Omnino - Volume 8

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Omnino Undergraduate Research Journal

volume 8

valdosta state university

Omnino Undergraduate Research Journal

volume 8

Š 2018 valdosta state university

faculty advisor

Dr. Anne Greenfield student editors

Livi CotÊ Tiana D’Acchioli Ben Elliott graphic designers

Eliza Reyes Roberto Leal

Contents Introduction � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 5

by Dr. Anne Greenfield Omnino Faculty Advisor

Coumarin Boronic Acid as a Fluorescence Probe � � � � 6

By Ashilee Thomas Faculty Mentor: Dr. Yakov Woldman, Department of Chemistry

Brexit: The Driving Factors Behind the Vote to Leave the European Union � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 21

By Connor McCarthy Faculty Mentor: Dr. James LaPlant, Department of Political Science

America and the Paris Agreement: Theories of Environmental Philosophy as Applied to Changing American Policies � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 35

By Tiana D’Acchioli Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ari Santas, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies

The Effects of Gross Motor and Cardiovascular Exercise on Cognition: Implications for Neurodevelopmental Therapy � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 45

By Caroline R. Baum Faculty Mentors: Dr. Blaine L. Browne And Dr. Heather Kelley, Department of Psychology, Counseling, and Family Therapy

Feminine Autonomy and the Commodification of Virginity � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 58

By Taylor Collins Faculty Mentor: Dr. Maren Clegg-Hyer, Department of English

Analysis of the Persecution of European Jewish Communities During the Black Death � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 66

By Drew Johnson Faculty Mentor: Dr. Frederick Downing, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies

Would Easing Voting Requirements Increase Turnout?

An Analysis of the 2016 Election � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 76

By Kennedy S. Horne Faculty Mentor: Dr. James LaPlant, Department of Political Science

Selective Mutism: Diagnosis, Methodologies, and Treatments � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 89

By Jacob W. Highsmith Faculty Mentor: Dr. Joshua S. Rodefer, Department of Psychology

The American Identity and Classism � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 100

By Lisa Garcia Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ubaraj Katawal, Department of English

The Alto Trombone in an Orchestral Setting � � � � � � � � 108

By Melissa Raquel Wilcox Faculty Mentor: Dr. Doug Farwell, Department of Music

Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 118

By Brody W. Lathem Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jeremy Tost, Department of Psychology, Counseling, and Family Therapy

Introduction

by Dr. Anne Greenfield Omnino Faculty Advisor It is a pleasure to introduce the latest volume of Omnino, VSU’s undergraduate research journal. For eight years, Omnino has featured the best multi-disciplinary research conducted by our undergraduates, and this year we are delighted to publish eleven impressive articles from a variety of disciplines and departments around the university.

Congratulations are in order for each of the students whose work is featured in these pages. Each one of these articles was carefully vetted in a rigorous double-blind review process, in which VSU’s own faculty served as referees when their expertise matched the topic of a given submission. On behalf of the Omnino staff and student authors, I would like to express our gratitude to all of the faculty who served as mentors to student researchers, whether or not that research was ultimately accepted here for publication, and to all of the faculty who served generously as reviewers this year. This volume, as ever, showcases the impressive result of close student-faculty collaboration at VSU. The Omnino student editors and I continue to welcome submissions for our next volume. The submission deadline for volume 9 is January 21st, 2019. We invite undergraduate students to refer to our submission guidelines at https://www.valdosta.edu/ colleges/arts-sciences/english/student-resources/student-publications/omnino/submit.php.

5

Coumarin Boronic Acid as a Fluorescence Probe

By Ashilee Thomas Faculty Mentor: Dr. Yakov Woldman, Department Of Chemistry Abstract: Peroxynitrite is a product of activated macrophages working to kill pathogens invading a living host. This molecule is very reactive and in the presence of coumarin boronic acid (CBA) produces the highly fluorescent molecule 7-hydroxycoumarin, which can be detected by fluorescence. Experimentation was conducted in order to discover a functional way of using CBA as a probe for peroxynitrite detection in cellular systems. However, it was observed that CBA produced elevated levels of fluorescence even in the absence of cells or other sources of peroxynitrite. The cause of such fluorescence was not clearly understood, but empirical evidence suggests that at least one of the main contributors is light exposure, which causes a photochemical reaction leading to a fluorescent product.

6

Coumarin Boronic Acid as a Fluorescence Probe

Introduction When bacteria invade the body, it is the immune system that is responsible for neutralizing that threat by killing the invading microbes to stop their pathogenic spread. The immune system has many facets, including the white blood cells. One constituent of the white blood cells is macrophages.

Macrophages create phagosomes by enveloping foreign particles and obstructing their biochemical makeup by releasing unstable, oxidizing compounds that break down the foreign particles, rendering them harmless. Two unstable molecules they use for this are NO and O2-, both of which can produce many toxic effects on biological organisms, including dismantling the chemical and physical integrity of the cellular membrane leading to cell lysis. The chemically unstable nature of these molecules predisposes them to reacting with each other, producing peroxynitrite (Reaction 1). Left alone, peroxynitrite will degrade, producing HNO3, NO2 and OH• (Reaction 2). All of these metabolites are also produced in other pathways with no connection to peroxynitrite production in macrophages, so they cannot be used for detection of peroxynitrite. Instead, methods for detecting the unstable intermediate must be developed in order to better understand the immune system and its pathways. One of the methods uses the high reactivity of peroxynitrite with boronic acids, shown in a pure chemical system (Zielonka et al). This article will assess the usability of this method for peroxynitrite detection in cellular systems.

Boronates (or boronic acids) are compounds that have an alkyl or aromatic substituent and two hydroxyl or ester groups attached to boron.

The electron-deficient character makes them Lewis acids and allows them to trap reactive oxygen species such as peroxynitrite. All boronates react similarly with peroxynitrite, but the product of the reactions will absorb light or produce fluorescence at different wavelengths. The absorption of light is proportional to the production of peroxynitrite, leading to a way of detecting the compound. Coumarin boronic acid (CBA, Reaction 3) is a weakly fluorescent compound producing highly fluorescent 7-hydroxycoumarin (7-OH) upon reaction with peroxynitrite (Reaction 3, copied from Zielonka et al). The product of the reaction, 7-hydroxycoumarin, also called umbelliferone, produces fluorescence at 450 nm upon excitation at 355 nm.

When fluorescence is not desirable, a quencher is employed. Fluorescence is the process of exciting a substance at a certain wavelength. Once the substance returns to the ground state, energy is released as a quantum of light, which is fluorescence. Quenchers act as a sponge, absorbing the energy without emitting light as the substance returns to the ground state.

Quenchers do not produce fluorescence: therefore, they can be useful for 7

Ashilee Thomas

suppressing fluorescence of the initial compound, allowing one to record the fluorescence of the product of the reaction with better sensitivity.

The quencher used in this experiment is 4-((4-(dimethylamino)phenyl) azo)benzoic acid (DABCYL/Q, Fig. 1) attached to fructose amine. The DABCYL-fructose amine (referred to as DABCYL in this paper) reacts with CBA, creating a non-fluorescent complex. Upon reaction with peroxynitrite, DABCYL-boric acid complex is removed, “unquenching” the fluorescence of the product of the reaction, 7-hydroxycoumarin.

Reaction 1

Reaction 2

Zielonka et al, 2012

Reaction 3

Figure 1 DABCYL-fructose amine

Procedure Macrophage activation and analysis THP-1 (human monocytes) cells kindly provided by Dr. Mikhail Gavrilin (Ohio State University) were used in experiments. 2·104 cells in 200 mL of RPMI medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum were placed in wells of 96 well plates. Differentiation of monocytes into macrophages was done 8

Coumarin Boronic Acid as a Fluorescence Probe

by incubating with 100 nM phorbol myristoyl acetate (PMA) in the same medium for 48 hrs (Dinorah Leyva-Illades, et al., 2010). Activation of macrophages was done by inoculating cells with 0.1 µg/ml lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Cells were kept at 37 °C in humidified atmosphere containing 5% CO2. Controls did not receive LPS. Next, 100 µM of CBA was added to the stimulated macrophages for testing reactions and an equal volume of 50% DMSO was added as a control. Fluorescence was measured with excitation at 355 nm, emission at 450, gain 1200 and various time durations. Kinetic analysis was performed using Omega software provided with the plate reader (Fluorostar Omega by BMG Labtech).

Preparation of Buffer Various concentrations of buffer were made. Sodium phosphate (NaH2PO4*H2O) was dissolved in water and NaOH was added dropwise to bring the buffer to the desired pH. Anaerobic and atmospheric preparations In the atmospheric conditions, the sample was left open to the air. In anaerobic conditions, the sample was purged with ultrapure nitrogen by inserting a capillary through the septum of the cuvette. Nitrogen was bubbled through at a steady flow for 10 minutes.

Coumarin boronic acid, LPS and PMA preparation Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was used to dissolve coumarin boronic acid.

Stock solutions of PMA (1 mg/mL) and LPS (1 mg/mL) were prepared in methanol and water, respectively.

HPLC analysis HPLC samples were run in H20- MeOH 10-80%, on Prevail C18 150 x 2.1 mm column for 20 minutes for each sample. Each sample column was washed with starting solvent for 10 minutes before starting the next sample analysis.

DABCYL preparation A solution of 60% Methanol and 40% Sodium Phosphate buffer with a pH of 6.0 was used to dissolve DABCYL, making a stock concentration from which aliquots were taken.

Light-Limited analysis Samples were prepared, and initial fluorescent spectra were run. After each cycle (spanning from 400 nm-600 nm and kept at 37°C), light to the sample was shut off and the sample was left in darkness for 5 minutes.

Time points were taken at the peak (450 nm) for each run. Samples were not removed from the spectrometer until the completion of the analysis.

The lid of the sample holder was not opened at any time during the exper9

Ashilee Thomas

iment. The only light the samples were exposed to during the test was the excitation light during spectra recording (less than 2 mins). Quartz cuvette was used for fluorescence analysis.

Results and Discussion First, High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was taken to ensure that the samples consisted of only the known constituents, umbelliferone and CBA, and were not contaminated with other unknown molecules that would interfere with the reaction. HPLC analysis returned the results that the expected constituents were the only ones present in adequate amounts for detection. In the next stage, macrophages (THP-1) were induced and the wells were analyzed for fluorescence as an indicator of peroxynitrite. These results were inconclusive and did not follow a clear trend, so CBA was tested in buffer alone. This result provided reassurance that CBA itself was providing fluorescence and producing the inconclusive results. Researchers decided to test for interference from photochemistry, atmospheric oxygen interference, and glucose (which was present in the nutrient buffer used to keep the cells alive) to understand if they were causing the unexpected fluorescence. These tests did not prove consistent enough to mitigate the false positive result of the CBA alone. A quencher, DABCYL, was incorporated as a way to quench the fluorescence of CBA and avoid false positives.

