2008 Senior Project Abstracts
Religions' Impact on Open-Mindedness towards Queer People
Amy Parscal This paper is concerned with understanding the impact religion has had on the level of open-mindedness people have towards queer people. Research reveals that a spiritual orientation towards religion allows for a more tolerant and accepting attitude whereas participation in mainstream religion promotes a close-minded view of homosexuality. Religious tradition has a strong influence over social and moral beliefs about sexuality and is the basis for the intolerance that creates so much suffering in the lives of queer people The unexpected outcome is that through the suffering religion imposes, a newfound sense of spiritual connection is available to queers through the process of discovering their sexual identity. Making Sense out of Involuntary Commitment: Why Not Just Help Them?
Andrea Dempsey This paper examines the nature of psychosocial and legal issues surrounding the involuntary commitment, confinement, and care of individuals with mental health issues. The current literature indicates both a national shortage of mental health services and a disproportionate representation of people with severe mental disorders in jails, prisons, and psychiatric hospitals. At the same time, there is an evolving body of psychosocial research that claims, recovery from mental illness is possible. Since the fundamental concepts of recovery from mental illness are neither complicated nor expensive, this paper argues that every effort should be made to apply these principles and practices in forensic settings, where people with mental illness are incarcerated. The Violent Youth of Today...Are The Leaders of Tomorrow
Rebecca Heindel This paper explores how the media, video games, and culture affect teen violence in America. The current research used revealed that teen violence has increased with the popularity of television and video games that American youth are so attracted to. Also revealed is the fact that teen violence happens more at school than anywhere else. Presented are solutions that would help elevate teen violence in school by using peer-mediation, and conflict resolution as a tool. Also argued was the need for parents, communities and schools to support such programs as these types of programs are more successful when they are supported Suffering Our Way To Soul
Katherine Jamieson American culture's focus on happiness allows for the denial of suffering, disconnecting us from our souls. By evaluating the benefits involved in seeing other ways of defining happiness in our lives and allowing ourselves the experience of inevitable pain we begin to reclaim our soul, using our suffering as a tool to take us to our depths below what is most apparent on the surface, to our roots, the realm of the eternal. Through the use of Depth Psychology we can begin to become more of who we authentically are. In this place of deep connection with our soul we simultaneously offer nurturance to the soul of the world, for there is no separation, and a beauty emerges from within, one that can never be taken from us. Archetypal Images and Women: How Culture Impacts their Relationship
Joanie Leone This paper examines how the relationship between archetypal images and women is impacted by culture both positively and negatively. The foundation of this paper combines psychologist Carl Gustav Jung's archetypal theory with psychologist James Hillman's belief that archetypal images and patterns must be studied through the culture in which they are portrayed. Research shows that the relationship between archetypal images and women is influenced by culture through personal and community narratives, archetypal narratives such as fairy tales, humor, art, subcultures, and goddess psychology. The Power of Presence: Effective Strategies for ADD Clients
Maria Aziz Most discussions of ADD clients n psychotherapy usually include diagnosis of ADD and medications. ADD clients are not too often addressed in having problems such as family issues, relationship guidance, and self-esteem. Research shows being in the present moment may have successful breakthroughs and transformations in psychotherapy. ADD clients wanting psychotherapy may need effective strategies and awareness of issues and the ability to set them aside in order to focus for better outcomes in psychotherapy. Furthermore, developing a balanced ego may help clients develop the ability to be in the present moment. A Dangerous Dualism: Inadequacies of the Western Understanding of Self
Matthew Hunter Jones This paper examines the West's dualistic concept of Self, one that understands humanity as fundamentally separate from nature, in order to explain the needed shift towards a concept of Self that realizes the interconnected and relational nature of humanity's existence. A review of current literature on this topic expresses the urgency in rejecting a concept of Self that allows humanity to irreversibly damage the very environment it depends upon to survive. As a solution to this problem, alternative concepts of Self are presented to show that interdependency and balance can and do exist between humanity and nature. A Place for Death in Our Society: Yesterday and Today
Victoria S. Johnson Americans are fascinated with the topic of death yet they are considered a death denying society. Studies show that Americans not only deny their own mortality but that they are unprepared to deal with grief once a death has occurred. Americans are a blend of many diverse cultures each of which have their own traditions and customs including spiritual beliefs, religious practices, and social etiquette that address death, loss and bereavement. We can draw upon this ancestral knowledge to equip ourselves with the tools needed to succeed in the area of death acceptance and grief expression. The Healing Voice: The Role of Narrative in Reducing Disease Stigma and Institutional Depersonalization during the Illness Experience
