• Evolution of Women's Issues

  Boyd, Benjamin (SUNY Oneonta, 2025)

  The rights and status of women has been one of the most prevalent social issues throughout world history. Women have faced both constant and changing issues across Western civilizations and time periods, such as the Byzantine Empire, 14th century France, and 16th century England. These issues become evident when examining historical texts created by women, such as The Alexiad by Anna Comnena, The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pisan, and the Speech to the Troops at Tilbury by Queen Elizabeth I. Many issues that women have dealt with throughout different time periods and geographical locations share more similarities than differences, including their right to be educated, their influence in government, and their social status relative to men. While progress has been made to combat these issues, theyhave continued to limit women’s rights throughout history.
• Implementing International Labor Standards ( ILO)-The Impact of Supply Chain: Management and Economics

  O'Connor, Kaelin; Plaisted, Lucas (SUNY Oneonta, 2025)

  This paper aims to highlight the global trend of corporate social responsibility, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) promulgated by the United Nations. As companies become transnational, there will be increasing pressure on the human resource management function in those organizations to respond to the changing environment. Existing methods for encouraging companies to be accountable for implementing the international labor standards in the United States are inadequate. After rejecting the concept of mandatory compliance. The focus directed in this document will discuss findings on supply chain management and the impact it has on economics pertaining to multinational enterprise (MNE) labor standards.
• Hours Spent Decreasing Mental Health

  Lettich, Mikayla (SUNY Oneonta, 2025)

  The topic being researched is the association between social media use and poor mental health. Social media is a huge part in everyone’s lives and is all around us. Because of the prevalence of social media in our lives, it is certainly affecting us whether the effect is positive or negative. It can have a negative effect on mental health, specifically increasing depression. Depression is a mental health disorder I feel is typically closely related to social media use because of feeling left out of fun plans, feelings of loneliness because less in-person social interaction, wanting to look like someone else online, not being able to escape bullies or harassment even when at home, etc. My study seeks to find a correlation between social media use and experiencing poor mental health.
• Letter from the Editor

  Champlin, Hayley (SUNY Oneonta, 2025)

  The interconnectedness of history and social science disciplines has always allowed for the collision of personal and political issues, particularly for those fighting for justice. Volume 8 of the SOAR Journal will dive into the intersections of identity, injustice, and resilience. This journal volume will take you through a rollercoaster, from the realities of racialized policing to the psychological tolls overwork has. In the article by Boyd, “Evolution of Women’s Issues,” we dive into historical texts written by women, highlighting issues they have dealt with over periods of time. In the article written by O’Connor and Plaisted “Implementing International Labor Standards (ILO) - The Impact of Supply Chain: Management and Economics,” we learn about the findings on supply chain management and their impact on economics. As for the article by Lettich, “Hours Spent Decreasing Mental Health,” we learn about the effects social media has on mental health.
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  Fast Fashion: An Environmental Crisis

  Sheerin, Katie (SUNY Oneonta, 2023)

  PLACES Student Paper Award (2023) (short paper winer). Over the course of recent decades, the production of clothing has become cheaper and more globalized than ever before. This can be attributed to a process known as fast fashion. According to a study published in Environmental Health journal, “fast” in this context refers to how quickly retailers are able to take clothing designs from the runway to on the racks in stores (Bick, et al., 2018). Global industrialization has contributed to clothing supply chains becoming international commodities, correlating with a massive shift for manufacturing and construction of garments to low and middle-income countries with cheap labor opportunities. This outsourcing of labor is done in hopes of companies trying to keep their prices and costs low. The United States consumes more garments than any other nation, with the average American throwing away approximately 80 pounds of clothing every year (Bick, et al., 2018). Fast fashion plays a huge part in this. Earth.org states that “retailers like Zara, Forever 21, and H&M make cheap and fashionable clothing to satisfy needs of young consumers” (Maiti, 2022). The fast fashion model pushes for accelerated times in production, consumption, and the lifespan of its produced clothing.
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  Estimating the Impact of Attendance at MLB Games on Air Pollution

  Grogan, Joseph (SUNY Oneonta, 2023)

  PLACES Student Paper Award Winner (2023) (long paper winner). Baseball games draw tens of thousands of fans to a single stadium on game days. These individuals have different means of getting to the venue, but one of the most popular methods is using personal vehicles. These vehicles are known to produce many pollutants, including nitrogen oxides and certain volatile organic compounds that create ozone if they react in the air. This paper studies the impacts of Major League Baseball attendances on ozone Air Quality Index values between 2010 and 2019 in 27 American cities that host MLB teams. I follow Locke (2019), who found a statistically significant but negligible link between MLB attendance and ozone. I assess the robustness of this result by including three additional years’ worth of data as well as control variables for attendances at NBA and NHL games occurring in the same city, which could account for some of the additional ozone observed. The study finds that MLB game attendances have a significant but small impact on local ozone air quality values, with each additional thousand fans leading to an increase in ozone AQI of 0.013.
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  Hope After All? Ethnic Violence and Democratization in Sub-Saharan Africa

