Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Declining Survivor Benefits And Labor Force Participation, Amanda Geary

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Social Security Survivor Benefits aim to mitigate the problem of raising children on a single income by granting a widow monthly payments in her child’s name. However, as each child reaches the age of 18 (or 19, if he or she is attending elementary or high school full-time) his or her benefits are discontinued. As is increasingly common in today’s society, simply turning 18 is not indicative of financial independence. This paper attempts to discern whether a widow changes labor force habits when her children become legal adults and survivor benefits are reduced or discontinued. Though many of my results …

The Consequences Of The Federal Deficit: An Empirical Analysis, John T. Knadler

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One of the major issues of political debate in the United States during the past 20 years has been the potential consequences of rising federal deficits. Some politicians and economists argue for the traditional view that deficits increase interest rates and erode private savings, while those who hold the Ricardian equivalence view believe that economic agents are forward looking and will realize that a tax cut today will cause a future deficit, thus they will not change their behavior in response to the increase in wealth from the tax cut. My research was designed to determine through econometric regression analysis …

Impact Study And Comparative Analysis Of The Ymca’S Black Achiever Program, Jennifer Burnett, Vladyslav Sushko, Ben Woodman

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In this study, multiple surveys were designed and administered to program participants in the Central Kentucky chapter of the YMCA Black Achievers Program. The purpose of this project was to collect data on the academic success of these students for comparison to that of students in their geographic area who did not take part in the program. The full project also collected data on individuals’ responses regarding program effectiveness, level of satisfaction, etc., to help the administrators of the BAP continue to update and improve the program to better meet participants’ needs. This research summary focuses only on the quantitative …

More Than A Game: The Legacy Of Black Baseball, Tara Moriarty

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Out of a segregated and persecuted black society, the Negro Leagues arose to provide a form of business, entertainment, and charity. The leagues served as a form of uplift within the race and as a tool to bring blacks together within their communities. In 1945, with the signing of Jackie Robinson to Montreal, baseball became a vehicle for integration. While Robinson broke the color line in professional baseball, he simultaneously broke the Negro Leagues. Black fans abandoned black baseball and turned to the Major Leagues to watch Robinson. Although the integration of baseball was the first major victory for integration …

We Saw Not Clearly Nor Understood: The Economic Background Of The Ethiopian-Eritrean War, Trace C. Lasley

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In 1991 hope reigned in Ethiopia. There was a peaceful transition of governments after a long period of civil strife. The main guerrilla movements in Ethiopia, the TPLF and the EPLF emerged from the war as brothers-in-arms ready to embark on a new era of peace and prosperity. Just seven years later, Eritrea invaded Ethiopia and a war ensued that cost 70,000 lives and did incalculable damage. This paper explores the economic relations between the two countries to show their significance in the eruption of the Ethiopian-Eritrean War.

There are three recurring themes in the recent economic history of these …

Stone Walls And Shopping Malls: Retail Landscapes In The Bluegrass, Jason Richards

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This paper is an analysis of the recent use of veneered stone walls in the contemporary retail landscapes of the Bluegrass. These walls have been used in conjunction with other elements of the region’s landscape symbol vocabulary to re-create the equine landscape of Central Kentucky in commercial spaces. They seek to evoke the region’s symbolic landscape of wealthy horse estates, utilizing their inaccessibility to elicit an associative attitude of aspiration in the shopper. But they also speak to the values of the businesses and citizens who produce them. The earliest of these walls were found in the street frontage and …

Friend Over Foe: Friendship Quality And Chronic Peer Victimization, Kristin E. Landfield

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The present research builds on the extensive literature in the field of peer victimization. Specifically, it examines whether friendship acts as a buffer in the relation between implicit socio-cognitive biases and peer victimization among 82 children ages 9-13. Children completed two implicit measures of victimization in order to detect cognitive biases in socioemotional processing among chronically victimized children. Levels of friendship quality were assessed and shown to have a main effect on peer victimization indices. The emotional Stroop task related negatively to peer victimization, indicating a cognitive avoidance of emotionally-salient stimuli. The IAT and peer victimization were related such that …

Prehistoric Drawings In Mammoth Cave, Logan Kistler

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During a recent Earthwatch Institute survey of archaeological remains in Mammoth Cave, a project was begun to find and record prehistoric images on the cave walls. I chose to analyze petroglyphs and pictographs on three panels in Main Cave. This article offers a hypothesis for the circumstances surrounding the rock art’s production: the geometric and anthropomorphic figures in Mammoth Cave are representative of a series of visual percepts experienced cross-culturally and caused by various conditions — including sensory deprivation, fatigue, and psychoactive drug use — acting on the ocular anatomy and nervous system. That is, the glyphs might be visual …

A Political Quagmire, Vinay Srinivasan

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This paper is intended to characterize the precarious situation the House of Saud is facing. By exploring previous historical and current events, this analysis provides an insight into the complex web the House of Saud has woven; analysis of these events allows a glimpse into the future for this political regime and the uncertainty it faces. This paper is not intended to offer a solution or support a particular course of action, group, or individual.

