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Full-Text Articles in Sociology
The Legal Minimum Drinking Age: What Good Does It Do?, Andrea Mulock
The Legal Minimum Drinking Age: What Good Does It Do?, Andrea Mulock
The Journal of Undergraduate Research
Underage drinking is a huge problem in the United States. Rational choice and deterrence theories suggest that the best way to deal with the problem is to create and enforce strict laws against underage drinking. However, are these truly effective mechanisms in this regard? This paper explores these issues by analyzing underage alcohol consumption patterns in three sets of states classified as “lax”, “strict” and “typical” in terms of their underage drinking laws using data from the 2012 National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). T-tests did not show significant differences between underage alcohol use and binge drinking in …
Measuring White Privilege In South Dakota, Brianna Allington
Measuring White Privilege In South Dakota, Brianna Allington
The Journal of Undergraduate Research
In 1989, Peggy McIntosh introduced the “White Privilege” survey, which was a research instrument designed to indicate day-to-day incidences of small advantages which exist in our society attached to being white. Those enrolled in the class, on average, strongly agreed more with the survey compared to the general population. This could be attributed to differences in education and the effects of race. By looking at data collected individually and across racial groups, it can be seen that there are extreme differences in outlooks on white privilege between those who are white (76% of the total sample) and those who are …
American Indian Transportation Issues In South Dakota, Tracey Mcmahon
American Indian Transportation Issues In South Dakota, Tracey Mcmahon
The Journal of Undergraduate Research
This paper provides an overview of tribal transportation obstacles. My primary focus is on the quality of reservation roads and its relationship to funding and politics. The Indian reservation road system is one of the most underdeveloped transportation networks in the United States. A majority of these roads are dirt and gravel and, therefore, dangerous for traveling. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for American Indians and Alaska Natives between ages one and 44 (Hamilton 2003). Because federal funds for tribal transportation fall short of transportation needs, tribes do not have enough money for either road construction …
The Effect Of Parental Education On Emotions And Behaviors, Chelsea Parkinson, Shivaram Poigai Arunachalam
The Effect Of Parental Education On Emotions And Behaviors, Chelsea Parkinson, Shivaram Poigai Arunachalam
The Journal of Undergraduate Research
Current literature suggests that emotions are learned through socialization. The following study was completed using results compiled by a survey done for the South Dakota State University (SDSU) Sociology of Rural America course (Soc 240). The authors wished to ask the question "Do the education levels of parents affect the emotions and behaviors of their children?" There were approximately 540 respondents to this survey, all college students at SDSU. Questions dealing with students' emotions were analyzed with respect to each respective student's parents' education level. The findings suggested that there is a connection between the parents' education levels and the …
A Statistical Analysis To Improve Public Perception Of A State University's Police Department, Stephanie Davis, Terri French, Nancy Stuefen
A Statistical Analysis To Improve Public Perception Of A State University's Police Department, Stephanie Davis, Terri French, Nancy Stuefen
The Journal of Undergraduate Research
This paper addresses the question "How friendly is the University Police Department?" (UPD). This question was included in a survey given to 792 students at a Midwestern State university in October 2002 and was conducted by the university's Introduction to Criminal Justice class. Survey results indicated that 35% of the survey respondents said that UPD was "not very friendly" 27.9% indicated UPD was "somewhat friendly" 18.8% indicated UPD was "never friendly," and 3.7% indicated UPD was "very friendly." The rest of the respondents (14.7%) did not respond to the question. The proposed program recommendation outlined in this paper were developed …