The Effects of Inequality and Cultural Identity on Institutions within a Public Goods Dilemma Experiment
Faculty: David Kingsley and Aaron Smith Walter
Departments: Economics and Political Science
Students:
Riley Coviello, Economics
Cameron Keyes, Sociology
Faculty: David Kingsley and Aaron Smith Walter
Departments: Economics and Political Science
Students:
Riley Coviello, Economics
Cameron Keyes, Sociology
Description:
When behavior consistent with self-interest conflicts with group welfare, markets often fail, and society may benefit from institutions designed to induce cooperation. The institutions that develop to solve such conflicts are complex and varied and may range from informal, decentralized, enforcement of social norms to formal, centralized, enforcement of laws. Fortunately, similar incentives can be recreated in the lab using workhorse social dilemma experiments, and institutional structures can be placed upon groups to study behavior within a given institution. Institutions alter how individuals within groups interact by creating expectations of behavior and mechanisms by which certain behaviors can be reinforced. Cultural Theory (CT) suggests that people differ in how they expect to interact with institutions or how they think institutions should work. This research will pre-screen participants to measure their cultural view. We will then design various institutions to determine the extent to which one’s cultural view determines their behavior within and their interaction with institutional constraints. Results will help to explain why institutional characteristics vary so greatly across cultures and even within countries.
When behavior consistent with self-interest conflicts with group welfare, markets often fail, and society may benefit from institutions designed to induce cooperation. The institutions that develop to solve such conflicts are complex and varied and may range from informal, decentralized, enforcement of social norms to formal, centralized, enforcement of laws. Fortunately, similar incentives can be recreated in the lab using workhorse social dilemma experiments, and institutional structures can be placed upon groups to study behavior within a given institution. Institutions alter how individuals within groups interact by creating expectations of behavior and mechanisms by which certain behaviors can be reinforced. Cultural Theory (CT) suggests that people differ in how they expect to interact with institutions or how they think institutions should work. This research will pre-screen participants to measure their cultural view. We will then design various institutions to determine the extent to which one’s cultural view determines their behavior within and their interaction with institutional constraints. Results will help to explain why institutional characteristics vary so greatly across cultures and even within countries.
Our Emerging Scholar will be exposed to the foundational literature in both Cultural Theory and Behavioral Economics, especially as applied to public policy issues. The selected student(s) will also learn how to design and run economic experiments, recruit research participants, and clean and analyze the raw data. It is also anticipated that the student will contribute to the creation and presentation of research at appropriate conferences. This is a great project for students with an interest in issues of inequality, decision-making, and behavioral economic theory.
The Evolution and Devolution of Academic Freedom Around the World
Faculty: J Angulo and Jenifer Whitten-Woodring
Departments: Education and Political Science
Students:
Connor Stack, History & Sociology
Kunthyliza Leng, Political Science and Peace & Conflict Studies
Faculty: J Angulo and Jenifer Whitten-Woodring
Departments: Education and Political Science
Students:
Connor Stack, History & Sociology
Kunthyliza Leng, Political Science and Peace & Conflict Studies
Description:
Academic Freedom—which we conceptualize as the freedom to learn and the freedom to study and engage in research as well as the freedom to teach and share findings from research—is under threat around the world. Threats today include government attempts to regulate the internet and delete “fake news” and other information deemed dangerous by government officials, the limiting or denying of funding for certain research areas, attempts by religious groups against the teaching of the theory of evolution, and efforts everywhere to rewrite history to minimize inconvenient truths. But really, these threats are not new. Political, religious and economic elites have long sought to limit academic freedom. For this study we develop a novel dataset that measures the level of academic freedom for all available countries from 1948 to 2020. In addition to the dataset, we provide a qualitative narrative of how academic freedom has changed over the years in each country. Finally, we plan to conduct a quantitative analysis of the correlates of academic freedom.
Academic Freedom—which we conceptualize as the freedom to learn and the freedom to study and engage in research as well as the freedom to teach and share findings from research—is under threat around the world. Threats today include government attempts to regulate the internet and delete “fake news” and other information deemed dangerous by government officials, the limiting or denying of funding for certain research areas, attempts by religious groups against the teaching of the theory of evolution, and efforts everywhere to rewrite history to minimize inconvenient truths. But really, these threats are not new. Political, religious and economic elites have long sought to limit academic freedom. For this study we develop a novel dataset that measures the level of academic freedom for all available countries from 1948 to 2020. In addition to the dataset, we provide a qualitative narrative of how academic freedom has changed over the years in each country. Finally, we plan to conduct a quantitative analysis of the correlates of academic freedom.
