Journal Article
12 October 2022
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Journal Article
26 July 2022
Bettina von Arnim and Civil Action: How to Defy Oppression by Championing Others
Children, cooking and church: Like most of the European world before 1900, these were “the three Cs” designated by society for women in Germany. However, some women broke through these expectations and pursued a fourth “C”: Civil action. Such a woman was Bettina von Arnim (1785-1859). A writer, activist, feminist, and intellectual, von Arnim was politically active during a time when women were delegated to domestic duties and expected to be completely subservient to their husbands. She lived during a tumultuous era of French, Prussian, and Austrian occupation of Germany during the early 19th century. Instead of being a mild-mannered bourgeois widow, von Arnim interacted with many well-known German cultural figures, such as the Grimm Brothers, Goethe, and Beethoven. Like the politically active men in her life, von Arnim took action in an oppressive society, fearlessly voicing her own opinions while supporting other oppressed groups such as Jewish people, the poverty-stricken, and revolutionaries. While not well-known outside of German-speaking circles, von Arnim’s contributions serve as an example of active citizenship despite being a member of “the weaker sex.” Therefore, Bettina von Arnim is not only an important woman in German history, rather, an important person in world history.Current Articles
Journal Article12 October 2022
Together: Exploring a Solution-Focused Activity for Parent and Young Adult Relationships
Parents and young adults share an important and interdependent relationship that. This mixed-methods cross-sectional study examined the systemic impact of a brief solution-focused activity to promote empathy within parent/young adult relationships (paired, n = 73). Baseline well-being and empathy scores were recorded on 5-point Likert scales. Quantitative findings highlight above average well-being scores for parents and young adults. Researchers found a significant correlation between parent and young adult well-being and empathy scores suggesting an interdependent relationship. Additionally, researchers found a significant linear correlation for parent and young adult well-being scores as predictive of empathy scores. Qualitative findings from the brief solution-focused activity provided key insights into solution-oriented ideas collaboratively constructed by parents and young adults. Parents and young adults are seeking more togetherness, communication, and laughter in their relationships. Parents and young adults reported feeling the most connected when their family were able to laugh together. Findings from this study may have practical implications for family life educators (CFLE), clinicians, and family advocacy efforts, showing where preventative and therapeutic efforts may be best channeled. Additionally, this study seeks to update and inform current and future studies.Journal Article26 July 2022
Bettina von Arnim and Civil Action: How to Defy Oppression by Championing Others
Children, cooking and church: Like most of the European world before 1900, these were “the three Cs” designated by society for women in Germany. However, some women broke through these expectations and pursued a fourth “C”: Civil action. Such a woman was Bettina von Arnim (1785-1859). A writer, activist, feminist, and intellectual, von Arnim was politically active during a time when women were delegated to domestic duties and expected to be completely subservient to their husbands. She lived during a tumultuous era of French, Prussian, and Austrian occupation of Germany during the early 19th century. Instead of being a mild-mannered bourgeois widow, von Arnim interacted with many well-known German cultural figures, such as the Grimm Brothers, Goethe, and Beethoven. Like the politically active men in her life, von Arnim took action in an oppressive society, fearlessly voicing her own opinions while supporting other oppressed groups such as Jewish people, the poverty-stricken, and revolutionaries. While not well-known outside of German-speaking circles, von Arnim’s contributions serve as an example of active citizenship despite being a member of “the weaker sex.” Therefore, Bettina von Arnim is not only an important woman in German history, rather, an important person in world history.Journal Article26 July 2022
Masturbatory Behaviors Among Older Adult Populations: A Literature Review
Sexual behaviors, such as masturbation, extend into older adulthood (50+ years in chronological age) and are present at all stages of the aging process. Different living situations and circumstances for older adults can affect masturbatory behavior, such as death of spouse, living in long-term care facilities, and cognitive decline. This literature review evaluates extant research on older adult masturbation, comprising 29 articles included in the final review, all published between 1991 and 2021. They consist of literature reviews, meta-studies, cross-sectional studies, semi-structured interviews, systematic reviews, and case studies. Current evidence suggests that masturbatory behaviors are an important part of older adult sexual health, although they decline in frequency across the aging, and increase in the absence of a spouse. Presence of masturbatory behaviors are not as conducive to life satisfaction as partnered sexual activity. However, older adults who masturbate in absence of partnered sexual activity have generally higher life satisfaction than those who are not sexually active. Findings suggest that older adult masturbatory behaviors are affected by social aspects, including class, religion, educational attainment, gender, and assigned sex, in addition to biological aspects, such as presence or absence of erectile dysfunction, arthritis, dementia, and so on.Journal Article26 July 2022
Wak'as, Mallkis, and The Inca Afterlife: The Hydrological Connection Between The Incan Empirical and Nonempirical Worlds
The ruling elite amongst the indigenous groups of the Andes region, often referred to as the Incas, were, before European contact, a non-literal society. Therefore, our understanding of their religious beliefs pertaining to the relationship between life and death, and the intricate relationship between this belief system and the environment surrounding the Inca is heavily influenced by post-European contact, often clouded by European propaganda and a lack of cultural relativism. This project aims at exploring the relationship between the hydrological cycle and the Incan empirical and nonempirical worlds by comparing and synthesizing post-European contact written records, ethnohistorical records, archeological evidence, and geophysical data, looking at it through the lens of environmental archeology, anthropology of religion, and ethnohistory, by looking at how this relationship is reflected in the Inca concept of places connected to the nonempirical world known as wak’as, such as the Incan mummies known as mallki. By examining and analyzing these connections we gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of how the Incan spiritual beliefs reflected their adaptation to the environment surrounding them, and, thus, gain insight into how human belief systems shape and are shaped by the environment surrounding cultures due to the pressures the environment puts on them.Most Popular Articles
