INQUIRY

INQUIRY • Volume 19, 2015
Contested Contexts: The Effects of Gentrification on a
Public Park
Emily Frank, Sociology
Sponsor: Professor Ruth Horowitz, Sociology
In the heart of the East Village, between Avenues A
and B, lies Tompkins Square Park. As the hub of the neighborhood,
it is a haven for people from all socioeconomic
backgrounds and subcultures. It also provides a concrete
illustration of neighborhood change, namely gentrification.
To investigate the effects of gentrification on a public park,
an ethnographic study was conducted by observing public
behavior, how people segregate themselves, how the park is
managed and how the populations themselves are managed
by park staff. When possible, park-goers were interviewed
about their experiences. Based on this research, it was found
that the park reflects the evolution of the neighborhood’s
social hierarchy. In the past, the homeless had occupied
the center; they now spend their time at the edges. Twentysomethings
populate the central areas instead. Longtime
neighborhood residents differ in how they view this change:
early gentrifiers look at the Tompkins of the past with nostalgia,
while lifelong residents view the current Tompkins
as an improvement from the days of “Needle Park.” In
conclusion, public parks can be viewed as reflections of
neighborhood change as a whole and pinpoint specific
phenomena characteristic of gentrification.
Stability over Starvation: Gaza, Iraq and the Domestic
Political Costs of Economic Sanctions
Ellis Garey, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Sociology
Sponsor: Professor Vivek Chibber, Sociology
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect
economic sanctions and blockades have on domestic political
stability. While conventional knowledge proposes that
economic sanctions have the ability to influence the leaders
they target by collectively punishing the public, who then
mobilize and pressure their government to capitulate to the
demands of the “sender” state, historical experience suggests
otherwise. The economic blockade of Gaza initiated
by Israel following the election of Hamas in 2007 and the
near-total embargo imposed on Iraq following the invasion
of Kuwait in 1990 by the United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) both aimed to destabilize the existing governments.
Yet, in both cases economic sanctions failed in bringing
about regime change and were instead accompanied by
consolidated political power. An analysis of food insecurity
rates in Gaza and Iraq, which rises as a result of restricted
food imports and difficulties faced by the agricultural sectors,
illustrates the possibility that material crisis caused by
an external actor can maintain the domestic political status
quo instead of leading to upheaval.
Patterns of Mandibular Molar Expansion in Megadont
Hominins
Evelyn Glaze, Anthropology
Sponsor: Professor Shara Bailey, Anthropology
The evolutionary relationships of the early African
hominins have been disputed for the past century due in part
to different interpretations of the factors that influence dental
morphology. The case for a separate genus Paranthropus
including the “robust” australopithecine species interprets
the similar dental morphology of these species as support for
the hypothesis that such traits are inherited from a common
ancestor. Conversely, opponents of such groupings argue
that the defining traits of the “robust” species could have
evolved in parallel, forming separate East African and South
African clades. This research examines one of these defining
traits, lower molars that increase in size towards the back
of the tooth row, to determine whether there is a common
way in which teeth become bigger over evolutionary time.
A sample of living primates sharing this trait were quantitatively
compared to the fossil hominins in order to determine
the similarity of patterns in molar length and width, relative
cusp size, and the way these patterns are manifested across
the molar field. Disparities both between and within the
living and fossil samples demonstrate that there is more
than one way for the lower molar row to become enlarged.
Although this result does not preclude the common ancestor
hypothesis, it does indicate that a common ancestor is not
required in order for both species to have developed similar
molar characteristics.
Prosperity and Security: A Political Economy Model of
Internet Surveillance
Chun Wei Benjamin Goh, Politics
Sponsor: Professor Alastair Smith, Politics
This paper proposes a game-theoretic model to understand
the factors that determine whether and to what extent a
country’s government will employ Internet surveillance over
its citizens. Surveillance is unpopular with the electorate but
useful in decreasing terrorist attacks and is assumed to be
partially observable. The model attempts to characterize the
optimal level of surveillance as a function of the economy,
level of terror aggression and cultural attitudes towards
privacy and security. Contrary to popular belief, leaders
perceived to be competent have an incentive to employ more
surveillance. Terror paranoia also does not always lead to
higher surveillance. These comparative statics are tested
against data from newly published data from the Web Index
and Privacy International. This model will be the first to
systematically investigate the choice of surveillance policies
across political institutions and contributes to the burgeoning
political economy discourse on Internet surveillance.
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