Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences Weblog

Tracey Liebman, University of Pennsylvania

Full Paper: http://www.kon.org/urc/v9/liebman.html

Abstract A rising number of individuals in the US are overweight and obese; although the morbidity and mortality rates for countless diseases have been reduced due to advances in medical research and high standard of living, the rate of type 2 diabetes mellitus increases. The culture of our affluent nation has promoted the consumption of high caloric, processed food along with physical inactivity. In the attempt to control the rise of type 2 diabetes, new treatments such as these 11β-HSD1 inhibitors and others that focus on mechanisms relating to cortisol regulation may have favorable results. Diabetes prevalence is increasing because the population is aging, people are progressively more overweight and physically inactive, and minority groups that seem more susceptible to diabetes make up an increasing percentage of the US population. Cortisol may play an important role; it is possible that even small increases in cortisol, within the range of normal, may have a detrimental influence by worsening diabetes and increasing complications. This paper is a review of the role of cortisol and abdominal obesity in the epidemic of type 2 Diabetes. As diabetes continues to grow in prevalence, the problems will become even more extensive and debilitating for society if optimal preventative measures are not taken. Future efforts in this related struggle against both obesity and type 2 diabetes should encompass a strong focus on cortisol so such prevention and treatment can successfully advance. 

Continue reading "The Role of Cortisol and Abdominal Obesity in the Epidemic of Type 2 Diabetes" »

Thomas Richardson, University of Bath, University of Dublin
Hugh Garavan2*, University of Dublin

Full manuscript: http://www.kon.org/urc/v9/richardson.html

Abstract This study examined relationships between hypomanic symptoms and impulsivity and risk-taking propensity in an international sample of 246 undergraduate students, finding statistically significant positive correlations between hypomania and impulsivity and risk-taking propensity. Multiple regression analyses provided further insight into these relationships.

Continue reading "Relationships between hypomanic symptoms and impulsivity and risk-taking propensity in an international sample of undergraduate students" »

Kevin Gotkin, Rachel Ward*
New York University

Full Paper: http://www.kon.org/urc/v9/gotkin.html

"This is our world now . . . the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud." -The Mentor

Introduction: Shortly after his arrest in 1986, "The Mentor" wrote a short piece for the American hacker e-zine, Phrack, entitled "The Conscience of a Hacker." We can only assume the writer is a man because his penname masks everything about his true identity, including the arrest that apparently led him to write the article. In the piece, he tells stories of his childhood, of discovering the computer, and of reading newspaper articles about amateur hackers getting arrested. The piece is very short with only a handful of paragraphs that barely stretch to a second printed page, but at the end of each paragraph he repeats five words taken from the admonishing voices he hears all around: "Damn kids. They're all alike" (1). Through his piece, The Mentor allows us a glimpse into some of the most personal parts of a hacker's mind.

Continue reading "Lingo, Loyalty, & Lambaste: The E-Zines of the Early French Hacker Scene" »

Michael Anthony Cole Jr., Holger B. Elischberger*
Albion College

Full manuscript: http://www.kon.org/urc/v9/cole.html

Abstract In the present study, participants from 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade completed two simple science activities. A researcher instructed each participant to remember one of the activities and forget the other. Children's memory for both activities was assessed after a two-week delay. Data analyses yielded a slight age-related increase in directed forgetting (DF) of the two activities, but overall levels of DF were low. In contrast, the trend for word list DF established in the literature was replicated. This pattern of results is interpreted as a reflection of the context sensitivity of cognitive processes in children.

Continue reading "Directed Forgetting of Real-Life Events in School-Age Children" »

Seth R. Batten, Martha Upchurch*
Transylvania University

Full Paper: http://www.kon.org/urc/v9/batten.html

Abstract: Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is the study of how psychological factors such as stress and depression can affect the immune system through the nervous system. This review examines PNI in relation to HIV/AIDS and cancer. It discusses the possible mechanisms through which these diseases are affected by stress and depression as well as known PNI treatments. It concludes by discussing limitations of the research as well as where PNI may go in the future. 

Continue reading "Psychoneuroimmunology: An Analysis of HIV/AIDS and Cancer" »

Katrina Duncan, Patricia K. Ravert*

Full manuscript: http://www.kon.org/urc/v9/duncan.html

Abstract Interviews in Utah and Ecuador explored the perceptions of simulation and critical thinking. Three themes emerged during analysis. High fidelity simulation can be used to develop critical thinking and is used in many Utah nursing education programs, whereas in Ecuador simulation use is in the early stages.

Continue reading "Glimpse into Simulation and Critical Thinking: A Pilot Study Comparing Utah and Ecuador" »

Allison Holt, Patricia Ravert*
Brigham Young University

Full manuscript: http://www.kon.org/urc/v9/holt.html

Abstract: This study compared Apgar scores and oxygenation levels of well infants born by Cesarean section (c-section) to those delivered vaginally. T-tests in a sample of 321 well infants (17.1% c-section deliveries and 82.2% vaginal deliveries) revealed no statistically significant difference between c-section and vaginal births for Apgar scores and oxygenation.

Every year in the United States over four million babies are born. In recent years, Cesarean Sections have increased with rates surging from less than 7 percent in 1970 to 30.2 percent in 2005 (Hamilton, Martin, & Ventura, 2006). Although Cesarean section (c-section) births are medically indicated for some individuals, information regarding the effect a vaginal or c-section birth may have on an infant would be essential for those mothers considering a c-section for non-medical reasons. As a nursing student, instructors at times promote natural birth methods. This led me to question what effect different modes of birth have on the baby.

Continue reading "Apgar Scores and Oxygenation Levels: A Comparison of Vaginal and Cesarean Section Modes of Delivery" »

Kayla Groat
University of Maryland University College

Full paper: http://www.kon.org/urc/v8/groat.html

Abstract Our nation's modern media acts as a devastating destructive force to the family unit in America, and its effects are felt worldwide. The rearing of children has been taken from the hands of parents into grips of mass media. Producers of mass communications render inaccurate societal depictions, and individuals respond in active accordance with what is portrayed. Media embeds messages of violence, body image, and teen sexuality, all of which encourage single parent and/or cohabitating homes out of wedlock and destroys marriages through pornography. Continuation of this family degradation cycle will result in the collapse of the family as a social function and force for stability in communities as well as on a worldwide scale.

Continue reading "Collapse of the World's Fundamental Social Unit: Mass Media's Tremendous Impact on Families" »

Dawnn Mahulawde
Bowling Green State University

Full manuscript: http://www.kon.org/urc/v8/mahulawde.html

Abstract The Time-Oriented Quality of Life Scale (TOQLS) was developed to measure one's present quality of life in relationship to one's desired future quality of life. The ten items were economics, housing, family life, education, social life, neighborhood, transportation, desired career, mental health, and physical health. The population for this study consisted of 12 elementary, 14 middle school, 13 high school, and 15 college students. Results indicated that African Americans and Caucasians did not differ in reports of present or future quality of life but that elementary students had a lower future quality compared to the other age groups. The racial differences of quality of life are discussed.

Continue reading "Black and White Students' Quality of Life" »

Hena Thakur
Thomas S. Wootton High School, Rockville, MD

Full manuscript: http://www.kon.org/urc/highschool/thakur.html

Continue reading "Does Arch Height Affect A Woman’s Actual Height?" »