Zoë Fitzgerald The stigmatization of disease and the institute of medicine's reliance on diagnosis and disease-based treatments alter both the personal experience of illness as well as the overall health outcome. A variety of studies as well as personal accounts attest to the ability of the narrative, or the expression of the individual's subjective experience, to counteract the negative effects of stigma and the institutionalization of illness. Clinicians must be aware of the barriers that limit subjective expression in both society and the medical setting. Once the barriers are accounted for, the narrative's ability to transform the illness experience into a personally meaningful event is made available throughout healing process. How Business Employment Policy May Influence Offender Recidivism Rates
Monai M. Simmons In American society indigent people are incarcerated in the penal system then labeled as felons. Labeling creates a cycle that further disenfranchises this group by reducing their employment chances, as employers are reluctant to hire ex-convicts, which creates a cycle of recidivism. This report examines the case law that governs employment policy and illustrates that there is a need for change in the law to eliminate permissible discrimination in business hiring practice. As such, judicial dicta from the Green (1975) case provides that employers should consider an applicants fitness for the job rather than engaging in felony banning in employment. The Peremptory Challenge: Undermining Democracy In Secret
Andrea K. Holt This paper examines how the peremptory challenge as a practice allows for discriminatory abuses of citizens, particularly some minorities. The research suggests that when abuses of the peremptory challenge occur defendants face longer sentencing lengths, potential minority jurors face routine exclusion from the jury process, and the government decreases its' legitimacy in the eyes of its citizens. Many potential partial solutions exist to this problem, any of which would at least attempt to solve the problem and lead to greater confidence in the judicial process by demonstrating the government's desire to right longstanding social wrongs. Successful Recovery for Women: Treating Self-injurious Behavior and Chemical Dependency Simultaneously
Kendra Reimers This paper examines how women can live without self-harm as well as having a drug free lifestyle. Research shows that these two disorders are being treated separately as well as not shining the light on the fact that these destructive disorders are not being taken as seriously in adult women as their teenage counterparts. Most of these women are living with other undiagnosed disorders but the majority is living with clinical depression. Having a successful recovery is due to treating these disorders simultaneously rather then separately. All Mixed-Up: The Confusion for Multiracial Children
Stephen Egawa This research examines the lenses early childhood educators have been trained to look through dealing with the developmental needs of children and to see how the lenses have become blurry when looking at the unique developmental needs of a multiracial child. This paper provides early childhood educators with more encompassing developmental models that cover the developmental needs of a multiracial child: Poston, Root, and Wardle. The paper concludes by offering educators a type of methodology to use in their classroom that better meets the developmental needs of a multiracial child. Legalizing All Marriages
Lilia Bulgucheva This paper focuses on the legalization of homosexual marriages and why the California Supreme Court should ban Family Law Code Sections 300 and 308.5. On March 4, 2008, the California Supreme Court heard a case known as In re Marriages, which is a collection of similar cases that dealt with homosexual marriages. Both statutes mentioned above are unconstitutional and violate an individual's freedom of choice and liberty. Each individual is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment from unconstitutional laws and the California Supreme Court has the duty and the power to ensure justice for all. Fairy Tales: Instructions Not Included
Janella Rae P. Bautista In this research study the question "How do certain themes in certain fairy tales impede the moral development of young female children" is answered. The aim of this research study is to create a modernized version of morality measurement within popularized fairy tales for young female children. Kohlberg's theory of moral development is used as a foundation in establishing an updated standard of acceptable themes present. Democracy Is Dead
Miles Woodruff Democracy has failed. The founding fathers saw man as moral and rational. Under this assumption they built democracy in a world completely dominated by the print media. This single medium limited the access that any power could have over the human mind. With the introduction of audiovisual media, business and government gained new access to the human mind, and have applied Freudian insight to exploit the masses. Business has used their power to push the American people out of democracy, and rather than fight the shift the masses have become resigned. Finally, with the American people removed, democracy does not exist Martial Arts: A Violent History Brings Promise to Aggressive Adolescents
Jonathan Valenzuela This paper examines how martial arts, despite its history of brutality, actually benefits the treatment of aggressive adolescents. A review of the current literature revealed that adolescents are at risk of developing aggressive behaviors due to the influence of human nature, the media, their family, and their peers. This paper argues that Multisystemic Therapy is an effective means of treating aggression in adolescents. Furthermore, this method of treatment is strengthened when combined with martial arts due to the corrective habits and life philosophies that are emphasized which provide a means for a long-term maintenance.