Figure 2 HPLC analysis of .5 mg/mL CBA peak at 11.15 min CBA was eluted at 11.51 min. These results were used as a standard to identify the peak of CBA in the analysis of the CBA-containing sample.

10

Coumarin Boronic Acid as a Fluorescence Probe

Figure 3 HPLC analysis of .2 mg/mL Umbelliferone peak at 10.75min Umbelliferone (7-OH) was eluted at 10.75 min. These results were used as a standard to identify the peak of umbelliferone in the analysis of the sample containing CBA and Na-phosphate buffer.

Figure 4 .1 mM CBA in pH 7.4 after 96 hr incubated at 37°C, peak at 10.76 (Umbelliferone) and 11.18 (CBA) As demonstrated by fig. 2-4, CBA and 7-OH are well-separated by HPLC. Analysis shows that a sample of CBA in Na-phosphate buffer pH 7.4 after 96 hr at 37°C contains only umbelliferone and CBA, suggesting umbelliferone is the product of the reaction leading to the spontaneous increase in fluorescence.

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Ashilee Thomas

Table 1 Summary of 96 well plate slope (A355/time) Table 1 shows the results of the kinetic experiments as a rate of fluorescence increase (slope) for stimulated or unstimulated cells in the presence of CBA, as well as corresponding controls. Time is taken from the time the sample is created. ID3 is an identification for the runs. Samples were kept at 37°C between runs.

Theoretically, CBA is known to produce weak fluorescence until it comes into contact with peroxynitrite. However, as shown by the table above, there was still a significant increase in fluorescence even when the cells were not stimulated with LPS (the second stimulant and the only condition that would stimulate peroxynitrite production by the activated macrophages). This led the researchers to investigate the source of the fluorescence and seek a way to suppress it so as not to tamper with the detection of the target compound.

Figure 5.1 mM CBA, 37°C, excitation 355nm, .1 M Na-phosphate buffer pH = 7.24, DABCYL 12

Coumarin Boronic Acid as a Fluorescence Probe

In order to suppress the fluorescence of CBA, DABCYL was used. The above results were produced using the quencher dissolved in 50% Me-OH and 50% Na-phosphate. The results could not be used for a true analysis of DABCYL quenching ability because precipitate was formed. The results did not fit the theoretical characteristic expected for quenching (most likely because of the precipitate).

Figure 6 37°C, excitation 355 nm, emission 400-600 nm, 60% methanol 40% .1 M Na-phosphate buffer at pH = 7.24, DABCYL, .1 mM CBA

Figure 7 DABCYL, 37°C, excitation 355 nm, emission 400-600 nm, 60% 40%.1 M Na-phosphate buffer at pH = 7.24, .1 mM CBA 13

Ashilee Thomas

The experiment described above was repeated using 60% methanol as a solvent. No precipitate was formed, and the quencher exhibited a more characteristic behavior that fit a polynomial curve (fig. 6, 7).

Figure 8 7-hydroxycoumarin fluorescence, .1 M Na-phosphate, pH = 7.4, excitation 355nm, emission 400 nm-600 nm, 37°C

Figure 9 7-hydroxycoumarin fluorescence, .1 M Na-phosphate, pH = 7.4, excitation 355 nm, 37°C

Fig. 8 and 9 show fluorescence spectra of the product of the reaction of peroxynitrite with CBA, umbelliferone (7-OH). The relationship between the concentration of the compound and absorbance was linear.

14

Coumarin Boronic Acid as a Fluorescence Probe

Figure 10 DABCYL Quenching 60% Me-OH 40% .1 M Na-phosphate, pH = 7.4, excitation 355 nm, emission 400 nm-600 nm, 37°C

Figure 11 DABCYL Quenching umbelliferone, 60% Me-OH 40% .1 M Na-ph buffer, pH = 7.4, excitation 355 nm, emission 450 nm, 37°C Fig. 10 and 11 show that quencher was able to suppress the fluorescence of umbelliferone as well.

15

Ashilee Thomas

Figure 12 DMSO concentration variations, pH = 8.25, 0.1 M Na-phosphate buffer, excitation 355 nm, emission 450 nm To make sure that the DMSO, which was the solvent for CBA, was not the culprit behind the elevated fluorescence, different concentrations of DMSO were analyzed. The results supported the hypothesis that DMSO was not the reason for the fluorescence because there was no substantial increase in fluorescence despite the increased concentration of DMSO (fig. 12).

Figure 13 Test for Oxygen Interference (in nitrogen purged conditions) 37°C, excitation 355 nm, emission 450 nm 16

Coumarin Boronic Acid as a Fluorescence Probe

Figure 14 Test for oxygen interference (in atmospheric conditions) 37°C, excitation 355 nm, emission 450 nm A different character was exhibited here than previously in the experiment. In other scenarios, the 8.29 pH buffer produced the most fluorescence, but in the kinetic experiments in air, the pH 7.4 pH buffer produced a steeper increase in fluorescence. Fig. 13, 14 also show a higher rate of fluorescence increase in anaerobic conditions. That testifies against the hypothesis that the spontaneous fluorescence increase was produced by the slow oxidation of CBA.

Figure 15 Test for glucose interference, final concentration of glucose = .01 M, 37°C, excitation 355 nm, emission 400-600 nm 17

Ashilee Thomas

Fig. 15 shows the test for the possibility that the glucose in the cell nutrient media led to the elevated fluorescence. The hypothesis that this glucose would be the sole culprit is not supported by the other results, which also show elevated fluorescence although none of the other scenarios contain glucose.

Figure 16 Test for Photochemistry interference, 37°C, excitation 355 nm, emission 450 nm

Figure 17 Test for Photochemistry Interference, 37°C, excitation 355 nm, emission 450 nm 18

Coumarin Boronic Acid as a Fluorescence Probe

Fig. 16, 17 were to test for the possibility that photochemistry was the reason for the elevation of fluorescence. Samples were kept in darkness for the majority of the analysis. This hypothesis is supported by the decreases in fluorescence in this kinetics as opposed to increase in the fluorescence exhibited in the samples exposed to light.

Conclusion More experiments will be needed in order to ascertain the cause of the high fluorescence detected with CBA without any oxidizing agent (peroxynitrite). The most probable explanation is that photochemical reactions lead to the fluorescent product. The tests of photochemistry were the ones that showed the most promising results for suppressing the fluorescence while maintaining a biotic environment. The DABCYL quenchers worked to quench the fluorescence in both CBA and umbelliferone solutions.

Despite the quenching abilities of DABCYL, it is only soluble in solutions that contain a large amount of methanol, solutions of DABCYL containing only buffer had precipitant present, a condition which is not sustainable for cells. DABCYL’s inability to fully dissolve in aqueous media makes it unusable in suppressing fluorescence in solutions containing macrophages.

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Ashilee Thomas

References Leyva-Illades, D.; Cherla, R. P.; Galindo, C. L.; Chopra, A. K.; Tesh, V. Global Transcriptional Response of Macrophage-Like THP-1 Cells to Shiga Toxin Type 1. Infection and Immunity. 2010, 78 (6), 2454–2465.

Zielonka, J.; Sikora, A.; Hardy, M.; Joseph, J.; Dranka, B. P.; Kalyanaraman, B. Boronate probes as diagnostic tools for real time monitoring of peroxynitrite and hydroperoxides. Chemical Research in Toxicology. 2012, 25 (9), 1793–1799.

20

Brexit: The Driving Factors Behind the Vote to Leave the European Union

By Connor McCarthy Faculty Mentor: Dr. James Laplant, Department Of Political Science Abstract: This quantitative study attempts to define and answer the research question, “What factors best influenced the vote in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union?” The independent variables of this study are percentage of foreign born population, percentage of those with and without a university degree, home ownership, percentage Muslim population, turnout, unemployment rate, region, median age, and percentage retired. The percent vote to “Leave the European Union” will serve as the dependent variable. Correlation and scatterplot analysis as well as an ANOVA between Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales and a multivariate regression analysis will help illustrate the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. The ANOVA revealed statistically significant differences by country and region, with the highest levels of support to exit the European Union evident in England and Wales, while Northern Ireland and Scotland were much less likely to support the referendum. In the multivariate analysis, all of the variables were statistically significant (turnout, unemployment rate, university degree, home ownership, and percent foreign born population), with the exception of percent retired which had a strong relationship in the bivariate analysis. The results for percentage foreign-born population have a negative relationship at the bivariate level but a positive relationship to the leave vote in the multivariate model.

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Connor McCarthy

June 23, 2016 featured what was arguably one of the most anticipated votes of recent years. The United Kingdom, a superpower in Europe and the European Union (EU), voted to leave one of the strongest international associations in the world. When the world finally knew the results, it was a shock to both financial and international relations throughout the world.

What were the true reasons that led to this outcome? Were the reasons economic or nationalist in nature? A wide array of factors were examined including age, education, home ownership, and region. This study will analyze the “Leave” vote across the regions/districts of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, and attempt to answer the question, “What factors influenced the vote to Leave the European Union?”

This study is divided into four sections: a situational analysis of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and the role they played in the referendum, a discussion on the politics and social order of the UK leading up to the vote, a data and methods section, and a findings section with a conclusion. The data and methods section will explore the independent and dependent variables, as well as form hypotheses and describe the units of analysis and sources used in this study. The findings section will analyze the relationships between the independent and dependent variables, and the conclusion will bring all the variables together in a final analysis and determine which variables most influenced the vote to leave the EU. Situational analysis Founded in 1993 with the goal of withdrawing the United Kingdom from the EU, UKIP prides itself on its effectiveness at the local level: UKIP councilors believe in putting the residents first. We believe in local referenda and the ability of local people to put their communities first. UKIP’s NO Whip policy ensures that your UKIP Councilor votes the way the community needs rather than the way the Party demands. UKIP believes in a hands-on approach and are there for you when you need them (UKIP 2016).

