Institutions & Societies Graduate Student Conference

Friday, February 22, 2019

Husted Hall -- 135 Western Avenue, Albany, NY 12222

Last updated: 2/17/2019

DOWNLOAD a copy of the 2019 program.

8:30 AM – 9:15 AM

REGISTRATION and BREAKFAST

Conference registration will take place on the second floor of Husted Hall in the second floor Atrium. The Registration Desk will be manned throughout the day. You can reach the second floor using the stairs or elevator. A Continental Breakfast with coffee, tea, muffins, fruit, juice, and water will also be served in the 2nd floor atrium.

9:15 AM – 10:30 AM

Panel #1: Problems and Puzzles

Discussant: Dr. Aaron Benavot, Department of Educational Policy and Leadership

Room: Husted 214

The Menace from the East: Russophobia, the Eastern Question, and the Great Game in the 19th Century

Tyson Luneau, University at Albany, SUNY

How Did an Independent Body for Internet Content Governance Take Its Form?

Yoehan Oh, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Mappa Mercatoris

Marven Corrielus, University at Albany, SUNY

The Homeless Press: A Social Movement Using the Master’s Tool to Resist Mainstream Representation

Anasa Sinegal, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

9:15 AM – 10:30 AM

Panel #2: Ideas, Interests, and Institutions in Public Policy

Discussant: Dr. Zsófia Barta, Department of Political Science

Room: Husted 204

Variation in Local Health Departments: Involvement in Implementing Obesity Policies

Wenhui Feng, University at Albany, SUNY

Biometric Citizenship and the Judicial Scrutiny of Automated Decisions

Esra Gules-Guctas, University at Albany, SUNY

Is Energy Transition Occurring in the United States? A Case Study of Texas

Ju-Ying Yang, University at Albany, SUNY

Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Reproductive Rights: How Liberal Women in State Legislatures Lead to Pro-Choice State Legislation

Katie Gowing, University at Albany, SUNY

Remaz Omer, University at Albany, SUNY

Ofu Takor, University at Albany, SUNY

9:15 AM – 10:30 AM

Panel #3: Citizens and Society: Issues of Class, Race, Policy, and Politics

Discussant: Dr. Francisco P. Vieyra, Department of Sociology

Room: Husted 217

The Collision between Urban Renewal and the Asian American Movement: A Case Study at Evictions of Residents at Manhattan Chinatown

Shouyue Zhang, University at Albany, SUNY

Big, Black and Strong: Does Identification as a Strong Black Woman Moderate the Relation between Racism-Related Stress and Emotional Eating?

Shantel Powell, University at Albany, SUNY

The Lasting Effects of Institutionalized Discrimination

Carly Van Syckle, University at Albany SUNY

Policy Evidence in the Hearings on NYS Single-Payer and its Impact Over Policy

Yongjin Choi, University at Albany, SUNY

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

Panel #4: Politics in Southeast Asia

Discussant: Dr. Mitch Aso, Department of History

Room: Husted 217

The Logic of Three-Level Games in Southeast Asia

Keith A. Preble, University at Albany, SUNY

The Role of Crosscutting Cleavages in Stabilizing Ethnic Relations: A Case Comparison between Malaysia and Indonesia

Zheng Wang, University at Albany, SUNY

ASEAN in the Denuclearization of North Korea: A Study of Its Low-Key Role

Mutti Anggitta, University at Albany, SUNY

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

Panel #5: Language of Politics

Discussant: Dr. Gilbert Valverde, Department of Educational Policy and Leadership

Room: Husted 204

The Integrative Complexity of ‘Acts of God’: Analyzing the Media Coverage of Natural Disasters on Liberal and Conservative News Networks

Hayley McCullough, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Petty Hate Machine: Three Celebrity Fame Models That Inspired and Help Explain the Rise of Donald Trump

William Sisk, University at Albany, SUNY

Understanding Trump's Rhetoric on Immigration through Metaphor and Persuasion

Thaddeus Okon, University at Buffalo, SUNY

Money for the People: The Effects of Global Financial Crisis on Populism

Joe Sorbello, University at Albany, SUNY

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

Panel #6: Studies in Political Violence

Discussant: Dr. Brian Greenhill, Department of Political Science

Room: Husted 214

Turkey's Counterterrorism Operations and Out-group Attitudes Towards Syrians and Kurds in the Country

Reyhan Topal, University at Albany, SUNY

Tolerance and Terrorism in the United States

RJ Haq and Christopher Newton, University at Buffalo, SUNY

Who Pulled the Trigger? A Look at Why Uprisings Turned Violent

Olivia Schultz, University at Albany, SUNY

12:15 PM – 1:15 PM

PrAcademics: Turning Academic Practice into Non-Academic Success

An Interview with Dr. Jessica Pidgeon

Room: Husted Amphitheatre (First Floor, Husted Hall)

This year’s keynote event features an in-depth interview of Dr. Jessica Pidgeon, an alumna of UAlbany who received her PhD in political science in 2015. Her dissertation and research, The "Missing" Electorate: Examining the Political Participation of Individuals with Disabilities and Exploring the Role of Family and Supports in American Elections, examined the role of individuals with disabilities in American politics and the American political system. Dr. Patricia Strach, a faculty member in the Departments of Political Science and Public Administration and Policy as well as Director of Policy and Research at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, will interview Dr. Pidgeon about her research, how her education at UAlbany prepared her for her work with the State of New York, and her role as a lead federal liaison and long-term planner on the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council.

