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Articles 4801 - 4830 of 8231

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Unveiling Paraguay’S Poverty Relief Programs, Michael Johnson, Dr. Kirk Hawkins Sep 2013

Unveiling Paraguay’S Poverty Relief Programs, Michael Johnson, Dr. Kirk Hawkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

As a research assistant for Professor Kirk Hawkins and a recipient of an ORCA grant, I went to Paraguay for four weeks to investigate two of the government’s poverty relief programs. To do so, we visited randomly selected literacy sites, interviewing each site’s workers and users to determine the degree of partisan criteria for the allocation of jobs and services. The voluntary interviews lasted an average of 12-15 minutes. In addition, I interviewed the national coordinator of education and health in order to contrast their versions of the programs’ goals with our on-site findings. The research project gave me the …

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Philosophy Of Science Considerations For The Evidence-Based Practice (Ebp) Controversy In Psychotherapy, Dennis Wendt, Dr. Brent D. Slife Sep 2013

Philosophy Of Science Considerations For The Evidence-Based Practice (Ebp) Controversy In Psychotherapy, Dennis Wendt, Dr. Brent D. Slife

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The modern age is an age of evidence. A library search of “evidence-based” returns hundreds of entries: evidence-based auditing, social work, wound management, crime prevention, educational methods—the list goes on and on. Virtually any discipline or industry is receiving increased pressure to justify their methods and practices with evidence. Perhaps nowhere is this pressure more evident than in the healthcare arena, including mental health services such as psychotherapy.

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Qualitative And Quantitative Data In Multi-Rater Feedback, Nathaniel Bean, Dr. Bruce Brown Sep 2013

Qualitative And Quantitative Data In Multi-Rater Feedback, Nathaniel Bean, Dr. Bruce Brown

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The opportunities that opened up as a result of receiving an ORCA grant have been great. Because of the funding that was made available, I was able to work on three different projects simultaneously and find success with all of them. The primary reason that this was astounding was that at the same time, while I had been taking a full load of classes, I applied for and was accepted into a respected psychological doctoral program. Without this funding, I would not have been able to provide sufficient focus to complete these research projects. All three projects were submitted to …

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Living Well, A Pilot Study, Caroline Crane, Dr. Ivan Beutler Sep 2013

Living Well, A Pilot Study, Caroline Crane, Dr. Ivan Beutler

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Money attitudes may help us better understand potential vulnerabilities of youth in a growing culture of materialism. Today’s American child is immersed in the consumer marketplace to a degree that dwarfs all other historical experience (Schor, 2004). For many teens success revolves around financial status, social recognition, or appealing appearance (Roberts and Jones, 2001). Extrinsically focused individuals frequently depend on financial resources to achieve the favorable reactions of others in defining themselves. Modern industrialized society has transformed adolescence from a developmental era defined by production to one mainly of consumption where earning and spending money has become one of the …

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Modest Fashion: Within Reach Creating Modest Casual Daywear For Women Ages 20-30, Mary Heaps, Dr. Catherine Burnham Sep 2013

Modest Fashion: Within Reach Creating Modest Casual Daywear For Women Ages 20-30, Mary Heaps, Dr. Catherine Burnham

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My primary goal with this project was to increase awareness of modesty and provide more options for apparel that is both modest and fashionable. My secondary goal was to start up a sewing business, focusing on patternmaking and custom work. I believe I met the first goal, with plenty of room for increasing awareness. The second goal, has morphed and evolved into a more practical aim that better reflects my current situation and pursuits.

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U.S.-Laos Trade Relations And Economic Development, Dustin R. Roses, Dr. Earl Fry Sep 2013

U.S.-Laos Trade Relations And Economic Development, Dustin R. Roses, Dr. Earl Fry

Journal of Undergraduate Research

To complete this research project I traveled to Laos and spent three weeks conducting interviews with the leaders of export-oriented businesses. My main goal was to investigate the success of normal trade relations status (NTR) as a means of stimulating foreign investment and economic activity in developing nations.