  Wayman, Angela (SUNY Oneonta, 2023)

  Ethnic violence and the lack of consolidated democracies have a long history in sub-Sahara African countries. The region’s colonial past, with European colonial powers like Belgium, France, and Great Britain drawing arbitrary borders without consideration for local ethnic groups, has led to a multitude of long and violent ethnic conflicts over the past 150 years (Wade 2007). This colonial history full of ethnic conflict has also meant that the region is prone to authoritarianism (Badru 2010; see also Horowitz 1993). In the present, neocolonial powers continue to exploit the region and the people within it by extracting its resources and controlling the region’s economy (Kieh 1996). Given the history of the region and the already existing research examining not only the relationship between ethnic conflict and democratization (Dahl 1971; Horowitz 1993), but also the effect of democratic systems on managing ethnic conflict (Lijphart 1977 and 1991; Horowitz 1985; Cohen 1997; Selway and Templeman 2012), this paper will investigate the question “what is the relationship between the presence of ethnic conflict and democratic transition?” and posit the directionality to be negative between ethnic violence and democratic transition, using sub-Sahara African countries during the period 1990-2013 as cases
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  Hannibal Lecter – Merit or Misinformation? Discussion of Psychopathy and Homicide in the Criminal Justice System

  Le, Jennifer (SUNY Oneonta, 2022)

  Center of Social Science Research Student Paper Award Winner (2022), (long paper winner). Psychopathy has been a widely discussed topic throughout movies and pop culture, especially in recent years, which portray psychopathy through the lens of a vindictive, cruel, and charismatic protagonist. Examples that come to mind may be well-known television media such as Dexter, Hannibal, or American Psycho (Berryessa & Goodspeed, 2019). Audiences' interests are piqued when watching a character so strangely and perplexingly emotionally detached, often committing a heinous crime that goes overlooked due to their sharp ability to hide their crime by tricking others into believing a superficial but charming front. Psychopathic individuals are often unrealistically idolized and idealized as endearing super-villains consumers feel themselves rooting for (Keesler & DeMatteo, 2017). Within the criminal justice system, individuals that score high on psychopathy are not always superhuman criminals with distinguished intelligence, able to evade all detection by the law. It is imperative to study the realistic components of crimes perpetrated by psychopathic offenders to discern between fiction and reality. Psychopathy has been related to violence and criminal tendencies, specifically homicide. Within the corrections system, psychopathy also operates differently during and after incarceration than fellow offenders scoring low on psychopathic tendencies. In order to define the association between psychopathic traits and the perpetration of homicide, it is important to discuss models and theories of psychopathy as a concept alongside the motivations and characteristics of psychopath-perpetrated homicide.
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  “Wiles of a Woman”: Challenging Roles and Agency in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

  Watson, Kaitlyn (SUNY Oneonta, 2022)

  Sir Gawain and the Green Knight subversively place women in positions of power, though their agency is not immediately visible. This poem is a 14th-century text written by an unnamed poet, set within the Court of King Arthur. This work features notable figures of the Round Table, with Sir Gawain, the knight, in the forefront. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a written illustration of the heroes of the Court of Arthur. However, it can also be seen as an early example of a text providing women with power and agency. The power women possess within the tale is hidden until the end of the poem, when it is revealed that Morgan le Fay was behind the games and quest that Gawain endured. This agency women were given is juxtaposed with some of the reactionary views within the text. This can stand to represent the insecurities that were most likely felt during the period this tale was written in, and Gawain is the mode with which these insecurities and fears of powerful women are demonstrated. Considering these elements, this story can take on a new light as a progressive text for the time it was written. The unnamed poet can stand to be seen as an early progressive author who worked to elevate women within their work to a higher-level status.
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  Alternate Realities of the Alt-Right

  Finnochiaro, Debbie (SUNY Oneonta, 2022)

  The American Alt-Right is a 21st-century phenomenon and growing movement that originated on the internet. The movement is often expressed through the use of symbols and ideas. In the past few years, the Alt-Right has immersed themselves in an alternate reality as they create their own truths inconsistent with actuality. Our nation is engulfed in political tension, extremism, and even violence amid an epistemic crisis. The Alt-Right has developed explanations for various social and political events, even claiming that members are "Red-Pilled" into another reality. This is increasingly evident in recent events such as the January 6th, 2021 Capitol Insurrection. Even though Far-Right and white supremacist groups attended the event, most attendees arrested at the insurrection were not members of Far-Right organizations. In this study, I attempt to reveal what compelled these members to participate in an alternative reality. I also seek to make sense of the event and explain how this alternate reality sustains itself through borrowing ideas from American culture and creating symbols and ideas that are unique to the movement. I will achieve this by evaluating the January 6th, 2021 Capitol Insurrection through a series of Parler videos documenting the event. I will then use my findings to conclude how the Alt-Right has become enveloped in a self-sustaining alternate reality.
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  Child Abuse, Gender, and Cycle of Violence