Historically, UKIP has held an “anti-immigrant” focus, which has often played a heavy hand in the policies they support: “In the European Parliament, UKIP generally sided with other Euro-skeptic and anti-immigration parties, including France’s National Front and the Dutch Party for Freedom, members gained a reputation for making what some saw as outlandish or attention-seeking statements” (Ray 2016). In the years Figure 1. Logo of the United Kingdom following its founding, it has made slow and steady gains Independence Party in electing members to multiple offices and achieved its (UKIP). Source: UKIP. 22

Brexit: The Driving Factors Behind the Vote to Leave the European Union

goal of a referendum in June of 2016: “Perhaps the most obvious sign of UKIP’s growing influence in the British political scene was the June 2016 ‘in or out’ referendum on Britain’s continued membership in the EU” (Ray 2016).

Figure 2. Map of the Results of the Referendum. It should be noted that no voting area in this map registered as a “Tie.” Source: BBC.

The road leading to this referendum has been littered with political fights across England, which stemmed from David Cameron’s ultimate gamble (which he made during the debt crisis in recent years) on the fate of Britain: “Cameron attacked flaws in the Eurozone and what he called the EU’s excessive bureaucracy and lack of democratic accountability. He also promised to hold a referendum on the UK’s EU membership if his Conservative Party won the 2015 elections, which it subsequently did” (McBride 2016).

When early returns came in, outrageous claims came from both sides, including one from Nigel Farage, the leader of UKIP: “Mr. Farage claimed 23

Connor McCarthy

Remain had in effect rigged the polls by extending the voter registration deadline which allowed more ‘young people’ to register to vote” (Mortimer 2016). But in the end, he still had praise for the outcome, “Farage characterized the event as Britain’s ‘independence day’” (Ray 2016). The campaign had been long and dirty, with scare tactics being used by both sides, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of voters—“Lord King, who has not declared which way he voted in the campaign, said the ‘scaremongering tactics’ had not worked and had been deeply resented by voters” (Mervyn King as quoted in Cordon 2016). Though immigration was a major focus, there were many issues related to refugee resettlement: While migration is not the sole issue driving those seeking a future apart from the European Union, it is among the key considerations that led to the referendum’s call, and has been one of the recurring topics of tension with Brussels . . . The public debate on migration has encompassed several dimensions, including whether being part of the European Union enhances or decreases security; what the United Kingdom’s response should be on accepting refugees for resettlement and providing additional funds to help resolve the refugee crisis (Somerville 2016).

The “Leave” campaign deployed a large operation in order to spread its message to the population. Its argument was primarily focused on economics and sovereignty. The economic argument was very straightforward: “Opponents of the EU argued that it is a dysfunctional economic entity. The EU failed to address the economic problems that had been developing since 2008 . . . The European Union didn’t create the existing financial relationships. Britain’s financial role goes back almost two centuries” (Mauldin 2016).

Regarding sovereignty, the “Leave” campaign ran an operation focusing on immigration (which some have claimed is fear-mongering) and on how the nation’s laws were being made in another country: Some British laws are passed and implemented because of decisions made at an EU level. Business For Britain, a pro-Leave group, reckons 65 per cent of new British laws are made in Brussels. The House of Commons Library says that between 1993 and 2014, a total of 231 Acts of Parliament were passed because of EU membership, 24 per cent of the total (Telegraph View 2016).

Regardless of their laws being made in Brussels, many supporters of “Leave” felt a great deal of distrust with the status-quo, “Many who oppose the EU believe [the IMF and NATO] no longer serve a purpose.

Not only that, these organizations take control away from individual nations. Mistrust and fear of losing control made Brexit a reasonable 24

Brexit: The Driving Factors Behind the Vote to Leave the European Union

solution to them” (Mauldin 2016).

The issue of immigration has divided many Britons. Much of the debate stems from the sheer number of EU nationals and spreads through UKIP and other pro-Leave groups: “The ‘right of free movement’ has allowed hundreds of thousands of Europeans to live and work in Britain.

In the 12 months ending in September 2015, an estimated 257,000 EU nationals arrived in the UK” (Telegraph View 2016). Though some attempt to paint many immigrants as prone to crime, the opposite is true. Fears of immigrants committing crimes are unfounded. Immigrants are just as, if not less, likely to commit crimes as any native-born person: Both the Census-data driven studies and macro-level studies find that immigrants are less crime-prone than natives with some small potential exceptions. There are numerous reasons why immigrant criminality is lower than native criminality. One explanation is that immigrants who commit crimes can be deported and thus are punished more for criminal behavior, making them less likely to break the law (Nowrasteh 2015).

Some have even objected to remaining in the EU by citing a philosophical argument by John Locke: “This limitation on the sovereignty of parliament reflects a liberal doctrine first laid out in John Locke’s Second Treatise. ‘The Legislative’, Locke insists, ‘cannot transfer the power of making laws to any other hands. For it being but a delegated power from the people, they who have it cannot pass it to others’” (Bogdanor 348). Therefore, British Parliament’s continued acceptance of laws made in the European Parliament, which UKIP has campaigned against, is an affront to Locke’s notion.

But what happens to Scotland and Northern Ireland? Both voted strongly to remain. In fact, no area under Scottish Council possessed a majority vote to leave, but, due to their union with England, they have no choice: “Both Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain in the European Union, but they will exit from it as parts of the United Kingdom” (Bogdanor 316). Yet, if they desire, they can still be a part of the EU: “Scotland, therefore, and also Northern Ireland, could only remain part of the European Union by becoming independent and reapplying under the Article 49 procedure” (Bogdanor 316). However, people in the Scottish government may be moving quickly to work out an independence vote.

Jamieson cited this signal of independence by stating, “First Minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon said officials would plan for a ‘highly likely’ vote on separation from the rest of the U.K.” Scotland’s separation would not just be politically significant, but also historic: “Separation from the rest of Britain would end three centuries 25

Connor McCarthy

of shared history and would be the biggest constitutional upheaval since the Act of Union in 1707” (Jamieson).

Now that the referendum has been passed by a slim majority, many people are wondering what a Britain free of the EU will look like. This is the first time a major country like the UK voted to leave the 28-country bloc. Will Scotland vote for independence? Will Ireland be reunified? In February of 2017, a Brexit bill was approved by the House of Commons.

Even Jeremy Corbyn threw his support behind it: “The leader of the main opposition Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, has mandated his MPs to support the bill” (Dewan). Now that the bill is “over-the-hill,” Teresa May is ready to implement it by the end of spring: “May has vowed to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty—the legal mechanism to begin the EU withdrawal—by the end of March” (Dewan).

Data and methods This study’s unit of analysis was the 399 voting counties/districts within Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales. The percent voting to “Leave” is the dependent variable being studied. Ten independent variables are being used to help explain the dependent variable: turnout, percentage of those who own a home, percentage who rent, percentage foreign born, percentage Muslim, percentage retired, percentage with a university degree, percentage without a university degree, percentage unemployment, and median age. These variables were selected in order to study certain social, economic, and educational factors among the UK’s population, see how they interact with each other, and attempt to answer the research question posed at the beginning of this study. Much of the data for these variables came from the UK’s “Office of National Statistics,” “Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency,” and the “National Records of Scotland.” A breakdown of the variables is found below in Table 1.

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Brexit: The Driving Factors Behind the Vote to Leave the European Union

Table 1: Variables, Characteristics, and Sources Variable

Min.

Max.

Mean

S.D.

Source

Percentage of “Leave” Vote

21.4

75.6

52.71

10.63

BBC

Percentage of “Remain” Vote

24.4

78.6

47.34

10.73

BBC

Percentage of Turnout for the referendum

48.9

83.5

73.15

5.58

BBC

Unemployment rate

1.6

10.8

4.89

1.88

Each country’s Census data and Labour Market Statistics

Percentage of foreign born population

2

53.1

10.12

9.67

Each country’s Census

Percentage of those with a university degree or greater

14.2

68.4

27

7.74

Each country’s Census

Percentage of those without a university degree

3.9

52

22.82

6.82

Each country’s Census

Percentage of those who own their home

23.8

82.9

65.978

9.7

Each country’s Census

Percentage of those who rent their home

16.1

72.7

31.87

9.5

Each country’s Census

Percentage of Muslim population

0.1

34.5

3.01

5.17

Each country’s Census

Median age of each area

29

51

40.44

4.28

Each country’s Census

Percentage of population that is retired

4.7

24.1

14.74

3.48

Each country’s Census

Region code

1

4

2.17

0.63

Author

The percentage “Leave” vote is coded as the dependent variable for this study with a mean of 52.71 (which is strikingly close to the outcome of the referendum), range of 21.4, and a maximum of 75.6. The “mean” is the average of the data for that particular variable. The “min.” and “max.” tell the minimum and maximum values (respectively) for a given variable. Percentage of those who turned out to vote is coded as independent variable 1 with a range of 48.9-83.5.

The unemployment rate is categorized as those who are of working age, are not disabled, and are looking for work. This statistic serves as independent variable 2. Independent variable 3 is the number of foreign-born individuals within the population and is defined as the number of those born outside the UK. The mean for this variable is 10.12. Independent variable 4 refers to only the percentage of the population with at least a Level 4 Qualification or greater.

This statistic possesses a mean of 27. In contrast to that statistic, percentage of the population without a university degree is the 5th independent variable with a mean of 22.8. Those who own and rent their homes are coded as the 6th and 7th independent variables, respectively.

Percentage of Islamic individuals is the 8th independent variable ranging from 0.1 to 34.5, and the median age for each area is coded as the 9th independent variable with a range from 29 to 51.

The percentage of the population that is economically defined as “retired” is the 10th independent variable with a range from 4.7 to 24.1.

Region is a code given to each area for the purposes of the ANOVA which is discussed at the end of this study.

27

Connor McCarthy The hypotheses tested in this study are as follows: H1: As turnout increases, the vote to Leave will increase.

H2: As unemployment increases, the vote to Leave will increase.

H3: As the percentage of foreign born increases, the vote to Leave will decrease.

H4: As the percentage with a university degree increases, the vote to Leave will decrease.

H5: As the percentage without a university degree increases, the vote to Leave will increase.

H6: As home ownership increases, the vote to Leave will increase.

H7: As percentage renting increases, the vote to Leave will decrease.

H8: As Muslim population increases, the vote to leave will decrease.

H9: As median age increases, the vote to Leave will increase.

H10: As the percentage retired increases, the vote to Leave will increase.

H11: The Leave vote will vary significantly across the countries/regions of the United Kingdom.

MicroCase is the analysis software used in the study and the dataset is provided in the appendix.

