Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences Weblog

Mario Mitkov
University of California at Davis

Full paper: http://www.kon.org/urc/v7/mitkov.html » 

Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) accounts for about a quarter of a million deaths a year, and currently its prevalence among the U.S. population is 4.8 million (1). CHF occurs when the heart cannot meet the demands of the body. The symptoms are breathlessness and fatigue due to a build up of fluid in and around the lungs. The failing heart inflates like a water balloon and, over time, gets stretched out to the point where it becomes a flimsy sac saturated with blood. If this sac is agitated with vigorous exercise it can, in some cases, fail.

Ozlem Yuksel-Sokmen
CUNY, John Jay College of Criminal Justice 

Full paper: http://www.kon.org/urc/v7/yuksel-sokmen-3.html »

The famous German Psychoanalyst Jung, who with Freud extensively analyzed the ego of humans, said in 1916, "Children are born with the desire to exercise power over people and things about them" (Oxford English Dictionary, 2007). This notion leads to the complex view of power that the drive for power is derived from a so called “power instinct.” This means that at the start of its life, an infant has to create an ego, or as Adler (developed in Identity Psychology) called it, an “I.” In accomplishing the prime achievement, the infant uses power for the first time to survive. The infant demands food with a mere cry and thus is able to show its potentiality to develop an ego. The infant's use of crying for survival shows how powerful he is because its existential need is triggered by an inborn instinct...

Thomas Hugh Richardson
University of Bath

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

Rose Sexton, Leda Cempellin*
South Dakota State University

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

Heather L. Orndorff
California University of Pennsylvania

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

Will Plowright
University of British Columbia

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

Anthony Wilkins, Texas A&M University

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

Abstract The purpose of this research paper is to analyze shamanism and schizophrenia, eventually coming to the conclusion that they are one and the same. Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is the physiological link between the two, while culture is the psychological link between them. This paper goes on to suggest that the shaman is a schizophrenic.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

Sheri Binkly, Sara Keller, Jenna Sogn, Marisa TenBrink, South Dakota State University
Guest editor and program coordinator: Dr. Leda Cempellin

Full publication: http://www.kon.org/urc/v9/interconnected-through-art/

Introduction: This group project has been inspired by the theme of the 2010 Upper Midwest Honors Conference at SDSU: "Mitakuye Oyasin", roughly translated, in the Dakota/Nakota/Lakota language as "we are all related."

Each student in my Honors Art Appreciation class chose an artist, whose work is connected with either the land, the community, or both. Then, he/she performed a bibliographical research on that artist and applied form and content-based analysis methods we discussed in class.

These four outstanding research projects have been granted the generous contribution of bibliographical sources and images from some of the most prestigious institutions in the art world. Our collective academic effort, and this consequent publication project, would not have been possible without their support.

Scott Beck, University of Pittsburgh

Full paper: http://www.kon.org/urc/v9/beck.html

Abstract

Taiwan has a history full of oppressive rulers and people who resisted their oppression. During October to December of 2008, widespread protests of government intervention in civil society showed that this struggle is not yet finished. This paper analyzes those protests, particularly as they pertain to the Wild Strawberry Student Movement. Key concepts used in this analysis are an action-centered conceptualization of culture as a tool-kit, a narrative of unfolding, and a language of resistance.

Herbert Hudson Taylor, IV, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

Full paper: http://www.kon.org/urc/v9/taylor.html

Abstract This paper identifies the Anglo-American economic model as one potential cause of class inequality and surveys the ways in which one's class relates to one's ability to own a home. These relationships establish a framework for the paper's sociological question, which investigates how parental homeownership and several of its corollaries (i.e., its effects on one's ability to afford opportunity, the quality of one's communities, and one's self-concept and self-esteem) influence children's achievement of higher education. Thus, the paper ultimately attempts to explain the relationship between the Anglo-American economic model, America's class inequality, and homeownership and the eventual impacts of these phenomena on children's attainment of higher education. In this way, analyses comment on the cyclical functioning of class inequality under the Anglo-American economic model.