  Bohart, Katie; Seale, Elizabeth (SUNY Oneonta, 2022)

  Every year in the United States, there are 2.9 million reported child abuse cases. Unfortunately for researchers, this number is often inaccurate due to the amount of underreporting due to fearful children and unsupportive parents. In addition, some reported cases are unsubstantiated suspicion. Child welfare advocates argue that suspected causes for child abuse are low education levels, low socioeconomic status, a parent involved in the child welfare system, and becoming involved with intimate partner violence. Both the gender of the perpetrator and victim are suspected of playing an important role in outcomes for child victims. However, this may not be the entire story. This study suggests that the cycle of violence viewed by sociologists and social workers may be more complex than simply modeling behavior or feeling gendered trauma. The reciprocation of violence also may depend on the type of abuse experienced by the victim.
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  The Effects of Animals on Prisoners and How They Affect Their Lives

  Gage, Adler (SUNY Oneonta, 2022)

  Rehabilitation programs with animals in prisons have become more popular across the United States Furst, (2006). Rehabilitation programs have been recognized for helping reduce recidivism and increase mental health (Furst, 2015; Furst, 2006; Smith, 2019; Jasperson, 2010; Cooke et al., 2014; Cushing et al.,1995; Bachi, 2013; Loeffler, 2016; Mercer et al., 2015; Ormerod, 2008) In addition, to all the mental benefits, the inmate's outlooks on life changed and gave them meaning to their lives (Ormerod, 2008; Hauge et al., 2014; Bachi, 2013; Jasperson, 2010; Furst 2006). Studies have been conducted to see how and why these programs are successful in their rehabilitation programs. In this review, the effect of the companionship of animals and inmates' wellbeing. Those inmates who participated in the rehabilitation programs will be less likely to recidivate and have a better mental mindset.
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  The Influence of Creation Myths and Ancestors of Incan Religious Life

  Snyder, Sarah (SUNY Oneonta, 2021)

  Center of Social Science Research Student Paper Award Winners (2021), (Long Paper Winner). The Incan religion played a critical role in daily life throughout the empire. Religious ideology was formed based on the importance of ancestors and Gods in creation myths. Societal prosperity, good weather, and fertile lands depended on the happiness of the ancestors and the Gods. In order to develop a positive relationship with these sacred figures, the Inca people spent their lives following a strict calendar schedule of sacrificial burials, celebrations, and customs. Each event focused on becoming closer to the mountains, worshipping ancestral mummies, and children's development. Parades took place where mummies were carried in the streets. The Inti Raymi Festival took place to honor the Sun God, corn was harvested to give thanks for fertility, and human sacrifices were made on mountains from where the Inca founders originated. Spirits, ancestors, God’s, the living landscape and religious rituals all played a vital role in the Incan religion and everyday life because of their importance in state and cosmic origin myths.
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  School-to-Prison Pipeline

  Velasquez, Angela; Prophete, Nathanaah (SUNY Oneonta, 2020)

  The intersection between one's path in life and the educational experience they are allocated is dependent on the race of the child and their class level. The school-to-prison pipeline is "a disturbing national trend wherein children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems" ("School-to-Prison Pipeline"). In America, students from disadvantaged backgrounds are hindered and even forced into a pathway leading to incarceration due to failing public schools, zero-tolerance policies, and policing school hallways.
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  Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on SUNY Oneonta Students

  Preston, Claudia (SUNY Oneonta, 2020)

  Purpose: This paper examines the ongoing challenges college students experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically, studying SUNY Oneonta college students' situations. Methods: This study interviewed a sample of seven students individually to collect qualitative data about their personal experiences regarding college life in a pandemic. Participants were picked using three non-probability sampling strategies: availability, quota, and snowballing. Findings: Students found it difficult to adjust to all online college classes; they received a heavier workload, did not retain information, and were less successful in classes. College students had increased stress levels regarding online classes and the ongoing pandemic. Lastly, students struggled with higher levels of anxiety and depression directly influenced by the pandemic. Stress caused by Covid-19 led students to develop coping mechanisms. Implications: Online learning is not the best practice for all Oneonta students. The college should take this opportunity to improve emergency learning and adjust the structure of online learning to help struggling students, which could ease their mental health and help to create healthy coping mechanisms.
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  Letter to the Editor