Findings Of the 10 independent variables studied, all 10 are statistically significant with all but one with a p<.01. The variables and their correlations are outlined below in Table 2.

Table 2: Correlation Analysis of the “Leave” Vote Independent Variable

Percentage “Leave” Vote

Turnout

0.19**

Unemployment Rate

0.1*

Foreign Born

-0.47**

University Degree

-0.69**

No Degree

0.27**

Own home

0.42**

Rent home

-0.41**

Muslim Pop.

-0.25**

Median Age

0.37**

Percentage Retired n=399

*p<.05

0.49** **p<.01

With the exception of unemployment, all of the variables are statistically significant with a p<.01. The strongest correlation is a negative correlation with the university degree variable (r=-0.069), which indicates a sharp decline in “Leave” support in areas with a high percentage of the population with a university degree. The second strongest correlation appears between percentage retired, followed by the percentage foreign-born population and the home ownership rate. All of the correlations are in the hypothesized direction.

28

Brexit: The Driving Factors Behind the Vote to Leave the European Union

Figure 3: Foreign Born Population and % Leave Vote As noted in Figure 3 above, the data points cluster near the y-axis. This is due to a low percentage of a foreign-born population in these areas.

However, after the cluster, there is a steady decline in support for “Leave.” With a negative correlation of -0.471 there is a relationship present between the variables.

The correlation coefficient “r” measures the strength of the relationship on a scale of -1 to 1. The closer to -1 or 1 indicates how negative or positive (respectively) a relationship is. With a high intercept at 58.228 and the negative slope of -0.508, there is a steady decrease in support to leave. The “intercept” is the point at which the equation crosses the y-axis, and the “slope” is the rate of change. With an r-squared value of 0.222, this accounts for roughly 22% of the variance of the vote. The “r-squared” is the correlation coefficient r squared.

Figure 4: University Degree and % Leave Vote The correlation between the percentage of the population with a university degree and the percentage who voted to leave is the strongest in this study. With an r = -0.699, noted above in Figure 4, there is a strong relationship between having a university degree and not voting to leave. According to this graph, an area where no one has a university degree would have theoretically voted to leave by a 78.8% majority. With a slope of -0.961, for every increase in the percentage of those with a degree, the support to leave drops by nearly a whole percent. Independent variable 4 has an r-squared 29

Connor McCarthy

of 0.489, which accounts for nearly 50% of the variance in the vote. The stark opposite is true when looking at the percentage without a university degree. As shown below in Figure 5, there is a trend between an increase in those without a degree and the rates of their support to leave the EU with an r = 0.272 and an r-squared of .074.

Figure 5: No Degree and % Leave Vote

Figure 6: Homeownership and % Leave Vote

Pivoting to home ownership, as noted in Figure 6 above, there appears to be a moderately strong relationship between owning a home and wanting to leave. Due to its correlation of 0.421, there is a positive relationship between an increase in homeownership and vote percentage to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Leaveâ&#x20AC;? the EU and an r-squared of 0.177.

30

Brexit: The Driving Factors Behind the Vote to Leave the European Union

Figure 7: ANOVA between Region and % Leave

The ANOVA analysis, shown above in Figure 7, shows that England has the highest variance of any region with a range of 21.4 to 75.6. The variance measures the spread of the data. The means are as follows: Northern Ireland: 43.78, England: 54.5, Wales: 53.34, and Scotland: 39.13.

The difference in means across the groups is statistically significant. With an Eta Square of 0.187, nearly 19% of the variance of the vote can be attributed to region alone. A simple examination of England alone shows many of its cases are found more than two standard deviations from the regional mean. England has the highest support to leave and also some of the lowest support. In comparison, Walesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; regional votes are clustered about the overall mean, unlike Scotland whose regional votes are all below the overall mean with most of its councils within two standard deviations of the regional mean. Also, it is worth mentioning that no Scottish council area had a majority vote to leave the EU. Table 3: Multivariate Regression Analysis Independent Variables

Beta Values

Turnout

0.330**

Unemployment

0.129**

University Degree

-0.848**

Own Home

0.206**

% Retired

0.052

Foreign Born

0.242**

N=328 *p<.05 **p<.01 r^2=0.695**

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Connor McCarthy

As shown above in the multivariate regression analysis in Table 3, all of the variables remain statistically significant with the exception of percentage retired due to its Beta value of 0.052. The multiple r-squared for this multivariate analysis was 0.695. This means that these six independent variables help explain 69.5% of the variation in the leave vote in the referendum. It is worth noting that percentage of the population with a university degree is the strongest predictor of voting outcome due to a standardized regression coefficient of -0.848. Turnout has the second largest Beta value of 0.33, followed by percentage foreign born population (0.242), homeownership rate (0.206), and unemployment (0.129).

Because of concerns with multicollinearity, the independent variables of median age, percentage Muslim, and percentage renting could not be included with the independent variables that appear in the OLS (ordinary least squares) regression model in Table 3. The six independent variables that appear in Table 3 represent the most parsimonious model free of problems with multicollinearity.

Conclusion Many factors went into this referendum and influenced the outcome.

What seems apparent is that the impact of education, the working class, regional influences, homeownership, and the fears of the United Kingdomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s denizens all played vital roles in determining the outcome of the election. UKIP was able to turn out the votes and influence the British public more effectively than the Remain campaign was.

Many of the hypotheses introduced earlier in the study are supported. University degree has the strongest correlation in the study; an increase in percentage of the population with a university degree predicts a strong decrease in support to leave. The same is true for no degree.

Therefore, both hypotheses are supported. Homeownership showed a positive relationship with voting to leave, so that hypothesis is supported.

The unemployment rate and voter turnout are positively correlated and statistically significant predictors of the leave vote, which supports the first two hypotheses of this study. Furthermore, percent retired is significant at the bivariate level but washes out in the multivariate model. Region proved to be a strong indicator, as noted in the ANOVA. At the bivariate level, the percentage foreign-born population negatively correlates with the leave vote. The third hypothesis for this study expects areas with a high foreign-born population to be more supportive of international organizations such as the European Union. When controlling for economic, educational, and demographic factors as well as turnout, the relationship is positive between percentage foreign-born population and the leave vote. Although it is speculation, those areas with 32

Brexit: The Driving Factors Behind the Vote to Leave the European Union

a large foreign-born population may be experiencing a backlash among native citizens to exit the European Union in response to perceived racial threat or fears of immigration. Individual-level data is needed to answer this question. A limitation of this study is the use of aggregate data across geographic units.

Brexit is pushing onward through parliamentary action more effectively than Prime Minister Theresa May’s attempt to bypass Parliament and implement it unilaterally—a move that was challenged in their Supreme Court: “An attempt by her government to bypass parliament to trigger the article was thwarted by a legal challenge that went all the way up to the Supreme Court” (Dewan). Now that the House of Commons has approved the Brexit package, one of two things will happen. The House of Lords will either “approve the bill after several readings and debates and pass it on for royal assent to be signed into law; or make amendments and send the bill back to the House of Commons for further debate and votes” (Dewan). However, local views on Brexit could be changing. The Tory loss of Zac Goldsmith to Liberal Democrat Sarah Olney was taken by many to be a referendum in a local election on Brexit. Mr. Goldsmith was wanting to keep his election focused on the Heathrow expansion, “But, instead, it was June’s EU referendum” (Mason) and his support for leaving the European Union that took center stage.

As of March of 2018, negotiations are on course and steady between the UK and the EU. After months of gridlock, primarily due to issues regarding Northern Ireland’s border (the Good Friday Agreement prevents a physical border between Ireland and Northern Ireland) and EU citizen’s rights, a deal has been made and negotiations are now in a crucial phase. Many hard-liners, including Nigel Farage, have been critical of this deal: “Nigel Farage, the former leader of U.K. Independence Party and a staunch advocate of separation, said May was now able to ‘move on to the next stage of humiliation.’ He called the deal ‘pathetic.’” (Birnbaum 2017). Negotiations are now in the trade phase, which are expected to last for months and are going to be the roughest of the negotiations. Many of the finer details and a solid “divorce-bill” will only be ready just before the UK’s scheduled departure from the EU in March 2019.

How the UK will forge new relations with countries in the EU and across the world, when the dust finally settles after the UK’s breakup with the EU, will determine the economic and political future of their country.

33

Connor McCarthy

References Birnbaum, Michael. “Britain and E.U. Reach Divorce Deal to Move on to New Phase in Brexit Talks.” The Washington Post. WP Company. 8 Dec. 2017. Web. 11 Mar. 2018.

Bogdanor, Vernon. “Brexit, the Constitution and the Alternatives.” King’s Law Journal 27.3 (2016): 314-22. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.

Bogdanor, Vernon. “Europe and the Sovereignty of the People.” The Political Quarterly 87.3 (2016): 348-51. Galileo. Web. 3 Dec. 2016.

Cordon, Gavin. “Scare Tactics Lost Remain the Vote, Says Former BoE Governor.” The Irish News. The Irish News, 28 June 2016. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.

Dewan, Angela. “House of Commons Approves Brexit Bill.” CNN. Cable News Network, 8 Feb. 2017. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

Jamieson, Alastair. “‘Brexit’ Triggers New Bid for Scottish Independence.” NBCNews.com.

NBCUniversal News Group, 24 June 2016. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.

Mason, Chris. “Zac Goldsmith Ousted by Lib Dems in Richmond Park By-election.” BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation, 02 Dec. 2016. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.

Mauldin, John. “3 Reasons Brits Voted for Brexit.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 5 July 2016.

Web. 10 Mar. 2018.

McBride, James. “The Debate Over Brexit.” Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 21 Oct. 2016. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.

Mortimer, Caroline. “Nigel Farage Accused of ‘morally Wrong’ Brexit Campaign by Ukip MP Douglas Carswell.” The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 23 June 2016. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.

Nowrasteh, Alex. “Immigration and Crime—What the Research Says.” Cato Institute. The Cato Institute, 14 July 2015. Web. 1 Dec. 2016.

Ray, Michael. “United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 June 2016. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.

Somerville, Will. “Brexit: The Role of Migration in the Upcoming EU Referendum.” Migrationpolicy.org. Migration Policy Institute, 08 June 2016. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.

Telegraph View. “20 Reasons You Should Vote to Leave the European Union.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 22 June 2016. Web. 11 Mar. 2018.

UKIP 2016 “Local Elections Manifesto.” 01 Dec. 2016. http://www.ukip.org/local2016.