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Myelin Basic Protein And Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Antibodies In Autism, Edward Stevenson, Dr. Erin Bigler Sep 2013

Myelin Basic Protein And Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Antibodies In Autism, Edward Stevenson, Dr. Erin Bigler

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Autism is a developmental disorder. There has been an increasing trend in the diagnosis of autism in the past 15 years. After years of research there is still little agreement as to the causes of autism. It has been hypothesized that autistics could be the result of the body’s immune system attacking the brain through cytotoxicity and antibody mediated responses.2 Studies between immune factors and autism have had some interesting results, yet due to the complexities of the central nervous system and immune system, solid conclusions have not been reached.

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Transformation Of Urban Space: Somali Bantu Women Refugees And The Lynn Community Health Center, April Reynosa, Dr. Julie Hartly Sep 2013

Transformation Of Urban Space: Somali Bantu Women Refugees And The Lynn Community Health Center, April Reynosa, Dr. Julie Hartly

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study evolved out of my experiences as a volunteer under Project North Star, a literacy program headed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) that serves refugee women from Somalia. From September of 2006 through December 2006 I worked as the Child Development Instructor for this program. While working in this role I investigated and gathered details of the Somali Bantu women’s daily experiences involving urban immigrant acculturation and assimilation.

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The World Vs. The United States How The International Community Defied A Superpower To Create The International Criminal Court, Anna Sanders, Dr. Darren Hawkins Sep 2013

The World Vs. The United States How The International Community Defied A Superpower To Create The International Criminal Court, Anna Sanders, Dr. Darren Hawkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The International Criminal Court has been an item of some debate both here in the United States and in the international community. The United States opposition and the subsequent creation of a supranational body without it’s support provide an interesting case for studying international organizations. It is puzzling to consider: why would nations go against the wishes of the world superpower and create a court with unparalleled supranational authority? What influences negotiating positions and how did these change throughout the drafting process? We hypothesized that nations’ positions were influenced by their dependence on other nations. More plainly, we supposed that …

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Quantifying Human Impact On Wetland Landscapes In Utah Valley The Meadows, American Fork, Utah, Benjamin Sykes, Dr. Matthew Bekker Sep 2013

Quantifying Human Impact On Wetland Landscapes In Utah Valley The Meadows, American Fork, Utah, Benjamin Sykes, Dr. Matthew Bekker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This Research Project involved the use of Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing Images, Fragstats, GIS Data layers obtained from Utah County, and database programs to quantify change to the natural landscape following human development in the area commonly known as “The Meadows” Shopping Center, located in American Fork, Utah.

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Education In Rural Mexico: What Stops Students?, Jared A. Wilkerson, Dr. Harold Miller Sep 2013

Education In Rural Mexico: What Stops Students?, Jared A. Wilkerson, Dr. Harold Miller

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Providing regular education in rural Mexico has been a focus for the Mexican government for the last few decades. Even twenty years ago, many teachers were quite unwilling to visit rural areas, where the facilities and transportation were far under par. By the beginning of this decade, however, kindergarten and elementary schools had reached even the most remote parts of the country, with middle schools and high schools increasingly accessible to all potential students. Seeing the still-low rates of rural student matriculation, and especially noting the extremely low rates of male education, I wondered what inhibited youth from finishing, or …

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Alleged Rape Perception And Function Of Ambivalent Sexism, Adriane Queiroz, Dr. Niwako Yamawaki Sep 2013

Alleged Rape Perception And Function Of Ambivalent Sexism, Adriane Queiroz, Dr. Niwako Yamawaki

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this study was to discover how a perceived power difference between rape victim and perpetrator influence external observers’ rape perception, or more specifically, to investigate the effects of a rapist’s power status on rape perceptions, such as minimization of the seriousness of rape, blaming victim, and excusing the perpetrator. This study also explored the moderating role of ambivalent sexism to explain the effects of power on rape perceptions.