Amy Parscal This paper is concerned with understanding the impact religion has had on the level of open-mindedness people have towards queer people. Research reveals that a spiritual orientation towards religion allows for a more tolerant and accepting attitude whereas participation in mainstream religion promotes a close-minded view of homosexuality. Religious tradition has a strong influence over social and moral beliefs about sexuality and is the basis for the intolerance that creates so much suffering in the lives of queer people The unexpected outcome is that through the suffering religion imposes, a newfound sense of spiritual connection is available to queers through the process of discovering their sexual identity. Making Sense out of Involuntary Commitment: Why Not Just Help Them?
Andrea Dempsey This paper examines the nature of psychosocial and legal issues surrounding the involuntary commitment, confinement, and care of individuals with mental health issues. The current literature indicates both a national shortage of mental health services and a disproportionate representation of people with severe mental disorders in jails, prisons, and psychiatric hospitals. At the same time, there is an evolving body of psychosocial research that claims, recovery from mental illness is possible. Since the fundamental concepts of recovery from mental illness are neither complicated nor expensive, this paper argues that every effort should be made to apply these principles and practices in forensic settings, where people with mental illness are incarcerated. The Violent Youth of Today...Are The Leaders of Tomorrow
Rebecca Heindel This paper explores how the media, video games, and culture affect teen violence in America. The current research used revealed that teen violence has increased with the popularity of television and video games that American youth are so attracted to. Also revealed is the fact that teen violence happens more at school than anywhere else. Presented are solutions that would help elevate teen violence in school by using peer-mediation, and conflict resolution as a tool. Also argued was the need for parents, communities and schools to support such programs as these types of programs are more successful when they are supported Suffering Our Way To Soul
Katherine Jamieson American culture's focus on happiness allows for the denial of suffering, disconnecting us from our souls. By evaluating the benefits involved in seeing other ways of defining happiness in our lives and allowing ourselves the experience of inevitable pain we begin to reclaim our soul, using our suffering as a tool to take us to our depths below what is most apparent on the surface, to our roots, the realm of the eternal. Through the use of Depth Psychology we can begin to become more of who we authentically are. In this place of deep connection with our soul we simultaneously offer nurturance to the soul of the world, for there is no separation, and a beauty emerges from within, one that can never be taken from us. Archetypal Images and Women: How Culture Impacts their Relationship
Joanie Leone This paper examines how the relationship between archetypal images and women is impacted by culture both positively and negatively. The foundation of this paper combines psychologist Carl Gustav Jung's archetypal theory with psychologist James Hillman's belief that archetypal images and patterns must be studied through the culture in which they are portrayed. Research shows that the relationship between archetypal images and women is influenced by culture through personal and community narratives, archetypal narratives such as fairy tales, humor, art, subcultures, and goddess psychology. The Power of Presence: Effective Strategies for ADD Clients
Maria Aziz Most discussions of ADD clients n psychotherapy usually include diagnosis of ADD and medications. ADD clients are not too often addressed in having problems such as family issues, relationship guidance, and self-esteem. Research shows being in the present moment may have successful breakthroughs and transformations in psychotherapy. ADD clients wanting psychotherapy may need effective strategies and awareness of issues and the ability to set them aside in order to focus for better outcomes in psychotherapy. Furthermore, developing a balanced ego may help clients develop the ability to be in the present moment. A Dangerous Dualism: Inadequacies of the Western Understanding of Self
Matthew Hunter Jones This paper examines the West's dualistic concept of Self, one that understands humanity as fundamentally separate from nature, in order to explain the needed shift towards a concept of Self that realizes the interconnected and relational nature of humanity's existence. A review of current literature on this topic expresses the urgency in rejecting a concept of Self that allows humanity to irreversibly damage the very environment it depends upon to survive. As a solution to this problem, alternative concepts of Self are presented to show that interdependency and balance can and do exist between humanity and nature. A Place for Death in Our Society: Yesterday and Today
Victoria S. Johnson Americans are fascinated with the topic of death yet they are considered a death denying society. Studies show that Americans not only deny their own mortality but that they are unprepared to deal with grief once a death has occurred. Americans are a blend of many diverse cultures each of which have their own traditions and customs including spiritual beliefs, religious practices, and social etiquette that address death, loss and bereavement. We can draw upon this ancestral knowledge to equip ourselves with the tools needed to succeed in the area of death acceptance and grief expression. The Healing Voice: The Role of Narrative in Reducing Disease Stigma and Institutional Depersonalization during the Illness Experience