Maggie Bertucci, Alex Miller, Stephen Jaggi, Steven Wilding, Brigham Young University

Full paper: http://www.kon.org/urc/v9/bertucci.html

Abstract The recently passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 summons a $940 billion budget focused primarily on providing health care coverage for every American. In 1965, the government had a similar goal, which led to the implementation of Medicare and Medicaid. Unfortunately, these programs ended up costing ten times what was originally estimated. Perhaps this was partially due to the rising rates of disease in recent years, particularly obesity. In order for the government to stay within its current budgetary limitations and for America to sustain long-term control over its health concerns, we feel that there should be a shift towards more preventive care instead of primarily focusing on reactive care (treating the symptoms). We set out to discover if preventive care is more cost-effective than reactive care, limiting our focus strictly to rising obesity rates and its associated costs. In this paper we summarize the current literature on the subject and discuss both the advantages and difficulties of establishing a more preventive approach toward healthcare. We conclude that prevention would extend quality years of life to more Americans at a lower cost than when primarily implementing reactive care. Our main goal in writing this article is to raise awareness of this potential. To illustrate this, we analyzed three preventive approaches: school-based programs, dietary restrictions, and increased exercise. These three examples are effective at reducing obesity and cost-efficient. Together, they serve as the general framework of preventive care upon which more advanced and specific programs can be discussed. 

Sarah C. Atchley, Hendrix College

Full paper: www.kon.org/v9/atchley2.html

Abstract The current research is a literature review of inaction inertia, which is the resulting inaction due to certain cognitive processes, specifically counterfactual thinking or looking back over one's life to determine how events could have turned out differently if a different course of action was taken. Previous research indicates that counterfactual thinking can have negative consequences such as inaction inertia, gambling, and self-handicapping.

Emily Taber,Western Washington University

Full Paper: www.kon.org/urc/v9/taber.html

Abstract The application of Jeremy Bentham's (1785) panoptic concept has changed significantly with the popularization of observational technology and dataveillance. Where Bentham's model focused on the material, the Digital Age has created new structures of power in contemporary culture, altered how observers and observed interact, and influenced both contemporary cultures of observation and the broader social structure. I analyze what has caused these transitions and traced them to five areas of social and technological change, examining how cultural values have transformed and may continue transforming into the Twenty-first Century.

Emely E. Medina-Rodríguez, University of Puerto Rico, Leonard Ramirez*, University of Illinois at Chicago

Full Paper: www.kon.org/urc/v9/medina-rodriguez.html

Abstract The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was created in 2001 to close the achievement gap between middle class White students and low-income minority students in the U.S. NCLB is also mandated in Puerto Rico and affects Puerto Rican educational institutions. Although this law has been studied in the U.S, its impact on territories distant from the mainland is less understood. Little is known, for example, about how NCLB affects Puerto Rican teachers' attitudes, especially those working with students from low-income communities. Qualitative research methods were chosen to encourage teachers from an intermediate school in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, to express their perspectives from their own point of view regarding the NCLB Law and related themes. The school serves students from five surrounding public housing projects, and ninety-two percent of the student body came from households with an income below the poverty level. Statistics from Puerto Rico's Department of Education also showed that this school had not met NCLB's Adequate Yearly Progress requirement for the past five years. A snowball sample identified seven teacher and staff members' participants, and they were interviewed using an instrument containing 26 open-ended questions.

Sarah Levant, Temple University

Full paper: www.kon.org/urc/v9/levant.html

Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the premature death and dynamics of Ben Himmelstein in his communities. Conducted in an autoethnographic writing style, questionnaires were gathered through the social networking site, Facebook, giving access to several of Ben's different communities. Additionally, data were collected by phone and in-person interviews. Results reflected that relationships and perspectives vary with every individual, and relationships with community members and ourselves define who we are.

Kelly Tian, University of Chicago

Full paper: www.kon.org/urc/v9/tian.html

Abstract: The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 made a profound impact on American society, affecting the targeted Chinese people and as well as Caucasians. Because much of what happens in the past influences the present and future, it is vital to understand the motives for the Act and how it affects others. Perhaps by learning about previous difficulties one can draw conclusions on how to lead more productive and harmonious lives in the future.

