MARS
MARS is a repository service of Mason Publishing and the Data and Digital Scholarship Services (DDSS) at the George Mason University Libraries. MARS provides enduring, stable, well-indexed access to a wide range of scholarship from the Mason community, such as Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs), articles, presentations, reports, and creative work. Learn more about publishing, sharing, and preserving research data with the George Mason University Institutional Dataverse, and our other repository services.
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Recent Submissions
The Libraries at Mason, Spring 2025
(2025-07) George Mason University Libraries
The Price Cap Impact on Russian Crude Oil Exports: A Quantitative Assessment
(2024-12) Korkmaz, Gizem; Miller, Kent
The price cap imposed on Russian seaborne crude oil exports in December 2022 represents a novel economic measure in a world where sanctions have become a key tool for shaping geopolitical behavior. This study investigates the impact of the price cap on Russian crude oil export volumes, revenue, and destinations, using publicly available trade data alongside data visualizations and statistical analyses. It examines both the short- and long-term effects of the price cap, with the January 2021-December 2022 period serving as a baseline. The findings reveal that while the price cap successfully stabilized global crude oil markets and reduced Russian export revenue in the short-term, its long-term effectiveness was hindered by Russia’s circumvention strategies, such as the use of a shadow fleet, alternative trade routes, and strengthened partnerships with China and India. These adaptations enabled Russia to sustain export volumes and even restore revenue to near pre-price cap levels, suggesting that sanctions can be circumvented when sanctioned countries develop effective evasion tactics. This study underscores the challenges of enforcing economic sanctions and calls for more robust enforcement mechanisms, including real-time monitoring and international cooperation. The findings offer valuable insights for refining future sanctions policies to enhance their long-term effectiveness.
“It Comes Down to Communication”: Science Communication Skills are Key for Scientists Supporting Evidence-Based Policymaking Through the Coves Fellowship
(2024-07-19) Saylor, Katherine; Akerlof, Dr. K. L.
Virginia’s Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s (VASEM) Commonwealth of Virginia Engineering and Science (COVES) Fellowship program places scientists and engineers with state agencies, General Assembly member offices and committees, and non-profit organizations. As other states look to begin their own similar fellowship programs, assessments of models like COVES may be instructive. Previous research has established that scientists providing evidence to support policymaking face many challenges: motivation to enter the political arena, effective communication of the science, understanding of their role, and avoiding unethical engagement. Through support and training, fellowships such as the COVES program are in a unique position to address these challenges. Is the COVES Fellowship program effectively addressing them and facilitating evidence-based policymaking? If so, how can the success be replicated and if not, how can the program be improved? Through a narrowly focused, three-phase interview study, this paper establishes the program’s background, objectives, capabilities, challenges, and successes. Focused exclusively on former Fellows who were placed in member offices and committees in Virginia’s General Assembly, it explored how Fellows described their experiences in communicating evidence and what they understood their role to be. This study provides insights to support policymaking in Virginia as well as establishment of new fellowship programs elsewhere. In addition, this real-world example of support for evidence-based policymaking explores how science communication is used in the process.
Framing Pretrial Reform: Media Effects on Perceptions of Bail Reform and Pretrial Risk Assessments
(2024-08-27) Thai, Mindy L.; Lowder, Evan
In the United States, about 450,000 individuals are held in jails awaiting trial, adding to the burden pretrial detention has placed on overcrowded and understaffed jail facilities. Experts have identified cash bail as the primary mechanism driving pretrial detention rates. Across the nation, pretrial reform efforts have focused on reducing the harms of cash bail by eliminating the system or implementing pretrial risk assessment tools to guide judicial decision-making. However, bail reform is a highly contested topic. Experts believe the media may play a key role in discussions of bail reform through shaping individual perceptions. However, little research has empirically examined the impact of media influence on perceptions of bail reform and pretrial risk assessments. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine how media framing of pretrial release narratives affects perceptions of pretrial reform efforts. Data was collected using a randomized experimental vignette design in two surveys of 1) the general population and 2) criminal legal professionals. Findings from this investigation may inform practitioners on how to minimize or otherwise buffer the adverse negative effects of media attention.
Do Patterns of Zero-Tolerance Policing Impact an Agency’s Legitimacy? A Study of 105 U.S. Agencies
(2024-11-12) Khatchatourian, Hailey; Lum, Cynthia
Zero-tolerance policing (defined here as the increased use of arrests for minor or
misdemeanor crimes) proliferated in the 1990s and was adopted by many agencies
nationwide during that period. Some have suggested that this policing strategy left a deep
and lasting impression on communities, in particular, reducing police legitimacy in these
communities in the 2000s. However, little research has formally tested these claims. To
explore this hypothesis, this thesis explores the impact of long-term misdemeanor arrest
practices using trajectories of misdemeanor arrests developed by Lum and Vovak (2018)
on proxy measures of police legitimacy (as there are no direct measures that currently
exist). Four variables to approximate jurisdiction-level legitimacy were used: violent
crime, violence against officers, officer-involved shootings, and oversight/accountability
agreements. With one exception, this study finds that misdemeanor arrest patterns did not
significantly predict legitimacy when measured by these variables. Despite considerable limitations in the use of proxy measures, this study highlights the importance of police
agencies regularly collecting jurisdiction-level perception-based police legitimacy data to
better understand the impact of significant policies they implement.