Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Addressing Gun Violence In The United States, Sarah House

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

When compared with other high-income countries, gun violence is clearly a problem in the United States. Although homicide appears to be a more serious issue compared with other countries, suicide causes many more deaths per year than homicide does and therefore deserves at least as much attention. Discussion of gun policy has also focused heavily on mental illness, and although this is a potential factor in gun violence, we must also recognize that most people with mental illness are not dangerous. Other factors that contribute to risk of gun fatalities include social environment and access to guns, which are important …

Operation Boulder And Its Effects On Arab-American Communities Of The 1970'S, Molly Wancewicz

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

Operation Boulder, a United States government surveillance program deployed in 1972 under the direction of then-President Richard M. Nixon, launched a large-scale federal investigation of both Arab immigrants to the U.S. and Arab-Americans.1 In this context, the term “Arab” is used to mean a person originating from an Arabic-speaking country in the Middle East or North Africa, while “Arab-American” refers to a person of Arab lineage who was born in the United States. For the purposes of this paper, the Arabs and Arab-Americans referred to are only those residing in the United States. Before the project was canceled due to …

Factors Affecting Biodiversity Protection In The Mediterranean Basin, Erica L. Porta, Jesse E. Shircliff

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

Earth’s biodiversity includes all extant species; however, species are not evenly distributed across the planet. Species tend to be clustered in densely populated areas known as “biodiversity hotspots;” species which inhabit only a single area are also termed “endemic,” and tend to be highly vulnerable to population-reducing changes in their environment. Biodiversity hotspots are considered priorities for conservation if the area has a high rate of endemism as well as a notable and continual habitat loss (Noss et al., 2015). Preventing biodiversity loss is a complex and multi-level decision-making process about setting priorities and defining clear biodiversity protection areas. Biodiversity …

Robin Hood Politics: An Analysis Of Wealth Redistributive Policies And The Impact Of Political Donations, Marley R. Dizney Swanson

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

Both Democrats and Republicans have taken strong positions on wealth redistribution. But is there variance within the parties? I hypothesize that while moderate non-donors and moderate donors will favor increases in federal spending for such policies at similar rates, both liberal and conservative donors will be less likely to favor spending due to attachment to their personal wealth. This paper analyzes the differences in support for increasing the budgets of five wealth redistributive policies while controlling for political donations: public schools, welfare, aid to the poor, childcare, and Social Security. The research finds that moderates and moderate donors support do …

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review Fall 2018

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

No abstract provided.

A Layered Account Of The Ways In Which Multiracial Identity Is Communicated Within Interpersonal Relationships, Jessica Frydenberg

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

This layered account examined the ways in which multiracial identity is communicated within interpersonal relationships, with a focus on the microaggressions that make up the multiracial experience. Issues of isolation and marginalization, internal identity conflicts, denial of multiracial identity and experiences, interrogation, and racial stereotypes all play a role in how the multiracial experience is formulated and communicated by mixed race peoples. A social constructionist and creative arts-based approach was used to provide an impressionistic sketch of the lived multiracial experience along with the constructed meaning and communication of what it means to be a multiracial person in 21st century …

Doing Well By Doing Good Benefits For The Benefactor, Aneka Khilnani

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

This study seeks to examine if volunteering affects mental and physical health and examine if health behaviors or social participation affect the association between volunteering and perceived mental and physical health.

Method and Data: Using a logistic regression model, data from a cross-sectional study that obtained a statewide representative sample of Texas adults, N=1409, was used to predict an adult’s perceived mental and physical health in relation to volunteering, after controlling for the effects of health behaviors and social participation.

Results: Adults who do not volunteer have an increased odds of reporting poor perceived physical and mental health. After controlling …

Self-Construal Influence On Individual Choice Does Culture Shape Our Choices?, Marrie Shirzada

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

Previous research has shown that cultural values and individual preferences for uniqueness and conformity influence one another, and that a theme of uniqueness is prevalent within North American culture and a theme of conformity is prevalent within East Asian culture. The goal of the present research was to examine the causal role of self-construal by investigating whether priming participants with either independent or interdependent self-construal could lead to differences in choice patterns that mirror themes of uniqueness and conformity that is traditionally found between East Asian and North American cultures. It was hypothesized that participants primed with independent self-construal will …

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review Spring 2018

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

No abstract provided.