Welcome to the Public Policy honors thesis page. The projects presented here are the result of a year-long process begun by our honors students in January of 2022. These students have produced 20 projects that cover topics as diverse from\u00a0The Cannibalization of Lottery Revenues through the Expansion of Online Sports Betting<\/em>\u00a0to\u00a0An Undeniable Link: The Impacts of Immigration Policy on the American Agricultural Industry<\/em>. Students have done everything from interviewing policy experts, crunched databases, and analyzed Tweets. The result is an important array of studies that are both though provoking and intellectually rich. We recognize their hard work and dedication, and thank their thesis advisors for helping students complete their projects.<\/p>\n Deborah Ades<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 The Geopolitics of Sanctions: Assessing the Impact of Global Geopolitics on U.S. Sanctions on Iran<\/p>\n Gabrielle Battle<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Setting the Standard: Meeting the Needs of Sex Trafficked Black Girls in the State of California<\/em><\/p>\n Allison Bunker<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Documenting Dystopia: An Audio Documentary Approach to Amazon in Seattle<\/em><\/p>\n Peter Connolly<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The Battle for Chips: Semiconductors Crucial Role in AI Development and its Implications for U.S.-China Strategic Competition<\/em><\/p>\n Nicholas Datto<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Net Impact: The Relationship Between Internet Access and Voter Turnout Across U.S. Elections and Parties<\/em><\/p>\n Devan Desai<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Unequal Burdens: Disparities in Baseline Low Back Pain at an Academic Health System<\/em><\/p>\n Sabene Figueroa<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The Mental Healthcare Access Crisis Among the Homeless Population<\/em><\/p>\n Kyle Gray<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Negotiating with \u201cTerrorists\u201d: When is Diplomacy an Effective Way to End a Conflict?<\/em><\/p>\n Dana Guggenheim<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Impact of the US Food and Drug Administration\u2019s Zika Virus Recommendations on Cord Blood Unit Eligibility and Utilization in a Large Public Cord Blood Bank<\/em><\/p>\n Alex Hoffman<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Securing the Right to Work: The History and Future of Job Guarantees\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Finn Hossfeld<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Using Media to Understand Public Discourse on Carbon Capture, Storage, and Utilization Technology: A Qualitative Frame Analysis of US Media Coverage of the Petra Nova Project<\/em><\/p>\n Gautam Iyer<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Remembering\u2026 and Forgetting: What Durham Communities Decide to Remember About Themselves, and How They Do It<\/em><\/p>\n Dan King<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The Impacts of Immigration Policy on the American Agricultural Industry<\/em><\/p>\n Payton Little<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The Health Policy Puzzle of Gender Affirming Care: Healthcare Policies In North Carolina as a Case Study<\/em><\/p>\n Katherine LoBue<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0An Evaluation of the Durham DEAR Program: Comparing Participant and Staff Perspectives<\/em><\/p>\n Leah Markbreiter<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>\u2013\u00a0Social Connectedness, Altruism, and Vaccine Behavior: Improving Policy for Future Pandemics<\/em><\/p>\n Alanna Miller<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Segregating Opportunity: The Deprivation of Resources in Durham County\u2019s Racially\/Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty<\/em><\/p>\n Mary Monti<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>\u2013\u00a0No Such Thing as a Textbook Case: Comparing Interstate Differences in High School Civics Education<\/em><\/p>\n Vaneesha Patel<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Planning for Better Communities: Exploring the Relationship Between New Urbanism in Comprehensive Plans and Social Capital<\/em><\/p>\n Rachel Proudman<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Marginalized and Monitored: Analyzing Reproductive Health and Digital Surveillance in the United States<\/em><\/p>\n Taalin RaoShah<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>\u2013\u00a0Cheaper & Cleaner? A Case Study of Boston\u2019s Community Choice Electricity (CCE) Program<\/em><\/p>\n Leah Roffman<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Exploring the Distribution of Utility-scale Renewables and Anti-renewable Legislation in the U.S.<\/em><\/p>\n Hailey Ross<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Talking Trash: Evaluating<\/em>\u00a0Pay-as-You-Throw (PAYT) and Compost Contamination on the Front Range of Colorado<\/em><\/p>\n Jonathan Schachter<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>\u2013\u00a0The Cannibalization of Lottery Revenues through the Expansion of Online Sports Betting<\/em><\/p>\n