its willingness to confront complex issues in a reasoned,
responsible way. Star Trek: The Next Generation takes core Trek values and develops them to near perfection, reflecting
contemporary concerns while positing a human race past its petty adolescence. Through analysis of the episodes
themselves as well as the words of their creators, several themes emerge that inform the entire Star Trek universe.
Prime among those themes is society’s embrace of the individual. This creates a world where humans put their effort
into learning and self-improvement instead of the acquisition of wealth and power. This vision of the future is
predicated on humanity’s mastery of technology, though it places limits on the potentially dehumanizing aspects of
a technical future.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
35
Andrew Dobbyn
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Farhang Erfani
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Bad Faith: 20th-Century Existentialism in Conversation
with Anarchism
This Capstone uses the works of the 20th-century existentialists and synthesizes their insights with the works of classical
anarchist writers such as Erico Malatesta, Peter Kropotkin and Mikhail Bakunin. The works of the existentialists
provide new ground for the study of social ontology and social movement strategy that classical anarchist thinkers
never properly examined, as anarchism was and continues to be, dependent on a classical liberal epistemological
framework. Through this synthesis with Sartre, Camus and others, anarchism evolves into a far more relevant and
rigorous social doctrine.
Jack Douglass
University Honors in Communication: Visual Media
Capstone Advisors: Greg Smith, Sarah Menke-Fish
“Flavortones” Reel and Promo
For my Capstone, I have edited both a reel and a short promo for the televised series “Flavortones,” which is an
American University-produced show that musically reviews restaurants in the Washington, D.C., area. After the show
was picked up by NBC News in Washington, I was assigned to edit a one-minute-and-15-second reel for possible
syndication. I also edited a 15 second promo for the series that would air after Saturday Night Live in late May. The
promo would precede a 22-minute pilot consisting of nine episodes of “Flavortones.” For the show, I have written
the majority of the music and have edited most of the series’ 15 episodes.
Katherine Drake
University Honors in Environmental Studies
Capstone Advisor: David Culver
Tallgrass Prairie Restoration in the United States
Over 95 percent of tallgrass prairies have been degraded or destroyed, representing a loss of one of the most
important pieces of ecological heritage in the United States. This paper provides some insight into whether tallgrass
prairie restoration efforts at present are reflective of the goal of returning disturbed lands to their native state, and at
what point these restored prairies begin to take on the characteristics of a native prairie. It begins with an outline of
the characteristics of a tallgrass prairie, followed by an analysis of the ways human activities impact this ecosystem.
This information is then used to provide an analysis of restoration goals and impacts. Finally, current restoration
efforts in the United States are considered, particularly in terms of location and size, and are found to be improving,
but still in need of more large-scale projects.
Lauren Drew
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Renée von Wörde
The Courtyard in the Mirror: A Translation of the German Original into English
Selected works from the collection of short stories Der Hof im Spiegel (The Courtyard in the Mirror), originally written
in German by Turkish author Emine Sevgi Özdamar, appear in English for the first time in these translations. In
addition to the translations themselves, introductory information about the context underlying the works, the author
and the translation process are included. The selected stories, “The Courtyard in the Mirror,” “The New Cemeteries
in Germany,” and “Uli’s Tears,” cover themes of Turkish immigration to Germany, as well as the uncertain linguistic
and personal identity of a person who has left one homeland for another. The intended purpose of these translations
is to introduce the potentially unaware American audience to the issue of Turkish immigration to Germany and to
provide a more human example of the experience of Turks in modern Germany.
36
2010 Capstone Abstracts
*Michelle Dromgold
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Cathy Schneider
Islamic Religious Instruction in German Public Schools
Under Article 7.3 of the 1949 German Basic Law Constitution, “Religious instruction shall form part of the ordinary
curriculum in state and municipal schools… religious instruction shall be given in accordance with the tenets of the
religious communities.” As Islam has increased in Germany over the last 50 years, political and religious leaders in each
of the German states have questioned how Islamic religious instruction should be incorporated into state education
curriculum. This Capstone examines why a general discussion about the need for Islamic religious instruction has
emerged in the last 30 years in Germany. The second question this Capstone answers is why the inclusion of Islamic
religious instruction differs from state to state in Germany. Finally, one must investigate the consequences of including
Islamic religious instruction in public schools. This question remains open as the inclusion of Islamic religious
instruction in German public schools continues to develop and as Germany responds at the national and regional level
to the current absence of a recognized Islamic religious community. How Germany continues to address Islam at the
national level will likely impact how Islamic religious instruction is shaped at the local and state level in the future.
Allison Dunatchik
University Honors in Political Science
Capstone Advisors: Jennifer Lawless, Kimberly Cowell-Meyers
Explaining Underrepresentation: Gendered Differences in Levels of Political Ambition
among Students
Whereas women comprise 62 percent of the student body at American University, they make up only 31 percent of
the student government. This research investigates to what extent levels of political ambition differ between male and
female students at AU and why. Scholarship on women’s underrepresentation in elected office contends that gender
differences in levels of political ambition explain why women are less likely to run and serve in elective office than men
and that political ambition is shaped by gendered socialization and traditional views of the political realm. Because
research shows that participation in student government and political activities in adolescence and young adulthood
significantly increases the likelihood of high-level civic participation later in life, this study analyzes the impact of
socialization and traditional views of gender roles on levels of political ambition among students by conducting
survey research of AU students and filling a significant gap in current scholarship.
Samantha Dunn
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Robert Johnson
Fading
Fading is a collection that attempts to address difficult issues in the American justice and prison systems in poetic
form. The main goal of the project is to express to the reader the humanity of every subject involved in a crime: the
victim, the perpetrator, and the families of both. Often time empathy for a person who commits a crime or someone
who is a prisoner is lost through the dehumanizing efforts of the media and society to characterize these people as
monsters. The poems in Fading are meant to break through the effects of that process and show the reader that the
people involved in crimes on all sides are, in fact, people. Though the offenders may lose their liberty in prison, they
should retain the rights of a person.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
37
Richard Emerson
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisors: Linda Lubrano, Quansheng Zhao
To Be Or Not To Be a Hegemon: The Relationship Between Political Culture
and Hegemony
The central tenet of structural realism says the competitive structure of the international system forces countries to
challenge each other for hegemony. This narrow view of international relations fails to take into account the effect
that domestic determinants have on aspirations for hegemony. To address this gap in structural realist theory, this
study looks at a country’s political culture and how that predisposes some countries to aspire for hegemony while also
defining the nature of a particular country’s hegemony. Ultimately, this project finds that neither structural realism nor
a political cultural approach can fully account for why Japan, the United States or China would seek hegemony.
Karolina Epple
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Evan Berry
The Role of Daoism in Environmental Ethics in China
Since the publication of Lynn White’s controversial article, “The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis,” which claims
the Judeo-Christian worldview is responsible for all of Western society’s current environmental problems, environmental
ethicists have been looking for an alternative worldview that will motivate people to stop destroying the environment.
Daoism has been a popular target of environmentalists, because it is not Western and espouses promising environmental
principles. Daoist texts have been analyzed by both Chinese and Western scholars toward this end. This project discusses
the viability of Daoism to influence the current Chinese environmental situation. After analyzing the work of scholars
both supporting and opposing the use of Daoism in environmental ethics, this Capstone concludes that Daoism may
support environmental principles in its texts but these principles are not connected to Chinese religious practice. Therefore,
Daoism will probably not be effective in promoting environmental ethics in the global community or even in China.
Ivelina Erinina
University Honors in Business Administration
Capstone Advisors: Richard Linowes, Jennifer Oetzel
Discovering PBWorks: A Communication and Collaboration Tool
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world’s number one nonfiction media company,
reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 180 countries. The success and competitive advantage
of Discovery Communications, Inc. (DCI) depends on its ability to adapt to and take advantage of changing market
conditions. In order to retain its leadership position in the market, DCI needs to ensure superb communication
between its numerous divisions. This paper describes how DCI should employ PBWorks, an online collaboration
tool, in monitoring all stages of its television program and film development and explains how DCI can use PBWorks
to enhance employee intra-department communication and collaboration.
38
2010 Capstone Abstracts
Lisa Espinosa
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Linda Lubrano
Governmentality and Social Exclusion/Inclusion in Australian Indigenous Policies
In 2008, the Australian Parliament issued a national apology to the Indigenous peoples of Australia. A year later,
they reversed their previous decision against the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples to support the
declaration. What do these two events signal about Australian society’s feelings towards the Indigenous population?
This Capstone seeks to understand how the Australian state has historically treated the Indigenous population and
how contemporary Australia is now treating them. This project uses the theory of governmentality, as proposed by
Foucault, to investigate the social exclusion/inclusion methods used by the state toward the Indigenous population.
This study will also consider how current policies in Australia view Indigenous peoples and their position within
Australian society.
Allison Feras
University Honors in History
Capstone Advisor: Kimberly Sims
Programming Women: Gender in Early Computing History
When the first electronic computers were built in the 1940s, programming was considered a clerical profession,
suitable for women. However, as the technology developed, the programmer’s tasks became less repetitive and the
intellectual nature of the field became more evident. Although women were given more opportunities at the birth
of the computing industry, increasingly conservative corporations were able to use this shift in how the programmer
interacted with the machine to reframe the profession as masculine. By analyzing newspaper articles, classified ads
and their own testimonies, this Capstone examines the contributions of the women who programmed the Electronic
Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) and the Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC) and the effect
technological change had on them. These women’s experiences show how new technologies that have not yet gained
mainstream prominence can provide spaces for marginalized groups to achieve success and professional fulfillment.
Meghan Finney
University Honors in Psychology
Capstone Advisor: James Gray
Religiosity, Spirituality and Attitudes Toward Suicide
A number of previous studies in psychology have examined the importance of religion as a protective factor against
risk behaviors. In this survey-based online study, participants scored their levels of religiosity, spirituality, depression,
fundamentalism and specific attitudes toward suicide on a 9-point Likert scale. The results indicate that there is a
significant relationship between spirituality and opposition to suicide at the 0.05 level using a two-tailed Spearman’s
rho correlation. This relationship is stronger than that between religiosity and opposition to suicide, which was still
positive but significant only at the 0.10 level. Interestingly, depression levels are negatively correlated with religiosity,
but positively correlated with spirituality. When the full survey sample was split into groups according to a number of
variables, the spiritual but not religious group had the highest depression score, but also the highest suicide opposition
score. These results seem to conflict with the idea that suicide opposition is likely to correlate with low depression or
religiosity. Furthermore, they call into question the importance of religious doctrine in preventing suicide or in creating
suicide opposition.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
39
Evelyn Fisher
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Richard Sha
Autism in Literature: The Negotiation between Syndrome and “Silent Wisdom”
This Capstone is an analysis of literary portrayals of autism as the products of a relationship between scientific
findings and creative expression. Perspectives on autism in popular literature differ from those found in scientific
texts in that they generally lean toward neurodiversity, or the belief that autism is a different but equally valid way
of looking at the world. Scientific texts on autism emphasize the psychopathology of the condition, framing it as a
disability or disorder and defining it in terms of deficits. The emphasis on neurodiversity in literature is a critique of
the decidedly negative and deterministic view scientific authorities have of autism. This investigation has implications
for understanding the public reaction to implicit value judgments made in scientific fields. On the topic of autism,
popular literature acts as a vehicle for questioning the attitudes and conclusions of psychologists. Literature that deals
with the label of autism takes on the rhetoric of psychologists, but uses this rhetoric to develop narratives in which
autism is a form of alterity rather than a sickness.
Jacob Fitzpatrick
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisors: Linda Lubrano, Kristin Diwan
Coercion and Conciliation: The Mubarak Regime and Illegal Opposition in Egypt
For almost three decades Egypt has been ruled under the guise of constitutional democracy by an authoritative
government headed by President Hosni Mubarak. The opportunity for Egyptians to engage in political opposition
through state-authorized avenues has been carefully manipulated by the regime for its own profit. Illegal opposition
has therefore become one of the sole areas where real political dialogue can occur outside of the control of the regime.
Notwithstanding widespread popular discontent and limited regime popularity, the illegal opposition has still been
unable to bring about reform. Using frameworks on authoritarianism and corporatism, this paper examines how the
regime has been able to prevent the illegal opposition from mobilizing enough popular support to change Egyptian
leadership. Illegal opposition is divided into religious and secular sections to highlight the unique controls used by the
government in each case. This paper traces the evolution of both groups during the Mubarak regime and finds that the
state’s masterful ability to offset coercion with conciliation has been instrumental towards its continued survival.
*William Flynn
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Philip Johnson
Effective Four- and Higher-Body Interactions of Neutral Bosons in Optical Lattices
It has been shown that pair-wise interactions of atoms confined in the lowest vibrational states of optical lattices
generate effective three-body interactions. Experiment into the collapse and revival dynamics of coherent states
loaded into optical lattices has suggested the existence of measurable effective higher-body interactions. This Capstone
presents a process with which to quantify the strength of the effective three-, four- and higher-body interactions by use
of the Bose-Hubbard model of interacting bosons. Using Wick’s Theorem and third order perturbation theory, the
research estimates the effective four-body interaction energy as well as gives a third-order correction to the effective
three-body interaction energy presented in current literature. Understanding lattice interaction dynamics may allow
for better models of higher temperature superconducting materials as well as lending more insight to understanding
the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates loaded into optical traps.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
40
2010 Capstone Abstracts
Andrew Fogle
University Honors in Philosophy
Capstone Advisor: Farhang Erfani
Totalitarian Inauthenticity: Heidegger and the Politics of Being-Towards-Death
In division II, part II of his Being and Time, Martin Heidegger develops an account of being-toward-death, which he
confines to the ontological analysis of Da-sein. This Capstone argues that this account has a political relevance, one
which positively opposes the sort of totalitarian politics that Heidegger briefly and infamously endorsed as a member
of the National Socialist Party. This project demonstrates that Being and Time can be legitimately approached as a
normative work, drawing from the work of Heidegger scholar Karsten Harries to defend the ethical and political
relevance of “fundamental ontology.” From here this study proceeds to the influential account of totalitarian politics
elaborated by Hannah Arendt in her Origins of Totalitarianism, focusing specifically on the trends of de-individualization
and the trivialization of death that she argues enabled Nazism in Germany. This study reconstructs the relevant
aspects of Heidegger’s descriptions of “everyday-being-toward-death” and of Da-sein’s potential for authentic beingtoward-its-end, arguing that these taken together represent a powerful indictment of totalitarian political orders.
Vera Forster
University Honors in Literature
Capstone Advisors: Richard Sha, Amanda Berry
Only Time Will Tell: Redefining Meaning in Othello, Bleak House and “The Waste Land”
What is the relationship between time and literature and why is it significant? There is no single answer to this
question; instead, one apparently finds a different temporal experiment in each work of literature one examines.
This project analyzes William Shakespeare’s Othello, Charles Dickens’s Bleak House, and T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Waste
Land” to find a common thread. Each of these texts juxtaposes chronologically linear time with moments that do
not progress normally and consist of temporal traps for their victims. This study argues that in these moments,
a fundamental aspect of the meaning of each text is contained. The conclusions of this project enrich a reader’s
relationship to literature and reality by demonstrating what is left when time stands still.
Michael Fowler
University Honors in Justice
Capstone Advisor: Gary Dennis
Public Policy and Criminal Rehabilitation
As the numbers of those incarcerated in America’s correction facilities increases, there is an unsettling reality that
society needs to take a stronger proactive role in disrupting crime and recidivism cycles. How to accomplish such a
feat has been debated throughout America’s correctional system history and in the nation’s public policy endeavors.
Since a significant number of ex-prisoners are continually released back into society, effective public policy is needed
to ensure a successful transition and control recidivism. Practitioners and scholars from a variety of disciplines have
addressed “what works” in criminal rehabilitation to enable the development of programs that embody scientific
knowledge and the protocols of effective intervention. Use of this information by policy makers is essential to
confidently support and allocate funding for intervention programs that can reduce recidivism. This paper focuses
on public policy and criminal rehabilitation and addresses rehabilitative needs, measures and effectiveness. Research
attention is given to the topics of evolving rehabilitative philosophy, as well as the influence of the media and
public opinion in policy development. The importance of scientific evidence-based research and programs and
the principles of effective intervention, risk identification, cognitive-behavioral methods and program aftercare in
effective rehabilitative programs are discussed.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
41
Yelena Galperina
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Patrick Thaddeus Jackson
Nations and Art: Shaping of Art in Communist Regimes
Although it can be said that art is not a necessity to survive like water or food, art nevertheless serves many purposes for
humankind. This paper focuses on the relationship between a political regime and the art that it encourages or permits,
in particular how Communist governments viewed and used art during the regimes of Mao and Stalin. This study
addresses the way these regimes defined art and its purpose and examines how their policies on art were implemented,
as well as the cultural impact the art had on individuals. The paper first establishes the context required for this type
of art to exist and for people to participate in its making. It then addresses the visual language used in connection with
Communist ideology and finally presents two case studies that take a closer look at how the Soviet government under
Stalin from 1922 to 1953 and the Chinese government under Mao from 1949 to 1976 shaped art in their nations. A
close look at the art cultures that developed in these two authoritarian states also reveals that the art that is produced is
a combination of Communist ideology, historic and cultural traditions, a few outside influences and the personalities of
the leaders. These four things combined to shape the aesthetic, content and purpose of the art.