Dr. Jessica Pidgeon works for the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, where she has been employed since 2013. She started as a graduate assistant and was later selected to serve as a New York State Excelsior Service Fellow from 2015-2017. She currently holds a full-time position at the executive agency as its lead federal liaison and long-term planner, where she is responsible for monitoring and reporting the agency’s progress on meeting its mission. In addition, Jessica assists in the research, implementation, and evaluation of innovative pilot programs and grants that help support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families to assist them in living more independent and community-based lives.

Dr. Pidgeon is a first-generation college graduate of Siena College (B.A.), the University of California, Riverside (M.A., with distinction), and the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany, SUNY (Ph.D.), where she received the University at Albany’s Distinguished Doctoral Dissertation Award in recognition of the important contribution that her research on the political participation of individuals with disabilities, family members, and support staff in American elections made to the field of political science. She has continued her relationship with Rockefeller College as a mentor to graduate students and as an Adjunct Professor for the Department of Political Science, where she teaches courses on American politics and public policy.

Dr. Patricia Strach is professor in the Departments of Political Science and Public Administration and Policy and Director for Policy and Research at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, the public policy think tank for the 64-campus State University of New York (SUNY) system. She is the principal investigator for Stories from Sullivan, which examines how opioid misuse affects local communities and what local communities are doing to address it. Strach is an expert in public policy and mass politics and is the author of Hiding Politics in Plain Sight: Cause Marketing, Corporate Influence, and Breast Cancer Policymaking (Oxford 2016) and All in the Family: The Private Roots of American Public Policy (Stanford 2007) as well as numerous articles. She was a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in Health Policy Research at Harvard (2008-2010) after receiving her doctorate in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2004).

1:15 PM – 2:30 PM

NETWORKING LUNCH

Location: Husted Café, First Floor of Husted Hall

A free networking lunch for all presenters, attendees, and discussants will be served in the Husted Café, just outside the Husted Hall Amphitheatre on the first floor of Husted Hall.

2:45 PM – 4:00 PM

Panel #7: Perspectives on Education Policy

Discussant: Dr. Lucy Sorensen, Department of Public Administration and Policy

Room: Husted 214

Educational Equity in Moldovan Schools: What Can Be Concluded and What Can Not Be Concluded from PISA 2015 Results from Moldova

Oxana Orasca, University at Albany, SUNY

Student Learning Outcomes in the United States

Nahide Gelgec, University at Albany, SUNY

Incidence of the Learning Environment and Didactic Resources in Pre-school Students in the Public and Private Schools of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Koral Nunez, University at Albany, SUNY

Unified State Exam (Russia) as a Means to Address Inequity in Education

Polina Denisova, University at Albany, SUNY

2:45 PM – 4:00 PM

Panel #8: Disability Policy and Politics

Discussant: Dr. Jessica Pidgeon, Department of Political Science

Room: Husted 217

This is an undergraduate panel based on Dr. Jessica Pidgeon’s undergraduate seminar on disability politics:

Police Brutality and Disability in the United States: Issues, Data, Solutions

Giliean Pemble-Flood, University at Albany, SUNY

Disability Policy and Political Parties: Does Party Make a Difference in Passing Disability Legislation?

Alexia Holden, University at Albany, SUNY

Tale of Two States: The Status of Poverty in People with Disabilities More Than 25 Years after the Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Ofu J. Takor, University at Albany, SUNY

2:45 PM – 4:00 PM

Panel #9: Quantitative Explorations in Politics and Policy

Discussants: Dr. Matthew Ingram, Department of Political Science and Dr. Kathryn Schiller, Department of Educational Policy and Leadership

Room: Husted 204

Does Seasonality of Birth Outcome Really Exist? Evidence from Weather Conditions during Pregnancy

Jun Lee, University at Albany, SUNY

Does Trust in Government Boost or Slump Citizen Participation? Evidence of Generational Differences from Emerging Economies

Cesar Renteria, University at Albany, SUNY

A Test of Optimal Match Models of Stressors and Social Support on an Online Drug Recovery Forum

Bahareh Ansari, University at Albany, SUNY