Tiana Keith, East Carolina University

Full paper: www.kon.org/urc/v9/keith.html

Abstract Rates of depression in college students are at an all time high. Millions of emerging adults are experiencing symptoms that are making daily routines problematic. These symptoms may include, but are not limited to, drowsiness, loss of appetite, sense of hopelessness, apathy, and irritability. Long periods of suffering through such feelings are non-conducive to dealing with the demands of college life. The causes of depression are as unique as the individual that experiences the disorder. For many students, however, depression can be attributed to stressors such as academic pressure, inadequate social adaptation, inadequate sleep, and the stress of the overall transition to college life. Reports show an inequality of depressive symptoms experienced by male and female students for unknown reasons, but assumptions have been made. Students who suffer from depression risk serious health problems if positive steps are not made to help with their symptoms. It is not uncommon for the traditional student age group to resort to substance abuse and other risky behaviors to escape depressive symptoms. In many cases students experience eating disorders, and others choose suicide. With an increasing demand for positive coping mechanisms, universities have made an effort to offer free psychological services to students on their campuses. Although attempts have been made, students are underutilizing the resources. Students and universities must work together to provide an effective way to reduce depression in college students. 

Chen Sheng, Wesleyan College

Full paper: http://www.kon.org/urc/v10/sheng.html

Abstract In this research, I intend to reveal the Eastern cultural elements of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, use ideological criticism and intercultural communication theory to analyze the rhetorical meanings of those elements, discover the strategies that Maya Lin used to make Eastern cultural elements appealing to the predominantly Western audience, and discuss the contribution of this research to rhetorical theory.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial attracts and moves many visitors of various backgrounds and with different experiences related to the Vietnam War. The designer of the memorial, Maya Lin, managed to appeal to virtually all audiences through this initially controversial design. A first-generation Chinese American, Lin's cultural identity became part of the controversy--yet, it also largely contributed to the success of the memorial. Three features of this memorial are identified that make Eastern cultural elements appealing to a Western society: (a) It invites visitors to think through the change of time and space; (b) It reflects the polarization of life and death with subtle connections between the two; (c) It provides space for visitors to mourn as individuals but also focuses on the feelings that they share as a group. Such characteristics enable Eastern culture to be appealing to Western mainstream culture; they also suggest that intercultural communication enriches the meanings of a visual image not only aesthetically but also rhetorically.

Ruby Yanjie Chen, Robert Guang Tian*, Medaille College

Full paper: www.kon.org/urc/v10/chen.html

Abstract China and the U.S. are connected economically and help each other with trade, which is a big source of income and a huge benefit for countries with a shortage of certain materials. Nowadays, the U.S. has a very high deficit with China, greater than any other country. It is important to remain on good sides with China, because we can become allies together. Also, China is a very fast growing country. We need to keep up with China with new technology and devices. China is a very important trading partner to the United States.

Philipp Schulz, Philipps University, Marburg, Germany

Full paper: http://www.kon.org/urc/v10/schulz.html

Abstract Somalia on the Horn of Africa is what we nowadays describe as the "world's most failed state (Foreign Policy, 2010), characterized as a symbol of UN peacekeeping failure, escalating piracy, and thus a resulting state of anarchy.

A now more twenty years-long lasting civil war has left the country destroyed, which is an irony in a world overcrowded with centrifugal figures, because Somalia has a society as homogenous as almost any other post-colonial country. But what lead to the fact that Somalia destroyed itself? Among different specific internal and external historical, political, and social factors, the bipolar system during the Cold War significantly marked the state on the Gulf of Aden.

Although Peter Schwab (1978) defined the general Horn of Africa as "a major geopolitical area of the world" (p. 6), it became evident that Somalia but also Ethiopia had only little chance of escaping the rivalry coming along with the "superpower competition" (Parsons, 1995, p. 198) during the Cold War. Until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 regional development-especially on the Horn of Africa--has been governed by the performance of the East-West-Conflict's main players.

Rose Sexton, South Dakota State University, Leda Cempellin - Faculty Project Coordinator

Full paper: www.kon.org/urc/v8/sexton.html

Where Nothing has Happened Like a pair of enormous contact lenses, two giant concave stainless steel disks stare at each other across a vacant hallway. At 200 cm, they are taller than a man. Modest industrial lights illuminate the vast chamber where they are attached to the blank concrete ceiling. No shadows offer definition to this space. Instead blank white walls descend to the immaculate concrete floor. The state is reminiscent of a snowstorm and the white out conditions after which this exhibition is named. We have all seen the effect of placing two mirrors opposite to one another. An endless repetition of images is cast one inside the other into the eternity of either surface. However, by simply curving the surface of the mirrors, such as Anish Kapoor has in his installation, Double Mirror (Fig 1: http://www.studio-international.co.uk/studio-images/kapoor/3b.asp), something even more incredible and unexpected occurs upon the polished surfaces: an apparent lack of reflection. Waves of the visual spectrum are bounced off each surface both away from the opposite mirror, away from the eye of the viewer. Stand inside the double mirror. Step into the tension between them. Look up, down, left, right into the broad mirrors and be met with nothing at all!