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Effects Of The Neurosteroid Pregnenolone Sulfate On Hippocampal Physiology, Marc Jones, Dr. Scott Steffensen Sep 2013

Effects Of The Neurosteroid Pregnenolone Sulfate On Hippocampal Physiology, Marc Jones, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Several recent studies have established a role for estrogens in ameliorating specific neurodegenerative disorders, mainly those associated with the cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain and their targets in the cortex and hippocampus. We have previously demonstrated that endogenous and exogenous application of the neurosteroid dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) markedly reduces GABA-mediated recurrent inhibition and synchronizes hippocampal unit activity to theta rhythm. In this study, I evaluated the role of muscarinic receptors in mediating the effects of the GABA-modulating neurosteroid, pregnenolone sulfate (PREGS) on monosynaptic evoked potential responses, paired-pulse inhibition, paired-pulse facilitation and GABA interneuron activity in the dentate gyrus and …

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Adverse Selection In The Market For Health Insurance, Jonathan Hall, Dr. Mark Showalter Sep 2013

Adverse Selection In The Market For Health Insurance, Jonathan Hall, Dr. Mark Showalter

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The presence and severity of adverse selection in the market for health insurance has profound implications for public policy. Adverse selection occurs when individuals who are higher risk than observationally equivalent individuals purchase more insurance. Adverse selection can be used to argue in favor of nationalized health care, and at the same time suggests it that regulation simply makes problems worse. Due to the importance of this question, researchers from a wide variety of fields—public health, economics, insurance, law, human resources and medicine, to name a few—have contributed to the literature on adverse selection. Unfortunately, most researchers seldom cross disciplinary …

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Censored Regression With Flexible Distributions, Randall Lewis, Dr. James Mcdonald Sep 2013

Censored Regression With Flexible Distributions, Randall Lewis, Dr. James Mcdonald

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the field of economics, the estimation of causal relationships is fundamental. The economist formulates a model or mechanism through which human behavior affects outcomes. Then, by using real-world data, economists can estimate these relationships. For example, one simple relationship that has been a subject of study is the causal effect of education on income. Whereas in other fields correlation is typically the object of interest, in economics, the actual quantitative effect on outcomes of changing a causal variable, such as years of education, is of interest.

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The Economics Of Childhood Obesity, Stephen Done, Dr. Eric Eide Sep 2013

The Economics Of Childhood Obesity, Stephen Done, Dr. Eric Eide

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Over the past three decades, there has been a significant increase in the percentage of obese persons in the United States. Among adults, rates have more than doubled, while nearly tripling for children over the same period (Anderson, Butcher, & Levine, 2003). Now the second leading cause of death in the United States, obesity contributes to heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, and many types of cancers (Rashad, Grossman, & Chou, 2005). Economic costs, in the form of health care and lost productivity, amounted to $12.7 billion in 1994 alone (Tomson, Edelsburg, Kinsey, & Oster, 1998). It is …

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Comparative Analysis Of Athens’ And Utah’S Educational Struggles, Benjamin W. Blair, A. Legrand Richards, Andreas M. Kazamias Sep 2013

Comparative Analysis Of Athens’ And Utah’S Educational Struggles, Benjamin W. Blair, A. Legrand Richards, Andreas M. Kazamias

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Though this project was frustrating and draining at times, I feel so fortunate to have undertaken such a study. My paper and my results are the least of what I learned. The greatest learning experiences on my part were simply seeing another system of education at work, and watching how a system functions which is based on completely different foundations from the system I grew up with.

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High Risk Behavior Among Adolescent Males, Debra W. Armstrong, Dr. Renata T. Forste Sep 2013

High Risk Behavior Among Adolescent Males, Debra W. Armstrong, Dr. Renata T. Forste

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Many adolescents today are involved in high risk behaviors which have negative health consequences, and which reduce the likelihood of them growing up to be responsible adults.1 Past research of high risk behavior has been largely based on cross-sectional, area specific data. In this research, national longitudinal data are used to predict high risk behaviors by focusing on risk behaviors such as alcohol use, or smoking cigarettes. Few studies have considered these behaviors together and as noted by Jessor, these behaviors are more of a lifestyle than just separate events.2

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Learning To Recognize Vervet Monkey Calls, Jeremiah Mcghee, Dr. Deryle Lonsdale Sep 2013

Learning To Recognize Vervet Monkey Calls, Jeremiah Mcghee, Dr. Deryle Lonsdale

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The use of computers to perform speech recognition on human speech is becoming commonplace in today’s world. Less well known are attempts to use speech recognition on other animal species. Current projects are researching the possibilities of using speech recognition technologies to give insight to the animal communication of dolphins1, elephants2, birds3 and even crickets4. All of these projects are showing very promising results with recognition results approaching 90%. The goal of this project is to apply speech recognition technology to identify the distinct calls of vervet monkeys.

