Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Mouse In The Museum, Maggie Colangelo, Bernard Means

Virtual Curation Lab's Comic Publications

Find out about America's first successful public museum of art and natural history from a unique perspective: a mouse! The museum mouse guides you through Charles Willson Peale's Philadelphia Museum from its founding in his own home to its eventual establishment in what is now called Independence Hall. You will encounter a killer bear, an eagle that has seen better days, and the massive bones of an extinct elephant: the mastodon. This gripping tale is brought to you by Maggie Colangelo and Bernard K. Means, co-creators of Founding Monsters, Founding Monsters Tales, Mystery of the Missing Megafauna, and Tales from …

Parasocial Relationships In Variety Live Streaming: How It Can Affect Attitudes And Buying Intention Toward Sponsors, Megan Burroughs, Deborah Diazgranados

Undergraduate Research Posters

Online streaming and video platforms have become a popular form of entertainment as opposed to traditional media like movies and TV shows. Similar to traditional media, viewers often relate to and form one-sided relationships with actors/creators, known as parasocial relationships. Actors and creators can then leverage that relationship to advertise and market products to their audience. The primary objective of this study was to understand if perceived credibility and loyalty towards a streamer fuel parasocial relationships and how perceived credibility and parasocial relationships with an online live streamer influence attitude towards a sponsored brand and purchasing intention. It was predicted …

A Heart Pierced By A Narwhal Tusk And Other Sketches, Maggie Colangelo, Bernard Means

Virtual Curation Lab's Comic Publications

A series of sketches and spot illustrations by artist Maggie Colangelo, Senior Graphics Artist for VCU's Virtual Curation Laboratory. Many of the illustrations are related to various celebrations over the calendar year, usually tied to open houses in the lab.

Tales From The Virtual Curation Lab, Issue 01, Maggie Colangelo, Bernard Means

Virtual Curation Lab's Comic Publications

"Tales from the Virtual Curation Lab brings you fascinating graphic narratives inspired by artifacts, fossils, historic objects—and even one person—3D scanned by VCU’s Virtual Curation Laboratory. Read about an Ice Age camel that had its face ripped of by a bear, the world’s oldest ham, a vampire’s skull, and more!”--back cover

The Mystery Of The Missing Megafauna, Maggie Colangelo, Bernard Means

Virtual Curation Lab's Comic Publications

The creative team behind Founding Monsters and Founding Monsters Tales have created a new comic that takes a more scientific and less historic approach to the giant mammals that once roamed North America. The Mystery of the Missing Megafauna explores how changing climate impacted biodiversity and megafauna populations in North America at the end of the last Ice Age. Particular attention is placed on the extinction of mastodons, mammoths, giant ground sloths and other megafauna whose fossils are found at Saltville in southwestern Virginia. This comic draws a connection to contemporary climate change and the major extinctions happening today. The …

The Association Between Survivors’ Guilt And Gratitude In The Belongingness Of Refugee College Students, Mehwish Safdar

Undergraduate Research Posters

Many refugees experience significant stress and trauma before relocating to their host country (Leo, 2021) and often encounter new challenges when adapting to their unfamiliar environment. Refugee college students, who are often the first in their families to attend college, face additional pressure to excel academically to give back to their families and host country (Turjanmaa & Jasinskaja-Lahti, 2020). Despite prior research on refugee individuals, little work has focused on refugee college students. This study aimed to address this gap by examining the relationships between survivors’ guilt, gratitude, indebtedness, and belongingness in 16 refugee university students. Specifically, the study investigated …

Memory Reconsolidation And Alcohol Use Disorder: Intravenous Infusion Of Ketamine To Alleviate Addictive Symptoms In Alcohol Use Disorder Diagnoses, Yasaswi Veera

Undergraduate Research Posters

According to the National Institute of Health, substance use disorder in the United States in 2021 caused nearly 106,000 deaths and an annual healthcare and criminal justice expenditure of roughly $200 billion, however, only 10% of diagnoses receive proper treatment. This is primarily due to the lack of previous research in addictive studies as well as the lack of accessibility to resources and proper treatments. Current treatments for alcohol use disorder range from medications and behavioral therapies, such as acamprosate, naltrexone, and cognitive behavior therapy. Much of these treatments consist of reconditioning the brain to associate alcohol with a negative …