Philip Gartland
University Honors in Philosophy
Capstone Advisor: Marcos Bisticas-Cocoves
Forgiveness as a Political Virtue
In Phenomenology of Spirit, G.W.F. Hegel explores what he considers to be the requirements for a modern society. This
paper examines two of these elements, the general will and conscience. The section on the general uses the French
Revolution and the subsequent Reign of Terror as an example, not of general will gone wrong, but as the logical
consequence of unfettered freedom. What is not made explicit, either in the rest of the text or in the surrounding
scholarship, is how the exclusion of the terror is overcome. This study argues that the work’s section on “Conscience”
offers that resolution with the forgiveness that concludes that section. Further, this project shows that forgiveness has
a practical use as well. The example used to illustrate the practical use of forgiveness is the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission, which helped South Africa transition from the terror of apartheid to the democracy it is today. Ultimately,
this project shows that forgiveness is an important political virtue that is necessary for a fully-developed community.
Vanessa Gatskie
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Robert Karch
Indoor Air Pollution: Health Effects and Policy Opportunities in Rwanda
Approximately three billion people in the world, or half of the world’s population, cook and heat their homes with solid
fuels, including wood, dung and agricultural residues. Often burned on rudimentary stoves with little or no ventilation,
solid fuels can cause a buildup of dangerous pollutants in the home. Most often, women and their young children are
the groups that are primarily exposed to these pollutants, due to women’s traditional role in cooking, housekeeping and
childrearing. Exposure to solid fuel pollutants is associated with a number of negative health consequences, including
acute lower respiratory infections in young children and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adults. Rwanda is one
of the nations most impacted by indoor air pollution, as more than 95 percent of Rwanda’s population burns solid fuels.
In 2002 alone, 8,100 deaths in Rwanda were attributable to indoor air pollution, of which over 90 percent of deaths
were of children under the age of 5. That same year, 262,300 Rwandan disability-adjusted life years were lost due to
indoor air pollution exposure. This project discusses policy opportunities for a national initiative in Rwanda to reduce
indoor air pollution exposure among women and their children, based on studies conducted on the cost-effectiveness
of intervention options and the successes and failures of similar programs in Kenya and India.
42
2010 Capstone Abstracts
Alyssa Geisler
University Honors in Communication: Public Communication
Capstone Advisor: Richard Stack
Public Relations Piracy: How Somali Pirates Commandeered Professional PR Practices
This project examines media coverage of the activity of Somali pirates in the past few years. In a mock case studies
textbook chapter, I argue that the pirates are more organized and deliberate in how they communicate with the media
and present themselves to the public than one may think. I utilize input from interviews with Washington, D.C.,
area public relations professionals to explore how the pirates might be successful in a media campaign and what PR
tactics would be necessary to reach their target audience and objectives. This paper finds that groups of pirates use
identifiable, smart and consistent messaging to build awareness of their goals and pursuits, and communicate to the
media through a recognizable “spokespirate” who controls these intentionally developed messages, among other PR
tactics. Though there is a tongue-in-cheek tone throughout my mock chapter, the public relations techniques used by
the pirates are the same as those used by large and successful organizations and corporations throughout the world.
This project highlights how widespread public relations practices are, whether we are aware of them.
Michael Ginsberg
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Paul Wapner
Political Engagement and the Chemical Warfare Clean Up at American University
The history of chemical warfare testing at American University and the chemical clean up is long and complex.
Through research into the subject, with attention to AU, the Army Corps of Engineers, Spring Valley residents,
students and local activists’ perspectives, this project aims to bring clarity about it to the AU community and provide
recommendations to the parties involved on how to ensure transparency and a thorough clean up. In order to increase
awareness among the AU community, an expert panel on potential health issues involved with the remediation was
held. The panel, along with the final report, a synthesis of investigative research, provides future students, staff and
faculty with access to the complete history of chemical testing on our campus, as well as the current remediation and
potential health issues involved.
*Allison Gold
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Jeff Sosland
Building Confidence between Israelis and Jordanians through Rainwater Harvesting
and Wastewater Reuse
The current status of water scarcity in Israel and Jordan threatens stability, security and peace in the Middle East.
Technology transfer and cooperation between Israel and Jordan have the potential to assist the region in sustainably
managing its resources now and for the future. Joint cooperation in the water sector can provide great opportunities
for confidence building between Israelis and Jordanians. Technology transfer and multilateral cooperation between
Israel, Jordan, USAID, and Friends of the Earth Middle East, through the techniques of rainwater harvesting and
wastewater reuse, have the potential to expand available water resources, reduce demands on limited resources and
offer increased opportunities for confidence building. Technology transfers between Israel and Jordan can inspire
confidence between people on the ground and establish a more long-lasting and viable peace that can be shared with
the West Bank and Gaza. This research includes case studies of USAID and Friends of the Earth Middle East water
technology projects in Israel and Jordan, a theoretical exploration of confidence building and environmental peace
building literature and interviews with academics and think tank fellows to develop a policy proposal for Israel and
Jordan that will increase available water supplies and opportunities for confidence building.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
43
*Victoria Golden
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Consuelo Hernández
Journey to a Land Farfaraway/ Viaje a un país Muymuylejos (A Work in Progress)
This Capstone project is a bilingual (English-Spanish) children’s play. The purpose of the project is to synthesize the
playwright’s studies of Spanish and Theatre. This project aims to create a script that, when performed on stage, would
be understandable by monolingual audiences (whether English- or Spanish-speaking) as well as bilingual audiences.
The play follows two young people on a journey to another world as they question the value of traditional fairy tales,
meeting familiar characters like Rapunzel and Jack from “Jack and the Beanstalk.” While this is a complete script, the
play will invariably grow and change as edits are made and feedback is received on its form as well as content.
Valerie Goldman
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: David Pitts
Nuclear Weapon Influence: Conflict and Resolution
This research explores the argument that, even when nuclear weapons are not used as a weapon in conflict or resolution,
they remain an unseen element of the interaction in both conflict and resolution that influences the outcome. The
effect of nuclear weapons in conflict and resolution is tested, using OLS regression and Binomial logistic regression.
This research finds that the presence of nuclear weapons would influence conflict such that fatalities and intensity
level would increase. Furthermore, the presence of nuclear weapons would decrease peaceful attempts and cause a
decreased probability of a defense pact. By determining more fully the relationship between conflict, nuclear weapons,
and the fungibility of nuclear weapons, the United States, as a nuclear country and the largest security provider, can
more effectively seek to decrease conflict and proliferation.
Ali Goldstein
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Marcela Sulak
Translation Narratives
This Capstone project consisted of the translation of three short stories from the 2009 collection Partir de là (Leaving
from There) by French-Canadian writer Sylvie Massicotte. Using this translation project as both theoretical and thematic
inspiration, the short story written in English personally explores the relationship between language and the craft of
writing. This study researches the intersection of language, literature and national identity in contemporary Quebec to
give the translation project context and to provide direction to the experiment with language. This project discovers
that the characters created must also engage in translation, showing that the act of mediating our many worlds – the
professional, the personal, the familial – shapes how we perceive ourselves.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
44
2010 Capstone Abstracts
Gabrielle Gorder
University Honors in Communication: Journalism
Capstone Advisor: Bill Gentile
The “Mouthpiece of al Qaeda” That’s Giving a “Voice to the Voiceless” in the
Southern Hemisphere: An Analysis of Al Jazeera English’s Reporting
on U.S. Relations with Afghanistan and Pakistan
The Al Jazeera English (AJE) news network has been described as “a mouthpiece of al Qaeda,” “Osama bin Laden’s
network” and “a vehicle of anti-American propaganda.” Its reporting has been called “vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable.”
However, AJE’s directors say the channel serves as a “voice for the voiceless” and “acts as a bridge between cultures.”
The young channel has millions of viewers around the globe and has received international accolades for “Service of
the Year” and “Best 24-Hour News Program.” This Capstone evaluates AJE’s controversial reputation by analyzing the
structure of AJE’s newscasts, the presentation of information in its news-packages and the content on AJE’s Web site.
The content analysis primarily focuses on Al Jazeera English’s coverage of U.S.-Afghani and U.S.-Pakistani relations. The
analysis concludes that, although AJE is critical of U.S. foreign affairs, its coverage is far from anti-American, does not
sympathize with terrorists’ actions and at times is even supportive of the U.S. The analysis also concludes that, although
opinion is present in AJE’s reporting, it does not violate journalistic ethics because objectivity is relative – not concrete.
Robert Green
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Michael Black
x86 Process Simulator for the Mobile Phone
Today’s smartphones have storage size and processing speeds comparable to a top of the line computer 10 years
ago, so why shouldn’t cell phones have the full capabilities of computers? This Capstone project is an x86 process
simulator for the Android smartphone. Essentially, the program can read and interpret any executable file from Unix
or Unix-based systems and execute those programs on any Android device. People have been creating programs in
Unix for over 40 years, so this single new application adds a wealth of new capabilities to the mobile phone. For
this project, I learned the inner-workings of assembly language, machine code and application programming. To
date, 22 commands have been programmed from the x86 instruction set. Executable files which contain only these
22 commands can be interpreted and run successfully by my program on an Android emulator. However, there are
hundreds more commands in the x86 instruction set, so it is my hope that someone will continue this work.
*David Greenberg
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Rhonda Zaharna
Mediating Multiculturalism: American Media’s Portrayal of British Multiculturalism
This paper considers the integration of Muslims in British society from the perspective of the American print media. It engages
in a longitudinal assessment of print media coverage over the past 10 years, including an assessment of normative biases
found within the American press. Specifically, it focuses on the discursive elements in The New York Times articles that focus on
Muslim integration in British society. Cases, which are drawn from the periods between 1997-2001, 2001-2005 and 2005-2009,
will demonstrate an evolution of American media coverage in the face of changing international and domestic perceptions
of Islam and integration of Muslims. It is apparent that U.S. media sources screen British multicultural policies through a
hegemonic ideology of integration in which assimilation is deemed superior to multiculturalism. Integration policy is reduced
to a function of national pride and “toughness” in the face of immigration and diversity. Rarely considered are the complexities
of the British identity crisis and their effects on integration, as well as the multiplicity of factors that actually contribute to
radicalization and the benefits of multicultural policies. Instead, multicultural policies in Britain are often implicitly or explicitly
linked to disaffection, extremism and terrorism within the Muslim community. This study raises questions concerning the
impact and source of American biases of British Muslim integration attempts and alludes to how divergent perspectives on
multiculturalism reflect deep divisions within Western society over policies designed to foster Muslim integration.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
45
Hanna Grene
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Paul Wapner
Sprout. Unraveling the Root Issues of Material Success:
Growing Options for Sustainable Change
Hyperconsumption is not working. The current paradigm for success in the United States rests heavily on the laurels
of material wealth. However, research and data shows that material wealth is in fact not improving our quality of life.
Moreover, this consumption “as if we have infinite resources” is not sustainable economically, socially or ecologically.
As the presence of concerns about our material-based model of success gains prominence in the socio-political stage,
we must begin to imagine new paradigms. I set out to trouble our current scenario of hyperconsumption and to look
for sprouts of ideas and projects that lend themselves to sustainable change. In particular, a pathway towards this
institutional shift requires community interaction and a re-grounding of civic participation.
Erica Grodin
University Honors in Psychology
Capstone Advisor: Anthony Riley
Assessment of the Conditioned Taste Aversion Phenomenon Induced by Binge Eating
Hertel and Eikelboom recently reported that male rats that were previously food restricted and then were allowed
ad-libitum food access suppressed their feeding behavior the day after they were allowed full food access. This
phenomenon has been called a post-gorging behavioral low and has been suggested to reflect an acquired aversion to
the food as a consequence of the aversive effects produced by the increased food consumption occurring during the
ad-libitum access period. If the suppression of food intake occurring following the free access is a function of an
acquired aversion, then manipulations known to affect aversion conditioning should impact post-gorging suppression.
This experiment tested the hypothesis that pre-exposure to binge eating would attenuate a conditioned taste aversion to
saccharin and found that instead of attenuation, pre-exposure actually led to a stronger conditioned taste aversion.
Rosie Haimm
University Honors in Performing Arts: Music
Capstone Advisor: Daniel Abraham
Handel from Scratch: How to Handle Editing and Performing Early Music
Many lovely pieces of music have been lost to musicians over the years because they were never put into accessible
editions. This Honors Capstone project consists of editing a cantata composed by G. F. Handel and creating a new
edition of the work. This edition of “Vedendo Amor” is mainly based on the original autograph, handwritten by
Handel, and then compared with different copies of the score for the validity of every note. It also incorporates
performance practice techniques of the 17th- and 18th-centuries regarding diacritical marks. The final edition includes
a preface, which holds texts and translations, as well as basic background information about the cantata. In May 2010
“Vedendo Amor” will be performed with all musicians using this edited edition.
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Morgan Halvorsen
University Honors
Capstone Advisors: Javier Rivera, Cara Gabriel
Keep Going: An Honors Capstone Project
Keep Going is a play written in an attempt to delve into serious theological discussion about the cultural norms of
religious belief. It posits that an encounter with the divine would be unequal, not because of God’s superiority, but
because humanity’s capacity to love and act within a limited time frame (i.e., the scope of a human life) lends greater
meaning to humanity’s actions. The result is a work of drama written over the course of fall 2009 and directed in
workshop during spring 2010, for a performance at the end of April. Its inspirations include John Milton’s Paradise
Lost, Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, and Tony Kushner’s Angels in America. The student, a journalism major, is preparing
for a Creative or Dramatic Writing MFA and a career in writing for the theatre. In addition, the student was able to
develop and refine both writing and directing skills during the course of the Capstone.
Martha Hanna
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisors: Linda Lubrano, Kristin Diwan
Egyptian Islamic Activism: The Emergence of a Political Movement
from the Muslim Brotherhood
This thesis explores the context in which Islamic political movements emerge, utilizing social movement literature to
develop an understanding of Islamic political activism, how it fits in with Western concepts of democracy, and how
political movements balance reform and Islamic values. It constructs a historical narrative of the Muslim Brotherhood
and Hizb al-Wasat, analyzing the growth of both Egyptian movements. Looking at the Brotherhood in the 1990s
through the lenses of political and religious learning, civil society mobilization and political opportunity structure,
this paper describes the forces catalyzing the emergence of Hizb al-Wasat. An analysis of this dynamic in Egypt
today reveals whether the societal and political context is propitious for the emergence of an ideologically-moderate,
politically-driven Islamist movement. This thesis differentiates Islamic political social movements from Islamic
fundamentalists, providing an understanding of potentially influential political parties in Arab Islamic countries.
Gabriel Herman
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Michael Mass
Contracts of Adhesion and Arbitration Agreements: The Co-Mingling of Adhesion
Contracts and Arbitration Agreements and What Every Non-Drafting Party Must Know
During the last century, dominating economic interest sparked an evolution of American contracting practices. Massmarket industries, including cell phone carriers, car industries and hospitals enacted contractual practices that facilitated
business agreements with thousands while judicial rulings empowered business interests. Today, businesses contract
from a position of such superior bargaining power that the American non-drafting party is vulnerable to victimization.
The contractual relationship between empowered businesses and non-drafting consumers is the focus of this Capstone.
Through the analysis of judicial and legislative history, this project explores where subversive contracts exist in society
and what consumers need to be conscious of when contracting. This Capstone argues for the adoption of protectionary
measures to shield consumers from overly empowered business contracts.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
47
Brandon Herring
University Honors in Political Science
Capstone Advisors: Shanaysha Sauls, Kimberly Cowell-Meyers
Privileging Public Interest Above Private Interest: A Hegelian Analysis of FDR’s New Deal
Despite its integral place in American political history and years of historical and political scholarship on the subject,
the political philosophy of the New Deal is still not well understood or formulated. This study seeks to explain the
influence of the New Deal upon American political thought through an analysis of G.W.F Hegel’s political philosophy.
This study claims that the New Deal economic and political policies and proposals, with their emphasis of the public
interest over the private interest, are theoretically consistent with Hegel’s notion of freedom. This claim is developed
through the establishment of criteria for “Hegelian” policies and how Hegelianism envisions a fundamentally different
role for the state than does classical liberalism. The Hegelian theoretical framework will provide a new foundation for
interpreting the reforms and effects of the New Deal in the subfield of political theory.
Michelle Holleran
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
Sustainable Safe Drinking Water: Business Analysis and Local Sustainability
Water is essential for sustaining life. Studies supported by the United Nations points to a clear relationship between
poverty and access to water, showing that individuals who lack adequate water resources are far more likely to be
poor, and vice versa. Along with basic sanitation and hygiene education, the lack of clean water is one of the greatest
obstacles to economic progress in the developing world. International development organizations such as Water For
People are making it their mission to hold governments accountable, to invest in local financial and technical support
and to create “total district solutions” instead of scattered fixes. Through strategic partnerships, such as the recent
investment from PlayPumps International, Water For People seeks to end the cycle of water poverty. Management
should consider adding the PlayPump system to its portfolio of water technologies offered beyond Sub-Saharan
Africa. By expanding its offering to Peru, Water For People will satisfy Phase 1 of its 2010-2014 strategic plan, while
supporting a child’s right to play.