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An Investigation Into The Processing Mechanisms Guiding Phonemic Restoration, Steven J. Pearson, Dr. Wendy Baker Sep 2013

An Investigation Into The Processing Mechanisms Guiding Phonemic Restoration, Steven J. Pearson, Dr. Wendy Baker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Phonemic restoration (PhR) effects have been well documented since Warren’s 1970 research1 and much work has been done to examine the manners in which properties of a phoneme may be altered without preventing the occurrence of phonemic restoration. However, little work has been done on a broad level to identify the demographic characteristics of participants that may influence PhR, though Warren long ago raised the specific question of the role(s) played by participant’s age.

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Inventing Tradition: Changes In Local Basket-Making In Two Guatemalan Towns, Amy Maxwell, Dr. Ruth Toulson Sep 2013

Inventing Tradition: Changes In Local Basket-Making In Two Guatemalan Towns, Amy Maxwell, Dr. Ruth Toulson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Guatemala has a rich indigenous heritage which has attracted the attention of researchers for over 75 years. This culture includes 21 indigenous Maya language groups scattered throughout the country. The civil war ended ten years ago and since then, the country has been healing. As the country has welcomed progress, it has also welcomed tourists from around the globe who come for the culture or to study Spanish. In the face of so many national changes, the Mayan culture is shifting and adapting.

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Establishing An Ethical Entrepreneurship, Scott Hannay, Dr. David P. Crandall Sep 2013

Establishing An Ethical Entrepreneurship, Scott Hannay, Dr. David P. Crandall

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Today more than ever, people have a desire to reach out to help others—both internationally and domestically. Technology has brought the world’s problems to the living rooms of the more for-tunate. Unlimited options exist for attempting to mitigate the challenges of addressing hunger, malnutrition, poor education, poverty and inequality. I had the opportunity to research the feasi-bility of establishing an ethical entrepreneurship in a rural tribal village on the edge of the Sahara Desert in Morocco. My research revealed steps to be considered when creating an ethical entre-preneurship and the challenges that may be encountered in the process.

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Saying One Thing, Doing Another: Is Discrepant Enforcement Of Laws Protecting Women And Girls Related To Discrepant Enactment Of International Law By Nation-State?, Carl Brinton, Dr. Valerie Hudson Sep 2013

Saying One Thing, Doing Another: Is Discrepant Enforcement Of Laws Protecting Women And Girls Related To Discrepant Enactment Of International Law By Nation-State?, Carl Brinton, Dr. Valerie Hudson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In short, the project was a great success. The hypotheses tested all came out with greater statistical significance than we had even hoped for. The implications of our findings have a deep potential impact, and beyond merely presenting the findings at the annual meetings of the American Political Science Association, we are now in the final stages of editing the paper to submit it to the International Studies Quarterly journal for publication.

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Prosecutor Discretion At The Special Court For Sierra Leone, Chad Losee, Dr. Darren Hawkins Sep 2013

Prosecutor Discretion At The Special Court For Sierra Leone, Chad Losee, Dr. Darren Hawkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Some have argued that, once established, international criminal tribunals, like the one established in Sierra Leone, are not responsive to external influence given their independence and insulation.1 I tested this hypothesis as the null by comparing the discretion granted international prosecutors by court creators with the latitude actually exercised. Are prosecutors really intractable? Or, do prosecutors consider the preferences of external actors when they make their investigative decisions?

