Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Understanding Attitudes Towards Interracial Relationships Among College Students, Nicole Pierce, Meghan Burke, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

The number of interracial couples in the United States remains low in today’s society. This study uses qualitative interviews and quantitative survey data from Illinois Wesleyan students to investigate the motivations, perceptions, and experiences of those who are currently, or were previously, in an interracial relationship. I also explore the attitudes of those who have not dated interracially, and the media’s impact on perceptions of interracial couples. I find that those who dated interracially did not see race as a deciding factor, but instead focused on personality, cultural similarities and differences, and appearances. Many students saw religion, peer and family …

Assessing The Biodiversity And Susceptibility Of Trees In Maxwell Park To Future Invasive Tree Pest Outbreaks, Genevieve Alexander '14

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

The purpose of this project was to assess tree susceptibility to invasive tree pest outbreaks in a Central-Illinois urban park. Tree biodiversity in Maxwell Park, located in the Town of Normal, Illinois, was evaluated assuming that the greater the tree biodiversity in a park, the more resilient the park would be to future invasive tree pest outbreaks. The Town of Normal Parks and Recreation Department served as the community partner for this project. By determining Maxwell Park’s current level of biodiversity, proposed new trees for future replacement plantings could be identified to help increase biodiversity and decrease the potential for …

Assessing The Indoor Tanning Behaviors And Risk Of Skin Cancer Among Illinois Wesleyan University Students, Ellen Cornelius '14

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

The purpose of this research is to assess the indoor tanning behaviors of students at Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) in Bloomington, Illinois and formulate strategies to reduce students’ risk of skin cancer. Skin cancer is widespread, and is the second most common cancer among people aged 15-24 years. There is strong evidence to support that many skin cancer cases seen today could have been avoided if the individual had never used an indoor tanning device. Research suggests the use of indoor tanning devices is popular among college-aged females in the US, thus persuading this demographic to reduce their indoor tanning …

Determining The Feasibility Of Implementing An Effective Fungiculture Program With The Peace Garden At Illinois Wesleyan University, Mackenzie Rivkin '14

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

The Peace Garden at Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU), the organic garden at the small liberal-arts university in Bloomington, Illinois, is devoted to growing nutritious, pesticide-free food to be sold locally in an attempt to counterbalance the various food-related issues which stem from conventional food systems. Mushrooms, fungi with many nutritional benefits, are not currently produced by the Peace Garden. However, the unique nature of mushrooms may be attractive to certain consumers and could further contribute to the Peace Garden's mission if produced. This study, conducted September to December 2013 is guided by the following question: What is the feasibility of …

Addressing The Elephant In The Room: Understanding The Daily Life Of Undocumented Latino High School Youth, Sylvia E. Rusin

Honors Projects

The 1.5 generation are the undocumented students who were born abroad and were brought to the United States by their parents at an early age. Many of these children came here during the population boom in the 1990’s and are now teenagers or in their mid 20’s. As they are finishing high school, nearly all of them are confused about their post-secondary options because of their undocumented status. The IL Dream Act, passed in 2011, qualifies undocumented youth to pay in-state tuition when attending public universities in Illinois and provides trained counselors who are aware of the college options and …

Perceptions Of The Underrepresentation Of Women In Agriculture And Motives For Movement Into The Industry, Jennifer Long

Honors Projects

In the U.S., agriculture has historically been a male-dominated industry. Women have been underrepresented in agriculture even as they have played important roles on and off the farm. In the last 25 years, however, women have been moving into agriculture and increasing their visibility in positions on and off the farm even in light of structural changes to agriculture and environmental concerns. Learning motives for moves into the industry can help supply information about the changing roles of women in agriculture and help determine whether agricultural trends follow other occupational trends. Giving a voice to women that have been underrepresented …

Addressing The Elephant In The Room: Understanding The Daily Life Of Undocumented High School Youth, Sylvia Rusin, Meghan Burke, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

The 1.5 generation are the undocumented students who were born abroad and were brought to the United States by their parents at an early age. Many of these children came here during the population boom in the 1990’s and are now teenagers or in their mid 20’s. As they are finishing high school, nearly all of them are confused about their post-secondary options because of their undocumented status. The IL Dream Act, passed in 2011, qualifies undocumented youth to pay in-state tuition when attending public universities in Illinois and provides counselors who are aware of the college options and post-secondary …

Meghan Burke Named Professor Of The Year, Katherine Filippo

News and Events

No abstract provided.