Meredith Jachowicz
University Honors in Sociology
Capstone Advisor: Andrea Brenner
Courage, Charm, and Compassion: Gender Roles in Newbery Medal Winning Books
Children learn behaviors through media examples, including behaviors tied to gender. Girls can be presented as
domestic and passive; boys are seen as adventurous and active, with reinforcement even in Newbery Medal-winning
books for children. Past studies discovered the discrepancy between male and female roles in Newbery Medal winners, but none have updated these discrepancies since the last major study. This project uses content analysis to
analyze gender roles and stereotypes in Newbery Medal winners from 1998 to 2009. Within the theoretical framework of sociologists Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Candace West and Don Zimmerman and educational theorist Paulo
Freire, this study examined the number of well-developed and total characters in each book by gender. In addition,
it used Perry Nodelman’s home-away-home model of children’s literature to focus on critical points in the narrative
and assessed each protagonist through descriptions, actions and dialogue. From this methodology, common themes
emerged pointing primarily to the evolving roles of male protagonists and the static, traditional roles to which female
protagonists are relegated. This study is essential in beginning to understand the complexity of the creation and reification of gendered stereotypes in children through award-winning literature.
48
2010 Capstone Abstracts
Benjamin Jardines
University Honors in Business Administration
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
Big Pharma’s 2009-2013 Patent Cliff: A Comparison of Company-Level Responses and
Strategic Recommendations for Pfizer, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company
The pharmaceutical industry faces an unprecedented number of patent expirations for its pharmaceutical products
between 2009 and 2013. Due to impending generic competition, the industry expects to lose 18 percent of total
sales, equal to roughly $137 billion. This report provides an overview of strategic industry initiatives implemented
to combat this patent cliff, followed by an in-depth analysis of two key competitors: Pfizer, Inc. and Eli Lilly and
Company. The two firms offer a well-suited juxtaposition due to their differing approaches to a common problem.
Pfizer’s management team opted to preserve margins through mostly inorganic growth and diversification, while Eli
Lilly is committed to organic development led by investment in biologic-based research and development. In addition
to the company-level analysis, the report offers short-term and long-term recommendations specifically tailored to
each company’s strategic and financial outlook.
*Aditi Jhaveri
University Honors in Business Administration
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
Cause-Related Marketing: An In-Depth Analysis
Marketing is viewed by some individuals as a deceptive and devious practice. However, corporations can use marketing
in ways that benefit society and can also help their bottom-line. Cause-related marketing (CRM) refers to an affiliation
between a for-profit corporation and a non-profit organization, through which proceeds linked with particular products
are donated to a cause on a short-term or ongoing basis. Today’s marketplace illustrates an increasing number of
corporations investing their marketing dollars on CRM. Why is this? Research shows that properly executed CRM
campaigns can provide many benefits to corporations, causes and consumers. This Capstone discusses and analyzes
best practices in CRM, describes case histories of companies and brands that have successfully utilized CRM, and also
offers implications for managers to consider.
Nick Jonczak
University Honors in Interdisciplinary Studies: Theater Activism
Capstone Advisor: Gail Humphries-Mardirosian
Exploring Art as Escape and Defiance through Performance in the Voices of Terezin Project
Performance has the capacity to move, excite, anger and invigorate. By studying the multi-faceted history of the
Terezin concentration camp in a spring 2010 Honors Colloquium, “Voices of Terezin,” I learned how victims of the
Nazi Holocaust used performance to help them endure their torturous experiences. Many prisoners looked to plays
and experiences before the war as a haven to which they could escape from their everyday lives. Others focused their
attention on writing and performing new plays that defied Nazi censorship and rejected their oppression. The Smoke
of Home, a play written in Terezin, bridges the gap between the two, and by playing the character Casellius, a semiautobiographical representative of one of the playwrights, I gained personal insight into what it was like to suffer and
create in Terezin. Through the rehearsal and performance process, I learned that the act of performing is in itself an
act of defiance.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
49
*Katherine Jurczyk
University Honors in History
Capstone Advisor: Kimberly Sims
It Takes a Village: Skiing in America from the Ground Up
Ski areas are often the keystones to the economic growth and prosperity of their communities, and as such they
provide a unique and incredibly useful lens for studying local history. No place in America boasts a richer ski heritage
than the Mt. Washington Valley of New Hampshire, where, in the early 20th century, the groundwork was laid for
the future of the sport in North America. This study evaluates the region’s transformation into the nation’s winter
tourism epicenter in light of the unique, community-based methods used to promote the fledgling sport of skiing.
The development of the sport in America was not solely grounded in technological innovation or the personal appeal
of a few influential role-players. It grew from a collaborative community effort that facilitated the fusion of people
and cultures across continents and left a legacy that permeates the region, the sport and the industry it created.
Madeline Karp
University Honors in History
Capstone Advisor: Kimberly Sims
Revive, Relive, Remember: Re-enactors and the Memory of the American Revolution
According to the American Revolution Center’s 2009 study, “The American Revolution. Who Cares?” approximately
83 percent of American adults would fail a basic test covering early American history. The results of the study further
indicate that Americans are losing their public memory of the American Revolution. Using volunteer and hobbyist
Revolutionary War re-enactors as a case study, this project discusses the roles of memory and of the public (i.e., nonacademic historians) in the preservation and interpretation of late 18th-century American history.
*Jenny Keating
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Nanette Levinson
Microfinance in the United States: A Case-Study Analysis of Mercy Corps Northwest
Microenterprise and microfinancing have traditionally been used as tools to address poverty in the developing world.
However, a recent trend of microlending to individuals and small businesses within the United States is challenging
the perception that this practice is only applicable in the developing world. This Capstone uses a social entrepreneurial
lens to provide an in-depth case-study analysis of Mercy Corps Northwest, an organization headquartered in Portland,
Oregon, that practices microfinancing with entrepreneurs and low-income individuals in Oregon and Washington.
This case study offers an inside look as to how microfinance is practiced in the United States and how it differs
from organizations doing similar work in the developing world. It also highlights the major challenges faced by
microfinance institutions in the U.S., namely achieving scale and stable funding, and offers recommendations for
Mercy Corps Northwest for the future.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
50
2010 Capstone Abstracts
Jacqueline Kemp
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Simon Nicholson
We Are What We Eat: How Industrialization of Food is Negatively Impacting
Formation of Personal Identity
How and what people eat are fundamental to who they are, yet Americans still search for the “right” way to eat. Critics
of the stereotypical American fast food diet point fingers at corporate monopoly, government manipulation, or naïve
consumerism for the rapid degrade in nutritional health. However, this Capstone suggests that industrialization may
actually be at fault for shaping the grounds on which one bases personal identity. The principles of industrialization
have become so entrenched in every aspect of American life, that one’s development of his or her own personhood
is largely based on those ideals of productivity and control. And so, by qualifying identity on these terms, food’s
significance in one’s life has diminished to the purpose of “fuel” for economic output. Seeing food as merely fuel is
causing serious illnesses – among them obesity and eating disorders. With a more balanced valuation of personhood,
Americans can eat more wholly and develop a healthy relationship with food.
Emma Kerr
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Maggie Stogner
Plants or People? The Challenges of Tackling Environmental Issues
in Developing Countries
This Capstone explains the differences between the environmental issues faced by developed and developing countries,
in that those living in poverty in developing nations often have no recourse but to overexploit their environment for
sustenance. Environmental issues in developing nations are also more local and immediately life-threatening. In
order to reduce environmental degradation in developing nations, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, local people must
be integrally involved in conservation efforts. Alternative forms of sustenance must be explored and environmental
education must be implemented to change misperceptions. When locals understand the value of wildlife beyond
traditional uses they are able to take pride in their environment and actively contribute to its conservation. This
Capstone analyzes the successful efforts of Amy Vedder and Bill Weber, who worked closely with local inhabitants to
save the endangered mountain gorillas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. As Rwandans began
to understand the value in protecting their environment, both for the gorillas and themselves, they demonstrated
inspiring stewardship and protected the gorillas during the most trying and dangerous circumstances.
Jessica Killingley
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Victoria Connaughton
Diabetic Retinopathy: Examining Pericyte-Endothelial Relationships Using
Zebrafish and Rat Retinas
Diabetic retinopathy is the most common complication of diabetes. High blood sugar causes changes in retinal
blood vessels, impairing vision and eventually resulting in blindness. Using a trypsin digest, the retinal vasculature of
hyperglycemic zebrafish and control zebrafish and rats were exposed and PAS stained. Examination of vasculature
included observation of endothelial cells and pericytes. Loss of both cells due to aging is normal but significant loss
of more pericyte cells than endothelial cells occurs frequently in diabetics and is one of the earliest abnormalities seen
histopathologically in diabetic retinopathy. Great loss of pericytes results in shunting, or limiting blood flow through
only a few capillaries, and microaneurysms and endothelial proliferation can occur in the few vessels receiving all the
blood flow. Images of the stained vasculature provide qualitative data on cell patterns. Further research should focus
on quantitative data of cell frequency.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
51
Nicholas Keoki Kilstein
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Gregg Ivers
Operation Enduring Freedoms: The Strange Case of the First Amendment
during the War on Terror: A Tale of Survival
Given the United States government’s history of violating the First Amendment during wartime and the Bush
administration’s abysmal record on civil liberties during the War on Terror, it should come as a surprise that the First
Amendment stayed relatively safe during George W. Bush’s War on Terror. The paper first documents the ways in
which the Bush administration did violate the First Amendment. Still, given the historical context, the size and scope
of First Amendment violations were small. Why, when other liberties were so abused, did the First Amendment
remain protected? The paper demonstrates the three main factors. (1) The Supreme Court: The War on Terror was
the first long-sustained conflict fought under precedents established during the Cold War and the Vietnam War.
Moreover, the justices who sat on the Court during the War on Terror did not seem inclined to acquiesce to severe
abuses of the First Amendment. (2) The People: With 200 years of history behind them, the American people had
finally settled on the idea that the First Amendment must always be protected, even during war time. (3) Evolutionary
Suppression: The Bush administration did not severely abuse the First Amendment during the War on Terror because
doing so was of little utility. Rather than suppress speech, they manipulated it. The paper is based on an examination
of primary, secondary and legal sources.
*Ryan Korn
University Honors
Capstone Advisors: Benjamin Jensen, Peter Brusoe
The Democracy Game: A U.S. Presidential Elections Board Game
and Applied Literature Review
The purpose of this Capstone has broadly been to devise a fun and interactive means to teach Americans from all
walks of life about, and engage them in, our politics. To do this, I first performed original research to determine
whether educational board games, as a type of role-play or simulation, positively influence learning outcomes. I
concluded that they do. Second, I wrote an applied literature review on campaign effects and voting behavior in U.S.
presidential elections to understand how the most high profile campaigns influence electoral outcomes. Finally, I
used this analysis to craft and construct a preliminary board game that pits players against each other in a simplified,
yet accurate and accessible simulation of a presidential campaign. Through its very nature as a game, I hope that my
Capstone can, to some degree, educate the unaware and engage the uninterested in our political process.
Stephen Kos
University Honors in Biochemistry
Capstone Advisor: Douglas Fox
Studying the Absorption Properties of Ethyl Lactate: A “Green” Alternative to
Common Laboratory Solvents
Ethyl lactate is a corn-derived, alternative, “green” solvent that is nontoxic and an excellent solvent for greases,
inks and paints. It is also used in the synthesis of certain biodegradable plastics and has potential applications
within the pharmaceutical industry. Only recently have advances in technology allowed for the cheap production of
this solvent, so information on its physical properties as a solvent and in binary solutions with a co-solvent is still
relatively nonexistent. Using a UV/VIS spectrometer, it was possible to measure the degree to which ethyl lactate
and other solvents absorbed a standard dye at different temperatures, and the correlation of these results will give
a straightforward illustration of the solvating power of ethyl lactate. Hopefully this publication will lead to more
widespread use of the chemical.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
52
2010 Capstone Abstracts
Abigail LaBella
University Honors in Biology
Capstone Advisor: David Angelini
Allometry and Insulin: The Insulin Receptor Pathway and Its Contribution
to the Development of Allometry in Beetles
Allometry is the study of the relationship between the size of an organism’s body and the size of individual appendages
or organs. The size of the body and its appendages is dependent on the rate of proliferation, a rate controlled by the
insulin pathway and the Insulin Receptor Protein (InR). To investigate the roll of InR in the allometry of the red flour
beetle Tribolium Castaneum, this Capstone uses RNAi knockdowns to monitor for changes in appendage size relative
to body size. Of the two dsRNAs created to induce InR knockdown, one produced a decreased appendage to body
size ratio while the other eliminated any relationship between appendage size and body size. This result indicates that
InR is involved in determining allometry but the different results between the two primers suggests that it may do so
in varying degrees of effectiveness.
Carra Landa
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Klaus Veigel
Down But Not Out: Exerting Civilian Control Over Latin American
Post-Regime Militaries
Military coups and transitions to democracy were common occurrences in Latin America during the second half of
the 20th century. Following the return to democracy, civilian governments had to deal with the legacy of the military
dictatorship in a political context in which the military remained a powerful force. This paper makes the case that the power
play between the military and the opposition determines the outcome of immediate post-regime decisions regarding
the role of the armed forces in civilian life, as well as any culpability regarding human rights violations to be assumed
by the regime. Case studies of Argentina, Chile and El Salvador illustrate this phenomenon in a number of different
contexts. Furthermore, to ensure that the military’s interests remain checked, subsequent civilian governments must
assume the role of a moderately oppositional actor. This study has important implications for transitional democracies,
as a thorough analysis may provide valuable insight into the key elements of a successful democratization.
Jacqueline LaPorte
University Honors in Business Administration
Capstone Advisor: Jennifer Oetzel
Diversity Management: Analysis of Responsible Management Practices
Globalization creates opportunities for the transfer of economic, social and cultural information. In the realm of
business, globalization has driven the integration of these factors in the workplace. This paper examines several of
the pre-existing theories behind the importance of diversity management, its implementation and plausible effects.
Differences in the approach to diversity management are further analyzed at the company level with the examination
of current corporate practices. The developing importance of this initiative is also considered in terms of the
important emerging markets of today’s international companies. Diversity management in various respects will play a
continuously important role as globalization drives the integration of cultures.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
53
Kristell Le Goff
University Honors in History
Capstone Advisor: Laura Beers
“Et Derrière: Le Juif:” The Effectiveness of Visual Anti-Semitic Propaganda
in France, 1940-1944
Previous research has proven Nazi Germany’s extensive role in anti-Semitic propaganda. Less understood is the part
played by Vichy France. France, divided into an occupied and a “free” zone, built upon traditional anti-Semitism to
paint the Jews as the enemy: perpetrators of the black market, manipulators of the Allied powers and outsiders posing
a distinct threat to the French people and nation. Drawing on different media of visual propaganda – namely posters,
newsreels, films and exhibits – it is possible to examine the different methods authorities used to label the Jews as
the enemy. However, based on opinion polls, personal accounts, police reports and timeline chronology, it can be
concluded that anti-Semitic propaganda was mostly ineffective in creating feelings of hatred against the Jews in the
minds of the French people.
Andréana Lefton
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Daniel Esser
Divided Cities, Emergent Space: Chaos and the Geography of Urban Relationships
We are increasingly a world of cities. At the same time, urban walls and barriers are proliferating like never before.
These walls are viewed as destructive to civil society, but they also represent relationship boundaries, those fraught
and fertile spaces where “life blossoms.” This paper investigates relationship boundaries in the context of two
divided conurbations: Tijuana/San Diego and Bethlehem/Jerusalem. Drawing on chaos/complexity science, urban
sociology and human geography, a theory of relationality is proposed that predicts the creation of “new space” at the
relationship boundary. The data-set, consisting of blogs and grassroots/netroots organizations, allows the voices of
artists, activists and ordinary citizens to be analyzed for clues as to what this new space looks like and what it tells us
about the future of cities. Due to the generative property inherent in all relationship boundaries, new space is shown
to be a distinctive feature of border life even in conflict zones.
Andréana Lefton
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Douglas Klusmeyer
‘Layers, Cells, and Constellations’: Kant and Madison on Politics for a Global Age
Immanuel Kant and James Madison were two Enlightenment figures concerned with the problem of difference –
how should a modern polity deal with human diversity? Their distinct formulations of federal republicanism hint at
a redefinition of politics that engages, rather than excludes, difference. Federalism, for Kant and Madison, provides
the foundation from which to expand and integrate notions of state sovereignty and political community. This paper
analyzes federalism in three layers. First, its origins are explored, from covenant to contract to constitution. Next, the
Peace of Westphalia is reinterpreted and shown to be both a product and continuation of this ancient federal tradition.
Finally, a discussion of republicanism brings to light the moral, political and social facets of federalism. By presenting
the ideas of Kant and Madison in counterpoint to each other and to their greater historical context, this paper seeks
a true “body politic” – a complex and differentially connected human sphere.
54
2010 Capstone Abstracts
Matthew Lehtonen
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Victoria Kiechel
City Roots: A Plan for Sustainable Redevelopment of the Dupont Circle Trolley Station
Early in 2010, the D.C. government issued a request for proposals for the redevelopment of the historic Dupont
Trolley Station located beneath the street at Dupont Circle. This Capstone seeks to create a proposal for a sustainable
redevelopment of the space that was both visionary and grounded in the history, culture and expectations of the
Dupont Circle community. Research into the history and human psychology of subterranean spaces and the history
of Dupont Circle, as well as interviews with the leaders of local community and business associations, has resulted in
a proposal for a subterranean garden and commercial composting facility titled City Roots. In addition to an emphasis
on local food production, the proposal embodies other criteria of sustainable building and neighborhood design
including the provision of a vibrant public space, carbon-neutral power production and promotion of education and
the arts. The culmination of this Capstone is the development of a virtual 3D model of the plan and presentation of
the proposal to officials from the District Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.
