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In Steinmetz Symposium

Abstract

This presentation examines the attitudes of three presidents toward American press and media: John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon and Donald Trump. More specifically, the American Presidency Project Archival database was used to gather the instances in which these three presidents used the term "press" and "media" in news conferences, interviews and miscellaneous remarks. These mentionings were gathered to gauge the attitude these presidents had towards these democratic entities. With context, each time Kennedy, Nixon and Trump used the terms "press" and "media"could be broken into different categories involving tone and compared/contrasted as such. Press freedom in this country is crucial to ensure a sustained and thriving democracy. Thus, any condemnation of the press by political elites could pose a threat to such democratic ideals.

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In Honors Theses

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Obesity is a global epidemic unique to the 21st century. Obesity rates in the United States continue to rise at an alarming rate and so do the health care costs associated with treating obesity related illnesses. Using the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), this paper investigates the effects of an adult’s external environment and personal choices on their Body Mass Index (BMI). Energy dense foods that are high in sugar and fat are in abundant supply to U.S. citizens in cafeterias, convenience stores, and cost-effective fast-food restaurants. Adults typically choose to eat higher calorie foods over fruits and vegetables. This paper finds that adults who consume fruits daily are less likely to be obese. Intake of these foods is controllable and seen as a major cause of the obesity epidemic in the United States. In turn, many policy makers and health experts should focus on changing the behavioral and nutritional habits in Americans to curb the rise of this chronic condition. Additionally, this study analyzes the effects of activity at work on obesity. According to the 2008 American Time Use Survey, Americans spend as much time working as they would anything else. This study finds that individuals who have a job that requires a more physically demanding form of labor and higher activity level are less likely to be obese. Therefore, the workplace is another area where policy makers can combat the rising rates of obesity.

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In Honors Theses

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For two years now, the Covid-19 pandemic has continuously impacted all aspects of our society, including K-12 education. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is thought to be very harmful and have long-term consequences. Understanding this impact is very important, which is why this study focuses on how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted K-12 education, specifically how it has impacted academics and behavior while attempting to understand which groups were most impacted. This problem was approached in three different ways. Z-score changes were used to determine the changes by subgroup in the percentage of students failing to meet expectations and exceeding expectations in Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) scores for all available test scores between 2019 and 2021; linear regressions were used to determine which factors led to MCAS score changes in the average test scores, the percentage of students failing expectations, and the percentage of students exceeding expectations between 2019 and 2021 for 3rd, 6th, and 10th grade English Language Arts and Mathematics; and 32 educators from a variety of school districts across Massachusetts were interviewed to further understand the academic impact in schools and to understand how students' behavior has been impacted as a result of the pandemic. The differences in MCAS scores by subgroup showed an increase in the number of students failing to meet expectations for all test scores and a decrease in the number of students exceeding expectations for almost all test scores between 2019 and 2021; these results also showed students of color and English Language Learner students being more impacted than White students. The linear regression results found that across different grades and subjects, different factors contributed to the change more than others, but Hispanic students were the most likely to lead to an adverse change while students from higher household incomes were the most likely to lead to a positive change. The linear regressions also showed that 6th-grade students were more impacted than 3rd and 10th-grade students and that there was more variance in Mathematics than English Language Arts test scores. Finally, the interviews showed noticeable class-based disparities in schools and a decline in students' behavior, mental health, and social skills. Overall, the results from this study show that the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted K-12 education and that the impact was disparate, which will most likely continue to be an issue as time goes on.

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In Honors Theses

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The disconnect between members of Congress and the American public is no secret. Of the three branches of government, the legislative branch is intended to be the most representative of the people. However, it consistently faces the lowest approval ratings among the American public. Although the public largely disapproves of Congress as a legislative body, most Americans support their own representative. This phenomenon is reflected in high reelection rates for congressional incumbents. My thesis examines the relationship between congressional representation and elections through an evaluation of the representational style of Congressman John Faso. Faso, who represented New York's 19th District in the 115th Congress, lost reelection after a single term. I assess the role of political communication in representational style through a qualitative interpretation of Faso's press releases. I utilize press releases as a method for understanding representational style because Faso used this tool to explain positions and votes. Through an analysis of two politically-polarizing case studies, healthcare and tax reform, I determine that Congressman Faso lacked a cohesive representational style during the 115th Congress. Additionally, I conclude that Congressman Faso's inconsistent representational style had electoral implications in a toss-up district.

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In Honors Theses

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Technology and its impacts on society are the subject of constant debate. Technology has been influential in creating a global economy, which has given people more time for leisure activities. However, technology has also produced unintended by-products, including issues such as a dependence on foreign nations for commodities like food. Analyzing both the positive and negative consequences of technology can help people better understand both its regional and global impacts. In turn, this knowledge can help us make more beneficial choices regarding how we use technology moving forward. This thesis explores how technology positively and negatively affects society, and will also examine how people use technology, as well as the things that impact how people perceive technology. The technologies being examined include smartphones, household technology (appliances), genetically modified crops (GMOs), and other technologies such as the Internet and social media. These technologies will be contextualized in several different aspects of life, (such as connectivity, personal privacy, work-family conflict, education and quality of health) to illustrate the extent to which technology has both improved and hindered society, as well as to show that these effects often impact how people view these technologies.

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