Links updated.

David Matthew Hecht, Luther College

Full paper: www.kon.org/urc/v10/hecht.html

The Button Orchid

Binqiao Chen, Robert Tian*, Medaille College

Full manuscript: www.kon.org/urc/v10/chen-b.html

Abstract The Greater Central Asia Region (GCAR) has been playing an important role in the trade between the East and West. In this paper, we will discuss the economic relationship between the United States and the GCAR. We will demonstrate the significances of economic connections between the two regions and analyze the economic situation and rationales that the GCAR keeps continuous and stable connection with the United States, in terms of both international and regional trading cooperation. We will also highlight the major strategic economic interests and the current economic policies of the United States. Finally, we will probe the problems that the United States needs to identify and solve.

Tyler Ben-Jacob, Binghamton University

Full paper: www.kon.org/urc/v10/ben-jacob.html

Abstract Diabetes is a rapidly growing disease across the world. It manifests itself by unusually large amounts of sugar in the blood and urine and afflicts various populations. There are numerous causes for this disorder, and genetics often plays a role. This paper discusses types of diabetes, their causes, and the treatments. Diet, medical care, and self-management techniques play roles in dealing with diabetes.

Introduction: Diabetes is a disease caused by flawed carbohydrate metabolism and manifests itself by unusually large amounts of sugar in the blood and urine (Jacobs & Fishberg, 2002, p. 1). There are numerous causes for this disorder, some strengthened by genetic predisposition. This paper will focus on the disorder as it manifests itself in the Jewish, Latino, and African-American populations with regard to diet, access to medical care, and compliance with self-management techniques.

Christopher Hoeppler, McMaster University

Full paper: www.kon.org/urc/v10/hoeppler.html

Abstract Communism is a political ideal that is often viewed negatively by democratic societies. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Federation has experienced a rising mortality rate. It is clear that the political turmoil of the country played a key role in the eventual demographics of Russia. Coinciding with the onset of democracy a number of factors including economics, lifestye, healthcare, and disease incidence have contributed to the decline in population. The current demographic state, underlying causes, and next steps will be explored within the paper.

Introduction The Russian Federation experienced a surge in death rates of almost 40 percent since 1992, with numbers rising from 11 to 15.5 per thousand (Bhattacharya et al., 2011). The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought with it many social, political, and economic changes that continue to affect Russia to this day. Although all countries progress along the demographic transition model differently, general trends are shown. Nonetheless, Russia appears to be experiencing a unique transition of its own. Each country experiences population decline for varying reasons, such as disease diffusion as experienced by Africa with the AIDS epidemic; others can be caused by societal advancements that lead to lower fertility rates.

Victor Counted, West Africa Theological Seminary (Nigeria)

Full paper: www.kon.org/urc/v11/counted.html

Abstract Daily, we see the unethical hijacking of e-contents in the "high sea" of intellectualism--of materials, literature, and other resources of worth--without regard to its original proponent. Upon reflection on the ethics of ownership and place of ethics in research, we seek a solution to this act of infringement, which for centuries has been of knotty problem. The Internet with its TCP/IP network protocols can facilitate data transmission and easily scan selected parts of works that become instances of plagiarism.

My motivation is personal, having being a victim of this villainous act. A few years ago, I purchased a book that had interspersed in it the exact ideas I posted on my blog. For this reason, I answer some ethical questions, share perspectives, and then proffer possible solutions that could be helpful in curbing this intellectual fraud.

Mario B. Rojas, IV, Newberry College

Full paper: www.kon.org/urc/v11/rojas2.html

Abstract This paper, applying Hofstede's (1997) dimensions of culture and Hall's (1990) contextual paradigm, explored and analyzed the stressed relationship between China and Norway. The paper notes that the stressed relationship is most notable in recent negotiations between the two countries. Further, the paper concluded that at least in the area of negotiations, relief for this stressed relationship could manifest if both sides were more aware and willing to respect the power index differential.