An Empirical Assessment Of The Performance And Competitive Effects Of Los Angeles County Charter Schools, Sam Trachtman

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper evaluates the performance of charter elementary schools in Los Angeles County in three ways. First, I compare charter school performance to public school performance, controlling for a number of key characteristics. Second, I study the characteristics that appear to influence charter school success as compared to public school success. Third, I study the “competitive effect” of charter schools, examining how geographical proximity to charter schools affects the performance of traditional public schools. I find evidence that, ceteris paribus, traditional public schools score higher than charter schools, except in majority African American schools. Further, I find that the opening …

Beyond Fear And Loathing: Tea Party Organizers' Continuum Of Knowledge In A Racialized Social System, Meghan Burke

Scholarship

Making use of fieldwork and 25 open-ended interviews with Tea Party organizers in the state of Illinois, I argue that Tea Party organizers draw from a continuum of knowledge, combining personal knowledge and experience with a conservative corporate media and Tea Party network frame. I draw upon the work of Weber to show how this continuum connects to various types of rational social action. Widening this scope of analysis allows not only for a more complex analysis of how corporate interests are connected to the grass roots movement, but also how the core frames of the movement are located throughout …

Developing A Water Management Plan: Exploring Water Conservation Strategies On The Illinois Wesleyan Campus, Tim Griffin '13

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

The primary purpose of this research was to collect the information necessary to one day develop an environmentally sound and economically feasible water conservation management plan for the Illinois Wesleyan University campus. Freshwater resources are steadily being depleted due to pollution and climate change, while demand for potable water continues to rise alongside an exponentially growing global population. Due to this reason, water conservation is becoming an ever-important practice for municipalities, institutions, and even individuals in pursuit of maintaining a sustainable freshwater supply. Reducing demand upon the water supply of a community remains the best practice for maintaining sustainable freshwater …

Exploring Strategies For Converting Illinois Wesleyan University From Dual-Stream To Single-Stream Recycling, Megan George '13

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

The purpose of this study was to answer the question: how can a transition from dual-stream to single-stream recycling be implemented effectively as a way of increasing the rate of recycling on the Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) campus? The problem of waste in the United States is of increasing concern for many reasons. For the Bloomington-Normal, Illinois community-- where IWU is located-- the imminent filling of the local landfill site inspired a community-wide push towards improving waste diversion strategies, and in this case: recycling programs. This research focused on both analyzing the current recycling program at IWU and examining other …

Examining Ways To Promote Water Conservation At Golf Courses In Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, Rose Kelly '13

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

The purpose of this study was to examine ways for golf courses in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, to promote water conservation. As the demand for freshwater exponentially increases around the United States, it becomes necessary to examine current freshwater uses, especially those for recreational purposes. Golf courses are one of the largest freshwater users, with a typical course consuming hundreds of thousands of gallons every day for grass maintenance. With water shortages and insecure future water supplies, golf courses around the United States are urgently looking for ways to promote water conservation. This includes golf courses in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. The severe drought …

Obtaining Consumer Perceptions Of External Costs Of “Cheap” Food Products And Analyzing Quality Food Markets That Minimize External Costs In Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, Jennifer Long '13

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

Today, the United States’ food system is primarily a large industrial operation with smaller-scale community-based food systems. Although the industrial food system has benefitted society by increasing the amount of food available for every person, some of these products are “cheap” food products that generate external costs, such as poor health, potential wealth loss to farmers and environmental degradation. With over 1 billion individuals on earth undernourished and 15.8% of all U.S. households as of 2010 food insecure [Patel, 2012], this system has not completely solved food issues. Community-based food systems, on the other hand, minimize external costs …