Changing Geography Of Retailing In Japan: Move From Traditional Shopping Arcades To Malls, Adam Peach

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No abstract provided.

Domestic Violence In The Workplace, Amanda Fallin

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Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive problem that follows victims from the home into the workplace. Many women who experience violence in their homes are also harassed at work and are abused in the workplace. For the current study, thirty women who reported a history of workplace violence were recruited from a homeless women’s shelter. Of the participants, thirteen experienced domestic violence in the workplace, and this paper focuses on the results obtained from those thirteen respondents. This paper also discusses the link between poverty and homelessness, intimate partner violence, and workplace violence.

Coming To America: An Examination Of The U.S. Immigration Debate In Its Historical Context, Julie R. Davidson

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The United States is considered a country of immigrants, but a historical tension has existed between new arrivals and the “native” population. Policies regarding immigration have frequently mirrored the nativist fervor that is created in opposition to large influxes of immigrants. The debate about revamping immigration policy, that has been a key issue in Congress in 2006, is not surprising in an historical context. The concern about large numbers, the fear of draining social services, dilution of American culture, loss of American jobs, and the compromising of national security are all concerns that have been voiced recently, and are almost …

Relations Among Gender-Typical And Gender-Atypical Uses Of Aggression, Popularity, And Depression, Melissa Murphy

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The purpose of this study was to investigate how types of bullying engaged in by high school students (relational, physical, or verbal aggression) vary with gender and how they may be related to a student’s social status. Children in the ninth grade, from four different Kentucky high schools, were administered various measures as part of a larger study on social development in their own classroom. Measures used in our analysis included a bully and victim self-reported narrative, Bullying Questions and Belonging Questionnaire, and a Peer Nomination Scale. Results indicated that females used more relational aggression than males, and males used …

What Is Brewing In Your Latté? An Economic Analysis Of The Fair Trade Coffee Movement, Erin E. Troland

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No abstract provided.

Placing The Chips In An Investor’S Game Of Roulette: Global Warming And Its Effect On The Stock Market, Clayton Bohle

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The Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions, has radically changed the global market for green technology. The demand for clean energy has increased, causing an influx of new companies producing renewable energy products and creating cleaner processes for fossil fuel consumption. The question is: how can we, as investors, take advantage of this growing market? Through research into the different sectors of the green energy market, this paper breaks down each type of renewable energy, providing an evaluation of the various investment options. Comparing these investments with the different betting options in roulette, the paper …

“In A Competition Full Of Hamburgers, You’Re A Steak:” American Idol And The Role Of Reality Television In The Maintenance Of Our Egos, Kathryn L. Braun

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Over the past decade, reality shows have ascended to the top of the Nielsen rating charts and have assumed a dominance that is difficult to cast aside. One such reality show, American Idol has grown in popularity over its last six seasons. This chapter discusses one of the main arguments of a larger honors thesis that examines the underlying motives that keep American viewers watching. As a cultural commodity, American Idol can be viewed as a product of American values and holds a societal purpose for its viewers. Therefore, the arguments within this chapter propose that the great popularity enjoyed …

The Crisis Of Identity In Post-Revolutionary Cuban Film: A Sociological Analysis Of Strawberry And Chocolate, Andrew Zachary Shultz

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This paper analyzes Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío´s Strawberry and Chocolate (1993) from the sociological perspective of film as a cultural text informed by the political, historical, and social world in which it is produced. A symbolic interactionist/cultural studies model is used as a guide for the interpretive and qualitative methods utilized in approaching the film. Of particular interest to the sociological analysis of the film is the changing political context of the Cuban Revolution during the “special period” of the early 1990s, the use of stereotypes in the characterization of the actors, and finally its representation of …