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America and the Paris Agreement: Theories of Environmental Philosophy as Applied to Changing American Policies

By Tiana Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Acchioli Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ari Santas, Department Of Philosophy And Religious Studies Abstract: This paper will examine the Paris Agreement, a legally binding accord agreed upon by members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Specifically, this paper will examine how the policy arose from the United Nations, discuss the terms of the agreement for those countries involved, and focus on the application of environmental philosophical theory, as well as the recent decision of the presidential administration to withdraw from the agreement. Ultimately, theories of dominion over nature, biospheric egalitarianism, and ecology will be applied to the behaviors of consumption in modern society as it pertains to environmental exploitation, and draw parallels between the commentaries of environmental activists and public figures.

35

Tiana D’Acchioli

Under the administration of Barack Obama, the United States entered an international accord known as the Paris Agreement. This agreement altered the status quo of consumerism in America, shedding light on how human intervention in the environment was causing damage to the earth and, ultimately, would make it uninhabitable. The policy was meant to alter the course of behavior by developed and developing nations alike, encouraging more sustainable and eco-friendly behaviors by both individuals and corporations. With the ushering in of a new administration in 2017, the United States’ involvement in this agreement has changed, reverting back to policies in line with a competitive, anthropocentric conception of the environment that support the exertion of dominion over the earth, potentially causing irreversible damage to it in the process.

This paper will examine the shift in America’s involvement in the Paris Agreement and will touch upon eco-activist philosophies as they might relate to environmental policy in the U.S. During the first and second weeks of June in 1992, party members of the United Nations hosted the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), otherwise known as the Earth Summit, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Attended by 172 countries, the conference addressed issues of the environment and sustainable development.1 As a result of this conference, 108 of these governments adopted three major agreements, including Agenda 21, and two legally binding conventions were opened for signature. These conventions, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), were intended to aid in the prevention of resource depletion and climate change.2 Overarchingly, the Earth Summit was intended to spread a message to all participating nations: “that nothing less than a transformation of our attitudes and behaviour would bring about the necessary changes.”3 In many ways, these words echo those of prominent environmental philosophers, and continue as a mantra of environmentalists around the world.

In particular, environmental philosophies of the 20th and 21st centuries stress the idea that a complete transformation of our collective attitude about the world is necessary. The form of environmentalism advocated by Arne Naess and his deep ecology movement exemplifies this idea. In general, the principles of deep ecology can be characterized according to the movement’s arguably central theme of biospheric egalitarianism. Naess’s biospheric model, identified as Ecosophy T, emphasizes the interrelationship between humans and other living beings. Animals 1 Department of Public Information,“Earth Summit,”United Nations, May 23, 1997, 1, accessed November 27, 2017, http:// www.un.org/geninfo/bp/enviro.html.

2 Department of Public Information,“Earth Summit.”

3 Department of Public Information,“Earth Summit.”

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America and the Paris Agreement

and humans are seen as being equal and as having the equal right to live and flourish. In the same vein, the model advocated by Naess takes care to preserve cultural diversity. In this model, humans and animals behave symbiotically, with humans taking care to preserve the environment in which species thrive while benefitting from using animals as a source of food when necessary. Essentially, the use of animals as a source of food is deemed morally acceptable so long as humans take only what they need to survive and no more. In short, this concept identifies mankind and all of our living counterparts, both of the animal and plant variety, as equal inhabitants of the world.4 The movement advocates for a less anthropocentric society in favor of one more apt to respect all forms of life equally, thus preventing the overconsumption of natural resources in the name of human convenience. As Greenpeace declared in their Declaration of Interdependence, “[E]cology teaches us that mankind is not the center of life on this planet. Each species has its function in the scheme of life.”5 In saying so, the foundation revealed their stance that the current human condition and society in which it functions allows humans to view themselves as ultimately more important than other living beings. Accordingly, humans exploit the natural world, consuming more than what is required and destroying the planet in the process. As J. Baird Callicott demonstrates, The traditional humanistic approach to environmental problems treats the environment merely as a “pool” of “natural resources” and as an “arena” of human interaction and potential conflict that the science of ecology has recently revealed to be much more complex than previously supposed. The adverse effects human beings may have upon other human beings indirectly through things they may do directly to the environment—like “developing” and consuming it and treating it as a sink for wastes—have recently become amplified, moreover, by ballooning human numbers and more powerful and/or more toxic technologies.6

Thus, both the ecology and deep ecology movements suggest that the needs of an animal species and the environment as a whole be weighed with as much consideration as the needs of humans, and particularly that the wants of humans not be prioritized over the needs of other animals and nature in general. In essence, biospheric egalitarianism requires that the view of the earth as belonging to humans be overturned in favor of a view of humankind as the earth’s loving steward, caring for its resources 4 Arne Naess, “The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement: A Summary,” in Radical Environmentalism: Philosophy and Tactics, ed. Peter C. List (Belmont: Wadsworth, 1993).

5 List, Radical Environmentalism, 134.

6 J. Baird Callicott,“The Search for an Environmental Ethic,” in Matter of Life and Death, ed. Tom Regan, vol. 3 (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992), 327.

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Tiana D’Acchioli

and inhabitants without exploiting them. It is central to deep ecology that humans and other living beings are viewed as possessing the same intrinsic value, with their lives being considered interdependent and of equal worth, as discussed when Naess writes, (1) Rejection of the man-in-environment image in favour of the relational, total-field image. Organisms as knots in the biospherical net or field of intrinsic value. An intrinsic relation between two things A and B is such that the relation belongs to the definitions or basic constitutions of A and B, so that without the relation, A and B are no longer the same things. The total-field model dissolves not only the man-in-environment concept, but every compact thing-in-milieu concept—except when talking at a superficial or preliminary level of communication.7

Moreover, the movement of deep ecology calls its members to advocate for policies in line with this egalitarian perspective of the world and urges them to overturn those policies and behaviors that oppose this perspective. Specifically, deep ecology condemns the “policies of growth” which often characterize political and social behavior in developed countries. Naess observes, Continued population growth makes benevolent policies still more difficult to pursue than they already are. Poor people in megacities do not have the opportunity to meet nature, and shortsighted policies which favor increasing the number of poor are destructive ...

The economic policy of growth (as conceived today in the richest nations of all time) is increasingly destructive.8

Yet despite the difficulties that can arise in this pursuit, some change to growth policies has resulted from the actions taken by nations and other individuals in attendance at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and its resulting conventions. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) entered into force on March 21, 1994 and originally consisted of 194 parties, thus including nearly all countries around the globe.9 The United States of America was the fourth country to ratify the convention but was the first industrialized nation to do so. However, the treaty ratifying the convention did not legally bind any nation to climate reform.10 Legal obligations came about through one of the later conventions. The UNFCCC has hosted these annual conventions, which “review the Convention’s 7 Naess,“The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement: A Summary,” in Radical Environmentalism, 19.

8 Naess,“Identification as a Source of Deep Ecological Attitudes,” in Radical Environmentalism, 36.

9 UNEP, “Find out more about COP21,” Sustainable Innovation Forum 2015, accessed November 28, 2017, http://www. cop21paris.org/about/cop21.

10 “Timeline of Major UN Climate Negotiations,”EESI - Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2014, accessed November 28, 2017, http://www.eesi.org/policy/international.

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America and the Paris Agreement

implementation” and seek to advance measures against climate change, in countries around the world since its implementation.11 The first of these conventions, called the Convention of Parties, was hosted in Berlin, Germany, during 1995. The Berlin Mandate, which was agreed upon by various parties at this convention, allowed parties to make specific, binding agreements regarding change to policies affecting climate change, such as regulations on carbon emissions. The third Convention of Parties (COP3) was hosted in Kyoto, Japan and saw the passing of the Kyoto Protocol in December of 1997. This agreement included emission targets for such pollutants as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.

Although the United States signed this protocol, it was never officially ratified by Congress. For several years afterwards, negotiations continued as parties argued over the specifics of their policies. Several policies were adopted during those years, including the Marrakesh Accords and Delhi Ministerial Declaration. In 2005, the Convention of the Parties began being hosted in conjunction with the convention of the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP), and discussions began as to what policy would replace the Kyoto Protocol upon its expiration in 2012. At the 2009 convention, representatives from the United States, Brazil, China, Indonesia, India, and South Africa agreed to what would be called the Copenhagen Accord. This document addressed the need to limit the global temperature rise to 2°C, but failed to establish any legal obligations for those parties involved. In 2011, COP 17 was held in Durban, South Africa, and the Durban Platform for Increased Action was agreed upon and slated to come into effect in 2020.12 Finally, in 2015, the 21st meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change saw the development of the Paris Accord, a legally binding agreement13 for involved parties—170 of the 196 parties within the United Nations UNFCCC—to work towards established goals for reducing the effects of climate change and, for the first time, to report their emissions and efforts to implement these new policies, while also undergoing international review.14 This agreement established goals that differed for industrialized versus developing countries, but also declared several overarching goals for 11 UNEP,“Find out more about COP21”; EESI,“Timeline of Major UN Climate Negotiations.”

12 EESI,“Timeline of Major UN Climate Negotiations.”

13 Treaties in this sense are considered legally binding in international law. Debate concerns whether this agreement is constitutionally binding as the“ratification”of the agreement came from an executive order under the Obama administration rather than as a result of Senate approval. See also Klein, Daniel R., et al. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change: Analysis and Commentary. Oxford: OUP, 2017. eBook Index, EBSCOhost (accessed March 15, 2018).

14 International, United Nations, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Outcomes of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris, by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, comp. Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (2015). United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, “The Paris Agreement,” The Paris Agreement: Status of Ratification, October 12, 2017, accessed November 28, 2017, http://unfccc.int/paris_agreement/ items/9485.php.

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Tiana D’Acchioli

all parties. Namely, it was decided that the parties should aim to limit the increase in global average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as well as adopt a long-term goal to keep this increase below 2 degrees Celsius.

Governments also agreed to revisit the agreement every five years to reestablish goals and report on their progress. Additionally, governments involved in the Paris Accord agreed to provide further support for developing countries as well as to promote international cooperation and permit non-Party members to address climate change, provide international support in opposition to it, and decrease vulnerability to its effects.15 In regards to the ratification of this agreement, President Barack Obama said, The targets we’ve set are bold. And by empowering businesses, scientists, engineers, workers, and the private sector—investors—to work together, this agreement represents the best chance we’ve had to save the one planet that we’ve got. So I believe this moment can be a turning point for the world. We’ve shown that the world has both the will and the ability to take on this challenge. It won’t be easy. Progress won’t always come quick. We cannot be complacent.