  Kilichowski, Kathryn (SUNY Oneonta, 2018)

  For the past five semesters I have had the privilege to be a part of the creation, hard work and continuation of SUNY Oneonta Academic Research Journal. As the last founding member and creator of SOAR Journal, I have served on the editorial board as the marketing and communications editor for two semesters, and I am graduating as the coordinating editor of three semesters. It is my honor to have been a part of the SOAR Journal editorial board, and to work so hard on something that offers many opportunities to my peers and future undergraduate students. My role on the editorial board has been rewarding in many ways and has given me an inside look to appreciate and understand scholarly publication. I have developed many skills and have applied my experience from SOAR Journal to all of my academic endeavors. As I graduate, and depart from SUNY Oneonta, I know SOAR Journal will prosper and continue to expand in the hands of the next editorial board
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  Neurological Difference Between the Host and Alternate Identities of a Patient Diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder

  Reyes, Gabriella (SUNY Oneonta, 2023)

  What is Dissociative Identity Disorder? The American Psychiatric Association characterizes dissociative identity disorder as “the presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states that recurrently take control of the individual’s behavior, accompanied by an inability to recall important personal information that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness” (Ringrose, 2012, p. 3). Rather than the emergence of numerous distinct personalities, dissociative identity disorder is characterized by identity fragmentation; thus, it is important to understand the structure of the personality of an individual diagnosed with DID (Ringrose, 2012).
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  U.S. Impunity in Colombia: A Political Economy Analysis of U.S. Backed Violence in Colombia

  Matoske, Angela (SUNY Oneonta, 2023)

  Colombia has been in a constant state of conflict for the majority of its history. The Colombian Conflict has contributed to over 220,000 deaths and over 5.5 million displacements, but the blame of this grave human rights issues has yet to be placed. While on paper, Colombia and the U.S. have deep-rooted ties through the economy and its alliance during the Cold War, USAID to the Colombian military has produced and reproduced a violent cycle within Colombia. In this political economy analysis of U.S. backed violence in Colombia, the relationship between the U.S. and Colombia will be thoroughly examined following the entrance of Colombia to the global market. Through review of other political economy literature, this analysis will address the structural issues of the Colombian criminal justice system and its deplorable impunity rate of human rights violations that disproportionately affect Indigenous and Afro-Colombians. In doing so, this analysis will argue for the need of more inclusive political economy lite
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  The Battle of Fact and Fiction: A Contrast Between the 2017 Film "Battle of the Sexes" and the 1973 Match

  Gleeson, Kelly (SUNY Oneonta, 2023)

  The date is September 20, 1973, 30,472 spectators and ninety million people across the world were glued to their televisions to watch Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs compete in a coveted tennis match at the Astrodome for a cash prize of $100,000. The match was a spectacle at its time as King defeated the 55-year-old Riggs in three straight sets. Although a plethora of matches before and after this have been coined “a battle of the sexes,” this match is regarded as a critical milestone for second-wave feminism. In this paper, I will be comparing the 1973 Battle of Sexes match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs to the 2017 film “Battle of the Sexes”, on which it is based. In my analysis paper, in addition to comparing the two pieces of media, I will be discussing the momentous events of both the film and the real events of the match and discussing why Battle of the Sexes is important in terms of gender equality in sports
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  Letter from the Editor

  Manley, Carly (SUNY Oneonta, 2023)

  Looking back on my time at SUNY Oneonta, I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of the SOAR team. I learned about SOAR in my junior year from a past e-board member who convinced me to become a peer-reviewer. I have always had an interest in academic research and the process of publishing a peer-reviewed journal, so I joined without hesitation and my only regret is not having joined sooner. Throughout my experience as the coordinating editor, I have learned just how much effort and care goes into publishing a journal, and SUNY Oneonta is especially lucky to have faculty members who want to provide us with the ability to get published as undergraduates. As the coordinating editor my job is to communicate with authors and peer-reviewers, edit and format papers, and ultimately work with the faculty advisors in order to get a new issue out every year. I also spread the word about SOAR to my peers by notifying chairs and professors of relevant departments that there is an open call for peer-reviewers, authors and e-board members. Before joining SOAR, I knew very little about the copyediting and publishing process, but I was welcomed with open arms regardless. Dr. Fulkerson, the founding faculty member of SOAR, had no reservations about helping me every step of the way and helped me get to a place of confidence in this area. In April of next year, we will travel to Suffolk County Community College on Long Island to attend SURC, the annual SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference. It will be a terrific opportunity to spread the word about SOAR. Due to its open access nature, we hope to one day offer students from other SUNY schools the opportunity to get published in and peer-review for our journal.

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