Journal Article
14 August 2014
Impact of Text Messaging on Communication
This study used two focus groups to learn about college students and their use of text messages. All of the students were from the Arts and Humanities College at Minnesota State University. One focus group contained five females and other focus group contained five males. The main focus of this study was to find if text messages displaced face-to-face communication. The results of this study suggest text messages do have a displacing effect on face-to-face communication. But text messaging is not the only technology that has the displacement effect. This study also suggests males and females view text messages differently. The implications of the five themes that emerged are discussed in this study.Journal Article
11 August 2014
The Tax Treatment of Mixed Personal and Rental Use of Real Estate
In 2010, individual taxes provided almost half (43.35 %) of the U.S. Federal Revenue. Every U.S. citizen has an obligation to pay tax in order to support their government; however, they also have the right to keep tax as low as possible by effective tax planning (Smith, Harmelink, & Hasselback, 2012). Tax planning is a proper arrangement of transactions or affairs in order to reduce tax liability. Tax planning can become complex if the transaction involves multiple areas of tax law. I am going to discuss an aspect of real estate that involves multiple concepts and rules governing tax compliance: the tax treatment of mixed personal and rental use of real estate. The paper discusses tax treatment of deductions, losses, sales, and exchanges of mixed-use real estate. Mixed-use real estate means that homeowners rent, or use for business purposes, part or all of their primary or secondary homes, either permanently or temporarily. These situations are pretty common for U.S. citizens yet the tax effects on these transactions are not well understood and can be complex. The focus on the paper is to describe the tax treatment of various situations where residential property is rented at least part of the tax year.Journal Article
12 August 2014
The Politics of Black Womens' Hair
Historically, black women’s image has been subjected to high scrutinization that rendered every choice they made for their body and hair important. Black women have undergone many pressures that shaped their hair choices in various ways. However, there is a general tendency in the literature to homogenize all black women’s experiences and disregard their ethnic diversity. In this study, we explored both African and African American college women’s feelings about the motivations to straighten (relax) or wear their hair without chemical treatment (natural). For this qualitative approach, we utilized a cross-cultural approach and interviewed 12 African and African American college women with relaxed (chemically treated) or natural (chemically untreated) hair to understand the motivations for their various hair choices. Findings reveal that African and African American women with relaxed hair are influenced by different factors; African women with relaxed hair reported being influenced by community and media while African American women reported family as the most influential factor regarding their hair decisions. Both African and African American women with natural hair viewed their hair as a personal choice rather than a political statement. In general, African American women reported more exposure to natural hair than African women who, for the most part, went natural when they came to the United States. Although, black women seem to have similar experiences about their hair cross-culturally, there are relevant particularities in each group’s experiences that are worth taking into account for a more precise knowledge of these groups.Journal Article
27 August 2014
The Effects of Room Color on Stress Perception: Red versus Green Environments
The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of red versus green room colors on individual perception of stress. Room color was found through previous studies to have specific effects on psychomotor activity and emotional states. Correlations were found between red room color and emotional and physical stimulation, while green was associated with inhibitory effects. Additionally, Goldstein’s theory of color perception showed that red has stimulating effects on human behavior. Subjects consisted of 15 female and 15 male college freshmen at Minnesota State University, Mankato. An experimental booth was used for red, green and white room conditions. Subjects were required to wait inside of the booth for five minutes before completing a copy of the stress inventory from the DASS (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale) under each condition. It was found that subjects in red the red room condition had higher stress rating scores compared to green or white room conditions. Consequently, the findings suggest that environment color plays a significant role in stress perception.Journal Article
27 August 2014
Effects of Popular Music on Memorization Tasks
This study investigated the effects that popular music has on memory performance. It was proposed that popular music would adversely affect both studying and memory recall. Forty introductory psychology students participated in the study. Subjects were given a list of fifty words to study in 6 ½ minutes, with music either being present or absent. This was termed the learning stage. In this study, four conditions were tested. In all 4 conditions, subjects were assigned to either a “music” pre-period or a “non-music” pre-period and a “music” post-period or a “non-music” post-period. After they had studied the words, subjects were given another 6 ½ minutes to recall the words either with or with out music present. This period was called the recall stage. The researchers hypothesized that music would have a detrimental effect on performance, these expected results were not found. Findings from this study suggested that students who study while listening to popular music performed at the same level as those without music present in either condition. Results indicated that women excelled in recall when the testing condition did not have music present in comparison to men.Journal Article
26 July 2022