While our generation will see some of the benefits of building a clean energy economy—jobs created and money saved—we may not live to see the full realization of our achievement. But that’s okay. What matters is that today we can be more confident that this planet is going to be in better shape for the next generation.16

Here, too, the voices advocating for reform today echo those voices of the past that predicted the direction of human interaction with the environment and had the courage to speak out against it. In this instance, President Obama spoke of the world future generations will inherit from their elders living in the world today. In her book Silent Spring, eco-activist Rachel Carson wrote, “Future generations are unlikely to condone our lack of prudent concern for the integrity of the natural world that supports all life.”17 The inheritability of the environmental crisis is important to address. The environmental crisis is not one that offers the immediate gratification of resolution. Whereas short-term issues such as small economic recessions or flare-ups in international affairs sometimes offer immediate satisfaction through their resolution, the environmental crisis can be examined only through a long-term lens. To realize the full extent of the problems the world is facing, one must look beyond the present day and see how we have progressed to this point. Moreover, recovery policies, which governments might enact to counteract the damage that has already 15 Anonymous European Commission,“Paris Agreement,”Climate Action, February 16, 2017, accessed November 27, 2017, https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/international/negotiations/paris_en.

16 Barack Obama,“Statement by the President on the Paris Climate Agreement”(speech, Paris Climate Agreement, White House Cabinet Room, Washington, D.C., December 12, 2015).

17 Rachel Carson, First Mariner Books (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, 2002), 44.

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America and the Paris Agreement

been done, may not impart any immediate progress. In many instances, it could take decades, generations, or lifetimes to see the impacts of actions taken today on the state of this planet. Therefore, the changes made today will primarily benefit future generations, which is to say that they must be selfless. Naess himself argued that, if an individual’s thinking is in line with a biospheric model, which emphasizes the intrinsic value of all living things, altruism will not be necessary. In this new moral paradigm, our actions would be considered moral or immoral based on their effects for other living beings of equal worth. Whatever the moral paradigm, our actions should be mindful of the benefit for those to come and for the health, safety, and survival of the planet, rather than for the immediacy of payout for its current inhabitants.

Yet, it does not seem that this is the attitude currently exhibited in the United States. While some presidential candidates praised the Paris Agreement or criticized it for its lack of vigor, Donald Trump voiced disdain for the agreement, basing his opposition on the implications for American businesses. In June of 2017, President Trump announced, “We’re getting out [of the Paris Agreement]. And we will start to renegotiate and we’ll see if there’s a better deal. If we can, great. If we can’t, that’s fine.”18 The implications of this withdrawal are vast. For one, Economist Marc Hafstead, who is with Resources for the Future, told Christopher that exiting the deal “could potentially have political ramifications—to the extent that our pulling out of the agreement is going to cause other countries to do less.” It would also threaten the $100 billion a year pledged to help developing countries achieve emissions cuts, as Bloomberg has reported ....

The Atlantic reported last year that a U.S. departure would likely result in less-transparent mechanisms for actually enforcing the Paris accord...19

Motivations to disengage in reversal policies and other climate change prevention tactics include the economic benefits for big business, the particularly right-wing idea that climate change is an unsupported theory, and debates about the role of man in nature. Moreover, this withdrawal suggests that there is still much work to be done in changing the deep-seated “dominion” of man over nature.

Dominion in this sense, drawing from the writings of most major religions, refers to the idea that mankind has a bestowed, undisputed, and inherent right to exert complete control over the world. The world, 18 Kevin Liptak,“WH: US staying out of climate accord,” CNN, September 17, 2017, accessed November 27, 2017, http:// www.cnn.com/2017/09/16/politics/trump-paris-climate-deal/index.html.

19 Camila Domonoske and Colin Dwyer,“Trump Announces U.S. Withdrawal From Paris Climate Accord,” NPR, June 01, 2017, accessed November 28, 2017, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/01/530748899/watch-live-trumpannounces-decision-on-paris-climate-agreement.

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then, exists as a tool or mechanism for mankind to use to aid in the ease of mankind’s survival. Dominion suggests that the world, its non-human animals, its plants, its sources of water, and all of its other natural elements exist so that mankind may use them as a resource, without regard for other forms of life or the natural world in their own right. Rachel Carson criticized this concept of dominion or “control of nature,” as she termed it, as it related to the use of pesticides on crops in her book Silent Spring, writing, The “control of nature” is a phrase conceived in arrogance, born of the Neanderthal age of biology and philosophy, when it was supposed that nature exists for the convenience of man. The concepts and practices of applied entomology for the most part date from that Stone Age of science. It is our alarming misfortune that so primitive a science has armed itself with the most modern and terrible weapons, and that in turning them against the insects it has also turned them against the earth.

As it stands, global society seems deeply embedded with the whisperings of every facet of media that humans are, by and large, the owners of the world. Film, music, fashion, religion, agriculture, and countless other industries bombard humans with the messages of consumerism, pushing for consumption of every resource made available by this planet.

In the words of Lynn White Jr., written facetiously, “Despite Copernicus, all the cosmos rotates around our little globe. Despite Darwin, we are not, in our hearts, part of the natural process. We are superior to nature, contemptuous of it, willing to use it for our slightest whim.”20 As measures are taken that draw, still, from environmental consumptionism,21 it is increasingly important for those concerned with preservation of the environment to be conscious of their own role in this exploitation. If individuals heed the warnings of eco-activists and environmental philosophers from the movement’s beginnings to its present form, more policies like the Paris Agreement can be crafted and upheld, allowing for the advocated paradigm shift in modern thinking from “humans own the world” to “humans must maintain the world and be allowed to pass it on.” As human behavior morphs from actions of dominion to actions of stewardship, the world can be preserved for generations to inherit. The world can be saved, and every human being has the power to play a part in its salvation, if only by taking the time to question their involvement and complacency in the (ab)use of the world and its resources.

20 Lynn White and American Association for the Advancement of Science,“The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis,” in Science, New Series 155 (1967).

21 This term is borrowed from Dr. Richard D. Wolff’s statement,“Consumptionism is all about getting people to treat the things they use as the things they use up,”in the documentary“The True Cost”(2015) in reference to the article“Consumptionism” by Earnest Elmo Calkins. The original article was originally published in the trade journal Printer’s Ink.

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America and the Paris Agreement

References Callicott, J. Baird. “Chapter 9: The Search for an Environmental Ethic.” In Matter of Life and Death, by Tom Regan, 322-82. Vol. 3. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1992.

Carson, Rachel. First Mariner Books. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, 2002.

Chasing Ice. Directed by Jeff Orlowski. Performed by James Balog. United States, 2012.

Streaming source. 2012. Accessed November 27, 2017.

Department of Public Information. “Earth Summit.” United Nations. May 23, 1997.

Accessed November 27, 2017. http://www.un.org/geninfo/bp/enviro.html.

Domonoske, Camila, and Colin Dwyer. “Trump Announces U.S. Withdrawal From Paris Climate Accord.” NPR. June 01, 2017. Accessed November 28, 2017. https://www. npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/01/530748899/watch-live-trump-announcesdecision-on-paris-climate-agreement.

“Timeline of Major UN Climate Negotiations.” EESI - Environmental and Energy Study Institute. 2014. Accessed November 28, 2017. http://www.eesi.org/policy/international.

European Commission, Anonymous. “Paris Agreement.” Climate Action. February 16, 2017. Accessed November 27, 2017. https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/international/ negotiations/paris_en.https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/international/negotiations/ paris_en Klein, Daniel R., et al. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change: Analysis and Commentary. Oxford: OUP Oxford, 2017. eBook Index, EBSCOhost (accessed March 15, 2018).

Liptak, Kevin. “WH: US staying out of climate accord.” CNN. September 17, 2017. Accessed November 27, 2017. http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/16/politics/trump-paris-climatedeal/index.html.

List, Peter C. Radical Environmentalism: Philosophy and Tactics. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1993.

Naess, Arne. “The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement: A Summary.”

In Radical Environmentalism: Philosophy and Tactics, by Peter C. List, 19-24. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1993.

Naess, Arne. “Identification as a Source of Deep Ecological Attitudes.” In Radical Environmentalism: Philosophy and Tactics, by Peter C. List, 24-38. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1993.

Obama, Barack. “Statement by the President on the Paris Climate Agreement.” Speech, Paris Climate Agreement, White House Cabinet Room, Washington, D.C. , November 28, 2017.

UNEP. “Find out more about COP21.” Sustainable Innovation Forum 2015. Accessed November 28, 2017. http://www.cop21paris.org/about/cop21.

International. United Nations. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Outcomes of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris. By United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Compiled by Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. 2015. 1-5.

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Tiana D’Acchioli United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. “The Paris Agreement.” The Paris Agreement: Status of Ratification. October 12, 2017. Accessed November 28, 2017. http://unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9485.php.

White, Lynn, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis.” In Science, New Series, 1203-207. Vol. 155. 1967.

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The Effects of Gross Motor and Cardiovascular Exercise on Cognition: Implications for Neurodevelopmental Therapy

By Caroline R. Baum Faculty Mentors: Dr. Blaine L. Browne And Dr. Heather Kelley, Department Of Psychology, Counseling, And Family Therapy Abstract: This article examines the effects of gross motor activities on memory and cognition in neurotypically functioning adults for the potential use of neurodevelopmental therapy for special needs children. Specifically, the goal was to identify whether gross motor activities (GMA) had a significantly greater impact on memory and cognition than the control condition, which documented the participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; memory and cognition after twenty minutes of light-to-moderate paced walking on a treadmill. Each of the participants was randomly assigned to one of two evenly-distributed groups: either the GMA group or the treadmill control group. The participants in the GMA condition performed cross-lateral movements, backwards and forwards sequencing, and a cardiovascular element. The participants in the control condition watched the GMA video while they walked at a light-moderate pace on the treadmill. Three cognitive tests were used before and after exercise to measure reasoning, memory, and planning. Six word lists were also used to measure the participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; memory before and after exercise.

There were no significant differences among the scores on any of the three cognitive tests between the two groups, but there was a significant difference between the two groups on word recall. Following exercise, the GMA group recalled significantly more words than the treadmill group. These results suggest that gross motor activities produce a significant increase in memory compared to walking on a treadmill, and these findings can be directly applied to neurodevelopmental therapy for special needs children by implementing gross motor work to improve memory.

