Race is a socially constructed category firmly embedded within a system of privilege and oppression that places White people at the top and Black people at the bottom. Though this system has tangible implications in the lives of individuals, much existing literature explores race on an arguably superficial level, without...
Examining fertility knowledge and identifying knowledge gaps in those who may need to delay childbearing is essential, especially for individuals who may be pursuing higher education. Educating these individuals is also critical as prior research has confirmed that fertility awareness may modify future reproductive choices and outcomes. The primary goals...
A famous topic in mathematics involves the theoretically infinite nature of geographic coastlines. If one were to measure the perimeter of Great Britain, for example, the smaller the measuring tool, the larger and more accurate the measured perimeter would be. This phenomenon contains similar properties to the mathematical objects known...
There is a certain condition that exists in modern Japan that plagues people’s lives and causes their world to come to a halt. Here, the mere thought of leaving their room is unthinkable, let alone going to school or working. They fill their time with games and other mindless entertainment,...
The revitalization of endangered languages is both deeply personal and political, as language subjugation is directly linked to intentional efforts by colonizing powers to suppress and eradicate indigenous culture and dismantle local collective identity. Many studies have been conducted on how to promote endangered languages, but few evaluate the effectiveness...
Media accounts report that the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement disproportionately affected Black communities and businesses, amplifying already- existing racial health and economic disparities. Black-owned small businesses experienced significant indirect and direct economic damages in Chicago, Illinois, and research literature is now striving to provide analyses...
This project aimed to create a well-rounded digital marketing strategy for ChangEd, a student loan repayment application. We were tasked with improving the awareness, engagement, and consideration, areas the application needed to improve on. \n\n We created a digital and social media marketing strategy using primary research we conducted with...
Currently, a great deal of information is conveyed through written online communication. However, this leads to a lack of important pragmatic, or contextual, cues that are present in face-to-face interaction such as body language, tone of voice, or facial expressions. One method to potentially reduce this issue is emoji usage....
When asked to imagine a computer scientist, males and females tend to report that they imagine a male. This perception can be detrimental for females’ computer science self-efficacy and may contribute to findings that as early as elementary school females are less interested in and less confident in their computing...
Through framing, identical information can be portrayed in different ways. Existing literature finds that receiving positively framed information makes people more risk-averse than receiving negatively framed information, but disagreement remains on the strength of this effect and the conditions under which it occurs. In this study, 503 participants were surveyed...
Much insight into infants’ neuromotor development can be gleaned from their spontaneous movements. Specifically, a greater understanding of neuromotor development is valuable for the early diagnosis of cerebral palsy (CP), a neurological disorder resulting from brain injury or atypical development at an early age and is characterized by impaired movement...
During pregnancy, mothers undergo a range of physiological changes including shifting hormone levels, modified immune function, and reduced gut motility. These changes are necessary to meet the pregnant mother’s increased energy needs and inhibit rejection of the fetus. The gut microbiota (GM) – the community of microorganisms that live in...
Research finds people reproduce incorrect information provided by their collaborative partners. These “social contagion” effects largely studied memory for information introduced during experiments (e.g., word lists), rather than preexisting knowledge. This study extends the effects of social contagion of memory to social contagion of knowledge: Does what people know to...
For over a hundred years, psychologists have sought to understand the role of spirituality in human behavior and experience, and how it might relate to features of personality. This study considered personal narration of spiritual experience and how it relates to the personality traits of Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion,...
Bacteria interact intimately with humans, from “good” bacteria that live in our bodies to “bad” pathogenic bacteria that cause disease. Pathogenic bacteria express virulence genes, which help bacteria invade and attack their host. The ability to control virulence gene expression would help us treat infection more effectively. Several virulence genes...
he mapping of the human brain is one of the most challenging but important topics among the fields of research. The delicate, intertwined networks of neurons obstruct us from taking invasive measures to explore the wonders of the brain. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is a possible non-invasive technique for...
An action potential (AP) is a shift in the membrane voltage of a neuron generally caused by a sudden ion influx, resulting in excitation, allowing for the cell to send signals across its neural network. Spontaneous excitation can be crucial for organizing neural circuits, especially in sensory modalities. For hearing...
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a prevalent issue on a global scale, but the effects of such violence upon Asian/Asian American communities in the United States is compounded by their immigrant, refugee, and/or other historically marginalized identities. While current literature recognizes GBV as a public health issue of equity and social...
Now more than ever, forecasting the outcomes of U.S. elections is an important and challenging task. Traditionally, statistical or political-science methods have been employed to better understand how individuals will vote. Our approach differs in that we use mathematical modeling. Adapting methods commonly used in epidemiology to understand biological disease...