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The Effects Of Air Pollution On Endothelial Function: An Extended Literature Review, Douglas L. Rodermund, Dr. Clive Arden Pope Sep 2013

The Effects Of Air Pollution On Endothelial Function: An Extended Literature Review, Douglas L. Rodermund, Dr. Clive Arden Pope

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Exposure to elevated concentrations of ambient particulate matter (PM) has been implicated as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality. Repeated long-term exposure to PM contributes to pulmonary and systemic oxidative stress, inflammation, atherosclerosis and increased risk of ischemic heart disease and death.1 Short-term elevated PM exposures and related inflammation may also contribute to acute complications of atherosclerosis by increasing the risk of atherosclerotic plaque rupture, acceleration of acute ischemic events and endothelial dysfunction. The endothelium is a layer of thin flat cells lining the interior surface of blood vessels and is directly involved with regulation of vascular processes. …

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Family Matters: Income Distribution Effects Of Changing Family Structure; Honors Thesis, Julia Delong, Dr. Clayne Pope Sep 2013

Family Matters: Income Distribution Effects Of Changing Family Structure; Honors Thesis, Julia Delong, Dr. Clayne Pope

Journal of Undergraduate Research

One of the more profound and far-reaching social transformations America went through in the latter half of the twentieth century was the growing replacement of married households by single (never married) and divorced households. While the sociological consequences of this transformation are generally debated, we seldom consider the economic consequences. In my honors thesis I established a connection between the changes in household structure in the United States during the period 1960 – 2000 and the simultaneous increase in income inequality.

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Sending Children Away: A Case Study Of Boarding Schools In Uganda, Kindra Clemence, Dr. Mikaela Dufur Sep 2013

Sending Children Away: A Case Study Of Boarding Schools In Uganda, Kindra Clemence, Dr. Mikaela Dufur

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Boarding schools are more popular in Africa than in the United States or Europe. In some countries, including Uganda, more than half of all students that finish secondary school spend at least some time in a boarding school. However, there has been almost no academic inquiry into the nature of these institutions. Why are so many children sent away for school? What role do boarding schools play in this society and what perpetuates their existence?

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Substance Abuse Treatment Programs: What Works And Why, Jonathan Oliver, Dr. Stephen J. Bahr, Dr. Stephen J. Bahr Sep 2013

Substance Abuse Treatment Programs: What Works And Why, Jonathan Oliver, Dr. Stephen J. Bahr, Dr. Stephen J. Bahr

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Substance Abuse has been a problem for several generations and is a major contributor to mental health problems. To address the issue of substance abuse, many treatment programs have been established with intentions to offer guidance and support to those individuals seeking relief from addiction and destructive lifestyles. The programs that exist today have different approaches to substance abuse treatment and may be more effective for some individuals than others. Our hope was to learn more about the programs and publish a paper that would be helpful in identifying which types of treatment were most successful.

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The Effects Of Anesthesia On Midbrain Gaba Neurons, Stuart Layton, Dr. Scott Steffensen Sep 2013

The Effects Of Anesthesia On Midbrain Gaba Neurons, Stuart Layton, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Consciousness has perplexed neuroscientists for decades. What is consciousness and how is it obstructed by anesthesia? Every year doctors expose thousands of people to general anesthesia. Anesthesia does several things, it prevents the perception of pain, renders a patient unconscious, inhibits the formation of memory, and paralyzes the subject; all of which as desired during a medical procedure. The mechanism by which anesthesia accomplishes these many tasks are unknown, including its ability to render a subject unconscious. The goal of this study was to study the effects of anesthesia on -aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) …

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Endothelial Dysfunction And Short-Term Exposure To Fine Particulate Pollution From Coal Combustion: Data Collection And Analysis, Matthew Gee, Dr. C. Arden Pope Iii Sep 2013

Endothelial Dysfunction And Short-Term Exposure To Fine Particulate Pollution From Coal Combustion: Data Collection And Analysis, Matthew Gee, Dr. C. Arden Pope Iii

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Exposure to elevated concentrations of ambient particulate matter (PM) has been implicated as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality. Short-term elevated PM exposures and related inflammation may contribute to acute complications of atherosclerosis by accelerating the progression of atherosclerosis, and triggering plaque rupture. Empirical evidence (Brook et al. 2002) suggests that endothelial dysfunction promoted by systemic inflammation related to PM exposure may lie at the heart of the problem. Our experiment examines the effect of short-term exposure to elevated PM levels on endothelial function using a non-invasive procedure called peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT). Using the Endo-PAT 2000 (Itamar …

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