Racial Experiences And Racial Identity Experiences Of “New” African Americans In The United States, Sosna Marshet, Kenna Yadeta

Undergraduate Research Posters

The challenges faced by Black immigrants in the United States are significant, beginning with isolation and loneliness and intensified by pervasive discrimination. This study examines the impact of racism on the racial identity of Black immigrants in the United States. Using the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI), various dimensions of Black identity were measured among 119 Black first and second-generation immigrants aged 18 to 51. The results showed a positive correlation between experiences of racism and the centrality dimension of Black identity, a negative correlation with the humanist, and a positive correlation with Nationalist dimensions of Black identity. These …

Black Liberation In Transnational Terms: The Case Of Haiti And The United States, Dulanda F. P. Saintcyr

Undergraduate Research Posters

Haiti made history on January 1st, 1804 when it secured independence from France. Not only did Haiti become a sovereign state, it also earned the title of being the first independent Black nation in the world. The latter accomplishment should not be ignored. The Haitians’ efforts created an impact that transcends their national border, particularly in the context of Black liberation. For example, the United States' history of working towards achieving full freedom for Black people resembles the Haitian struggle. Whether the connection between the two states is widely acknowledged is a point of interest. As a result, this project …

Analysis Of Fiber Uv Degradation Through An Environmental Chamber, Davis A. Eames

Undergraduate Research Posters

Environmentally degraded fibers could impact multiple aspects of a fiber comparison, considering that collected weathered fabrics/fibers may express an altered chemical structure and/or colorimetric property compared to their unexposed counterparts. Depending on the amount of degradation the evidence has suffered, it could be challenging for forensic scientists to make conclusions from their comparative analyses. Observations presented in this study were orchestrated to test the possible outcomes that sunlight has on fabric-based materials. Photodegradation of fabrics was investigated through the use of an environmental chamber for a duration of six weeks, which would be equivalent to three months of real-world UV …

Prevalence Of Nicotine Delivery Systems By Biological Sex In The Spit For Science Study, Ayrton Quiroz, Amy Adkins, S4s Working Group, Elizabeth Prom-Wormley, Elizabeth K. Do, Megan Cooke, James Clifford, Hermine H. Maes

Undergraduate Research Posters

Nicotine intake usage trends have changed over recent decades given the wide variety of nicotine delivery systems including cigarettes, vaping, hookah, and snubs/chewables. These trends also vary by demographic factors, such as race/ethnicity, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES). For example, studies in rat populations, as well as humans, have found that females tend to be more dependent on nicotine products and have a more difficult time quitting than male rats and humans (Pogun et al., 2017). Also, race/ethnicity may impact the frequency of nicotine usage in different populations; in that non-white Hispanics were more susceptible to smoking through adolescence with …

The Intersection Between Harm Reduction And Social Work, Sydney Biondi

Undergraduate Research Posters

This qualitative study explores the intersection of harm reduction and social work. Social workers who practice harm reduction were recruited to participate in interviews. In the field of social work, harm reduction is seen as a promising practice, but we do not know very much about what it looks like in practice. The purpose of this research study is to find out how the perceptions of social workers of harm reduction aid or inhibit community harm reduction efforts. We think that the geographical location of a social worker impacts the perceptions and experiences of harm reduction, because of the resources …

Perspectives Of Middle School Students On Their Engagement And Relevance In Science, Dylan E. Young, Kamil Hankour, Javonti Braxton, Martinique Sealy, Hui Sun, Christine Bae

Undergraduate Research Posters

The purpose of this study is to explore urban middle school students' thoughts and attitudes about engagement, belonging, use of their funds of knowledge (FoK), and discourse in their science classrooms. Historically, students from this population often feel disengaged and alienated from science, which is why it is important to study their point of view; and, there is currently a dearth of literature that does so (Emdin et al., 2021; Fredricks et al., 2018). The engagement model used includes behavioral, cognitive, affective and social dimensions (Wang et al., 2016). The data was collected in a study that involves collaboration between …

