Oral Session I: 11:00AM-12:00PM
Oral Session I- Rooms A-C
Abstract Volume and Quick Reference Guide
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ROOM A
English
11:00-11:20AM
Gender Gap in Computer Science: An Invitational Rhetoric Study
Presenter(s): Cindy Ramirez
Advisor(s): Dr. Jan Osborn
This project will address the gender gap in computer science through a discourse analysis of materials used to attract young girls to the field. Applying Invitational Rhetoric, Foss and Griffin’s feminist rhetorical theory, I will determine how rhetoric is being used to attract or possibly dissuade young females from entering computer science. Women have contributed to the field of computer science beginning in the 19th century even though computers were not yet invented. Considered the world’s first programmer, Ada Lovelace helped pioneer the first modern computer science concepts, and many of the same ideas we use today, like variables and looping. While many women played an important role, the statistics of women majoring in computer science have declined over the years. By the mid-80s, the number of women began to decrease. Women have developed many computer science inventions dating back 200 years. Many of these are still used today, have become the foundation for technological advancements, or played a role as participants in computing development. The 1980s saw the growth of personal computers in U.S. homes. These early computers were toys marketed to males with media catering to males, movies like Weird Science and Revenge of the Nerds established a male feel to the field of computer science and “geeky” culture. This played an important role that impacted young women to not choose computer science and helps explain the gap we have today. The theory and method used in this research will show how invitational rhetoric differs from traditional rhetoric. It is important to know the methods used to incorporate young women in the field of computer science. Invitational Rhetoric is rooted in valuing the individual experiences of everyone to “enter the rhetor’s world and to see it as the rhetor does” (Foss & Griffin, 5). The methods will allow me to explore in-depth how rhetoric could be used to portray computer science by instilling equality, immanent value, and self-determination between rhetor and audience.
Political Science
11:20-11:40AM
Beyond the Politics of Climate Change: How Education and Income Level Affect Environmental Values
Presenter(s): Joanna Falla
Advisor(s): Dr. John Compton
Human-caused climate change has been acknowledged for decades, but public opinion on its validity and severity has been consistently questioned in the United States. Despite the overwhelming evidence pointing towards fossil fuel emissions and unsustainable practices as the leading causes of global climate change, its politicization during the beginning of the century has seriously slowed down America’s path towards a green future. Because this has become a partisan issue for many voters, there has been considerable research done on the affiliation between party identification and public opinion on climate change. Although party identification has been studied as a major factor, other variables also come into effect. This paper aims to explore the relationship between how Americans view federal spending on the environment with their income and educational background. We will be obtaining and analyzing data from the 2016 American National Election Survey to see if these variables have statistical significance on how important federal climate change action is to the public. We expect that education will have a larger effect on public opinion than income and that people who want to increase the federal environmental budget will have lower incomes but higher education.
11:40-12:00PM
Are Religious Latinos More Likely to Vote Republican than Non-Religious Latinos?
Presenter(s): Leo Ortega
Advisor(s): Dr. John Compton
A current topic of discussion in American politics is why significant numbers of Latinos are voting for the Republican Party when many Republican policies seem to negatively affect them as a group. Identities have long been a part of our way of life and a part of politics everywhere. Identity politics emerged once certain minorities groups didn’t feel represented or felt oppressed in some manner. In the case of the Latino community, how could Latinos vote for a candidate (Donald Trump) and a party whose beliefs work against their own interests? Building on existing research, this paper hypothesizes that many Latinos who are voting Republican are devout Protestants. Using survey data from the 2016 American National Election Study, this paper evaluates how religion influences Latinos’ voting behavior. I hypothesize that religiously affiliated Latinos, and particularly Protestants, are more likely to vote Republican than non-religious Latinos.
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ROOM B
Political Science
11:00-11:20AM
The Growth of Isolationism and its Impacts in the United States
Presenter(s): Pedro Marquard
Advisor(s): Dr. John Compton
Isolationism as defined by Merriam-Webster is when; “a policy of national isolation by abstention from alliances and other international political and economic relations.” During the 1800’s the United States behaved as an empire would, engaging in a series of conflicts which resulted in acquiring new territories such as the Philippines and other island nations. As time progressed politicians and the people in the United States became more concerned with national interests and decided to abstain from participating on the world stage. The politicians implemented a set of isolationist policies such as applying tariffs towards products not made in the country and not taking part in the European affairs. The paper will focus on the rise of isolationism in the early 1900’s and how it negatively impacted the country. Additionally, the essay will include how isolationist sentiment has grown in the United States following the 2016 election of Donald Trump. The paper will analyze isolationist sentiment among people due to their socioeconomic status, their education, their race and whether or not they have been out of the country. After conducting research, it was found that people who had a bachelor’s degree were more likely to believe that taking part in foreign trade was good for the United States, compared to those who did not have a bachelor’s degree which have a different set of views. It is clear that isolationist sentiment has grown. It is important to analyze historical data in order to have an overview on how it can affect the United States.