Zoë Fitzgerald The stigmatization of disease and the institute of medicine's reliance on diagnosis and disease-based treatments alter both the personal experience of illness as well as the overall health outcome. A variety of studies as well as personal accounts attest to the ability of the narrative, or the expression of the individual's subjective experience, to counteract the negative effects of stigma and the institutionalization of illness. Clinicians must be aware of the barriers that limit subjective expression in both society and the medical setting. Once the barriers are accounted for, the narrative's ability to transform the illness experience into a personally meaningful event is made available throughout healing process. How Business Employment Policy May Influence Offender Recidivism Rates
Monai M. Simmons In American society indigent people are incarcerated in the penal system then labeled as felons. Labeling creates a cycle that further disenfranchises this group by reducing their employment chances, as employers are reluctant to hire ex-convicts, which creates a cycle of recidivism. This report examines the case law that governs employment policy and illustrates that there is a need for change in the law to eliminate permissible discrimination in business hiring practice. As such, judicial dicta from the Green (1975) case provides that employers should consider an applicants fitness for the job rather than engaging in felony banning in employment. The Peremptory Challenge: Undermining Democracy In Secret
Andrea K. Holt This paper examines how the peremptory challenge as a practice allows for discriminatory abuses of citizens, particularly some minorities. The research suggests that when abuses of the peremptory challenge occur defendants face longer sentencing lengths, potential minority jurors face routine exclusion from the jury process, and the government decreases its' legitimacy in the eyes of its citizens. Many potential partial solutions exist to this problem, any of which would at least attempt to solve the problem and lead to greater confidence in the judicial process by demonstrating the government's desire to right longstanding social wrongs. Successful Recovery for Women: Treating Self-injurious Behavior and Chemical Dependency Simultaneously
Kendra Reimers This paper examines how women can live without self-harm as well as having a drug free lifestyle. Research shows that these two disorders are being treated separately as well as not shining the light on the fact that these destructive disorders are not being taken as seriously in adult women as their teenage counterparts. Most of these women are living with other undiagnosed disorders but the majority is living with clinical depression. Having a successful recovery is due to treating these disorders simultaneously rather then separately. All Mixed-Up: The Confusion for Multiracial Children
Stephen Egawa This research examines the lenses early childhood educators have been trained to look through dealing with the developmental needs of children and to see how the lenses have become blurry when looking at the unique developmental needs of a multiracial child. This paper provides early childhood educators with more encompassing developmental models that cover the developmental needs of a multiracial child: Poston, Root, and Wardle. The paper concludes by offering educators a type of methodology to use in their classroom that better meets the developmental needs of a multiracial child. Legalizing All Marriages
Lilia Bulgucheva This paper focuses on the legalization of homosexual marriages and why the California Supreme Court should ban Family Law Code Sections 300 and 308.5. On March 4, 2008, the California Supreme Court heard a case known as In re Marriages, which is a collection of similar cases that dealt with homosexual marriages. Both statutes mentioned above are unconstitutional and violate an individual's freedom of choice and liberty. Each individual is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment from unconstitutional laws and the California Supreme Court has the duty and the power to ensure justice for all. Fairy Tales: Instructions Not Included
Janella Rae P. Bautista In this research study the question "How do certain themes in certain fairy tales impede the moral development of young female children" is answered. The aim of this research study is to create a modernized version of morality measurement within popularized fairy tales for young female children. Kohlberg's theory of moral development is used as a foundation in establishing an updated standard of acceptable themes present. Democracy Is Dead
Miles Woodruff Democracy has failed. The founding fathers saw man as moral and rational. Under this assumption they built democracy in a world completely dominated by the print media. This single medium limited the access that any power could have over the human mind. With the introduction of audiovisual media, business and government gained new access to the human mind, and have applied Freudian insight to exploit the masses. Business has used their power to push the American people out of democracy, and rather than fight the shift the masses have become resigned. Finally, with the American people removed, democracy does not exist Martial Arts: A Violent History Brings Promise to Aggressive Adolescents
Jonathan Valenzuela This paper examines how martial arts, despite its history of brutality, actually benefits the treatment of aggressive adolescents. A review of the current literature revealed that adolescents are at risk of developing aggressive behaviors due to the influence of human nature, the media, their family, and their peers. This paper argues that Multisystemic Therapy is an effective means of treating aggression in adolescents. Furthermore, this method of treatment is strengthened when combined with martial arts due to the corrective habits and life philosophies that are emphasized which provide a means for a long-term maintenance.