The Growing Concern Of Poverty In The United States: An Exploration Of Food Prices And Poverty On Obesity Rates For Low-Income Citizens, Catherine Gillespie, Kathy Gray, Ethan Bailey, John Zivalich

Undergraduate Economic Review

Studies demonstrate the link between income and obesity, determining factors to explain the strong correlation between high body mass index and low socioeconomic status. Many focus on uncovering predictors but few use a systems approach: identifying the interaction among predictors and their relative magnitude concerning obesity. This study asks: do poverty or food price indicators have a statistically stronger relationship with obesity?

By collecting data, evaluating trends, and analyzing statistics, this study extends research by revealing a stronger relationship between obesity and food prices as opposed to obesity and poverty.

Working With Undocumented High School Students: A Psychosocial Guide To Understanding The Daily Life Of Undocumented Youth, Sylvia E. Rusin

Students' Professional Presentations and Publications

This guide is intended for high school principals, teachers, and counselors to enhance their understanding of the range of psychosocial constraints that impact the daily lives and health of their undocumented students. The goal is to create safe zones and effective support net-works and encourage undocumented youth to pursue post-secondary education.

Choice, Coercion, Capabilities And Conflict: Multilingualism, Human Development And Peacekeeping In A Globalized World, Megan R. Thompson

Honors Projects

The development of English into an international lingua franca is not an inevitable result of globalizing forces. Instead, the “triumph” of the English language and the consequent decline of the world’s linguistic diversity cannot be viewed in isolation of its parallel history of conquest, violence, power and exploitation. Today, the languages privileged by the powerful—not only English, but also other dominant languages or standard varieties of those languages—determine access to social, economic and political mobility. This fact renders any discussion of language “choice” irrelevant—when a choice yields the sacrifice of basic human capabilities on one hand and the denial of …

Sociology By Any Other Name: Teaching The Sociological Perspective In Campus Diversity Programs, Meghan Burke, Kira Hudson Banks

Scholarship

This article suggests that the way in to sociology may not always be through the front door. The authors demonstrate how students in a three-day campus diversity program develop a sociological imagination despite not having a formal affiliation with the sociology department. In particular, students demonstrate a move from color blindness into racial consciousness and a shift from individual prejudice into institutional privilege when understanding both diversity issues and their own personal biographies. In short, despite not knowing the phrase, they develop a sociological imagination. While the goal is not to diminish the significance of traditional sociology classrooms, the authors …

Discursive Fault Lines: Reproducing White Habitus In A Racially Diverse Community, Meghan Burke

Scholarship

This is a qualitative study detailing the links between racial discourse and social action. Specifically, this article provides evidence for the ways in which a white habitus is reproduced in a racially diverse community, despite the best intentions of its community members. This is chiefly due to the influence of national color-blind ideologies and the diversity discourse that follows. Because this ideology and discourse are individual in nature and centered on a white norm, it chiefly produces consumption-driven actions for individuals and collective action that protects those with racial privilege. While prior studies have detailed the influence of this ideology …

Determining The Feasibility Of Universal Access To Bus Transportation For Illinois Wesleyan University Students, Liz Kuehn '13

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

In a car-based society, transportation has both environmental and economic implications. However, public transportation, and programs like Universal Access that promote public transportation by providing ‘fare free’ access to specific groups in the community, can offer low cost, sustainable alternatives to car-based transportation. The basic concept behind Universal Access is that a community group contracts with the local public transit system to provide unlimited access to public transportation for individuals within the group at a negotiated cost to the group (Toor et. al 2004). The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of creating a Universal Access program …

Determining The Feasibility Of Implementing A Beekeeping Cooperative In The Bloomington-Normal, Illinois Area, Courtney Luensman '12