11:20-11:40AM
Asian American Party Identification in Presidential Elections: A Look into Age and Length of Residence in the United States
Presenter(s): Caitlin Guiao
Advisor(s): Dr. John Compton
Asian Americans are an important voting group that have unfortunately lacked research and scholarly analysis of their party identity and specifically voting behavior in presidential elections. By using length of residency and age as independent variables I hypothesize that Asian Americans who are younger and native born or have spent a longer amount of time in the United States are more likely to vote Democrat in presidential elections in larger margins. I will be testing variables that prove to have no correlation to party identity such as, education and income level. In comparison to other racial groups whose party identity has a statistically significant correlation with education and income level. My second hypothesis is Asian Americans who are older or have recently moved to the United States as a foreign-born citizen will increasingly identify and vote Republican in presidential elections in increased margins versus their younger Asian American counterparts. Reviewing previous research and literature about Asian Americans, other scholars have not addressed this specific hypothesis. For example, other scholarly literature has consisted of grouping racial and ethnic voter groups like Hispanics with Asians together and have not solely focused on Asian American party identity. Similarly, other literature have tested variables such as political participation and not strictly party identification in presidential elections. Although Asian Americans have increasingly become a focus for both Republican and Democratic candidates during elections; the empirical evidence as to why they identify and eventually vote for one party over the other has not been analyzed independently. With the past 2020 election it is important to look at what party Asian Americans identify with the most and why. I will be using voter survey data from the 2018 and 2020 Asian American and Pacific Islander Data, and the 2016 and 2020 American National Election Study.
11:40-12:00PM
The Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Abortion Views
Presenter(s): Breil Bonaguro
Advisor(s): Dr. John Compton
The question considered is; does social class impact religious opinions on abortion rights along gender and party lines? There have been many studies considering the demographic differences of views on female reproductive rights; covering gender, political party, education level, and many other factors over time. Each of these studies has shed light on the generalities of pro-life or pro-choice beliefs. Recent years have shifted the conversation while disparities between social classes have grown wider. One of the most polarizing issues within the United States is dependent on access and belief systems, but can greatly be impacted by the intersectionalities of life circumstances. Expanding generalities and considering this could be impactful on the opinions of the most controversial topic in the United States. Many factors will be considered to gather demographic information. Independent variables will include; gender, political affiliation, religious or non-religious, and social class. The dependent variable will be opinion on abortion legality. To gain a greater understanding of these correlations, data will be taken from the American National Election Studies to analyze recent trends and opinions. The findings of this study will exhibit how social class has impacted beliefs on abortion specifically. Within the disparities found within the social class, women and men who come from a lower social class have to deal with many different circumstances that make the salience of opinion on abortion much more malleable. American people who come from higher socioeconomic status have a greater privilege in making decisions based solely on belief systems whereas people that have to understand a different way of life due to socioeconomic class have much more to consider. Lower socioeconomic class people are more likely to have a less salient belief on abortion rights despite religious affiliation or political party.
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ROOM C
Psychology
11:00-11:20AM
Anxiety, Pandemics, and Politics: An Analysis of their Entwined Relationship
Presenter(s): Sophia Morrissette
Advisor(s): Dr. Desiree Crevecoeur-MacPhail
The political atmosphere has changed significantly in the last year, as has the day-to-day experiences of Americans, due to a historical Presidential election and a global pandemic. In some instances, politics and one’s mental health has minimized or exacerbated the threat of COVID-19. The goal of the study was to determine the significance that political ideology has on COVID-19 concerns and risk assessment. The study also looked for a correlation between anxiety disorders and this phenomenon. The study surveyed over 40 people from the general U.S. population, ages 18 years and above. There were four condition groups in which participants were randomly placed. All survey takers had to answer three questionnaires and watch a short video. The questionnaires measured participants’ political affiliations and levels of trust in their government, what COVID-19 precautions the individual takes, and used the GAD-7 scale to measure anxiety levels. The study expects to find the following results: 1) mentioning political events and increased COVID-19 rates causes anxiety to increase in individuals, compared to if politics and COVID-19 were not mentioned, 2) conservatives perceive less risk of COVID-19 than liberals, and 3) a high distrust in government leads to more COVID-19 precautionary behaviors and a higher degree of risk perception than in individuals who have trust in government.
11:20-11:40AM
The Effects of Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status on Anxiety Prevalence and Treatment
Presenter(s): Brianna Liberman
Advisor(s): Dr. Desiree Crevecoeur-MacPhail
With the growing rise of anxiety related psychiatric disorders, many psychosocial factors including ethnicity and socioeconomic status may be influencing the disparities in diagnoses among different groups of people. The primary explanations for this rising trend have been income and ethnic differences. While previous research has gathered a plethora of information regarding income levels and anxiety development, few findings have delved further into all of the socioeconomic factors contributing to anxiety disorders such as parental education, social stress, and access to healthcare. Data was collected from undergraduate students to determine what role ethnicity, income, and homelife (e.g., parental marital status), plays in the development of anxiety, frequency of visits for psychiatric disorders, and ability to access healthcare. Students were asked to take a brief questionnaire assessing demographic background information, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Perceived Stress Scale. It is expected that there will be rise in anxiety and stress among lower income or minority individuals. Additionally, it can be expected that the frequency of visits as well as the ability to access healthcare opportunities will be less among low-income individuals compared to high income individuals, but the need for mental health assistance will be highest among low-income individuals. These findings indicate drastic disparities in access to healthcare and the prevalence of psychiatric disorders based on socioeconomic and ethnic differences. Finally, our results illuminate the need for equal access to healthcare.