Fostering Writers at UMass Lowell
Faculty: Ann Dean
Department: English
Student: Caitlyn Brown, Psychology
Faculty: Ann Dean
Department: English
Student: Caitlyn Brown, Psychology
Description:
Do all students grow and develop as writers during their undergraduate years at UML? Are students challenged enough and supported enough in their first year and as they develop further with their majors? Do some groups of students change more than others during their time here? Do the policies, bureaucratic structures, teaching styles and curriculum of the University support or hinder growth for all types of writers? This project’s goal is to begin investigating the set of questions above by gathering and organizing information about how students move into and out of first-year writing at UMass Lowell. Specifically, we will ask about placement methods, achievement, long-term outcomes. Information will be gathered by evaluating assessment data and course policies and conducting focus groups. Information that summarizes student and faculty work across all our sections, and across the undergraduate years, will inform the way we structure our courses in the future. Outside UMass Lowell, scholars in the field of writing studies are asking questions about placement, success, and outcomes as well. The consequences of particular policies (such as plagiarism and grading) for particular demographic groups is also the subject of lively debate in the field and our results will add to that conversation.
Do all students grow and develop as writers during their undergraduate years at UML? Are students challenged enough and supported enough in their first year and as they develop further with their majors? Do some groups of students change more than others during their time here? Do the policies, bureaucratic structures, teaching styles and curriculum of the University support or hinder growth for all types of writers? This project’s goal is to begin investigating the set of questions above by gathering and organizing information about how students move into and out of first-year writing at UMass Lowell. Specifically, we will ask about placement methods, achievement, long-term outcomes. Information will be gathered by evaluating assessment data and course policies and conducting focus groups. Information that summarizes student and faculty work across all our sections, and across the undergraduate years, will inform the way we structure our courses in the future. Outside UMass Lowell, scholars in the field of writing studies are asking questions about placement, success, and outcomes as well. The consequences of particular policies (such as plagiarism and grading) for particular demographic groups is also the subject of lively debate in the field and our results will add to that conversation.
The EcoSonic Playground Project (ESPP)
Faculty: Elissa Johnson Green
Department: Music
Student: Michael Silveira, Music Studies
Faculty: Elissa Johnson Green
Department: Music
Student: Michael Silveira, Music Studies
Description:
Three pressing issues facing the global learning community are equal access to quality arts education, adequate support for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education, and the fostering of sustainable practices. The EcoSonic Playground Project (ESPP) is a creative, interdisciplinary project that addresses these challenges. It centers on children designing and building large-scale musical instrument structures using PVC pipe and recycled materials found in their local communities. Children follow a design curriculum that guides the making process while allowing them to practice social-cognitive and STEAM skills. This curriculum includes music, visual arts, physics and acoustics, engineering practices, and design thinking. It also supports creative, collaborative, and cross-disciplinary learning. After the instruments are built, we provide educators with a musicianship curriculum that teaches musical skills through improvisation, conducting, and composition. In essence, the ESPP structures are playable sound sculptures that are adaptable to any learning environment and to diverse learning styles. Recognizing that each learning environment is unique and complex, all aspects of the curriculum, including the materials, are tailored to each program.
Three pressing issues facing the global learning community are equal access to quality arts education, adequate support for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education, and the fostering of sustainable practices. The EcoSonic Playground Project (ESPP) is a creative, interdisciplinary project that addresses these challenges. It centers on children designing and building large-scale musical instrument structures using PVC pipe and recycled materials found in their local communities. Children follow a design curriculum that guides the making process while allowing them to practice social-cognitive and STEAM skills. This curriculum includes music, visual arts, physics and acoustics, engineering practices, and design thinking. It also supports creative, collaborative, and cross-disciplinary learning. After the instruments are built, we provide educators with a musicianship curriculum that teaches musical skills through improvisation, conducting, and composition. In essence, the ESPP structures are playable sound sculptures that are adaptable to any learning environment and to diverse learning styles. Recognizing that each learning environment is unique and complex, all aspects of the curriculum, including the materials, are tailored to each program.
Narratives of Return in Francophone African Literatures
Faculty: Kristen Stern
Department: World Languages and Cultures
Student: Maxwell Aaronson, Political Science
Faculty: Kristen Stern
Department: World Languages and Cultures
Student: Maxwell Aaronson, Political Science
Description:
In literary studies today, and specifically in French, much emphasis is placed on narratives of migration, usually focusing on the arrival and adaptation of the immigrant in the new country. Much less studied are the many narratives of return to the home country, and the difficult questions of belonging and identity that arise in the places and social situations that were once familiar. After years or decades of exile, these authors, filmmakers, and illustrators all ask us the question, “Can you go home again?” This research project builds on this theme asking: How do francophone writers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, particularly those from sub-Saharan Africa, express these experiences of return in different forms and genres, including novel, poetry, film, and graphic novel? What similarities and differences can be found in the ways authors represent the return to the home country? How does bringing the stories of returns help scholars and the general public better understand current public discourse around migration, in the French speaking world and elsewhere?