Relationship Between Religion And Native American Identity, Gennaro W. Milo

Graduate Research Posters

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between religious affiliation and Native American Identity. Based on the findings of this study, a component of a Native American's Identity is their religious affiliation. To contribute to the research on Native American and Alaskan Native identity, this study targeted the teenage demographic of ages 12 to 19 years old. Over growing concern, expressed by tribal elders, about a loss of cultural identity amongst teens, this study investigates a connection between a teen’s sense of identity and their religious affiliation (Quigley, 2019). This study used a multiple-choice …

Children's Perceptions Of Parent-Child Relationships: A Narrative, Inductive Approach, Casey Burton M.Ed, Ariana Samuel, Hailie Suarez-Rivas, Sydney Sumrall, Robin S. Everhart, Ph.D, Marcia A. Winter, Ph.D

Graduate Research Posters

Background:

Narrative methods can allow researchers to gather rich data from children regarding their perceptions of their relationship with parents that may not otherwise be captured using tasks, questionnaires, or structured interviews; however, existing coding systems have been established with samples that are largely White and middle class. The current study sought to establish child-inspired codes that would better reflect the sample.

Methods:

Children aged 5-12 years (M=8.82, 48.9% female) and their caregivers were recruited from high-poverty urban US areas. All participants identified as Black or African American. Children were audiotaped while speaking, uninterrupted, for three minutes about their relationship …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And The Risk Of Drug Overdose In Adulthood, Samantha E. Wright

Graduate Research Posters

Background

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) encompass a variety of traumatic events that occur during one’s youth. ACEs may be physical, mental, emotional, or sexual in nature, and they are often associated with long-term negative consequences such as alcoholism, substance abuse, and criminal justice involvement. The global rise of the opioid epidemic has intensified the need to better understand and address factors associated with illicit substance use. The current study will investigate the relationship between exposure to ACEs, onset of drug use, and history of drug overdose.

Methods

This study will utilize an observational design in which participants will be asked …

A Marginal Identity Model For Those In The "In-Between", Francine S. Singson, Sonia Meyer, Christine A. Reid

Graduate Research Posters

1. Background

In existing models exploring the formation cultural identity, there is emphasis on development from the perspective of race or country of origin. While these models have made significant contributions to the study of identity development in the fields of counseling and psychology, research on the identity development of people who exist within the spectrum between traditionally acknowledged identities (Deaf/Hearing, LGBTQIA+, first/second generation) is lacking.

1. Methods

To explore the merit of establishing a distinct theory exploring development of individuals whose identities exist between the existing binaries of identity, a systematic review and analysis of current literature was performed. Subsequently, a …

Spanish Translation And Psychometric Validation Of A Measure Of Acculturative Stress Among Latinx Immigrants In The Usa, Ria Grover, Kritzia Merced, Chimdindu Ohayagha, Isis Garcia-Rodriguez,, Oswaldo Moreno, Paul B. Perrin

Undergraduate Research Posters

BACKGROUND: In the U.S., the Latinx community is growing at a faster rate than any other racial and ethnic minority group. Members of this community have been found to experience a number of acculturative stressors after immigrating including xenophobia, racism, and discrimination. Although several scales have been created in recent years to measure acculturative stress in Spanish-speaking immigrants, they are long, do not have nuanced subscales, or have not been validated in an extremely diverse sample of Latinx immigrants.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the current study was to translate and psychometrically validate the Riverside Acculturative Stress Inventory (RASI) in a …

S11, E05: The Department Of Justice, Nia Rodgers, John Aughenbaugh

Civil Discourse Podcast

Aughie and Nia move on to the next department in the series, the Department of Justice. They discuss the various Attorneys General, the structure of the Department of Justice, and interesting tidbits about the history, political intrigues, and the people who have served within the DoJ.