Emma LePore
University Honors in Language and Area Studies: Spanish/Latin America
Capstone Advisor: Jorge Ata
Plan Colombia: Como los Estados Unidos Perdió la Lucha Contra
el Narcotráfico en Colombia
Colombia has long been an ally of the United States and among all Latin American countries receives the most U.S.
foreign aid. Since 2001, the vast majority of this aid has been in the form of Plan Colombia, originally a developmental
plan for Colombia that was transformed into a military plan by its primary foreign funder, the United States. The
U.S. implemented a plan that served their primary interest in Colombia – drug eradication – without considering the
complex history of the country or the implications of these actions for Colombians. This policy change has had
mostly detrimental effects on the war on drugs, the internal conflict and development programs in Colombia. Despite
the billions of dollars the U.S. has spent on Plan Colombia, there have been few significant gains. Throughout the
region, the U.S. has lost support from many countries and former allies because of Plan Colombia’s hegemonic nature.
Plan Colombia failed because the United States did not understand the full scope of the problem that it was trying to
fix, which resulted in hurting not only Colombia, but all U.S.-Latin American relations.
Michael Levy
University Honors in Economics
Capstone Advisor: Caren Grown
The Effects of Microfinance on Women’s Empowerment in Zimbabwe
The international relations community regards microfinance to be one of the most effective tools in its efforts to
empower women. Although there has been substantial empirical assessment, it does not often reach beyond the
household level, failing to accurately quantify mircofinance’s empowering capability. Using the Assessing the Impact
of Microenterprise Services (AIMS) dataset on Zimbabwe, this Capstone investigates whether the Zambuko Trust
Bank delivers the agency women require to enter the process of empowerment. Before conducting econometric
analysis, I will reconcile contrasting scholarly definitions of empowerment to ensure that the variables, which will
include data on household expenditures, household demographics, and proxies for self-esteem, capture empowerment
as a process and not a state of being. The AIMS dataset includes information on the individual, household and
microenterprise level. The findings will not only explore material changes that result from the provision of microcredit,
but psychological and behavioral changes as well.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
55
Graciela Lopez
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Nuria Vilanova
Reclaiming Perceptions of Mestiza Spirituality through Dance, Storytelling and Poetry
This is a two-part Capstone. First, it is an inter-disciplinary theoretical analysis of the roles that La Malinche, Sor Juana
Ines De La Cruz and Gloria Anzaldua played in their symbolic historical location. Despite the economic and religious
barriers for social mobility, they were able to thrive and transcend expectations of women. Second, it is a multi-medium
performance piece, incorporating dance, storytelling and poetry to bring to life these three women with a focus on their
relationships to their spirituality. There are two main purposes of this Capstone: to provide a theoretical analysis of
the ways in which these women challenged the dominant social and gendering practices and norms during their time
periods, and to explore the role of performance in reaching a wider audience to teach the historical genealogy of these
mestiza women and to redefine our perceptions of the role of mestiza spirituality in history. These women have been
left out of the history books, yet they have played instrumental roles in challenging their oppressive dominant cultures.
Camille March
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Robert Sicina
A New Framework for Sustainable Development in the Least Developed Countries:
A Practical Approach Emerges from the Conflict between Sachs and Easterly
With over a fifth of the world’s population living under the poverty line, primarily in countries with aggressive disparity
between the rulers and the ruled, poverty has the ability to destabilize entire regions. Debates have raged for years over
the possible causes and solutions, only to result in the creation of two prominent camps. From the theories of Sachs
and Easterly, a practical solution emerges that utilizes the strengths and weaknesses of each camp. An integrated and
adaptable solution will enable the international donor community to access the public and private sector to make a
significant dent in extreme poverty across the globe.
Adam Ma’ruf
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Stephen Casey
The Analysis of Random Signals: Spectral and Bayesian Estimation Methods
for Stochastic Processes
This Capstone explores popular methods in the field of Signal Processing of analyzing stochastic processes. Stochastic
processes form the basis of the mathematical modeling of various physical, chemical, biological and economic phenomena,
making sound statistical analysis of them critical. This paper first develops the mathematical foundations of Fourier Analysis
and the theory of stochastic processes. It then develops popular spectral and Bayesian estimation methods and illustrates
their application to time series data. Simulations produced in Matlab are included so as to enhance an intuitive understanding
of these methods.
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Natalie Matthews
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Pek Koon Heng-Blackburn
Impact of the Internet and Political Development in China
This paper examines the tension between the economic dimension of the Internet and its socio-political dimension. The
experience of Google in China is used to critique modernization theory, as characterized by Seymour Martin Lipset’s
work. Despite predictions of political change in China due to the spread of the Internet, this paper demonstrates that
more complexities exist in the relationship between Internet use and the Chinese political environment. An analysis of
academic literature and media reports shows that China has successfully maintained a balance of commercial benefits
with minimal political fallout. While Google’s January 2010 announcement exposed the tensions U.S. ICT companies
experience in participating in Chinese Internet censorship, Google’s exit from mainland China demonstrates the
Chinese government’s success in managing the impact of the Internet. Though Google’s actions have drawn new
attention to this dilemma, U.S. companies have largely chosen commercial considerations over politics in accepting
censorship restrictions, thus contributing to the limited impact of the Internet on China’s political development.
Melanie McCarthy
University Honors in Literature
Capstone Advisor: Michael Manson
Fractured Glass: J.D. Salinger’s Glass Family Stories as a Short Story Cycle
When J.D. Salinger died earlier this year, his Glass family stories were described in his obituaries as strange and flawed
– a set of works worthy of consideration because they were written by the canonized author of The Catcher in the Rye.
The stories’ negative reputation carries over from when they were initially published, as they were harshly condemned
by critics. However, looking at the specific criticisms the stories received reveals that many critics’ complaints stemmed
from their reading the stories with the expectation of the wrong genre – interpreting individual stories or groupings of
stories as novels. On the contrary, this paper argues that the Glass stories are best read as a short story cycle – a littleknown genre in which a set of short stories are linked, often by character, setting or theme. In the decades in which
scholars have been analyzing Salinger’s work, only one scholar has proposed reading the stories this way, Eberhard
Alsen, but even Alsen regards Salinger’s use of the cycle form as a flaw in need of explanation. On the contrary, the
fragmentary cycle form was ideal for Salinger’s subject, a meditation on the nature of family and identity. This project
has two aims: to illustrate that the Glass family series is best read as a short story cycle and to demonstrate that Salinger
made an astute choice in choosing the short story cycle form for his subject matter.
Jared McCoy
University Honors in Literature
Capstone Advisors: Madhavi Menon, David Pike
Death & Dilettantism: A Tropological Reading of In Search of Lost Time
In Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, the final volume, Time Regained, and the third volume, The Guermantes Way, tell
us very different things about death. This Capstone examines the linguistic predicament opened up where and when
death is displaced in the novel. I am interested primarily in death as a subject of discourse and an incontrovertible
aspect of text. In calling this a tropological study, I mean in part that I am interested in tropes – metaphor in
particular. But, following in the footsteps of Paul de Man, I am interested in expanding tropology to the discussion
of the very act of reading and interpretation. In Time Regained, the narrator claims that he no longer fears death. The
first half of this paper works through the metaphorical movement between art and life that underlies this claim. The
latter half interrogates the extent to which metaphor can really displace death.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
57
Mary McKee
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Philip Brenner
Tango as Metaphor
To outsiders, Argentine tango seems showy, risqué, taboo and sexual. Yet, these stereotypical images fail to portray
tango’s deceptive simplicity or its spiritual and mental components that captivate dancers worldwide. This non-linear
exploration of tango as metaphor for life involves readings from a variety of disciplines and participation in five
core components of the Argentine tango experience, bridging the gap between academia and “the real world” to
help me transition to life after college. My goal was to increase my awareness of tango’s influences on my life and to
explore the highly personal side of tango by developing a strong practice-partner relationship with another dancer
through written reflections and work toward an unchoreographed dance performance. This presentation showcases
the progress my partner and I have made in nonverbal communication after a semester-long tango relationship by
testing our abilities to create a seamless, improvised dance performance while under pressure.
Alexander Mensing
University Honors in History
Capstone Advisor: Kimberly Sims
Take This Plane to Havana! U.S. Perceptions of Cuba:
The Hijacking Crisis of 1968-1973 and the 1973 U.S.-Cuban Hijacking Agreement
U.S. nationals have had very little interaction with Cuban nationals since the Cuban Revolution of 1959, but Cuba has remained
the subject of much heated debate and controversy. The expulsion of U.S. businesses and influence from Cuba by 1961 did
not sit well with a U.S. population that had grown accustomed to vacationing and doing business on the island, and many
came to see Fidel Castro as a traitor, wild and crazy. There were a few radical members of the New Left and Black Nationalist
movements, however, who supported the Cuban Revolution, romanticizing it as a path to racial and social paradise. From
1968-1972, 85 U.S. planes were hijacked by those radicals and flown to Havana, where they hoped to escape U.S. oppression and
join the revolutionary cause. These hijackings set off a national debate in the U.S. media over the identity and motives of the
hijackers, their fate in Cuba, the merits of Cuban communism and U.S. foreign policy. Throughout the course of the hijacking
crisis, Cuba’s willingness to cooperate became clearer and many Americans began to believe that the Cuban government was
not as irrational and unapproachable as most had thought, nor was it the utopia that radicals had hoped it would be. The
successful signing of an anti-hijacking agreement by the American and Cuban governments in 1973 confirmed the growing U.S.
support for normalizing diplomatic relations and helped to spark the limited cooperation that occurred during the 1970s.
Stephanie Merwin
University Honors in Psychology
Capstone Advisor: James Gray
Feeding Disorders of Infants and Toddlers: A Follow-up Study to the Treatment
of Infantile Anorexia
Feeding disorders of infants and toddlers have become more prevalent as diagnostic criteria and assessment are specialized, yet
few longitudinal studies have been conducted to investigate the effectiveness of treatment. Infantile Anorexia (IA) is a specific
feeding disorder that often emerges between six months and three years of age, characterized by the child’s refusal to eat
adequate amounts of food, an inability to regulate hunger and fullness, distractibility and a greater interest in the environment
than eating and significant growth deficiency. Between 2000 and 2005, a treatment study for children diagnosed with IA focused
on the internal regulation of eating according to hunger and fullness. The goals of the study consisted of helping parents
to understand their child, implement feeding guidelines to set up regular mealtimes and address limit-setting for the child’s
oppositional behaviors during mealtime. Currently, a follow-up study is being conducted to examine the long-term effects of
the treatment of IA, investigating the children’s eating behavior, anxiety and externalizing behavior, cognitive development, and
the parents’ stress and psychopathology. This research examines the assessment and treatment of Infantile Anorexia and the
follow-up study that will provide crucial insight to the effectiveness of treatment and the development of these children.
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
*Katelyn Miller
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Kimberly Sims
American-Germans or German-Americans? Defining the Pennsylvania Dutch, 1891-1918
This thesis explores how the Pennsylvania Dutch defined themselves in the 1890s as “Pennsylvania-Germans,” and
the subsequent impact of that definition on how the group was perceived during World War I. Descendants of
Colonial German immigrants, the Pennsylvania Dutch maintained their own German dialect and cultural traditions.
This study utilizes the publications of the Pennsylvania-German Society and The Pennsylvania-German magazine to
explore contemporary expressions of Pennsylvania Dutch ethnicity, while depending on periodical and newspaper
evidence to examine representations of the Pennsylvania Dutch in the press during the period of American neutrality.
As a result of the decision to refer to themselves as “Pennsylvania-Germans,” the Pennsylvania Dutch struggled to
develop a public narrative that defined their American heritage in the wake of the anti-German hysteria that developed
on the American home front.
Suzanne Monsivais
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Carolyn Gallaher
Assessing the Social Insurance Role of Churches for Salvadoran Immigrants
in the Washington, D.C., Area
This Capstone examines how churches in the Washington, D.C., area provide social insurance to native-Salvadoran
parishioners and their families. Leaders of immigrant-oriented ministries at Protestant churches were interviewed to
evaluate (1) the types of aid churches administer to their parishioners and (2) how parishioners perceive the role of
religious institutions in their lives. This study concludes that immigrant ministries are primarily providers of social
insurance, and that religious practice is often completely divorced from the process of providing aid. Additionally,
these services are frequently the only form of aid available to the Salvadoran population utilizing them. With respect
to the current recession, this study finds that the need for aid has indeed grown in immigrant communities. However,
this need has been somewhat offset by a growing pool of volunteers who have recently become unemployed or
underemployed and are seeking experience until they are able to find paid work.
Aaron Montenegro
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Bette Dickerson
Re-Thinking Diversity and Multiculturalism at American University
Under the Strategic Plan adopted in December 2008, American University has dedicated itself to “reflect and value
diversity.” Administrators pledged a commitment to “significantly improve the diversity of our community, with
particular attention to the inclusion of underrepresented domestic minority students.” This paper tracks the progress
of the Strategic Plan by looking at the implementation and expansion of certain campus programs that follow the
outlined commitments. At the same time, the discourse used in this framework will be problematized as terms like
diversity, community and inclusion will be examined through a critical analysis based on issues of power and the
politics of knowledge. The goal of the work is to ignite discussion on a form of multiculturalism that goes beyond
mere simple “inclusion.” The collective differences people possess in terms of historical agency and responsibility
will be placed into context as a more critical pedagogy is promoted.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
59
Tim Moore
University Honors in History
Capstone Advisor: Robert Griffith
The Disneyfication of Stone Mountain: A Park’s Response to Its Visitors
This project seeks to explore the dynamics between visitor preference and management decisions at Stone Mountain
Park near Atlanta, Georgia. Stone Mountain began as private property, eventually becoming the site of the largest
Confederate Memorial. This study traces the changes at the mountain from the days of private ownership, through the
state purchase of the mountain in 1958 and the partial privatization of the park in 1998, to the conditions at present.
The growing focus on entertainment over natural and historical resources characterizes the perceived changes that the
state agency (the Stone Mountain Memorial Association) and the private entity (Herschend Family Entertainment)
believe occurred in their visitors over the last half-century. This study has the potential to influence other studies on
similar subjects at other historic sites and parks. Finally, the changes at Stone Mountain are indicative of patterns that
are beginning to affect other sites today.
Ravenna Motil-McGuire
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Rachel Sullivan Robinson
Redefining Perceptions of Africa through Art
My Capstone was developed in response to two disturbing trends which I have found to be present in academic and
social discourse around Africa: the global north’s willingness to oversimplify and stereotype Africa, and the presence
within the United States of a false dichotomy between art and academia. In conjunction with World AIDS Day,
which often targets Africa’s pandemic, I brought to campus five African artists, Ethiopian food, and Kenyan artwork
to celebrate the continent’s creativity. The line-up included Bassey Ikpi, Femi Lawal, Mongezi Ntaka, Abdulzaltar
Kuku, and Leonard Kessie. While participants were joining the event I asked that they anonymously write down
words which they associated with Africa. Following brief performances, the artists were invited to sit on a panel that
engaged the audience in a discussion of perceptions of Africa and how they can be enriched.
*Carlos Munoz Burgos
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Narendran Kumarakulasingam
Unmasking the Bolivarian Revolution: An Analysis of the Interpretation
of Simon Bolivar in Venezuela
Chavez’s Bolivarian Revolution emerges as a response to the failures of the Washington Consensus, as well as to the
stagnation of a democratic system, which failed to provide for the most unfortunate sectors of the population. After
exploring how Simon Bolivar became a symbol in the Venezuelan collective imaginary, this paper, applying discourse
theory, analyzes how the Chavistas have interpreted Bolivar in order to achieve their political objectives. The analysis
shows that a Manichean discourse is often employed by Chavez and his followers to vilify the opposition and deify
their cause.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Julie Munro
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Judy Shapiro
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Bridging the Gap between
Farm and Food Security
When the Food Stamp Program was first implemented during the Great Depression, one of its main tenets was to
help reinforce farm security by redistributing surplus commodity crops to low-income people. Since, the Food Stamp
Program – now the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – has transformed to focus almost entirely
on food security, while at the same time ignoring farm security and making it difficult for government food assistance
beneficiaries to access environmentally-sustainable food from local farms. Recently, there have been both government
and private foundation initiatives to curb this reality and provide incentives for SNAP participants to purchase locally
sourced food at farmers’ markets; however, much of the financial burden has been put on the markets themselves.
In Washington, D.C., the “Double Dollars” program has been tremendously successful in bridging the gap between
farm and food security, but the success of programs like this depends on sustained funding. In order to ensure that
government food assistance recipients have access to environmentally sustainable food, the federal government will
need to make a commitment to consistently fund and publicize its initiatives so that food security can be achieved
without threatening farm security.
Alexis Nadin
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Nanette Levinson
Reaching the Grassroots through Grantmaking in Africa
Using survey responses from more than 180 African development organizations and interviews with American and
European grantmakers, this Capstone evaluates the ability of grassroots organizations in Africa to seek, apply and
implement grants from funders that target grassroots organizations. After decades of attempted development in Africa,
development experts are calling for a shift from top-down development to an emphasis on the grassroots. Numerous
American and European philanthropic organizations have emerged to more effectively funnel financial support to the
grassroots in Africa, but are they successfully reaching grassroots organizations, and do grassroots organizations have
the capacity to meet the criteria of those funders? This research finds that a majority of development organizations
in Africa are in fact complying with best practices in organizational management, budgeting and monitoring and
evaluation as they are defined by American and European funders; yet, more than 30 percent of organizations have
never received grant funding. This discovery necessitates a greater understanding of the barriers preventing local
development organizations from accessing much-needed funding.