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Neurodevelopmental therapy is a new and emerging field that requires research to support its overall objective of helping special needs children improve their cognitive development. This study will examine the relationship between cardiovascular exercise and gross motor activities and their effect on cognition and memory. Gross motor activities include skills that require using large muscles in the body and are an important part of childhood development. If the experiment yields significant results, the current research can provide support for the use of gross motor activities as a neurodevelopmental therapy for special needs children.

Based on previous research by Raina et al. (2017), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has an estimated prevalence ranging from 0.07% to 1.8% and has been rapidly increasing due to a number of different risk factors.

In the past, the pathophysiology of Autism has been poorly understood.

However, new research has been aiming to evaluate the neurological components of the disorder (Robson, 2013). Nearly 75% of children with ASD are reported to need occupational, physical, or speech therapy services, but it is important to understand that these services are not provided by government-funded institutions (Benevides, Carretta & Lane, 2016).

Research by McManus, Prosser, and Gannotti (2016) found that there is currently an unmet rehabilitation need in children with special health care needs, including, but certainly not limited to, ASD. Due to the increasing prevalence of ASD as well as the lack of successful implementation of various therapies in the public school system, there is a necessity for research evaluating the efficacy of private neurodevelopmental therapy for special needs children.

When diagnosing ASD, evaluators assess verbal and nonverbal communication, adaptive behaviors, atypical behaviors, cognitive status, and fine and gross motor skills. Because ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, many of the issues that children with Autism face (e.g., processing speed, social difficulties, language difficulties, and sensory issues) relate to irregular brain functioning (Robson, 2013). Other disorders, like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Specific Language Impairment (SLI), and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), are all products of some type of neurological dysfunction in the brain. It is essential that research be conducted to investigate potential neurodevelopmental therapies to improve the overall functioning and quality of life of children with special needs.

A study by Gao, Lin, Grewen, and Gilmore (2016) investigated the normative functioning of early brain development during infancy and how this functioning is disrupted by various risk factors. The research supports the potential of neurodevelopmental therapy by showing that the brain is plastic and modifiable. This malleability is the basis of neuro46

The Effects of Gross Motor and Cardiovascular Exercise on Cognition

development and supports the overall objective of improving the quality of life of special needs children by implementing various therapies. The current study will seek to understand how gross motor activities, a potential neurodevelopmental therapy, can be more efficient in stimulating the brain’s synaptic connectivity than cardiovascular exercise alone.

There is currently an abundance of research that supports the notion that cardiovascular exercise increases cognition (e.g. Nanda, Balde, & Manjunatha, 2013; Sibley, Etneir, & Le Masurier, 2006). Numerous studies employing exercise on the treadmill have reported significant results on memory and cognitive tests. Sibley et al. (2006) found that an acute bout of exercise, which was defined as 20-30 minutes of light-moderate walking on the treadmill or cycling, led to a significant improvement in executive functioning, such as planning, reasoning, memory, and problem solving.

Due to the previous research that has shown that a single acute bout of exercise can increase cognition and memory, the current research will use a light-moderate 20-minute walk on the treadmill as the control group. There have been very few studies that have examined cognitively demanding exercises, like gross motor activities, and whether they result in higher improvement than just the treadmill alone. This study will examine whether gross motor activities that are cognitively demanding are more beneficial for neurodevelopment than simple cardiovascular tasks, like walking on a treadmill. Therefore, the experimental condition will consist of a number of different gross motor activities that will last the duration of the treadmill control condition.

An important factor in measuring brain activity is the type of assessment used to evaluate improvements in cognition. A study by Nanda et al. (2013) employed 30 minutes of stationary cycling as the experimental condition and found that the exercise significantly increased memory, reasoning, planning, as well as decreased reaction time. Online tests were used from the Cambridge Brain Sciences website and included the “Odd One Out” test, the “Paired Associates” test, and the “Spatial Slider” test. They found significant differences between the groups on all three cognitive measures, and, therefore, the current study will employ these three tests as measures of improved cognitive functioning. There are other various factors that are important in examining exercise and cognitive processing, one of which is brain connectivity.

A study by Law, Barnett, Yau, and Gray (2013) found that the connections among neurons are stronger and more active when the task is cognitively and physically demanding versus just one or the other. For example, one of the tasks in this experiment is a body midline crossing task, which increases the communication between the two hemispheres of the brain. The current research will utilize body midline crossing in the 47

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majority of the gross motor activities to stimulate the connection between the two hemispheres and, in doing so, increase cognition and memory.

The research by Law et al. (2013) also provided great evidence that forward and backward sequencing of tasks greatly improves cognition.

Therefore, the current study will include both forward and backward sequencing in the gross motor activities. For example, one exercise will be crawling with opposite limbs, such as right arm and left leg forward, then left arm and right leg forward. Once the participant crawls four steps forward, they will be required to crawl with opposite limbs four steps backward. The forward and backward sequence of the task will demand central executive resources from the frontal lobe of the brain in order for the participant to complete the exercise.

The brain’s central executive resources include many different cognitive processes, an example of which is working memory. Working memory is our ability to store and process information concomitantly for a short period of time. Previous research has examined the differences in working memory in children with various neurodevelopmental disorders and found that children with ADHD, ASD, SLI, and DCD exhibited various deficits in working memory (Alloway, Rajendran, & Archibald, 2009).

Working memory is a multi-faceted and complex cognitive process that is important in forming long term memory. There are several ways to measure memory functioning. One well-known technique is called the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) method. Roediger, Watson, McDermott, and Gallo (2001) investigated the effects of false recall in regard to memory lists. According to the study, when people hear certain words, it stimulates the connections associated with that word, depending on how that person encoded it. When words are presented that are strongly related to a certain schema, “filling in” might occur wherein the information that is strongly related to the schema might become activated.

For example, saying words that are strongly associated with the word “chair” might activate the neural network related to the word “chair” in someone’s mind. This results in the person falsely recalling the word “chair” when it was never said. In this example, the word “chair” is labeled as a critical lure, a word that is strongly associated with the list of words read but is never presented. The cognitive process of “filling in” is a sign of a well-developed semantic network. Therefore, the presence of falsely recalled items can indicate higher degree of cognitive processing, which will be used in the current study to measure the effects of cardiovascular exercise and gross motor activities.

It is predicted that the gross motor activities group will have significantly increased cognition and memory scores compared to the treadmill control group (Law et al., 2013). It is also predicted that the gross motor 48

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activities group will have a significantly higher amount of post-test critical lures than the treadmill control group. These predictions were made based on the study by Roediger et al. (2001) which provided evidence that the presence of falsely recalled memories can be a representation of strong neuronal connectivity and higher cognitive functioning.

Method Participants There were 50 participants whose results were included in the study.

Sampling was based on convenience and included classmates and friends of the experimenter, and various incentives were given to recruit participants, such as extra credit. There were two participants who reported that they were unable to complete twenty minutes of light-moderate exercise and were, therefore, excluded from the statistical analyses, as well as the demographic data of the study. Out of the 50 participants who were included, ages ranged from 18 to 50 (M = 21.76, SD = 4.56), and they were attending a university in the southwestern United States. Of the participants, there were four freshmen, seven sophomores, 17 juniors, and 22 seniors. The GPAs of the participants ranged from 2.13 to 3.97 (M = 3.09, SD = 0.403). Regarding race/ethnicity, there were 17 African Americans, 26 Caucasians, two Hispanics, two Asians, and three multi-ethnics. There were 22 participants majoring in psychology, and the remaining 28 participants had various majors such as interdisciplinary studies, communication disorders, biology, and nursing. Only 17 of the 50 participants reported regularly engaging in exercise at least four times a week.

Materials The informed consent form was given to each participant prior to their participation. The participants were also given a demographics questionnaire that asked descriptive questions about the participants. These answers were then used to generalize the research findings to the intended population and run correlations based on the participants’ characteristics. The participants’ heart rates were measured using a finger pulse oximeter by Acurate. After this, the participants completed three online tests from the Cambridge Brain Sciences website. The first test, “Odd One Out,” measured reasoning and required participants to identify one pattern that was distinctive from the other eight patterns displayed on the screen by either one or multiple of its features, such as color, shape, or number. Scores were determined by how many patterns the participants were able to identify correctly as the “odd one out” in a span of three minutes, where difficulty level increased over time. The second test, “Paired Associates,” measured memory and involved a set of boxes, 49

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each containing one object inside, which were individually revealed at the start of each trial. Following the reveal, the same objects appeared one at a time in the center of the screen and participants were required to select the box containing the object that was being displayed. After three errors were made, the test was concluded, and scores were based on the maximum number of objects correctly remembered with no penalization for incorrect answers. The final test, “Spatial Slider,” measured spatial planning and included the display of numbered tiles on a grid that first appeared in numerical order. After a few seconds, the tiles were shuffled so that some were no longer in the correct positions. The participants were required to rearrange the tiles into the correct order, by sliding them in and out of blank spaces in as few moves as possible. Tiles could not be overlapped, and scores were determined by how many problems were solved in three minutes.

Six word lists were used from the research by Roediger et al. (2001) (see Appendix A). The participants were then given a math distractor task to work on after the experimenter read one of the word lists. Paper and pen were also provided for the participants to write down the words they could remember after working on the math task for 30 seconds. Both the treadmill and gross motor activities group watched a 20-minute video of the experimenter performing the gross motor activities. Finally, the participants were given a debriefing form that explained the nature of the experiment.

Procedure Participants were instructed not to eat or smoke two hours before participating and were told to wear closed-toed shoes and comfortable clothing.

These instructions were based on a study by Hogan, Mata, and Carstensen (2013) that employed a similar methodology. Two lines of tape, about one foot apart, were placed parallel to each other on the ground from the front of the room to the back of the room before the experiment began.

The independent variable of the study was exercise group, which included a gross motor activities experimental condition and a treadmill control condition. To assign the participants to one of the two conditions, the experimenter wrote “gross motor activities” on 25 slips of paper, and “treadmill” on 25 slips of paper. The slips of paper were placed into a plastic bag and the experimenter pulled one of the slips from the bag when a participant arrived, determining which condition they were in, and then disposed of the slip of paper. The participants were given the informed consent form to read and sign and a demographics form to complete. If the participants indicated on the demographics form that they were unable to perform 20 minutes of light-moderate exercise, they 50

The Effects of Gross Motor and Cardiovascular Exercise on Cognition

were excluded from the experiment. The participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; resting heart rates were measured and recorded using a finger pulse oximeter.

