Recent Submissions

  • Interracial Dating on College Campuses

    Ortiz, Sha-Niyah (2019)
    Center of Social Science Research Student Paper Award Winners (2018)(Short Paper Winner) The environment of a college campus is a relative setting to explore this dynamic of interracial relationships because it is one of the first opportunities that many young adults will have to be able to engage with people of different races and backgrounds from themselves. Collegiate environments such as the classroom and dormitory provide opportunities for students to learn how to work together with others who are different from themselves (Lewis and colleagues, 2000). Most young adults will experience different types of relationships throughout their lives; and romantic relationships are categorized differently than those on a more causal or platonic level. Kennedy (2003) observes that interracial relationships signal that racial boundaries are fading and given the context of American history, these relationships can be viewed as encouraging development. Many colleges around the country are trying to diversify their campuses in hopes of closing the gaps amongst the students of opposite races and encourage all types of interracial relations.
  • Feminism and Flapperdom: Sexual Liberation, Ownership of Body and Sexuality, & Constructions of Femininity in the Roaring 20’s

    Brady, Megan (2019)
    Center of Social Science Research Student Paper Award Winners (2018), (Long Paper Winner) The 1920s were known as a decade of exponential social, political, and cultural transformation and growth. This was extremely evident in the fight for and eventual achievement of women’s suffrage and the creation of the “flapper” image. These new instances of women demanding equal rights and opportunities led to shifts in cultural norms and expectations, including society’s perceptions of femininity and sexuality. The flapper movement granted women of all status that may have been denied representation and rights elsewhere the freedom in expressing their sexuality, femininity, and presentation of their bodies how they pleased despite the pressures and expectations being exerted upon them by a patriarchal society. While the flapper was a result of the expanding consumer culture in America, this does not go to cheapen what the flapper stood for in the eyes of so many women: sexual liberation, ownership of one’s body and sex, and the right to express the feminine self in ways unimaginable.
  • Attachment in Professional Caregiving

    Turano, Jenna (2019)
    The study of Attachment Theory began with Harry Harlow’s experiment with monkeys and attachment relationships with artificial mothers. The experiment consisted of monkeys being tested on which surrogate mother they would go to. One surrogate mother was comforting and the other had milk. Harlow’s hypothesis expected monkeys to run to the surrogate mother with milk, which was proven false when the monkeys would go to the milk surrogate but quickly moved to the comforting surrogate. The next step of Harlow’s experiment was to see the reaction of the monkeys to the rejection of the surrogate mother. The result of the part of the experiment was that the monkeys tried everything in their power for the comforting surrogate mother to love and comfort them. From this conclusion, a British psychologist, John Bowlby, formulated how attachment is fundamental within the development of a person. This emphasizes Harlow’s research and how quality of care
  • Impacts of Pesticides on the Health of Agricultural Workers

    Reohr, Rebecca (2019)
    Pesticide exposure has many negative health impacts on agricultural workers. Pesticides that are used for killing pests who damage crops affect not only those pest organisms but also the agricultural workers who apply the pesticides. There are various ways in which workers can be exposed to pesticides. Agricultural workers have frequent direct exposure to pesticides and work with the highest concentrations of the chemicals very often. Therefore, they are at the highest risk of becoming poisoned and affected by them. Despite this, there are various precautions the workers can take to reduce the harmful exposure and its effects.
  • Marijuana and its Legalization: What it is and What it Means for Society?

    Guiffre, Christopher; Fulkerson, Gregory (2019)
    In this paper, the topic that is being researched is the risks and benefits of the legalization of medicinal and recreational marijuana use. I will also explore the process by which marijuana becomes legalized. In addition, I will look at how marijuana legalization impacts the use of the drug by adolescents and how several aspects of society are affected. Based upon my findings, I was able to conclude that several risks and benefits come with the legalization of marijuana such as generating millions of dollars in tax revenue but also decreasing the age at which kids begin to use the drug. I also discovered that the process by which marijuana becomes legalized happens in three stages. These stages are decriminalization, legalization of its medicinal use, and finally, its full legalization for recreational use.
  • Does Poverty Cause Addiction? Comparing Experiences with Alcoholism and Substance Abuse by Social Class, Race and Ethnicity

    Cestone, Lauren; Fulkerson, Gregory (2019)
    This article investigates how social class plays a role in how an individual may experience alcoholism and substance abuse. Research articles were selected from a variety of databases and analyzed. Results showed that although social class may not lead directly to substance abuse, the factors that do contribute are affected not only by one’s class but also by their race and ethnicity. Such factors include economic constraints, social networks, opportunities for substance abuse treatment and their experiences within treatment. Implications for future research include the need for a more detailed look at the connections between social networks and substance abuse; differences in treatment episode completion based on race, ethnicity and social class; and how the present opioid epidemic is affecting changes in drug policies.