Thyra Nast
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Lynn Kunkle
Mourchidates: Promoting a New Role in Islam for Women in Morocco and the Global
Muslim Community
Morocco has been hailed as a leader in the global Muslim community because of its recent official efforts to increase
gender equality and female empowerment. In 2006, the first class of mourchidates – the first female, state-trained,
religious leaders in any Arab country – graduated. This research employs select academic works, media and government
reports, and interviews with a former Grand Mufti, Rajaa Naji – one of the trainers and program developers – as well as
with Sarah Islam, an Islamic family law scholar. Both negative and positive results thus far are explored, to help predict
the future success of the program. However, time is necessary to determine the program’s full capacity and effects.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
61
Tram Nguyen
University Honors in Business Administration
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
Whole Foods: Potential Market in Vietnam
With Whole Food’s success in the U.S. organic food market, this research explores a possible approach for the company’s
expansion into Vietnam. As an emerging market for foreign investments and with great development in economic growth,
Vietnam is the ideal new market for the organic food giant. This paper outlines the costs and benefits of a “make-or-buy”
decision which leads to the final recommendation of an acquisition. The research also includes a brief marketing plan for this
business endeavor as Whole Foods finds its niche in Vietnam’s booming market.
J. Matt Noreika
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Benjamin Jensen
Toward Unmanned Power: How a Revolution in Military Affairs is Transforming the Way
We Understand Warfare in the 21st Century
The year 2010 marks a turning point in the United States military doctrine as the Pentagon, for the first time ever, will purchase
more unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) than all conventional aircraft combined. This transition in American air power reflects the
ongoing proliferation of UAS and other remotely-operated vehicles in the battlespace. Never before have human beings been so
directly involved in combat under conditions of such perfect invulnerability and physical disconnect. Yet, although unmanned systems
continually prove to be an invaluable asset for the safety of American pilots and soldiers, few have sought to determine the longterm implications of unmanned warfare. By comparing it to revolutions in military affairs (RMA) of the past, this study analyzes
the changing nature of war as it pertains to the socio-political, psychological and ethical norms of modern conflict. It finds that
international convention may soon be necessary to regulate the use of future unmanned weapons. The ultimate goal of this work is
to provide a framework for popular discussion on the potential ramifications of this emerging RMA.
Zarina Nurmukhambetova
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Adam Tamashasky
Writing the Documentary: Where is Home?
Approaching the end of studies, every student has to decide what to do next. Ideally, one has the luxury to follow his or her dreams.
However, a particular category of students does not have the same freedom – international students. These students are either bound
by frigid legal restrictions or have an inner sense of duty that compels them to return to their home. Yet, after such formative years
abroad, what defines home for students in these situations? This documentary explores the questions of national identity and duty by
looking at a Kazakh family that agrees to their daughter’s decision to study in the U.S. Over years, the family learns how to deal with
distance, changing values and opposing views while remaining a loving, supportive family.
Julie Oswald
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Kimberly Sims
Memory’s Handmaiden: Material Culture, Historical Memory
and the South Beach Jewish Community
Little research exists on how memorials may be, in addition to transmitters of collective memory, objects of material culture. My
research, funded by an AU Summer Research Fellowship that allowed me to visit the Miami Holocaust Memorial, helps to fill this gap
in the historical field of material culture studies. Through site visits and local archival research, I examined the relationship between
material culture and historical memory. I found that, while the memorial does transmit a particular collective memory of the Holocaust,
its greatest merit lies in its existence as an object of material culture. As such, the memorial provides scholars with a new source with
which they may better examine the society and culture of the South Beach Jewish community.
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Katrina Otero
University Honor in History
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Kimberly Sims
The Biblical Roots of American Egyptology, 1880s-1930s
The field of Egyptology intends to uncover the past of the ancient Egyptians, but who were the people who first started
researching ancient Egypt? Most of the literature about early Egyptology focuses on the development of methods
and techniques in archeology and philology. The result is that the motivation which caused those changes is lost. This
research investigates the extent to which Christianity influenced early American Egyptology and why this influence has
disappeared from the historiography. To answer these questions I investigated two early American Egyptologists, James
Henry Breasted and George Andrew Reisner. Their academic work revealed an ongoing debate about the place of
the Bible in archeology and history. Since both men ultimately decided that religion and academia should not entwine,
they wrote out any references to religion or the Bible in their own historiographies of the field. Therefore, Christianity
had a large influence on early American Egyptology by shaping its academic debates, but it was this controversy that
ultimately led to its disappearance from the historiography.
Kera Package
University Honors
Capstone Advisors: Mark Schaefer, Ellen Feder
The Emerging Church
Modern ecclesiology has evolved over the last few decades as Christian institutions and belief systems have adapted in
response to postmodern society. This trend is known as the emerging or emergent church movement. A movement
that spans across denominational lines, the emerging church has influenced church culture by attempting to change
the way individuals view religion. This study examines the trends within Christianity over the last several years and
their impacts on ecclesiology and society. Findings include a more progressive theology, an increased emphasis on
missiology, changes in structure of religious services and a deeper connectedness with the global community.
Hannah Pakray
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: S. Ayse Kadayifci-Orellana
Pakistan’s Sectarian Divide: An Analysis and Conflict Resolution Suggestions
This Capstone addresses the complex issue of sectarianism within Pakistan. It focuses on the history, causes and
actors involved. It also takes a look at the way in which the Pakistani government has formally addressed the issue –
including the ways in which the government has historically fueled the tensions for its own benefit. The paper attempts
to contextualize Pakistan’s culture of sectarianism within the larger, regional framework of Sunni-Shiite tensions in the
Middle East. Finally, the paper concludes with a series of recommendations to conflict resolution practitioners that
suggest culturally-appropriate ways in which to work towards establishing peace. The recommendations are based on
the assumption that the best way to gain grassroots support for a peace initiative in Pakistan is to approach it from a
distinctly Islamic perspective.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
63
Carolina Peguero
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Olga Rojer
“Crónica de una Crisis Anunciada” Argentina Desde la Crisis del 2001
Hasta la Actualidad
The South American nation of Argentina has been haunted for years by hyperinflation, excessive deficits in the balance
of payment and political instability. The Argentine economic crisis of 2001 was the most devastating the country
had experienced. The “fast and furious” banking crisis that simultaneously occurred deteriorated the situation even
further. The pegged exchange rate regime (or Convertibility Plan of one dollar to one peso) led to an unsustainable
fiscal policy, which, consequently, was one of the major underlying reasons for both the severity and intensity of the
crisis. The following example is exceptional in illustrating the depth of the turmoil: in 2001, Argentina’s government
debt-to-GDP ratio stood at the equivalent of 50 percent of GDP. By 2002, and after abandoning the pegged exchange
rate, it had surpassed 130 percent. This Capstone examines the causes and consequences of this classic textbook
example of an economic crisis.
Mary Penfield
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Robert Johnson
Will Violence from the Mexican Drug Cartels Continue to Spill Over into American Cities?
Mexico is a major producer and supplier of heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana, as well as a major transit country
for cocaine. The United States, which shares a 2,000 mile border with Mexico, is the biggest drug market in the world.
Profits from the drug trade amount to at least 6 percent of the Mexican GNP each year, netting drug traffickers over
$25 billion. The drug cartels in Mexico are a system of extremely well-financed groups, constantly engaged in warfare
against each other and the government. They employ private paramilitary groups, bribe officials and police across
Mexico, and kill discriminately and indiscriminately in both Mexico and the U.S. This paper examines theories of
spillover violence, the weak state, organized crime, and the “resource curse” to determine whether or not the intercartel fighting based in northern Mexico will cross over into the southwestern American states.
Howie Perlman
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Leonard Steinhorn
Politics Tutorial
Politics Tutorial is an online education project in American government and politics that was established this
semester, and which I plan to continue in the years to come. The initial series of educational videos is accessible
on YouTube at the “PoliticsTutorial” channel. Each video combines social media skills I have gained from the
School of Communication, political insights I have gained from the School of Public Affairs, and new knowledge,
skills and abilities I have gained as a result of working on this project. It has been a special privilege to be able to
incorporate interviews I have conducted with prominent political figures over the years. Their firsthand accounts are
prime material for Politics Tutorial because they add value for students who can learn directly from people who have
experienced the intensity of politics so often. It is my goal that Politics Tutorial will continue to serve as an everexpanding, public, fair use resource that will increase students’ access to information that can have lasting benefits on
their ability to participate in the political process.
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
*Kaitlan Peterson
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Diana Marinova
Capstone Partner: Leah Chavla
Hispanohablantes’ Perceptions of Muslims and Islam
This study investigates hispanohablantes’, or Spanish-speakers’, perceptions of Muslims and Islam in Spain and three
Latin American countries – Costa Rica, Chile and Argentina. This topic has been extensively studied post-9/11,
but only in English-speaking countries. The resulting gap is one that necessitates study due to the increased contact
between Spanish speakers and the Islamic faith, as well as the prominent role Islam plays in the modern globalized
world. After administering 55 written surveys in each country and interviewing students from the aforementioned
countries, we found that the perceptions of Muslims and Islam are undeniably negative. Factors such as largely
homogeneous populations, lack of information/education about Islam, identity insecurity and the dynamics of a new
immigration wave are found to greatly impact perceptions.
Annika Pettitt
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: John Shosky
Nationalism as a Driver of Racist Sentiment in Central Europe:
The Case of Roma Exclusion in the Czech Republic
The Capstone examines the connections between racism and nationalism in Central Europe. The case study for this
examination is the lawsuit brought by the European Roma Rights Center against the government of the Czech Republic
in regard to the education system in the city of Ostrava. This case, one of the first to test the European justice system
on Roma community rights, questions the discriminatory exclusion and marginalization of Romany students. The paper
reviews the work of other scholars to define the nationalism of Central Europe as well as the cultural differences that
persist between the Romany minority and the ethnic majorities in countries across the region. Through anecdotal,
statistical and discursive means, this paper attempts to draw lines between the nationalism of the Czech Republic and
the prevalence of institutional social prejudice and persecution. Additionally, this work examines the European Union’s
efforts to promote the inclusion of minority groups in its new member states and to combat the racism that is historically
prevalent in these nations. The evidence asserts that the pervasive discriminatory practices against the Roma, who
represent not only an ethnic but also a cultural and linguistic other, in Central Europe, are fueled in part by the nationalism
in these countries that stresses the inclusion of the ethnic majority at the expense of the minorities.
Franchesca Phipps
University Honors in Sociology
Capstone Advisor: Andrea Brenner
Latino Parents and the First Generation: Concerns on Childrearing in the U.S.
This Capstone investigates the concerns that Latino parents have about raising their first-generation, U.S.-born children
in the United States. The purpose of this project is to collect information on the struggles of childrearing in the U.S. for
Latino parents in hopes that it will aid my pastor, Estanislao Mercedes, in pin-pointing major issues among Latino families
in La Nueva Jerusalen Church (a Spanish-speaking church in Silver Spring, Maryland). Additionally, the data analysis may
aid in developing outreach programs and workshops to ameliorate some of these concerns. I distributed an anonymous
questionnaire to 27 parents composed of fixed and open-ended questions that I assumed parents believed require special
attention. Both mothers and fathers reported discontentment with childrearing in the United States. Latino parents want
their offspring to be raised in a society where Latino cultural values (familismo – strong family relationships, and respeto –
respect for others) are reinforced. Familismo, respeto, education and religious beliefs were predominant themes in the data
results. Parents complained about long working hours, minimal pay and lack of family time. Lastly, Latino parents want to
discipline their children their own way, but they fear that others will attempt to intervene in their disciplinary choices.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
65
*Aleksandra Piletic
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Ranieri Cavaceppi
“Unity in Diversity?” A Glance at the Predicaments and Heterogeneity
of the European Union
This Capstone scrutinizes the complex machinery of the European Union with an attempt to determine whether its
existing structure and expansion policies are sustainable and desired in the long-term. It provides a substantial analysis of
the European Union’s foundations and overall framework, focusing on the problematic nature of expansion concurrent
with a need for structural stabilization. Zooming in on the mounting tensions created by the inability of European
governments to attend to widespread dissatisfaction caused immigration, it considers the related threats facing the EU in
the near future. As a model for these difficulties, Italy is subjected to an analysis of the aforementioned trends sweeping
the European continent today. Italian immigration and identity politics prove to be very engaging both in terms of the
indelible social issues arising out of its increased immigration in past years and in terms of the insight they offer into social
trends within Italy itself. Through this analysis, it becomes clear that the fate of the European Union remains as precarious
as ever and that its existing path may not be optimal, both in its impact on political structures and the individual.
Kate Pinkerton
University Honors in Environmental Studies
Capstone Advisor: Kiho Kim
Status of Seagrasses as Indicators of Nutrient Pollution in Guam
Seagrass beds are among the most valuable but threatened ecosystems. In Guam, the combination of increasing
coastal development, poorly-maintained sewage treatment plants and plans to add up to 20,000 naval troops and
support staff have raised serious concerns over the fate of the island’s coastal ecosystem, including the seagrasses.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the isotopic signature of δ15N in order to document the health of the
seagrasses and assess dominant sources of N inputs as a baseline for future comparisons. Isotope values ranged from
2.3 to 6.5 (3.7 ± 0.40 ‰) for δ15N and -6.3 to 10.1 (-8.1 ± 0.33‰) for δ13C. The high δ15N values indicate the
presence of sewage-derived N at several sites, which were strongly correlated with local sewage output sites; however,
δ15N values were unrelated to seagrass cover suggesting the over-abundance of N in the coastal environment. This
suggests that the nutrient pollution is not currently negatively affecting the health of the seagrasses, but that further
studies following the sudden population increase would be beneficial.
Kimberly Polacek
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Victoria Kiechel
Urban Agriculture and Development: A Comparative Analysis of Urban Agriculture
Policy in the Americas
By 2050, 69.6 percent of the world population and 88.7 percent of the population of Latin America are expected to
live in cities. In the face of urbanization and stagnating food production, something must be done to increase food
security for urban populations. Urban agriculture is one way to improve food security while reducing negative impacts
on the environment and empowering the population. This paper examines policy towards urban agriculture, finding
that when governments and non-governmental organizations take a role in facilitating and assisting in providing
resources for urban agriculture, urban agriculture can improve food security, reduce negative environmental impacts
and empower communities.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Kelsey Poole
University Honors in Environmental Studies
Capstone Advisor: Mark Schaefer
Ecotheology and the United Methodist Church
Despite its typically conservative reputation, Christianity has much to offer the environmental movement. This paper
explores how the relationship between humans, nature and God has evolved in Christian theology. Specifically, it documents
the trend towards an ecotheology that holds the creation in high regard. It then examines the United Methodist Church
(UMC) in particular, and how the Church’s doctrines, structure and heritage influence its position on environmentalism.
Interviews with leaders in the Church provide practical examples of how the principles of ecotheology are being carried
out. The UMC and churches of all denominations have great potential to aid in resolving the current environmental
crisis, and they are hopeful that through more ecological-centered values positive change will occur.
Ashley Raker
University Honors
Capstone Advisors: Richard Sha, Roberta Rubenstein
Legacy, Identity and Time: Exploring Generational Feminism in Margaret Atwood’s
The Handmaid’s Tale
My senior project examines how the form and character development of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale can
be used to examine the implications of the generational legacy of feminism on the future progress of women. The
generational legacy of feminism, as defined by Judith Roof in “Generational Difficulties; or The Fear of a Barren
History,” is a generation’s expectation that younger feminists will continue their work by pursuing the same goals with
the same social methods. Generational feminism imposes an expectation of the appropriate purposes and beliefs of
feminism by creating a social debt that younger feminists owe older generations. In the novel, the characters of Offred
and her mother offer the reader an example of the negative impacts that the generational legacy of feminism can
have on relationships between women. However, the form of Offred’s narrative also shows the reader how feminists
can embrace their own new ideas through spontaneous generation as an antidote to the restrictions imposed by
generational feminism. According to Roof ’s paradigm of spontaneous generation, a feminist spontaneous generation
bases its course of action on its recognition of the oppressive conditions it faces rather than on the history of its
foremothers. By examining the structure and content of the novel, the reader can see how Offred’s narrative both
displays the pitfalls of generational feminism and allows Offred to engage in her own form of spontaneous generation
by telling her story in the form of the novel.
Corin Reade
University Honors in Business, Language and Culture
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
Uncertain Times: How Nonprofit Theaters in the United States Should Address
Current Industry Trends
The purpose of this Capstone is to address the current issues facing nonprofit theaters in the United States. Through
analysis of industry reports and surveys, I will identify the main issues and offer suggestions as to how nonprofit
theater organizations can address these issues and move forward.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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Joseph Rees
University Honors in Philosophy
Capstone Advisor: Jeffrey Reiman
Responding to G.A. Cohen: The Difference Principle, Benevolence
and the Labor Theory of (Moral) Value
This paper responds to G.A. Cohen’s “incentives” and “basic structure” critiques of John Rawls’ principle of economic justice
– the difference principle. Rawls holds that the only permissible inequalities in economic distribution are those that are to the
greatest benefit of the least advantaged members of society. Most inequalities that satisfy this principle do so, Rawls claims,
because the positions of greater compensation act as incentives for talented members of society to work longer and harder
hours at socially valued tasks. Cohen claims, however, that these incentives would demonstrate that the talented groups do not
fully endorse the difference principle, since they are preventing more just inequalities by withholding their labor until incentives
are provided. Cohen claims that this imperfection results from Rawls’ arbitrarily narrow definition of the “basic structure”
of society as the subject of justice, which includes economic institutions but not cultural or personal practices. Using Jeffrey
Reiman’s work in The Labor Theory of the Difference Principle, I demonstrate that, even if we grant Cohen’s basic structure critique,
inequality producing incentives are permissible once we recognize that property relations are labor relations between people,
because these incentives limit the amount that the talented can work for the least advantaged without compensation in return,
fully realizing the difference principle as a principle of “reciprocity,” as Rawls calls it.