Bringing Swipe Out Hunger To Vcu: Identifying Best Practices And Analyzing Administrative Policies For Future Reform, Jackie Stephens, Anjali Ta

Undergraduate Research Posters

At first glance, a college campus might look like a place of equal opportunity– communal dorms, shared dining halls, and similar course loads. However, arriving on campus is not where the college access conversation ends if students’ basic needs are not met. Food insecure students are at elevated risk of poor academic performance and delayed degree completion, with first-generation students being particularly vulnerable. Swipe Out Hunger is an organization that partners with colleges to reduce food insecurity among students by allowing those with extra dining hall meal swipes to donate them to food insecure peers. If implemented at VCU, Swipe …

The Relationship Between Social Media Use And Depression And Anxiety Symptoms During Covid-19, Tene'sha L. Crews, Christina Sheerin

Undergraduate Research Posters

The rise of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a global surge in exposure to disaster and crisis-related media. Increases in poor mental health outcomes such as anxiety and depression, are associated with increased exposure to such media content (Abbas et al., 2021; Riehm et al., 2020; Zhao & Zhou, 2020). In recent years, social media has become one of the most widely used sources for news; approximately 48% of adult Americans receive their news from social media (Pew Research Center, 2021). During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in social media use due to social distancing and …

Introduction, Ebony Walden, Meghan Z. Gough

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

Introduction to the book Richmond Racial Equity Essays by the editors Ebony Walden and Meghan Z. Gough. The book is a collection of essays on creating racial equity in Richmond, Virginia.

Black And Brown Centered Placemaking Rooted In Identity And Ownership, Ebony Walden

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

The author outlines ideas for advancing racial equity in Richmond through creating neighborhoods and communities rooted in Black and Brown cultural identity, while supporting Black and Brown ownership and entrepreneurship.

The Bus Should Be Free, Wyatt Gordon, Faith Walker

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

The authors advocate zero-fare transit for the Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) bus system.

Spaces To Breathe, Ryan Rinn

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

The author's vision is of a racially equitable Richmond that looks like every resident having the mental and physical health benefits of green space easily walkable from where they live. He outlines ideas for achieving this vision, with Black and Brown-led onboarding of new parks in neighborhoods and communities where no greenspaces exist within walking distance. Community-led creation of public open space is the inverse of annexation; it is an anti-racist land use strategy that empowers residents to build and enjoy places for the people.

When Black [Girls’] Lives Really Matter, Angela Patton

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

The author outlines ways Richmond can support Black women and girls. Her vision of an equitable Richmond is one where we see, hear, and celebrate Black girls. It’s one where we experience Black girl “magic,” and we give them every opportunity and resource to achieve and thrive.

Incarceration And Violence: Time For A Change, Ashley Diaz Mejias

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

The author explores the racist underpinnings of the prison system and states that if we, as a nation and as a local community, are serious about addressing the lasting harms of mass incarceration and reducing our prison population, and if we are serious about accountability and public safety, we have to address the relationship between incarceration and violence.

“Si, Yo Hablo Español”: Empowering Spanish-Speakers With Culturally And Linguistically Accessible Services, Gabriela Telepman

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

Based on her experience with the agency Latinos in Virginia Empowerment Center, the author defines an equitable Richmond as a city that recognizes the needs of the Spanish speaking population and commits to meeting those needs by providing adequate Spanish language services, with service providers service providers must act with empathy and imbed a bilingual, bicultural, and trauma-informed approach within their organizations.

The Case For Meaningful Language Access, Tanya M. González

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

Through her experience working with the immigrant community in Richmond, the author makes the point that the Richmond metropolitan area needs a comprehensive immigration integration policy that centers language access services and that is implemented by localities, nonprofits, and other human service providers to begin to move towards racial equity for immigrant families.

The Dream And Reality Of An Afro-Latina: El Sueño Y La Realidad De Una Afrolatina, Shanteny A. Jackson

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

The author explores the state of Latinos and Afro Latinos in Richmond in the context of her goal of creating culturally sensitive spaces for dialogue and celebration of Latino ancestry, history, and culture; promoting leadership that reflects the community being served; and establishing equitable distribution of power.