Students in this year's Research Seminar, the department's capstone course, are hard at work on their semester papers. At present, they are presenting drafts to each other in writing workshops. Below is a lost of their abstracts, even though some have changed since their initial creation.
We look forward to posting some of the completed papers on the CityLab website.
Marta Baclawska
The population at and below the poverty line is at high risk for obesity, especially women and children, however the prevalence for obesity has increased in all adults at all levels of income and education. There is a lack of research on how the media influences obesity altogether. Past research focuses on the potential effects on females of unrealistically thin images, while obesity is the far more substantial problem in Western society. There is a large economic industry on dieting, yet we continue to have a growing obesity epidemic with all the knowledge easily available on how to lead a healthy lifestyle. Currently there is little understanding of why this is occurring, perhaps advertisements are intentionally targeting certain groups of people with unhealthy foods? As a result, this research will examine media’s influences on obesity, suspecting that poverty is remarkably connected to this issue.
Kaitlyn Benoit
This study will examine the reactions to the Civil Rights Movement in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, during the 1960s. It will explore the city’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement using oral histories, city archives, college archives, documents, newspapers, biographies, and other primary and secondary sources. The aim of this research is to provide an in-depth look at the political and social climate of a specific Northern, mid-sized urban area during the1960s, and to explore how the city of Worcester responded to the national Civil Rights Movement.
Andrea Buffone
This research seeks to understand why troubled youth get involved in gangs. It will examine youth gangs in the present and also take a look into youth gangs from the past. There is a need to prevent children and young adults from getting involved in violence and gangs. This paper will serve to prove that school and extra circular activities can helps teens stay focused and have a positive future. The research for this will circulate around how family life can make a big impact on kids as well as outside resources such as mentoring and sports. Other sources will include first hand interviews with former gang members and vulnerable youth, scholarly journals relating to gangs and journals relating to families.
Gary Cato
This is a case study of “Johnson Farm,” a proposed affordable housing development located in the Town of Sudbury, Massachusetts. The work explores current challenges to, and opportunities for improvement within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Chapter 40B Affordable Housing By-law. The study will include an historical perspective of the 1968 legislation with a review of relevant case law which spawned from municipal and neighborhood resistance to this controversial statute. Sources include records from the Town of Sudbury Zoning Board of Appeals, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Land Court, Department of Housing and Community Development, and personal interviews with current developers of affordable housing in the region.
Arianne Choinski
The purpose of this research project is to explore a growing modern trend in which American couples consciously decide not to have children and the stigma associated with their decision. A growing number of couples today are choosing to be child-free, and are choosing to live differently from what society deems as “normal”. That decision comes with an unnecessary emotional cost, and ultimately couples are paying for their choice. This research will consist of using both primary and secondary sources, including interviews, articles from scholarly journals, magazine articles, books, and the U.S. Census data. From this research, we hope to understand more about how society influences the decisions we make as human beings.
Desiree Cunningham
This study explores how the community of Worcester can participate in determining the re-use of the Worcester Memorial Auditorium. After years of neglect, the Worcester Memorial Auditorium was approved for sale privately in 2010. The city has failed to preserve this historically significant landmark. Furthermore, there has been no movement towards the buildings potential sale or future development by the city. Once a monumental structure commemorating community members, the lack of interest and preservation by the city threatens both the community’s heritage and identity. This study will employ a mixture of interviews, information derived from local, state, and national preservation experts, as well as the city of Worcester’s fiscal records, in order to determine the community’s role in defining the future use of the Worcester Memorial Auditorium to again serve the public.
Megan Dealey
This paper will analyze the concepts of biological, legal, and psychological parents and how they pertain to the de-medicalization of Artificial Insemination (Artificial Insemination without the use of doctors or sperm banks). Using journal articles on the subject as well as examining current and past legislation and court rulings, this paper will reveal the inadequacy of today’s legal system to handle this matter. It is hoped that this paper will demystify misconceptions about Artificial Insemination and suggest avenues for future legislation
Michael Falzarano
“The New Blight” This study will show the impact commerce has on the shape of urban environments. Historically, blight and urban decay have been associated with post-industrial, vacant, urban structures and unmaintained parcels of land, but contemporary society is facing a new kind of blight. Vacant strip malls, unused commercial structures, and empty parking lots litter the American landscape due to physical and online competitors. The intent of my study is to point out the affects commerce, both physical and digital, has on the shape of our urban environments in hopes that future blight will become more easily manageable.
Breana Hatch
This research will aim to examine the long term benefits and effectiveness of signing bonuses, particularly educational benefits, offered by the United States Army to those who are currently serving and to those who have completed their contracts. This research will be completed by using traditional resources such as journal articles, book references, newspaper sources, and a collection of personal interviews. These personal interviews will be conducted with Army veterans and active duty Army citizens making use of benefits awarded to them for serving in the United States Army. Furthermore, this research will target the underlying issue of homelessness among Army Veterans and why they may or may not be receiving adequate support in return for their selfless service provided to the United States.