In literary studies today, and specifically in French, much emphasis is placed on narratives of migration, usually focusing on the arrival and adaptation of the immigrant in the new country. Much less studied are the many narratives of return to the home country, and the difficult questions of belonging and identity that arise in the places and social situations that were once familiar. After years or decades of exile, these authors, filmmakers, and illustrators all ask us the question, “Can you go home again?” This research project builds on this theme asking: How do francophone writers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, particularly those from sub-Saharan Africa, express these experiences of return in different forms and genres, including novel, poetry, film, and graphic novel? What similarities and differences can be found in the ways authors represent the return to the home country? How does bringing the stories of returns help scholars and the general public better understand current public discourse around migration, in the French speaking world and elsewhere?
Industrial Organization of Rebel Groups and Rebel Group Behavior
Faculty: Minnie Minhyug Joo
Department: Political Science
Student: Madhava Narasimhadevara, Economics and Political Science
Faculty: Minnie Minhyug Joo
Department: Political Science
Student: Madhava Narasimhadevara, Economics and Political Science
Description:
In the recent decades, the world has seen a surge in the number of civil conflicts. Civil conflicts are violent conflicts fought between governments and non-state-actors, namely rebelgroups such as the ISIS in Syria, FARC in Colombia and the ETA in Spain. While the earlystudies on civil conflicts have often `black-boxed' rebel groups to be more or less similar toone another, recent studies have revealed that there is considerable variation in how rebelgroups are organized and how they behave when confronting their respective governments.
In the recent decades, the world has seen a surge in the number of civil conflicts. Civil conflicts are violent conflicts fought between governments and non-state-actors, namely rebelgroups such as the ISIS in Syria, FARC in Colombia and the ETA in Spain. While the earlystudies on civil conflicts have often `black-boxed' rebel groups to be more or less similar toone another, recent studies have revealed that there is considerable variation in how rebelgroups are organized and how they behave when confronting their respective governments.
Mocking, Minimizing, or Malice: A Content Analysis of Reddit User Comments
Faculty: Ryan Shields and Kelly Socia
Department: Criminology and Justice Studies
Student: Lauren Prestia, Sociology
Faculty: Ryan Shields and Kelly Socia
Department: Criminology and Justice Studies
Student: Lauren Prestia, Sociology
Description:
The proposed project is a qualitative content analysis of public user comments on Reddit, a popular news aggregation and discussion platform. We are interested in examining how Reddit users respond to news articles about teenage minors sexually assaulted by young adults. Particularly, we are interested in exploring comments relating to perpetrators in a leadership role (eg. student/ teacher sexual relationships) and whether responses to these stories are patterned by gender of the victim/offender dyad. Our main research question is whether Reddit user comments on cases of sexual assault differ based on the gender of the individuals involved (i.e., male-on-female; male-on-male; etc.). Our hypothesis is that user comments will be the most dismissive or supportive of sexual abuse incidents occurring between teenage male victims and young adult female perpetrators, and comments to be the most negative towards sexual abuse incidents involving male perpetrators, regardless of the sex of the victim. Our data will include all Reddit user comments posted on news stories about teenage minors (age 13-17) sexually assaulted by young adults (age 18-29) in a leadership position, published from January 1st, 2009 through December 31st, 2019. Analysis will involve qualitatively coding the articles and user comments using a general inductive approach, based in a grounded theory perspective. In addition to this, we will also employ a coding scheme that includes sensitizing concepts, based on prior research findings regarding public perceptions of sexual abuse.
The proposed project is a qualitative content analysis of public user comments on Reddit, a popular news aggregation and discussion platform. We are interested in examining how Reddit users respond to news articles about teenage minors sexually assaulted by young adults. Particularly, we are interested in exploring comments relating to perpetrators in a leadership role (eg. student/ teacher sexual relationships) and whether responses to these stories are patterned by gender of the victim/offender dyad. Our main research question is whether Reddit user comments on cases of sexual assault differ based on the gender of the individuals involved (i.e., male-on-female; male-on-male; etc.). Our hypothesis is that user comments will be the most dismissive or supportive of sexual abuse incidents occurring between teenage male victims and young adult female perpetrators, and comments to be the most negative towards sexual abuse incidents involving male perpetrators, regardless of the sex of the victim. Our data will include all Reddit user comments posted on news stories about teenage minors (age 13-17) sexually assaulted by young adults (age 18-29) in a leadership position, published from January 1st, 2009 through December 31st, 2019. Analysis will involve qualitatively coding the articles and user comments using a general inductive approach, based in a grounded theory perspective. In addition to this, we will also employ a coding scheme that includes sensitizing concepts, based on prior research findings regarding public perceptions of sexual abuse.
