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The Effect of Child Care Programs on Women in the United States
No full textCompared to other developed nations, women in the United States are significantly behind on the global stage in terms of workforce participation and, as a result, economic welfare empowerment and advancement, in part due to the absence of a universal child care system in the United States. The child care crisis has garnered attention from citizens and researchers in recent years due to its multifaceted impact on economic stability, families, childhood development, and workforce participation. This draws the question: how much do each state\u27s child care policies affect women\u27s economic welfare and workforce participation? Although previous research has measured the specific effects of the child care crisis on varying factors, general research regarding the effects of child care services between states in order to determine the impact of child care on workforce discrepancies and economic factors pertaining to women is limited. Furthermore, research concerning these topics tends to group the United States together as a whole, providing general implications regarding the lack of a universal child care system yet failing to provide insight into current child care systems that may be working. Research in this study utilizes four years of off-the-shelf data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, focusing on variables such as the federal medical assistance percentage and child care eligibility block grant threshold in order to determine how much these factors have an effect on women in the workforce. By undertaking a comparative study, there is potential to unveil specific aspects of child care services in particular states that could offer insights into the correct way to maneuver policy reform
Shades of Identity: Exploring the Impact of Skin Tone, Gender, and Racial Identity on Self-Esteem in African American Emerging Adults
Get PDFBackground: Society has made it difficult for people of all backgrounds to be confident in themselves and their racial identity. For African American there are several underlying issues that impact self esteem. Research has found that lighter skin colored African Americans tend to exhibit stronger racial identity, and that darker skin individuals more satisfied with their skin color actually had lower self-esteem (Coard et al, 2006). Given the past research, a study considering skin tone color, gender, and momentary racial identity in regards to self esteem in African American emerging adults was proposed to address the lack of research on the various variables that can impact self esteem in the daily lives of African Americans. We hypothesized that light skinned individuals, males, and individuals with high momentary racial identity will have higher momentary self esteem.
Method: 53 healthy African American emerging adults completed a comprehensive 4-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol that included a self-report skin tone complexion measure (Keith et al., 2010) at baseline and EMA adaptations of racial identity and self-esteem items from the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (Sellers et al., 1997) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1965).
Results: Regression analysis found that male gender (b = 0.21, p = .042), lighter self-reported skin tone (b = 0.23, p \u3c .0001), and higher momentary racial identity (b = 0.33, p \u3c .0001) were significantly associated with higher momentary self-esteem.
Discussion: Results suggest that skin tone and racial identity are associated with self-esteem, such that individuals reporting lighter skin tones and stronger racial identity report higher self-esteem. These findings suggest that black identity and skin tone must be considered within theories of self esteem and that individual-level self-esteem should be addressed in holistic, multidimensional, multi-level movements to reduce negative skin-tone related stereotypes and beliefs within the African American community
Higher Levels of Neighborhood Disorder as an Indicator of Walking: A Study on African American Emerging Adults
No full textIntroduction: Ethnic/racial minorities report less physical activity (Wilson-Frederick et al., 2014); thus research is needed to address contextual factors that may contribute to physical activity disparities. Neighborhood factors may play a role, with some research indicating an association between neighborhood perceptions and physical activity (Hannon III, 2012; Loh et al., 2018; Martha et al., 2004; Wallace et al.,2018), while other research shows no significant relations (King et al., 2000; Wilson et al., 2004; Venurs et al., 2019). It is important to investigate simultaneously whether perceptions of neighborhood disorder and neighborhood cohesion are associated with physical activity and to do so earlier in the lifespan in ethnic/racial minorities to aid in the prevention of future health complications. Method: 120 healthy African American emerging adults completed measures of community disorder and cohesion (Cutrona et al., 2000) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ; Booth, 2000). Results: Regressions controlling for age, gender, and household income showed that higher neighborhood disorder was associated with more walking (b = 168.77, p = .012) but not with moderate physical activity (p = .82). No significant relations emerged for cohesion (ps \u3e .17). Discussion: Contrary to our hypothesis but aligning with some previous studies, findings depicted a positive association between neighborhood disorder and self-reported walking but not moderate physical activity. Possible explanations include walking as a form of transportation rather than leisure exercise. Future studies should more comprehensively assess reasons for walking as well as any complex roles that gender may play in this relationship (Gomez, 2004; Loh et al., 2019). The current study contributes to existing literature by exploring a research question with mixed previous literature in an African American emerging adult sample. Only with further exploration of explanations can we better understand the complexity of neighborhood disorder and ways to properly aid populations living in neighborhoods high in disorder
Determination of the total energy budget of Hetaerina titia: application of a new analytical method to the study of seasonal and regional polyphenism
No full textDetermination of the total energy budget of Hetaerina titia: application of a new analytical method to the study of seasonal and regional polyphenism
Coates, Kathleen M.; Marsh, Conner.; Graf, C. Foster; Grether, Gregory; Green, David B.