Lauren Renner
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
Strategic Direction for Marriott International, Inc.
Marriott International, Inc. has long been a leader in the global lodging industry. With more than 3,000 properties
in 68 countries and countless achievement awards, it is not only a well-known, but also a well-liked brand. The
global financial crisis hit the hotel and lodging industry hard because of a sharp drop in business and leisure travel.
Regardless of the steep drop in profitability over recent years, Marriott has plans to launch two new luxury brands in
2010, double its presence in Europe by 2015 and focus on driving incremental revenue by cutting costs at the property
level. The company must reassess these strategic moves. By extending their expansion plans into the mid-level hotel
segment, Marriott can take advantage of the industry’s fastest growing population and by utilizing low-cost, highimpact promotions it can allow room rates to remain competitive. These recommendations provide Marriott with an
opportunity to continuously evaluate market conditions as the world gradually climbs from economic downturn and
leaves the hotel chain well-positioned for continued growth in the market.
Michael Repas
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Patrick Thaddeus Jackson
Open Source Ethics
In the field of computing, there exists an open source ideal that refers to the possibility of all interested parties
freely seeing the source code for a program, and then attempting to improve it. As they post their changes, all other
users can see these changes to the code and try them. In this way, positive changes are kept, and lackluster changes
are filtered out. While it may sound impossible, this open source system of software editing is usually completely
decentralized, thus enabling massive improvements to be enacted by enthusiasts, with little centralized administration.
Although it has never been explored, it seems that this approach to software might offer a fascinating approach to an
ethical system, and this exposition will involve three stages: 1) a genealogy of the open source software movement;
2) the exposition of the system of Open Source Ethics itself, drawing upon Kierkegaard, James, Arendt and others;
and 3) a case study examining the Banality of Evil which seeks to explain the actions of Adolf Eichmann in Nazi
Germany, versus the Banality of Good that attempts to understand the actions of the people of Le Chambon, in
Vichy France; and finally how Open Source Ethics was essentially demonstrated by the Chambonnais.
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Cherie Richards
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Monika Konaklieva
Multi-Function Antibiotics? Synthesis and Design of B-Lactam Neuroprotectives
Glutamate is the principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the nervous system. Although crucial for normal neuronal excitability, high
doses of glutamate in the synapse, often induced by stress, can lead to nervous cell damage and cell death – glutamate excitotoxicity.
Neuronal damage due to excess of glutamate is associated with diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ALS and stroke. A
library of β-lactams was created using a combination of novel research and previous literature of natural antibiotic compounds
as potential neuroprotective agents. These β-lactams differ from the ones reported in the literature by being monocyclic, which
allows for more synthetic flexibility, and in general being more lipophilic, which allows for crossing the blood-brain barrier. These
β-lactams have also been tested for antimicrobial effectiveness, particularly as anti-tuberculosis and anti-moraxella agents.
Sara Rigdon
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Vidyamali Samarasinghe
The Impact of Urbanization on Rural Livelihoods: Peru as a Case Study
For the past several decades, the majority of developing countries have been undergoing a process of rapid urbanization.
Although the literature generally concludes that rural-urban migration creates an “urban bias” and marginalizes rural areas, this
has not consistently been the case in Peru. In fact, certain aspects of globalization and a growing presence of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) in the country have fostered an environment in which rural areas are a development priority, despite the
fact that a continuously increasing proportion of the population lives in urban centers. While rural areas are still lagging behind
urban areas with regard to poverty reduction, public services and infrastructure, the Peruvian government – in conjunction with
various NGOs and international organizations – has implemented a number of rural development programs in recent years.
Peru’s comparatively long history of rural-urban migration makes it a valuable case study, as it could provide insight into the future
trajectories of developing countries that are just beginning the process of urbanization.
Michael Roche
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: David Bosco
The Missing Link: Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Development
Economics and Sociology are two fields that rarely, if ever, overlap in scholarship. However, by ignoring the intersection of these
two fields, scholars have missed important areas of research – specifically on the impact of economic conditions on popular
attitudes. This study focuses upon the influence of foreign direct investment in developing states upon attitudes toward the market
system. The lack of research is, unfortunately, correlated with a lack of data, producing glaringly weak statistical results that should
not be relied upon. A lack of data, however, can easily be solved by running more surveys in more states, allowing for more
rigorous and meaningful analysis.
Michael Roche
University Honors in History
University Honors in Economics
Capstone Advisor: Laura Beers
The Red Tide: A Practical Study of Marxism and Leninism in the 1920s
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, scholarship on Marxism stumbled to a close with many claiming that study was no
longer necessary. However, Marxism should not be equated with the Soviet Union; even at its theoretical core – Leninism –
Marxism differs strikingly. While past research has relied upon tedious interpretation of abstract theoretical concepts, this study
grounds the theoretical concepts in understandable economic analysis. Focusing upon European economic conditions in the
1920s, this study demonstrates that, although Leninists claimed Europe would soon fall to communism, Marxist conditions for a
communist revolution had yet to be met. Only after accounting for the differences between Marxism and Leninism does Europe
appear to meet the requirements for a communist revolution.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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Julie Rogers
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Anthony Quainton
The Legalist Approach to the Informal Economy: An Affirmation of Universality
In 1988, economist Hernando de Soto revolutionized development theory in Peru when he linked the existence of a
large informal economy with poverty and terrorism. Since then his work has successfully helped reduce unnecessary
bureaucracy and promoted easier laws that increase formalization, thus spurring the Peruvian economy to reach the
highest growth rates in Latin America. This paper explores the question: does de Soto’s method work for all developing
countries or is it uniquely successful in Peru due to cultural factors? Using case studies from Egypt and Tanzania, it is
proved that if applied in a culturally sensitive manner, the main tenets of de Soto’s program are appropriate to assist all
developing nations.
*Sekoia Rogers
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Timothy Titus
On the Political Status of the United States Virgin Islands: Is Statehood the Answer?
On March 31, 1917, the United States took control of the Virgin Islands (USVI) from Denmark after paying $25 million
in gold. Since then, the islands continue to experience improvements in their government, economy and more. However,
under the current status of unincorporated territory, the people are not afforded all of their rights as mandated under the
U.S. Constitution. In fact, the very title entails that territories of the U.S. are not entitled to enjoy the rights to vote or run
for the presidency and the USVI delegate to Congress has no vote in the House of Representative. The United Nations
classified the islands as a non-self-governing territory and called for a more permanent identifiable status. Therefore, the
territory was given some established status options to select from which are free association, independence, or association
with the independent state (statehood). Hence, the main purpose of this paper was to investigate the current status of the
USVI and against all odds, defend statehood as the best status option. In an effort to gather information, it was necessary
to visit the Enid Baa Library, a local library on St. Thomas and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Besides
written information, formal and informal interviews along with discussions added to the literature of the paper.
Tony Romm
University Honors in Communication: Journalism
Capstone Advisor: Dotty Lynch
Convergent Media and the 2008 Presidential Election
Convergent Media and the 2008 Election was a journalism skills/Honors Capstone course that explored the various
storytelling techniques available to Web journalists throughout the 2008 presidential election cycle. The project consisted of four parts: a 2,000-word piece on students and the candidates’ tax platforms, which Politico syndicated, a series
of podcasts, an election news blog, which was featured on WashingtonPost.com, and a 10-page reflection paper on the
relationship between new media, journalists and political campaigners. Most notably, these findings were presented on
C-SPAN/NPR during “Politics and Pundits,” an SOC American Forum held in November 2008.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Roman Ryan
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
Case Study and Recommendations for Pepco Holdings, Inc.’s Smart Grid Strategy
Smart Grid technology represents one of the most significant opportunities for utilities companies and governments
to improve their infrastructure and increase power efficiency. Pepco Holdings, Inc. (PHI) is already starting to take
advantage of Smart Grid, the most significant opportunity in the power and utility industries in decades, by securing
federal grant funding and partnerships with Smart Grid companies. However, PHI’s leadership can take additional
steps to ensure that the company’s strategy meets with success in the future by taking the following steps: PHI must
produce infrastructure and programs to anticipate new developments such as plug-in electric vehicles, consumer
driven renewable energy, Wi-Max grid communication and smart phone controlled appliances. Additionally, the firm
should market, develop and price the rollout of Smart Grid technologies with consumers in mind. I examine different
market forces that affect the implementation of Smart Grid technology and utilize cases of both successful and less
successful Smart Grid around the United States and the world.
Alina Sabadish
University Honors in Business Administration
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
Reducing Job Stress: Recommended Employee Wellness Program for Omnicom Group
This paper explores the effects of physical, mental and emotional stress on employees, and how those costs are transferred
to companies. Today, 75 percent of Americans list work as a significant source of stress, and employers pick up an
annual $300 billion tab in the forms of employee turnover, diminished productivity, absenteeism, and direct insurance,
medical and legal fees. This Capstone distinguishes between good stress (eustress) and bad stress (distress), and raises
the question of how companies can nurture a work environment with the optimal stress level for peak performance
and mental processing. Successful employee wellness and stress-reduction programs can not only decrease costs for
organizations, but bring a positive return-on-investment as well. Included in this paper is an employee wellness pilot
program designed for Omnicom Group, a leading global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company
whose branded networks and specialty firms provide services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.
*Jenna Sablan
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Adrea Lawrence
High-Achieving First-Generation College Students at American University
First-generation college students are less likely to graduate or have graduate school ambitions compared to their continuing
generation peers; studies show that first-generation students also have lower GPAs and are more likely to enroll in remedial
courses. Many experts seek to reframe the discourse on underrepresented students by focusing literature on patterns of
achievement instead of failure. Examining these levels of success may lend insight into how to better cultivate achievement
among groups traditionally underserved in higher education. Yet, few studies have explored first-generation college students
who are high-achievers. Researchers postulate that first-generation students’ struggle in the college environment stems from a
lack of understanding, awareness and familiarity with the norms of college that may have otherwise been passed down from
college-educated parents. Despite this theoretical lens and trends from aggregated research, case studies of high-achieving
first-generation students exist on college campuses. Through semi-structured qualitative interviews with 10 first-generation
students at American University who achieve at or above the level of their peers, this Capstone seeks to discover how students
view their identity as both first-generation students and high-achievers as well as the influences on their achievement despite
literature that states they may otherwise be at risk.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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Talla Saghafi
University Honors in Economics
Capstone Advisor: Martha Starr
Consumer Sentiment: The Economy’s Crystal Ball?
Consumer sentiment is a crucial economic indicator for projecting inflation, retail sales, unemployment and other factors
within the economy. If consumers do not believe that the economy will improve, they will choose to keep their spending
levels modest, making it difficult for a weak economy to exit from a recession. Because personal consumption represents
70 percent of real GDP, fluctuations in consumer sentiment play a central role in overall growth. Consumer psychology
and its relation to consumer spending have been extensively researched, and many studies show that there is a positive
relationship between consumer sentiment and consumption. However, very few studies have investigated whether the
various sub-components of the monthly Index of Consumer Sentiment, released by the University of Michigan, vary
in their predictive crystal ball power. Thus, it is important to see the relationship of the specific core components to
other economic indicators. For example, which opinion has a greater predictive value for future levels consumption: a
consumer’s belief on the business conditions in the next 12 months or their perception of their current financial state?
This study examines how the specific components of the University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment affect
personal savings, unemployment rate, core and headline inflation, personal disposable income and personal consumption
expenditures, by implementing Granger causality tests and Vector Autoregressive (VAR) models.
*Molly Sauer
University Honors in Communication: Public Communication
Capstone Advisor: Lauren Feldman
Health Communication for HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis in South Africa
Behavior change communication has become a key tool in public health, enabling the use of targeted messaging
to influence the health-related behaviors of a population. This research focuses on the use of behavior change
communication in tackling two major health issues – HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis – in South Africa, where both
diseases thrive at devastatingly high levels and past interventions have failed to stave off increasing morbidity. To
develop an understanding of the use of behavior change communication for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in South
Africa, this paper provides a discussion of the country and its health conditions, as well as the health communication
theories that come into play. It then analyzes past health communication campaigns and evaluates their efficacy, based
in part on interviews conducted with practitioners in South Africa. Ultimately, it presents a set of best practices for
the future implementation of behavior change communication campaigns for these two diseases.
*Molly Sauer
University Honors in History
Capstone Advisor: Laura Beers
Smallpox in the Cape: The 1840 Cape Town Epidemic and its Contributing
Socioeconomic Factors
Smallpox was one of the most devastating and feared diseases in history, infecting almost all who were at risk and
carrying extremely high mortality with it. In colonial South Africa, it struck several times throughout the 18th and
19th centuries and spread rampantly; the 1840 epidemic, in particular, resulted in more than 6,000 people infected in
Cape Town alone and death rates above 25 percent. However, more than microbiology came into play in determining
the path of the disease. This paper focuses on examining the social, political and economic factors that led to and
existed concurrently with the 1840 outbreak of smallpox in the Cape Colony, and the effects of the epidemic on the
subsequent socioeconomic climate. It argues that certain socioeconomic factors were largely at fault for the inability
of the city to contain the epidemic, even some 50 years after vaccination was developed and implemented.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
April Saylor
University Honors in Communication: Public Communication
Capstone Advisor: Dotty Lynch
A Communication Strategy for Roxanne Conlin: Candidate for U.S. Senate
It is an interesting fact that no woman from Iowa has ever run for national political office won. Roxanne Conlin –
an Iowa trial lawyer, former U.S. Attorney, and past Democratic nominee for Iowa governor – could be the first to
break the state’s highest political glass ceiling. Research has shown that women running for office face much different
electoral terrain compared to their male counterparts. In order to be considered viable candidates, women running
for office must establish themselves as having a solid political background, executive experience and the ability to
balance “toughness” with “compassion” as an element of their message strategy. Conlin’s campaign is an exceptional
example of the delicate maneuvering that must occur whenever a woman decides to run for office, especially in a
climate where voters may not be familiar with women in positions of such high leadership. This project is a realistic
communication plan that Conlin’s campaign could use if she goes on to the general election to challenge five-term
incumbent Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa).
*Michael Schapiro
University Honors in Political Science
Capstone Advisors: Candice Nelson, Kimberly Cowell-Meyers
Calling It Quits: Analyzing Loss of Status as a Cause for Retirements in Congress
This study examines the effect that loss of status in the House of Representatives has on the decision of a Congressperson
to retire. Building on previous scholarship showing that membership in the majority party of the House advances a
member’s personal goals and agenda, this study looks at whether members voluntarily retire when facing a diminished
role in Congress. Using quantitative analysis, I compare the 104th Congress – the first Republican majority in decades
– to the next four Congresses, when there was no shift in the majority party. Unlike previous findings showing that the
threat of the next election governs a member’s behavior, including the decision to retire, I expect my findings will show
that status within the House of Representatives dictates when members choose to retire.
Samantha Schiro
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
Corporate Responsibility and the Environment: What is the Right Thing to Do?
In the past few decades the environment has been on the forefront of people’s minds across the globe; in fact, it is
the number one shared concern among most nations. Corporations have had to respond to this environmental wave
by adjusting their business models to ensure that they follow environmental regulations. Leading experts argue that
businesses should go a step further and add environmentally responsible initiatives to their agenda because it will
ultimately make them more profitable. This is known as corporate social performance (CSP), strategic behavior done
by a firm that engages in some environmental action beyond what the law requires because the firm thinks this action
will help increase profit and therefore shareholders’ dividends. In the past, there has always been a conflict between
being socially responsible and upholding fiduciary responsibilities towards shareholders. This new theory helps resolve
past discrepancies and will become increasingly important as public opinion changes and requires businesses to take
more environmentally friendly actions in the future.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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Rosemarie Scott
University Honors in Economics
Capstone Advisors: Robert Lerman, Paul Winters
Does Agricultural Technology Adoption Differ By Gender?
Although economic theory suggests males and females adopt technology at different rates, very little empirical research
has been done to test whether this is true. This paper evaluates the impact of the Plataformas de Concertación, a
program that offers agricultural assistance, on technology adoption of male- and female-participant households. The
econometric tool propensity score matching is used to capture the impact on males’ and females’ degree of adoption
and their understanding of how to properly implement each technology. In this way, it can be determined not only
whether the farmers used a technology, but also their ability to utilize it. Multiple measures of technology adoption
and knowledge of technologies are used. The results are robust across indicators and suggest that, in fact, males and
females have similar adoption patterns and that the program increased their adoption rates. However, the data indicate
both females and males’ understanding of how to adopt properly is very poor.