Kevin Hickey
This paper will assess a proposal by Capital Group Properties in developing 129 Parker Street in Maynard, Massachusetts. Capital Group Properties proposed to build on the 52 acre land that once was the old Digital building. The proposal intends on putting in a shopping center along with 250 housing units. This project will explore the necessary and appropriateness of this development using town records along with the original proposal from Capital Group Properties, and sources such as newspapers and city data.
Cherylann Holman
This paper will focus on the urbanization and development of the Main South Worcester, from 1900 to 1925. It will reconstruct the community from Myrtle Street to Cambridge Street; through the city and home directories, archives and documents from local historical sources. The study will explore this particular section of the city’s development as it was, with specific analysis of the local organizations, culture and people in these neighborhoods.
Lyric Lehman
This paper will explore the current legal realities that pertain to getting a loved one psychiatric help when he or she may need it, but is refusing. Furthermore this paper will look into these existing laws strengths and weaknesses, and propose ideas for possible revisions. The research for this paper will consist of current laws surrounding: Civil Commitment Inpatient, Civil Commitment Outpatient, and Emergency Hospitalization, Scholarly Journal Articles, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Health), Interviews, and Newspaper Articles.
Kaleigh McManus
This study will explore if the cutting of funds to Massachusetts Head Start Programs increase inequality in education by limiting access to Pre-K programs and widening the socioeconomic gap. Research shows that children who are not ready for kindergarten do poorly in school compared to peers who attended a Pre-K program. In addition, research shows Head Start programs are less expensive than other services needed to support a person who did poorly in school or did not graduate high school. These services can include after-school programs, tutoring for students, and social services or even incarceration later in life. This paper will prove that the cutting of funding to Head Start programs widens the achievement gap among minorities and low income families while providing a financial repercussion for Massachusetts. Information used for this research will include journal articles, case studies, and statistics.
Dannielle Morrow
This study will explore ways of improving public transit in America proposed by proponents of New Urbanism. This research will examine America’s dependence on automobiles. As well as comparing transit systems in three American cities and expose issues with Worcester, Massachusetts as a case study. This study will use relevant journal articles, newspapers, regional fiscal budgets, maps, and other primary and secondary sources.
Rachel Pressey
Currently one in four children in the United States is living in poverty. While there are many governmental and non profit organizations working with families, this issue does not seem to be one that is resolvable. There has been much focus and research about the effects poverty has on parents, especially single mothers, but there is comparatively less on the children’s effects. The purpose of my research is to see what effects this second class citizenship has on children and what programs are available to support and empower children living in poverty. Dealing with food, housing, and basic needs insecurities, compounded by parental mental illnesses and peer judgment, children deal with a range of issues that they ultimately cannot control, can not change, and have to learn to cope with. These misfortunes are just not child appropriate.
Tia Spetaccino
This paper will explore the often difficult transition out of the Massachusetts foster care system. It will examine how an individual may leave the foster care system, focusing on aging out. It will then look at the complications associated with transition and the different services available for fostered youth to transition successfully. Relevant interviews and journal articles will be cited for this paper.
Erica Stead
This document will conduct a research mission to demonstrate the benefits of dance as a mentoring and educational program. The goal is to investigate the importance of art, mentoring, and extracurricular programs in schools as it relates to empowerment and self-expression of students. It will then follow up on what dance is, in comparison to health, discipline, expression, empowerment, and a non-verbal language and, by using both statistical and scholarly pieces of work, how that ties in with the benefits and positive impacts of students.
Cassandra Tebo
Homelessness in America often means adults who are unlucky, addicted, or unemployed. We forget that approximately one million children are homeless in America each year. The purpose of this paper is to provide a researched account of child homelessness and its impact in Central Massachusetts. Using statistics, interviews and journal articles, the goal is to define the term “homelessness” and discuss how far-reaching its effects are on children.
Christian Tsetsos
This paper will develop an effective model in which to create a mentoring program in an urban area for inner city elementary aged children. Information for this research paper will be gathered from educational, social work, psychological, and sociological journals. The research that is found will help us understand how to establish a well structured mentoring program which is beneficial to all individuals involved.
Daniel Villani
This research paper will explore the lives of the elder population in the United States and will reveal that our society has a misguided depiction of the elder community. This falsified interpretation has been widely adopted by our society and is perpetuated and reinforced by the mainstream media, as well as the current focus of academic discourse on the subject of gerontology. Through examination of census data and projections, scholarly journals, books on aging, and interviews with elders; this research paper will expose the true nature of this misinterpreted demographic and examine the possibility for an alternate, and more accurate social identity for the elder population of this country.
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