An Analysis Of United States-Iran International Relations, James Tyler Chapman

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My research strove to further the knowledge of United States-Iran international relations through comprehensive analysis. I investigated and presented information on the internal politics of Iran, and I analyzed and commented on the organization of the government of Iran. I critically examined the historical scholarship on the affairs of state between the United States and Iran, and I investigated the current state of affairs and prospects for the future. From this understanding, it became possible and necessary for rigorously logical and insightful decisions to be made in the current political environment in which emotions and passions dominate, and I probed …

Democratizing The Food System- The Food Policy Council Movement, Garrett Spear

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The increasing complexity of our modern food system has changed the landscape of American agriculture and diet, and has increasingly consolidated decision-making abilities in a concentrated group of organizations. Local food movements are re-appropriating their food supply chains through a variety of methods, including the democratic-minded food policy council organization. Food policy councils organize community stakeholders into a network of organizations which can collectively grapple with food issues affecting and on behalf of the local community. This study consisted of research on the history and methods of the food policy council movement, directed ultimately at the council-less context in Lexington …

Oswald Social Sciences First Place: Two Is Company, Three Is An Envious Crowd: Effects Of A Third Party Evaluator On Expressions Of Envy According To Lacanian Psychoanalytic Perspective, Elina Matveeva

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The implementation of in vitro results to in vivo applications has limitations due to conventional two-dimensional (2D) in vitro conditions lacking the ability to create a physiologically representative model. This study investigated a three-dimensional (3D) cell culture technique to model lung tumors in vitro. A 3D lung cancer model was created by applying collagen (a semi-non-adhesive material) to a transwell, which allowed for nutrient transfer through the collagen. Two lung cancer cells lines (H358, a bronchioalveolar carcinoma and A549, a lung adenocarcinoma) were seeded on top of the collagen. The non-adhesive collagen allowed the cells to preferentially attach to one …

Oswald Social Sciences Second Place: Do Pigeons Develop Mental Representations When Demonstrating Transitive Inference?, Carter Daniels

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Transitive Inference (TI) is shown when after being told that A is better than B and B is better than C, one can answer the question, what is better A or C (in which A, B, and C are arbitrary stimuli). To avoid end-point effects (A is always better and C is never better) and provide a nonverbal task than can be used with young children and animals, the task has been expanded to 5 terms (i.e., A+B-, B+C-, C+D-, D+E- in which + means choice is reinforced and – means not reinforced). TI is found when subjects choose B …

Oswald Social Sciences Honorable Mention: Diaphragmatic Breathing And Its Effectiveness In The Management Of Motion Sickness, Sarah Stromberg

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No abstract provided.

Uncovering Nellie Bly, Martha Groppo

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No abstract provided.

Childhood Depression And Obesity: Role Of The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (Hpa) Axis Activity, Joanne Tyler

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This study examined relations between child depression and eating behavior and weight problems, including the role ofbaseline cortisol and cortisol reactivity in these relations. Data were drawn from a larger study, and included 50 children between the ages of6 and 12. Children reported on their depressive symptoms, and children and parents reported on child engagement in external eating, under-eating, over-eating, parental pressure to eat, enjoyment of food, and food and satiety responsiveness. For children exhibiting hypercortisolism, depression was associated with decreased over-eating and food responsiveness. Hypercortisolism was especially important for girls and children later in pubertal development. The reduced appetite …

Socioeconomic Challenges Of Patients With Clinical Blindness In Rural China, Yuen Aimee Chan

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Clinical blindness of 20/200 vision or greater in both eyes is rampant throughout Africa. Remarkably, most of these cases are either curable or preventable. There are 45 million blind people in the world and those who live in sub-Saharan Africa have a mortality rate four times higher than other areas worldwide [1]. Unite For Sight (UFS) is a non-profit organization that promotes eye health and reduce preventable blindness in communities worldwide. UFS has assisted over 1,000,000 patients and has provided 32,000 sight-restoring surgeries free of charge [2]. An opportunity for combination of volunteer work with research will contribute to this …

Identifying And Analyzing The Use Of Space In Ancient Mayan House Mounds In Kancab, Yucatan, Mexico, V. Camille Westmont

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No abstract provided.

Measuring Maya Politics: Demographic Research On Ancient Community Relations, Jacob A. Welch

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No abstract provided.

Spray-Paint Angst In A Tropical Paradise: Street Art In Costa Rica, The Switzerland Of Central America, Lena E. Reich

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No abstract provided.

Transmission Of Antisocial Behavior Across Generations: The Role Of Psychophysiology, M. Brooke Razor

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No abstract provided.

Turbulent Tables: The Effect Of Perception Intabular Advertisements, Michael P. Lee

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No abstract provided.