Ayse Eren Sengueler
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Patrick Thaddeus Jackson
German State Identity Reconsidered: Legitimation of State Action and the
Reconciliation Process
Despite its strong attachment to the West in the post-WWII era, the German state adopted a conciliatory tone vis-à-vis the
Soviet Union starting in the 1970s. How was Germany able to justify its outreach to the East amid its Western commitment?
This study shows that the outreach to the East came to be represented as an essential part of a greater reconciliation
process within the German past. While the opportunity for reunification with Eastern Germany provided a great incentive
to the German state, it also relied on legitimization strategies that appealed to the German “Sonderweg” tradition and
reconciliation with German history. This project first explores the Western connections in the immediate aftermath of
WWII, then reflects on the German attempt to reach out to the East through state action and legitimization techniques, in
the form of symbolic acts and rhetorical deployments, and finally, analyzes the domestic and international responses that
state action provoked in order to shed light on the process of state identity construction and transformation.
Amanda Sewell
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Carolyn Gallaher
The Role of Popular Support and Legitimacy in the Determination of New War Groups:
A Case Study of the FMLN in El Salvador
The civil conflict in El Salvador was waged between the Salvadoran government and its cohort of paramilitaries and
death squads, and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition of five guerilla groups fighting
for social justice. The war raged on for more than a decade, from 1980-1992. The goal of this paper is to show how
the FMLN both gained and lost popular support over the years of the conflict. This is viewed through the lens of
legitimacy, both through political legitimacy as well as in terms of legitimate guerilla movements. This paper argues that
while the FMLN represents a classic guerilla group, their fight was modified by some “new war” tactics that contributed
to a loss in legitimacy. However, these tactics are a direct result of the time and situational context and the effect of U.S.
involvement in the conflict, and do not reflect the inherent wishes of most members of the FMLN.
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Jake Silva
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Benjamin Jensen
The Economic Effects of Racism in Guatemala, Bolivia and Peru
Systemic racism and discrimination in Guatemala, Bolivia and Peru have excluded large indigenous populations from
the economic, political, cultural and social spheres of society. All three countries are also among the poorest in Latin
America. This paper analyzes the effect of this indigenous exclusion on the aggregate economy of each country using
various factors of human capital like literacy and poverty. It argues that low human capital accumulation by the large
minority indigenous populations significantly lowers the aggregate economic output of the country. The findings
show that low human capital accumulation caused by exclusion does negatively impact the aggregate economy of each
country; however, different factors of human capital affected each country.
Krista Simmons
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Susan Shepler
The State and Youth Violence: A Socio-Political Approach to Understanding
Youth Violence in Rio de Janeiro’s Favelas
Progress has been made in recent years toward better identifying and more closely studying trends in youth violence in
Brazil’s favelas. The vast majority of these studies and resulting programming have adhered to theoretical frameworks firmly
entrenched in economic explanations for the drivers of the violence, and especially youth’s involvement in it. However,
the socio-political factors influencing youth involvement in drug gangs are equally important, yet less frequently studied,
and less addressed in programming to prevent violence among favela youth. This paper will explore these socio-political
factors and the role of the government of Brazil in the rise of youth involvement in Rio de Janeiro’s violent drug gangs. It
will also explore the notions of “citizenship” and “childhood” in Brazil to more fully understand the socio-political factors
driving children’s involvement in drug gangs. The paper looks at the state’s reaction to youth involvement in drug gangs
and the role corruption plays in facilitating criminal gang activity in Brazil. It concludes that the millions of dollars the
government directs to combat youth violence in the favelas is ineffective without addressing the widespread corruption and
the government’s implicit role in maintaining the status quo that marginalizes poor youth and limits their alternatives.
David Smedick
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Paul Wapner
Farm to Spork: Strategies for Sustainability in the Restaurant Industry
The pressures to live sustainably have reached every aspect of our lives, down to the very food we eat. This research
explores the possibility of innovation and social entrepreneurship on a local level of the food industry. Specifically,
this project provides a template for a new kind of sustainable restaurant. The social, economic and environmental
components of sustainability are all discussed and analyzed, and ultimately evaluated for the specific business. This
includes, but is not limited to, the prospects of pairing the restaurant with a biodynamic farm, on-site clean energy
systems and community outreach and engagement projects, all of which are examined theoretically before their
practicality is debated. This project concludes with a preliminary business plan for the development of the proposed
sustainable restaurant.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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Amanda Smith
University Honors in Performing Arts: Music Theatre
Capstone Advisor: Melanie George
Dancing Across Boundaries: A Look into the Creative Processes Behind
Choreography in Concert Dance and the Theatre
In order to explore and understand the differences in the purpose and process between choreography in concert dance
and in theatre/musical theatre, this project involves the choreography of dance pieces that reflect both ends of the
spectrum. From an avant-garde modern solo piece in Shifting Focus to large ensemble dances in the classic Oklahoma!,
I found through personal experience how widely the creative process can range, dependent on many factors, including
the final goal of a work of dance. The final product resulting from the entire semester of choreography is a paper,
incorporating research of concert dance, musical theatre and crossover choreographers, such as Jerome Robbins and
Twyla Tharp, with my own experiences.
Alesia Sourine
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: David Martin-McCormick
Demonizing the Enemy: A Counter-Effective Political and Military Strategy
in Foreign Policy
Demonizing the enemy has been part and parcel of domestic and foreign policy for as long as collective identities
have existed. However, from a strategic standpoint, this is a counter-productive measure. This paper begins with an
exploration of the theoretical framework within which “demonizing the enemy” contributes to misperception and
other limitations to rational decision making and analyzes how such a mindset leads to ineffective policy. It employs
a discourse analysis of media coverage of the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran, Iran, and analyzes its effects
on U.S.-Iran relations since that time. The paper demonstrates the failures of U.S. policy toward Iran and the role of
demonization in contributing to those political failures. It also addresses demonization in post-9/11 foreign policy
and how it has affected the “war on terrorism.” Assessing the nature of terrorist organizations and their strategies, the
paper argues that demonizing the enemy contributes to both aggravating the threat and impeding the scope of our
abilities to counter it. The overall argument affirms the preeminent importance of “mindset” to the ability of crafting
and employing effective policy strategies.
Georgette Spanjich
University Honors in Interdisciplinary Studies:
Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics and Government
Capstone Advisor: Jennifer Lawless
Women in the Lobbying Profession
Academics and politicians have long debated the existence of specific women’s policy issues. The extant scholarship that
focuses on women’s issues tends to explore gender differences in electoral politics, while ignoring the manner in which
women’s issues play a role in other sectors of the policy process model. This study seeks to fill the gap in existing research
by assessing the extent to which “women’s issues” exist in the lobbying profession. Quantitatively, this study finds that
women are, in fact, more likely than men to lobby on behalf of clients with feminine policy interests. After surveying an elite
sample of federally registered lobbyists, this paper then tests hypotheses that explain the manifestation of women’s issues in
electoral politics in the context of the lobbying profession and finds, overwhelmingly, that women’s issues exist in the lobbying
profession because of political ambition, traditional societal roles, and the importance of issues in the profession.
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Jennifer Sparks
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: James Glassman
U.S. Foreign Policy Toward Human Rights Promotion in Saudi Arabia and Egypt
This paper examines how U.S.-foreign policy affects the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. These
two countries are good choices for study given their strategic importance to the United States, the varying personal
relationships enjoyed by the three nations’ leadership, as well as the (deteriorated) human rights situation in the two
Middle Eastern countries. This paper explains how these factors, taken as an aggregate, have contributed to the low
priority given to human rights. In addition, it looks at how the basic attitudes toward human rights vary between
regions and colors the discussion of human rights in the context of international relations. The influence of Islam
is considered and calls into question the “universality” of human rights. Finally, suggestions are made about how to
draw human rights into a more prominent place in international relations and for policy changes the United States can
make to help Saudi Arabia and Egypt progress in human rights reforms.
Amanda Spielberg
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Michael Zeilinger
mHealth for TB
In developing countries, where mobile phone penetration continues to grow, cell phones are increasingly being used
for more than communications. Mobile health technology (mHealth), a new and expanding field, is working to bridge
the gap between patients and health services through cell phone technology. The field has the potential to be highly
instrumental in fighting infectious diseases that often require long treatment. In particular, tuberculosis (TB), which
requires a standard treatment period of six to nine months, continues to plague much of the developing world and is
a disease where many components of mHealth technology may be fairly easily incorporated into National Treatment
Programs (NTPs). By cross analyzing preliminary data on current mHealth program outcomes with research on the
successes and failures of NTPs for TB, this paper assesses how and to what extent mHealth technology can be used
to increase the surveillance, prevention, and full and effective treatment of tuberculosis.
Danielle Spiker
University Honors in Psychology
Capstone Advisors: Carol Weissbrod, Kelly Powell
Executive Dysfunction: An Exploration of the Relationship between
Executive Functioning and Autism Severity
Executive functioning refers to the ability to maintain problem-solving sets for future goals when situations change.
Preschool-aged children use executive functioning when shifting from one activity to the next and also when interacting with other children through spontaneous play. This constant mental set is often found to be impaired in adult
populations with autism. Although not entirely studied in preschool-age children, researchers have recently popularized the theory of executive dysfunction in populations with autism. The research examines the specific relationship
between the executive functioning measure, BRIEF-P, and autism symptomatology based on the Autism Diagnostic
Observation Schedule (ADOS), using a clinical database of preschool-aged children with autism. The data indicate
the best predictor of executive functioning is the combination of communication and socialization measured together
via the ADOS. In addition, that executive dysfunction best predicted autism severity as measured by the ADOS communication and socialization domain. This study supports the theory of executive dysfunction in relation to two out
of three components of the autism triad of symptoms.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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Dania Straughan
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Anthony Wanis St. John
Negotiating on the Brink: The Domestic Side of Two-Level Games That Brought the
World to the Edge of WWIII
On June 11, 1999, Russian peacekeeping troops left their stations in Bosnia and entered Kosovo’s capital, taking control
of the intended KFOR headquarters, the Pristina Airport. The military maneuver had not been coordinated with
NATO and had been denied by the Russian authorities until the news was broadcasted over CNN. It blocked NATO
troops from the airport and protected retreating Serbians. This little-known standoff is perhaps the closest the world
has been to WWIII since the Cuban Missile Crisis. NATO, Russian, Yugoslav and KLA forces faced off as NATO and
the United States scrambled to work Russia into a constructive role in KFOR. Since no research on the standoff exists,
this effort fills the gap by exploring the Russian decision to send troops into Kosovo through the lens of two-level
games and coercive diplomacy. It also examines the resulting negotiations and their effectiveness in resolving the crisis,
which ran from June 10-18. A fractured Russian negotiating party, intense domestic pressure, and international and
domestic uncertainty are found to have influenced Russia’s move. This study sheds light on the variables that precipitate
brinkmanship, as well as the tactics states and negotiators can use to defuse escalating maneuvers.
Sonia Tabriz
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Robert Johnson
Life Without Parole: Living and Dying in Prison Today
Life Without Parole: Living and Dying in Prison Today is the fifth and final edition of an Oxford University Press book
written by inmate Victor Hassine. The Capstone involves co-editing this edition, including the restructuring and
conceptualizing of the text to best relay the harsh realities that prisoners face. Highlighted in Hassine’s personal
journey through the Pennsylvania prison system are themes of paralyzing fear, inexplicable loss and the remnants of
hope. The final edition captures the grim details of living in prison, but also examines the tragedy that is dying in
prison as well; after many years of confinement, the author took his own life.
Catherine Taegel
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Heather McDonald
It’s A Big World: A Bedtime Adventure
This Capstone combines two of the researcher’s favorite things: children’s literature and the world. It consists of a series of
seven original children’s books. These are leveled (or easy) readers for children between the ages of six and eight. Each book
is set up like a bedtime story. They are framed in the way of an older sister telling the story to a younger brother. Each one
is focused on a different country: the United States, Argentina, Kenya, Russia, China, France and Afghanistan. They identify
aspects of geography and culture in each country, including notable places and specific phrases in the country’s language.
Each book combines simple structured sentences and range in length from 1,200 to 1,700 words. The goal of the series is to
expand a child’s mind and spark curiosity about the world.
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*Jonathan Terrell
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Robert Griffith
Lies, Spies, and GIs: Operation WADHAM and the Beginning of American Deception in
the European Theater of Operations
Throughout World War II, deception proved to be a decisive factor in the success of many operations, particularly
for the Allies. However, not all Allied deceptions succeeded. In 1943, the Allies launched three coordinated but
ultimately unsuccessful deception operations: STARKEY, WADHAM, and TINDALL, under the overall codename
COCKADE. With these operations, the Allies tried to pin German forces in the West by convincing them a crossChannel invasion was imminent. While the British implemented most of COCKADE, the Americans were responsible
for WADHAM, which for many Americans was their first exposure to deception tactics. Scholars have glossed over
WADHAM, considered the most unsuccessful component of COCKADE, because of its apparent implausibility and
disappointing results. Still, WADHAM warrants further study because a number of questions remain unanswered.
Through an extensive review of primary and secondary sources, this investigation highlights the difficulty of planning
and implementing WADHAM, the degree of Anglo-American cooperation on deception matters, the reasons for its
failure and impact on American opinion about deception and links the experience of WADHAM to the development
of American deception in World War II.
Jenelle Thomas
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Jeffrey Killman
That Ain’t Right!: Language Standardization and Prescription
in French, Spanish and English
Although often viewed as singular and unchanging, language is actually in a constant state of competition and change.
Language use varies regionally, socially and contextually, yet there is one variety of the language commonly viewed as
“correct.” This paper examines the sociolinguistic processes involved in language standardization: the creation, promotion and defense of this “standard” form of a language. Using the case studies offered by French, Spanish and English,
it traces language development and change, concentrating on both formal and informal mechanisms of regulation and
promotion (societal and economic pressures, language academies, education, etc.). A comparison of these three major
international languages allows for an examination of the differences and similarities inherent in the language standardization process. It likewise provides the basis for a commentary about the social and political nature of language, its ties
to nationalism and culture, and the implications for contemporary global society.
Luah Tomas
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Eve Bratman
The Fight for the Land: Production vs. Conservation in the Brazilian Amazon
In a tragedy of the commons situation, government institutions are created to manage and restrain access to natural
resources. But what happens when the institution faultily manages the commons? This is happening in the northwest
of the state of Pará, in the Brazilian Amazon, where tension exists between forest conservation and production. This
research makes inquiries into those tensions. Through field research based on interviews with rural producers in the
city of Santarém, Pará, this paper answers the question of why environmental legislation is failing and how it might be
remedied. This paper argues that, despite its apparent progressiveness, legislation cannot be effectively implemented
primarily because of institutional failures with the management of land tenure. It concludes by suggesting that investments in intensification and conservation are likely to occur only once effective institutions are in place.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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Emily Tompkins
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Philip Brenner
Medical Education and the Culture of Medicine: A Study of Medical School Curricula
in France, the United States and Algeria
This project seeks to uncover whether there is a culture of medicine unique to a country and that is distinguishable
from one country to another, and to determine whether a given culture can be differentiated by the method by which
physicians are selected and trained. This analysis assumes that there is a distinct culture of medicine that is influenced
by history, belief systems, levels of governmental involvement, and other political, economic and sociological factors.
The countries studied are France, the United States, and Algeria. The individual histories of each country show strong
levels of overlap regarding the formation of physicians and the development of medical education, especially when
comparing modern curricula and admissions requirements. This finding suggests that with increased international
involvement and the creation of organizations, such as the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical
Education and Research and the World Health Organization, humans are witness to the homogenization of medicine
in which curricula and requirements for medical schools are becoming standardized across the board.
Chris Trice
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Claudia Meyers
“Worst Case Scenario”
“Worst Case Scenario” is a situation comedy that tells the story of a band that once enjoyed great popularity, but quickly
fell out of the spotlight due to a major scandal. The story begins several years after the band has broken up. It focuses
on Jamie Carmichael, a character who reunites the band in an attempt for members to regain their former lives. Along
the way he will have to deal with the extreme personalities of his band mates, his very dysfunctional family and the rock
star lifestyle. “Worst Case Scenario” is a story of second chances and how people react when they are offered a do over.
It is also a story about family. Both the family you can’t choose – blood relatives – and the family you do choose – your
friends. This project includes a script for a pilot episode, an outline of the first season and a series “bible.”
Stephen Tringali
University Honors in Communication: Visual Media
Capstone Advisor: Kyle Brannon
Music Video Production
This project consists of two music videos that have been created for Washington, D.C., based rock bands. These are
undertaken to explore various methods of cinematography, to enhance and expand the technical skills learned at an internship
at Chesapeake Camera and to showcase an ability to experiment within an already established medium. Both music videos
are professional-level products that serve a commercial purpose, they illustrate an ability to take these filmmaking skills and
employ them in real-world situations. This project reflects an advanced knowledge of camera, lighting and grip equipment,
and the set is conducted in a manner very similar to a traditional, working set. Both music videos have been shot on the Red
One digital cinema camera, a system that has been used on many commercials, music videos (White Rabbits), TV Shows (ER),
and feature films (District 9, The Informant).
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Rita Turpin
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Chris Simpson
Legal Aspects of Communication: Online Resources
Creating online resource organizing online supplements and other content would be useful and effective in providing
information for future media law students is the focus of this Capstone project. This site has a search feature and
is structured in a simple and intuitive fashion to optimize visitor experience. Each resource includes: a link, an
overview of what the resource contains, suggestions for uses of the resource, keywords, and/or any other pertinent
information. This project requires systematic study of media law and, with support from the Capstone advisor,
critical evaluation of online resources concerning media law on the Web and at American University. Based on that
analysis, this paper constructs a plan for flexible, interactive tools to for students and instructors in media law at AU to
access information. The project includes critical analysis and input into curriculum design for undergraduate sections
of this course. It also provides an opportunity for students to methodically study media law and critically evaluate a
variety of resources, alongside the professor.