Influence of Upper Classmen on Freshmen Team Dynamics in an Engineering
Faculty: Yanfen Li
Department: Biomedical Engineering
Student: Angie Moussa, Psychology
Faculty: Yanfen Li
Department: Biomedical Engineering
Student: Angie Moussa, Psychology
Description:
The goal of this project is to understand how freshmen teams interact with each other when going through an engineering design course for the first time, and whether the introduction of upper classmen “Project Managers” will have any potential influence on the freshmen’s professional development and team dynamics. In particular, we are interested in the freshmen’s perceptions on engineering, conflict management and resolution, self-confidence, self-efficacy, and mental health. We are also especially interested in determining whether these influences differ depending on students’ gender identity and ethnicity.
The goal of this project is to understand how freshmen teams interact with each other when going through an engineering design course for the first time, and whether the introduction of upper classmen “Project Managers” will have any potential influence on the freshmen’s professional development and team dynamics. In particular, we are interested in the freshmen’s perceptions on engineering, conflict management and resolution, self-confidence, self-efficacy, and mental health. We are also especially interested in determining whether these influences differ depending on students’ gender identity and ethnicity.
Transcription and Analysis of Jazz Improvisation
Faculty: Garrett Michaelsen
Department: Music
Student: Daniel Miller, Music Studies
Faculty: Garrett Michaelsen
Department: Music
Student: Daniel Miller, Music Studies
Description:
One of the biggest issues facing the study of jazz improvisation is that only a small number of solo improvisations have been transcribed into musical notation. This severely limits our understanding of what musicians do during their improvisations and how their improvisational practice has changed over time. Fortunately, new methods of analyzing a repertoire of music have emerged in recent years. For this project, we will develop and examine important and unanswered research questions, focusing on the improvisations within a single jazz standard. Specifically, we will examine the ways musicians have approached this same structure over time by analyzing accurate preexisting transcriptions of improvisations from online and print sources as well as our own transcriptions of as many other versions as possible. The approach will involve various methods of computational analysis. Ultimately, we hope to gain a better understanding of how jazz improvisation has changed over its history.
One of the biggest issues facing the study of jazz improvisation is that only a small number of solo improvisations have been transcribed into musical notation. This severely limits our understanding of what musicians do during their improvisations and how their improvisational practice has changed over time. Fortunately, new methods of analyzing a repertoire of music have emerged in recent years. For this project, we will develop and examine important and unanswered research questions, focusing on the improvisations within a single jazz standard. Specifically, we will examine the ways musicians have approached this same structure over time by analyzing accurate preexisting transcriptions of improvisations from online and print sources as well as our own transcriptions of as many other versions as possible. The approach will involve various methods of computational analysis. Ultimately, we hope to gain a better understanding of how jazz improvisation has changed over its history.
The Science of Proverbs: Parenting for Peace or Discord
Faculty: Yahayra Michel
Department: Criminology and Justice Studies
Student: Debby Fernand, Psychology and Sociology
Faculty: Yahayra Michel
Department: Criminology and Justice Studies
Student: Debby Fernand, Psychology and Sociology
Description:
Proverbs are brief sayings or phrases that are passed down from generation to generation and are often perceived as truth based on common sense and/or experience. As a function of our environment, we can do one of two things: passively learn and adopt the attitudes and behaviors of our parents or actively decide do things differently. But what does the empirical evidence say about effective parenting practices? This project will focus on exploring the science of proverbs as it pertains to conflict resolution and violent socialization within the context of the family.
Proverbs are brief sayings or phrases that are passed down from generation to generation and are often perceived as truth based on common sense and/or experience. As a function of our environment, we can do one of two things: passively learn and adopt the attitudes and behaviors of our parents or actively decide do things differently. But what does the empirical evidence say about effective parenting practices? This project will focus on exploring the science of proverbs as it pertains to conflict resolution and violent socialization within the context of the family.
Using the International Parenting Study, this project will make cross-national comparisons based on the reports of more than 10,000 students attending 31 universities in 15 nations. We will look at parenting practices, styles, and perceptions associated with dysfunctional family dynamics, violence approval and criminal behavior. We will then compare this to the parenting practices associated with relational restoration, family-based loyalty, and socio-emotional competence.