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of implementing a beekeeping cooperative in the Bloomington-Normal, Illinois area. Through the literature review, it is exhibited that honeybees play a very important role in the pollination of certain crops, but there has been a decline in honeybee population, which could result in possible crop reduction. My research was determining benefits and feasibility in the formation of a beekeeping cooperative. Through conducting interviews with beekeepers, farmers, cooperatives, and agricultural organizations, I have determined that there are significant benefits to be gained from the presence of a cooperative, although there are …

A Web Of Connections: The Role Of Social Capital And Trust In The Formation Of Virtual Organizations, Paige Erin E. Maynard

Honors Projects

Many community based agencies engage in collaboration in order to solve community problems no one organization can accomplish on its own. One such form of collaboration is the virtual organization. A virtual organization is an organization that relies on multi-party, co-operative agreements between structural, temporal, and sometimes geographic boundaries. Looking narrowly at virtual organizations on the community level is one approach which allows for better understanding of why and how community based collaboration takes place. The objective of this research is to examine the extent to which virtual organizations are utilized by community agencies while simultaneously understanding the role both …

An Assessment Plan Of The Sociology Program At Illinois Wesleyan University, Ashley Beadle, James Sikora, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

In preparation for a North Central Accreditation campus visit in 2012, the Department of Sociology and Anthropology updated their student learning outcomes for majors and program goals and objectives for both disciplines. One part of the assessment centered on the faculty's evidence regarding their effectiveness as teachers in meeting program goals-objectives, and another part addressed present and alumni students' perceptions of their learning outcomes in their majors and general education. Accomplishing that assessment of the programs and student learning outcomes went through a number of stages, each examining a facet of the programs since 2002, the previous University accreditation visit. …

Stress, Spirituality, And Wellness: Changing The State Of Wellbeing Within A Public Health Paradigm, Bringing Integrative Therapies To The American Biomedical Industry, Kristin B. Robinson, Georganne Rundblad, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

A Web Of Connections: The Role Of Social Capital And Trust In The Formation Of Virtual Organizations, Paige Maynard, Meghan Burke, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Talking Masturbation: Men, Women, And Sexuality Through Playful Discourse, Geoffrey Evans-Grimm

Honors Projects

This study seeks to understand the relationship between talking about masturbation and masturbation as an everyday practice in the United States. This essay is arranged in terms of a number of overlapping sections that converge to offer a clearer interpretive context for a discussion of the results of the questionnaire and interview data. The first part of my essay is an attempt to make sense of the cultural history and to situate conceptions about masturbation and attempts to regulate it up to present day. Then, as a gendered talk, it is necessary to engage in a theoretical discussion of gender …

Bringing The Endangered Barn Owl Back To Mclean County, Illinois: Implementing A Local Nest Box Program, Anna Groves '11

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

Barn owls are an endangered species in Illinois, but populations have been known to increase where nest box programs have been implemented. In conjunction with the John Wesley Powell Audubon Society, a barn owl nest box program was established in McLean County and the surrounding area. Seventeen boxes are now scheduled for construction and installation this winter in the McLean County area in order to enhance existing barn owl populations, and the nest box program will continue in the future through the JWP Audubon.

Environmental Justice: Improving Inclusion Of Minorities In Environmental Work In Bloomington-Normal, Il, Emmy Grace '11

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

The Ecology Action Center provides environmental education, information and outreach for McLean County, Illinois. In an effort to make services accessible to the entire county, the Ecology Action Center realizes the need to better reach the minority community in Bloomington-Normal. This study examines the environmental justice concerns in relation to minority involvement in environmental work; environmental concerns among minorities; and environmental outreach to minorities and low-income people. This project reveals that regardless of race, all people share environmental concerns; however, the kinds of concerns may differ. The culmination of this project provides suggestions for how the Ecology Action Center can …

How Stories Shape Lives And Build Friendships: A Study Of Parents With Children On The Autism Spectrum, Bobby Tazioli, Rebecca Gearhart, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

The Hijab: Muslim Women's Perspectives On Veiling In The United States, Christina Salazar, Rebecca Gearhart, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.