Observations that the Smoky Rubyspot damselfly, Hetaerina titia, exhibits seasonal and regional polyphenism and wing pigmentation, which has implications in behavior and reproductive success, has prompted interest into understanding the biochemical causation and energy budget consequences of varied pigmentation. We have developed analytical methods in a sequential series of semimicro spectroscopic analytical procedures targeting proteins, carbohydrates, and pooled fats, lipids and fatty acids to probe the total energy budget of these odinates as part of a broader study investigating differences in energy availability in H. titia males as a result of pigmentation, geographic, and seasonal differences. The determinations can be rapidly performed and we have validated each step in the analysis, demonstrating 95-107% recovery for each component class. We provide an overview of our method along with initial results pertaining to seasonal variations and geographic factors
Giving silenced genes a voice: Activating epigenetically silent cancer genes using CRISPR-activation
No full textPrevious cancer research has extensively studied the role of genes that regulate cell replication. These genes, known as tumor suppressor genes, are responsible for arresting the growth of cancerous cells. However, epigenetically inactive genes–genes silenced via promoter DNA methylation–are under-examined in this realm. Our study aims to determine which genes, when normally “switched off,” contribute to unregulated cell proliferation. To achieve this goal, we are using CRISPR technology to overexpress five genes of interest in HCC1937 breast cancer cells. By inserting guide-RNAs (gRNA) for each gene into our cell lines, we can see if the reactivation (“switched on”) of normally inactive genes slows cancerous growth
Partisanship All the Way Down on the U.S. Supreme Court
Get PDFJust as the American public is politically polarized, so too is the U.S. Supreme Court. More than ever before, a clear alignment exists between the Justices’ partisanship and their ideological leanings (known as “partisan sorting”). Disapproval of opposing-party identifiers also appears to have intensified (“partisan antipathy”). This Article offers evidence of both forms of polarization. It shows that partisan sorting has resulted in wide gaps in voting between Republican and Democratic appointees; and it supplies data on “us-against-them” judging in the form of increasing antipathy toward opposite-partisan presidents. Taken collectively, the data point not to law “all the way down,” as Justice Elena Kagan once asserted, but to partisanship all the way down. Proposals to curb partisan judging often call on Congress and the President to act. Considering political gridlock in and between the elected branches, these calls seem unrealistic; they also fail to account for the politicians’ incentives to preserve a polarized Court. The implication here is that if change is to occur, it is likely to come from the actors who have the most to gain from de-politicizing the Court: the Justices themselves. Bits of evidence suggest that (some of) the Justices understand the need for self-adjustment
Concealment and Darkness in Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto
Get PDFThis paper examines the relationship between darkness and fear in Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, widely recognized as the first Gothic novel. Walpole wrote Otranto soon after the rise of Enlightenment thought, which stressed sensory observation as the foundation for human reason. Walpole engages with Enlightenment ideas through Otranto’s dark setting, which invokes fear and irrationality in the heroine, Isabella.
Tracking Walpole’s manipulation of light and darkness through the narrative, this paper illustrates how darkness inspires more fear in Isabella than either the novel’s infamous supernatural dangers or its human villain, Prince Manfred, who pursues her through the castle’s dark subterranean passageways. Isabella descends into all-consuming fear of the unknown whenever she lacks a light source to generate knowledge of her surroundings, revealing darkness as not merely a characteristic of the ancient Gothic setting but also an active agent of Gothic terror
The Nonexistent Speedy Trial Right
Get PDFThe United States Constitution and all fifty states guarantee a speedy trial right for individuals accused of crimes. The controlling United States Supreme Court case, decided over fifty years ago, described the Sixth Amendment as a fundamental right with Fourteenth Amendment Due Process implications. Although the right to a speedy trial is a universally recognized right, this Article compellingly demonstrates the right is actually nonexistent throughout the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted and exacerbated this previously unrecognized problem in courthouses across the country, which has led to news outlets finally covering the issue of the nonexistent speedy trial. This Article provides a groundbreaking analysis of the laws addressing the speedy trial right in all states and the federal government, reviewing all constitutions, statutes, and rules of criminal procedure. This Article is the first in legal scholarship to explore the speedy trial right without focusing on a specific jurisdiction, and it includes the first fifty-state survey on this topic. This unprecedented fifty-state survey reveals that the current laws addressing speedy trial are grossly inadequate, allowing courts to regularly and routinely deprive the accused of timely trials. The main problems with the current laws are the lack of strict timelines and meaningful remedies. Fourteen states do not provide a timeline. Eleven states have obscenely long timelines in excess of six months for even the most basic trials. Additionally, my exhaustive research exposes that nine states have no remedy if the speedy trial right is violated. Seven of those nine states have neither a defined timeline nor remedy. To solve this pervasive national problem, Part IV includes a proposed law that judges and legislatures should use to ensure the speedy trial is truly a right guaranteed to all accused of a crime
Reforming Special Education to Accommodate Students with Emotional Disturbances
Get PDFThis capstone paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the current state of special education for students with emotional disturbances, with a particular focus on the need for reform to accommodate these students better. Drawing on two qualitative case studies and quantitative census data research, the paper recommends several specific policy changes, including basing the standard for educational disability on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), providing grants to states to redesign sensory-friendly schools and classrooms, and reforming disciplinary standards to involve psychological assessment. The conclusion suggests that this research provides a valuable foundation for further study and policy development in this area
Why Districts Should have the Say: Comparing Teacher Merit Pay and Student Outcomes at the State Level
Get PDFThe literature surrounding education connects merit pay systems that compensate teachers for their performance to improvements in student outcomes. Teacher payment systems are important to the economics of education policy, not only because teachers are paid using these systems, but also because they are a tool to improve student outcomes. There are criticisms concerning the implementation of a merit pay system including inequality, subjectivity, and unintended consequences. Data on student achievement based on the National Report Card of 2022 and performance-based pay systems seem to have inconsistent implications for the merit of a performance pay system. Considering this, letting the districts decide their pay system is the best policy option