Rachel Urban
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Alison Jacknowitz
Lack of Participation in SCHIP and Medicaid
Since their inception, Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) have worked to increase
health insurance coverage for low-income children. Both programs have been successful in providing coverage, yet both
have very low participation rates compared to other government assistance programs. Nearly seven in ten uninsured
children in America today qualify for SCHIP or Medicaid coverage, but are not enrolled. This paper synthesizes existing
research to identify the major reasons eligible families do not enroll their children in these programs.
Alex Ussia
University Honors in Interdisciplinary Studies:
Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics and Government
Capstone Advisor: Bill Davies
The American Krytocracy: The Role of Judges throughout American History
Before the U.S. Supreme Court issued the historic decision of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, Justice Stanley Reed
announced to one of his law clerks his fear that the Court, in issuing this decision, was becoming a krytocracy, or a
“rule by judges.” With impetus from the recent landmark case, Citizens United v. FEC, bringing into question the role of
politics and extra-legal factors in judicial decision-making, this paper examines an historical arc of the progression of
the role and power of judges in America. To do so, this paper creates a framework that serves as a lens, bringing new
light to key events that have shaped the legal culture. The framework incorporates three terms – traditional judiciary,
kritarchy, and krytocracy – in order to delineate the different stages of the development of judicial decision-making.
Using historical empirical evidence, this paper projects that the Supreme Court is firmly on the path of increasing judicial power and discretion, and that Justice Reed’s fear of a krytocracy has indeed come to pass.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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Ryan Van Parys
University Honors in Business Administration
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
AirTran Airways: A Strategic Analysis and Proposal to Reroute
Over the past few decades, the domestic airline industry has struggled to stay afloat primarily due to rapidly increasing
input costs and prohibitively high legacy costs. One of the few success stories, AirTran Airways, has managed to
remain profitable by doing everything in its power to keep costs as low as possible. However, after having to write
down a $273 million loss in 2008, questions have surfaced regarding whether AirTran’s business model is sustainable.
This Capstone takes a deep dive into AirTran, initially setting out to answer the question of how AirTran could fail so
badly in 2008 after five years of prosperity, then proposing possible sustainable remedies for the company. By utilizing
data sets from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics database, an index was created to rank the economic and
strategic importance of current routes for AirTran, and a proposal to reroute to the Caribbean was offered based on
this analysis. The Capstone concludes with an analysis of the operational similarities between AirTran and Southwest
Airlines and explains why a merger between the two could be accretive to shareholder value.
Luke Van Wagenen
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
Recommendations for the Growth of the UFC and MMA
The goal of this Capstone project is to address the current status of the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) and its
premier promotional organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The sport of mixed martial arts has
seen promising growth over the past few decades, and the UFC is the most successful organization in the industry.
However, opponents of mixed martial arts believe the sport to be too violent and thus argue against having it become
a part of mainstream American sports. This project addresses this issue, providing arguments as to why this view
can be misguided and how mixed marital arts is actually safer than many people may think. It also offers specific
suggestions for how the sport’s most successful organization, the UFC, can further grow its brand and business.
Christopher Veasey
University Honors in Business Administration
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
McVeasey’s Pub: A Feasibility Analysis and Business Plan
that Serves a Long Neglected Market
Successful businesses begin and thrive when there is opportunity. At American University, the environment for a full
service pub close to campus has never been more favorable. Following an in-depth market and feasibility analysis
with extremely positive results, this Capstone presents a carefully constructed business plan and proposal. McVeasey’s
Pub would not be just a watering hole; it is anticipated to be a much-needed center of entertainment for AU students.
Conveniently located in Tenleytown, the establishment would offer weekly themed nights including: concerts, open
mic nights, karaoke and stand-up comedy. As proposed, McVeasey’s Pub also would offer delicious food to its patrons.
This Capstone draws on virtually every aspect of business in order to lay the framework for a major entrepreneurial
and investment opportunity.
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Kaia Vereide
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Julie Mertus
ESL Classes for Refugees as a Human Right
This Capstone answers the question: Should human rights language be used to call for English as a Second Language
classes for refugees? ESL classes for refugees undoubtedly fill a need, but this need is rarely termed as a human right.
Knowledge of the dominant language in one’s country of residence can also be seen to promote other generally
accepted human rights. This paper examines the benefits of calling for new, particularized rights and looks for
precedent in the field of linguistic human rights. It examines how human rights language could be used in the
discourse of particular agencies that provide ESL classes to refugees.
Drew Veysey
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Daniel Fiorino
The American Clean Energy & Security Act of 2009:
A Legislative and Interest Group Analysis
Very recently the idea of a comprehensive clean energy and climate change plan for the United States has emerged in
American political discourse. This would be in the form of legislation that passes both Houses of Congress and is
signed into law by the president. Conventional wisdom says this (climate policy passing the House) cannot be done –
and yet in June 2009 it did. The American Clean Energy and Security Act is politically state of the art. This Capstone
explores the science compelling the federal government to action, the various economic analyses used as political
rhetoric, the actions of interest groups in Washington, D.C., the influence of environmental grassroots, regional compromises during the committee process and the efforts made by the Obama administration.
Rachel Voss
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Irving Rosenthall
Barriers to Recipient Country Ownership of U.S. Food Aid: Congressional Earmarks,
Set-Asides, and the Impact of Special Interests on Food Security Assistance
This study examines the domestic political forces that present barriers to greater recipient country ownership of U.S.
food security assistance. After examining the history of food aid and agricultural development assistance, the paper
compares the guiding principles of recent U.S. administrations, which include increased ownership and long-term
sustainability to in-place food security assistance programs. Finding Congressional earmarking practices, domestic agricultural and shipping interests, and aid agency fragmentation to be major obstacles to effective assistance programs,
the paper concludes with comprehensive policy recommendations to establish a cabinet-level Office of Global Food
Security to coordinate food security assistance programs and better align strategic objectives.
Genevieve Vullo
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Consuelo Hernández
“Light is Like Water,” and Other Tales by Gabriel García Márquez
Translation, especially in the realm of creative literature, is a complex, nuanced and wholly challenging process. This
Capstone presents the Spanish-to-English translations of eight short stories by the famous Colombian writer Gabriel
García Márquez. An additional journal element captures the experience of the translator as she worked through each
story utilizing online, offline, and, of course, human resources. The eight tales pull the reader into the world of “magical realism,” where the fantastic is not only possible, but probable.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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Jana Warner
University Honors in Business Administration
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
Combating Illegal Music Piracy: A Case Study of Warner Music Group
This Capstone addresses the topic of illegal music piracy and its effect on the music industry, specifically Warner
Music Group. In recent years, music companies have been faced with the consequences of the global spread of the
Internet. The ease of illegal file sharing and the increasing prominence of low-revenue music options such a streaming
Web sites and YouTube have changed the way music companies must operate to stay profitable. An analysis of the
financials of Warner Music Group reveals the difficulty of operating a music business in the current technological
climate. This paper deals with the future of the music industry and recommends options that music companies can
utilize to remain relevant in the age of the Internet.
Jon Weakley
University Honors in Political Science
Capstone Advisors: Karen O’Connor, Kimberly Cowell-Meyers
The Feminine Touch: Examining the Relationship between Proportions of Women
in Canadian Parliament and Constituents’ Confidence in Government
Beginning with Hannah Pitkin’s 1967 research on representation, scholars have sought to understand connections
between electoral systems, the composition of legislatures, the output of legislatures and public perceptions of
legislators. This study considers links between the demographics of legislatures – called descriptive representation –
and public perceptions of government – symbolic representation. Examining Canadian politics between 1993 and
2008, this research explores the possibility that the proportion of women in the Canadian Federal Parliament affects
citizens’ confidence in government as well as those citizens’ voting habits, particularly males. I expect to find that with
higher proportions of female representation, there will be higher levels of confidence, but there may be disapproval
among males, who may view such representation threatening to their interests. This project aims to fill existing gaps
in the literature on how diversity in government affects citizens’ sense of their government’s legitimacy and their
confidence in decisions that their government makes.
Melissa Weeden
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Chana Barron
The Ideal Criminal Justice System
The goal of the American criminal justice system is fairness and equality. American citizens trust criminal justice
procedure and due process to be the safeguards of their liberty. They have the notion that if the criminal justice
process is fair, the outcome will be fair and no harm will befall the innocent. Unfortunately, the safeguards of
procedural justice do not always protect. By examining the privilege against self-incrimination and the holdings
of Miranda v. Arizona and other related cases, the flaws in the current law will become clear, such as the definition
of interrogation and subjectively coercive circumstances that are used to obtain confessions. Once the flaws are
identified, current criminal justice procedure could be improved by implementing a guardian over the process, a
“referee,” who will represent the criminal justice system to ensure due process protections are being followed.
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Sarah Weinstein
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Benjamin Jensen
Killing for Security and Utopia: A Post-Structuralist Examination of the Strategic
Perspective on Mass Killing in Central Africa
The multiple instances of mass killing in Central Africa in the second half of the 20th century raise the question of a
regional dimension to the violence. This study draws on the Copenhagen School of security studies and post-structuralism
to interrogate the strategic perspective on mass killing. That strategic perspective locates the source of mass killing in the
strategies and goals of national elites. It explores the relationship between elite identity construction and their policies
of mass killing in a regional context in the Central African states of Rwanda and Burundi. Two cases are examined, the
violence following the assassination of Burundi’s President Melchior Ndadaye in 1993 and the Rwandan genocide of
1994. Discourse analysis of government documents, state-sponsored radio broadcasts, speeches to the United Nations,
and testimony before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is conducted to identify securitization, in this
context the process by which social groups are identified as threats to the power of national elites in Central African
states. This study showed that national elites securitized opposition social groups as a means to maintain their power by
legitimating the use of mass killing. This process of securitization relied on regional discourses that legitimated unequal
relations between social groups and mass violence as a means to maintain or reverse the social order.
*Greta Wicklund
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisors: Linda Lubrano, Adrienne Pine
Parenting and Politics from El Salvador: Empowered Belonging in the United States
Current scholarship on migration and civic culture largely ignores how immigrants influence their children’s civic development.
Yet, civic self-concepts expressed by the children of immigrants can ground debates over how immigration affects the transfer
and transformation of civic culture. This raises the question: To what extent, and in what ways, do the experiences, attitudes
and parenting practices of immigrants influence their adult children’s understandings of self as civic actors in the U.S. and in the
parent’s birthplace? This research is based on interviews with Salvadoran-Americans who grew up primarily in the U.S. and their
parents who came to Washington, D.C., during the Salvadoran Civil War. The young adults in this study expressed attitudes
and goals that tell about self-understandings relevant to civic responsibility: empathy with newcomers and with the less socially
privileged, motivation to push oneself for personal growth, desire to “give back” in gratitude for what they and their parents
now have, commitment to a strong and supportive family, and a desire for less silence on political issues. Interviews show that
parenting and parents’ experiences of immigration from El Salvador did influence these civic self-understandings, primarily by
influencing their identification with communities, nations, ethnic groups and political systems.
Rinske Wijtmans
University Honors in International Studies
Capstone Advisor: Anthony Quainton
Changing Views of Tolerance: A Dutch Case Study
This study examines the concept and history of tolerance in the Netherlands within the current context. By tracing the historical elements that have shaped tolerance in the Netherlands starting from its rebellion from Spain through World War II,
the study analyzes tolerance and its present influences on social life. Due to the large immigrant population – largely from
Morocco, Turkey and Surinam – there are increasing cultural tensions as Dutch society confronts its transition to a nation of
immigration instead of one of emigration. A discourse analysis is used to evaluate current debate through the examination
of Dutch newspaper articles. The recently rising Party for Freedom is featured in the analysis as the party exemplifies the rise
of the right-wing in politics. The primary reasons discovered for the rise of intolerance include a fear of economic encroachment and an inability for the historic system of social structure to deal with differences. While in the past decade there has
been a largely politicized national discourse, in analyzing the trends for government policy on integration and social cohesion,
most cities with significant non-Western populations are found to be enacting pragmatic programs to promote social cohesion
and tolerance, to varying degrees of success.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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Laura Willett
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Victoria Kiechel
rebEARTH: A Design for the Revitalization of Dupont Down Under
Dupont Circle was once home to an underground trolley, which began in 1949 and ran until 1962. Since its closure,
the tunnel has been sealed off. The tunnel, which runs along Connecticut Avenue, was turned into a food court in
1995, but was closed within a year. The tunnel remains empty and the city of Washington, D.C., has asked for Request
for Proposals for Dupont Down Under from the public. This project tries to integrate aspects of sustainability into
a proposal for Dupont Down Under. In this project, the final design plan includes a multi-use design for the space.
The design is called rebEARTH, a sustainable underground space that includes an art gallery, art supply store, studio
space, café and community space. Both written and visual pieces are used to show the different design aspects and
stages, and to defend this particular proposal and sustainable development.
*Jessica Williamson
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Alex Hodges
Garden Girls: Utilizing Children’s Literature to Promote Environmental Awareness
and Healthy Eating Habits
With rising rates of childhood obesity and an increasing awareness of the environmental, social and health problems
inherent in our food system, it is important that these issues are addressed starting at an early age, through comprehensive
educational programming, in order to engage the next generation in solving these problems. This project seeks to
apply principles of Critical Literacy and Garden-Based Learning into a curriculum intended to increase environmental
awareness and encourage healthy eating habits through a focus on community gardening. In collaboration with
Community Bridges, a Silver Spring, Maryland-based non-profit that provides multicultural empowerment and
leadership programs for underprivileged girls, this project involves the creation and implementation of a four-lesson
curriculum within the JumpStart Girls (Adelante Niñas) afterschool program for fourth and fifth grade girls. This
curriculum is based around two children’s texts focused on community gardening, City Green and Our Community
Garden. Using these two texts as a starting point, the curriculum addresses topics of gardening, local vs. global food
systems and healthy eating, while also engaging issues of community involvement, leadership and multiculturalism
central to Community Bridges’ work. The curriculum and information related to the project and resources for persons
or organizations seeking to implement a similar program have been compiled and are available on a Web site created
to showcase this project.
Peggy Wu
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Kyle Brannon
Ming Bai: Say Bye to Confusion, Ni Hao to Understanding
Ming Bai: Say Bye to Confusion, Ni Hao to Understanding is a series of animated videos to teach basic Chinese words
and phrases for people studying Chinese or travelling abroad to China. Using a technique called stop-motion, the
project uses Lego characters and bricks to teach Mandarin. Each episode features different Lego characters facing
everyday challenges of living abroad in China. Customized backgrounds, voiceovers and a green screen are used to
bring originality to each scene. Topics in the series include greetings, numbers, instructions for ordering food and tips
for asking for help, bargaining and giving directions.
* Capstone Research Grant Recipient
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2010 Capstone Abstracts
Jae Hyeon Yoo
University Honors
Capstone Advisor: Richard Linowes
KOICA and Microfinance: Microfinance for Socioeconomic Development in Africa
Microfinance gives financial tools to low-income people to help them work their way out of poverty. For about two
decades, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has assisted developing countries through grants and
technical cooperation programs. This report recommends KOICA to employ microfinance in its program, starting
with Ethiopia, Africa. Ethiopia is a good candidate because the country has a close partnership with KOICA and a
good microfinance environment. KOICA should incorporate microfinance in its focus on education and health care
for socioeconomic development in Africa, possibly in cooperation with Korean business corporations in the region.
Alan Yu
University Honors in Business Administration
Capstone Advisor: Gerald Martin
2010 Medical Equipment and Supplies Industry Report: A Buy Side Perspective
This Capstone is an industry report on the health-care supplies and equipment manufacturing industry from a buyside analyst’s point of view. The report covers trends and issues facing this particular industry and provides forecasts
for future demand in the United States. This report is a meta-analysis of average solvency, liquidity, profitability
and activity ratios, gathered from financial statements from 14 companies representative of the industry in order to
identify and industry laggards and best-in-class. Various stock valuation techniques are applied to find the most suitable way to identify the intrinsic value of stocks in this industry as well as identify over- and under-priced securities.
Among other findings, price multiples valuation emerges as the most useful way to value stocks in this sector such
as using Price/Earnings and Price/Book ratios. This report also provides a method to construct different types of
indices for this industry, should investors wish to gain exposure to and insight into this sector.
Philip Zakahi
University Honors in Political Science
Capstone Advisors: Dotty Lynch, Kimberly Cowell-Meyers
Early Voting, Early Spending: The Impact of Early Voting
on Congressional Campaign Expenditures
Despite the increasing significance of early voting in United States elections, much of the academic research on campaigns – specifically on campaign expenditures – fails to account for the role of early voters. This study uses newly
available data from the Federal Election Commission and Congressional Quarterly and two regression models to establish
the impact of early voting on expenditure timing and the impact of early spending on candidate vote share. It finds
that, while campaigns in states with early voting spend their funds significantly earlier than campaigns in states without early voting, this spending does not bring with it an apparent electoral advantage. This validates claims made by
campaign experts and news media about earlier spending, guides the expenditures of campaigns and challenges the
academic literature to account for early voting.
2010 Capstone Abstracts
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