Bridge-Building: Effects of Humanization in Conflict Resolution

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Haley Petersen and Chris Karpowitz, Political Science Conflict resolution is a popular topic among political scientists, as seen in the study of controlled communication, concession-making, self-perceived victimhood, and threat perception. Previous work has shown that humanization between in-conflict groups is primarily successful when the expression of empathy is unrelated to the conflict itself and catalyzes […]

Sex Differences in Ethanol Modulation of Dopamine Release in the Mesolimbic Reward System

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Mandy Parsons, Justin Bowman and Scott Steffensen, Psychology and Neuroscience Introduction Alcohol abuse disorder is a ubiquitous problem affecting 15.1 million people in the United States, almost 10 million men and more than 15 million women (SAMHSA, 2015). The prevailing view of addiction, including alcohol addiction, is that an increase of the neurotransmitter dopamine in […]

Improving the Bureaucracy: What Leads Government Officials to Use Evidence-Based Reports?

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Nick Moffit and Darren Hawkins, Political Science Introduction Many academics and government officials promote the use of scientifically rigorous policy evaluations, yet studies show that most practitioners seldom employ such evaluations, despite a growing body of policy-relevant academic literature. This represents a fundamental flaw of delegation, as citizens prefer the most efficient provision of public […]

German Immigrants in Church Records in the State of Kentucky

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Deborah Mocke and Roger P. Minert, PhD, History Introduction The purpose of this project was to assist in the furthering of German genealogical research, by making German Protestant church records in America more accessible to people with German ancestry. In the 2000 U.S. Census, nearly one in six people reported their ancestry as German. “42.8 […]

Acute ethanol decreases infiltration of macrophages across the blood-brain barrier

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James Brundage, Jake Lattin, Dr. Scott Steffensen, Psychology Introduction Alcohol addiction affects the lives of millions of people worldwide. In the US alone, an estimated 28 million are currently undergoing treatment to recover from the effects of alcohol abuse at the cost of over 249 billion dollars. The disease has dire consequences for those affected, as […]

Oxytocin and Social Affiliation: A Study of the Genetic Underpinnings behind Social Behavior in Rhesus Macaques

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Ryno Kruger, J. Dee Higley, Psychology Introduction Studies suggest that social relationships play a critical role in physical and mental health1, with effect sizes similar to that seen for smoking and alcohol abuse. Those experiencing real or perceived social isolation show higher rates of mortality3, while those with stronger social relationships show decreased rates of mortality4. […]

How Endorser Gender Affects Candidate Electability

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Miranda Hatch, Connor Kreutz, Jessica Preece, Political Science Introduction Across the world, and especially in the United States of America, women are severely underrepresented in government. Although most Americans claim to see men and women as equals, covert and unintentional sexism still permeates the political decisions they make1.One consequence of this inadvertent sexism is the common perception […]

The Impact of Perceived Support on Multi-cultural and International College Students in Utah

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Erin Kaseda, Wendy Birmingham, Psychology College is a time in which young adults face a large number of stressors, including academic adjustment, education and career planning, evolving family relationships, struggles with financial independence, dating and marriage, and exposure to new cultures and ideas.1 Previous studies have suggested that college students face high levels of stress, with […]

Bridge-Building: Effects of Humanization in Conflict Resolution

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Preston Hughes, Chris Karpowitz, Political Science The research I conducted with Haley Peterson in London during the Winter 2018 semester under the direction of Professors Chris Karpowitz and Joshua Gubler was one case in a multi-case study focusing on the effects of humanization on conflict resolution in conjunction with the psychological effects empathy and dissonance. Conflict […]

The Long run Economic Effects of the Dustbowl Migration

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Julie Hollenbaugh and Joseph Price, Economics Introduction In this project we explore the long-run economic effects of the dustbowl migration on children in families that moved out of the Oklahoma dustbowl region in the 1930’s relative to children in families that stayed in the region. My primary contribution to this ongoing analysis was the creation […]