In the first condition, gross motor activities were measured. The participants were instructed to stand between the two taped lines on the ground. They then watched the gross motor activities video which was played on a computer screen in front of them. As they watched the video, the participants mimicked the tasks as the experimenter completed them.

In the second condition, walking on a treadmill at a speed of 2 mph or higher was measured. The participants were then instructed to increase the speed to a brisk walk. The treadmillsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; speed was manipulated to account for variation in height and exercise ability. The speed adjustment was employed based on the study by Law et al. (2013) which implemented a similar methodology which also adjusted for task difficulty.

Halfway through the video, the participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; heart rates were measured for both the gross motor activities and treadmill group as a manipulation check to ensure the heart rate was raised and that the participants were executing the task properly. At the end of the video, the participants were instructed to sit down and rest. Their heart rates were measured until they were within 10 bpm of the resting heart rate.

A pre-post design was used to measure the dependent variables of the study, which included the three cognitive tests, the number of words recalled, and the number of critical lures. Prior to exercise, the participants completed the three online tests from the Cambridge Brain Sciences website, which measured reasoning, memory, and spatial planning, respectively. Following the tests, the participants were read a list of 15 words provided by Roediger et al. (2001), which they quietly listened to.

Once the experimenter finished reading the word list, the participants worked on a math distractor task for 30 seconds. Finally, they wrote down as many words as they could remember. This was repeated three times for three different word lists. The number of words correctly recalled was recorded as well as the critical lures (the non-presented words that are associated with the list of words read). The results of the cognitive tests and the DRM lists prior to the completion of the exercise condition were all pre-test scores.

Following the completion of the exercise condition, the participants completed the three online Cambridge Brain Sciences tests again as well as three more DRM word lists, all of which were post-test scores (Roediger et al., 2001). Finally, the participants were given a debriefing form that explained the nature of the experiment and were released from the study.

Participants that had indicated interest in the study on the consent form were emailed the results upon completion of the experiment.

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Results An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed on post exercise recall scores with pre-exercise recall scores serving as the covariate. The pre and post recall scores were correlated, which indicates pre exercise scores could be used as a covariate, r(48) = .56, p < .001. The assumption of homogeneity across regression lines was assessed, and this assumption was met. There was no difference in the regression slopes, F(1, 46) = .26, p = .615. Next, the ANCOVA was performed, which indicated that there was a significant difference between the treadmill and GMA groups on post exercise recall scores after controlling for the effect of differences in pre exercise scores, F(1, 47) = 19.72, p < .001, partial η 2 = .30. Following exercise, the GMA group (Madj = 7.81, SD = 1.09) recalled significantly more words than the treadmill group (Madj = 6.75, SD = 1.05).

A second ANCOVA was conducted for the number of critical lures falsely recalled. The maximum number of critical lures was three for both the pre exercise and post exercise. A participant’s score was obtained by taking the number of critical lures recalled and dividing by three to get a proportion, which was used as the dependent variable. The results indicated that the proportion of critical lures was similar in both groups pre exercise. The analysis to examine homogeneity of regression slopes was performed and this assumption of equal slopes across groups was supported, F(1, 46) = .01, p = .998. The result of the ANCOVA indicated that the two groups did not differ on post exercise critical lures after controlling for the pre-exercise critical lures, F(1, 47) = .18, p = .670, partial η 2 = .01. The GMA group (Madj = .33, SD = .30). produced similar amounts of critical lures as the Treadmill group (Madj = .37, SD = .36). See Table 1 for these results.

Independent samples t-tests were calculated for the “Odd One Out” test, “Paired Associates” test, and “Spatial Slider” test using pre-post difference scores. No significant differences between the two groups were found for any of these tests, p > .05. See Table 2 for all the means and standard deviations for each test by group.

Discussion The gross motor activities’ effects on memory support previous research

by Law et al. (2013) regarding the enhancing effects of cognitively demanding exercises on the neuronal plasticity and synaptic connections of the brain. Their experiment on the duality of mental and physical activity during gross motor exercise resulted in higher improvements in memory than physical activity alone. This finding supports the use of cognitively demanding exercises for treatment of neurodevelopmental 52

The Effects of Gross Motor and Cardiovascular Exercise on Cognition

disorders. Therefore, implementing this type of therapy in treatment plans can improve the memory of children with special needs.

Children with special needs have a variety of developmental delays depending on the specific disorder, and memory is a typical process that is hindered in the brains of special needs children (Alloway et al., 2009).

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have complications with their working memory, and the delays in memory effect the everyday functioning of affected children (Yerys, Wallace, Jankowski, Bollich & Kenworthy, 2011). Memory plays an important role in the completion of multistep processes and tasks that require divided attention. Divided attention relates to tasks that require completing two independent tasks simultaneously. For example, a child with ASD might struggle to hold a conversation in which they must remember the other personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s previous statement while concurrently developing a relevant and germane response. Also, nonsocial multistep tasks, such as getting dressed, can be difficult for a child with neurodevelopmental delays (Yerys et al. 2011).

Therapy that targets working memory can be very beneficial for the overall development and everyday functioning of children with various disorders. Because the current study resulted in significant effects for working memory due to gross motor activities, this type of therapy can be implemented in treatment plans for neurodevelopmental therapy for special needs children. Presently, government-funded special education programs place less emphasis on brain-targeted therapy, and greater emphasis on self-concept, academic motivation, applied skills, and the teaching of subjects such as mathematics and language (Dziuk, 2013). The implications of this study would be well-suited in private neurodevelopmental programs where there is a large effort to improve overall cognition and memory rather than the special education system.

It is possible that, one day, public school systems will reconstruct their programs and place a higher concentration on neurodevelopment, but, in the meantime, this research can be beneficial for the private therapies that focus on the mechanisms that improve brain functioning. Because neurodevelopmental therapy is a relatively new field, research on the neurological effects of gross motor activities is very limited, and more research needs to be conducted in the future to further support the positive effects that cognitively demanding tasks have on memory.

The study by Gao et al. (2016) concluded that the brain is most plastic and modifiable during the ages of infancy. Other research has supported the claim that the brain continues to grow throughout adolescence, becoming less plastic over time (Rees, Booth, & Jones, 2016). Because the current research was conducted in an undergraduate program, the Institutional Review Board (IRB) set limitations regarding the sample 53

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population, and only college students were used as participants. If the study had included children, it is possible that the gross motor activities would have had an even greater effect on the cognition and memory due to the plasticity of their developing brains. In the future, the effects of gross motor activities on children and adolescents should be measured in order to paint a clear picture of how this type of neurodevelopmental therapy affects its targeted population.

The three Cambridge Brain Sciences cognitive tests yielded non-significant results. The cognitive scores of the gross motor activities condition were not significantly greater than the scores of the treadmill condition.

One of the cognitive tests, “Paired Associates,” was designed to measure the memory of the participants, but the hand-written word recall lists yielded more significant results. This inconsistency raises skepticism regarding the validity and reliability of the cognitive measures. More research may be needed in this area to address this limitation as to why there are differences in hand recorded and online measures of memory.

One noticeable flaw of the online tests was the abnormal range of scores between the participants. The “Paired Associates” test yielded a very small standard deviation for both the GMA condition (M = 0.20, SD = 1.26) and the treadmill condition (M = 0, SD = 1.04). For this specific test, participants were required to recall the location of a certain picture on the screen. After the participants correctly remembered a set of pictures, another set of pictures was presented to them. However, the participants’ scores did not increase after every set they correctly completed, and it is not fully understood as to how the computer actually calculated these scores. For example, a participant who successfully completed two levels received the same score as a participant who completed three levels. It is possible that this particular test was not sensitive enough to the individual differences of the participants, and, therefore, found no difference for the groups. This conclusion can be made based on the significant results of the word recall lists.

The range of scores for the “Spatial Slider” test was very abnormal as well, and the standard deviations of the GMA condition (M = 9.44, SD = 20.21) and the treadmill condition (M = 11.08, SD = 17.35) were very large. Overall, these cognitive tests contained some flaws, and, because they were online tests, it was difficult for the researcher to identify the mechanisms and scoring methods behind them. For future research in this area, the researcher plans to use different tests to measure cognition that are not online, so that an analysis of the scoring can be made and more accurate results can be found.

Participants did not complete a practice trial of the cognitive tests, and it is possible that practice effect played a role in the results. The research54

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er believes for future research it would be best to have the participants complete an unrecorded practice trial to ensure they understand how to take the tests. In addition, the insignificance of the critical lures could have been due to the lack of word lists presented to the participants. Since there were only a total of 6 lists read during the experiment, there may not have been enough variability to measure accurately the effects of the experiment. In the future, research should be conducted with more than six word lists to ensure a higher chance of significant results.

Overall, this research can be used as a preliminary study for the effects of gross motor activities on the cognition and memory of special needs children. Little research has been conducted in this area of neurodevelopmental therapy, and further research needs to be conducted to support the results found in the current study. This study was able to add significant contributions to the effect of gross motor activities on memory, which can be used as a foundation for future research in this area.

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References Alloway, T. P., Rajendran, G., & Archibald, L. M. (2009). Working memory in children with developmental disorders. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42(4), 372-382. doi: 10.1177/0022219409335214 Benevides, T. W., Carretta, H. J., & Lane, S. J. (2016). Unmet need for therapy among children with autism spectrum disorder: results from the 2005–2006 and 2009–2010 national survey of children with special health care needs. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 20, 878-888. doi: 10.1007/s10995-015-1876-x Dziuk, S. (2013). Educational programs & special education: Issues, challenges & perspectives.

Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Gao, W., Lin, W., Grewen, K., & Gilmore, J. H. (2016). Functional connectivity of the infant human brain: Plastic and modifiable. The Neuroscientist, 22(5), 169-184. doi: 10.1177/1073858416635986 Hogan, C. L., Mata, J., & Carstensen, L. L. (2013). Exercise holds immediate benefits for affect and cognition in younger and older adults. Psychology and Aging, 28(2), 587594. doi: 10.1037/a0032634 Law, L. F., Barnett, F., Yau, M. K., & Gray, M. A. (2013). Development and initial testing of functional task exercise on older adults with cognitive impairment at risk of older adults with cognitive impairment at risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. Wiley Online Library, 20, 185-197. doi: 10.1002/oti.1355 McManus, B. M., Prosser, L. A., & Gannotti, M. E. (2016). Which children are not getting their needs for therapy or mobility aids met? Data from the 2009–2010 national survey of children with special health care needs. Physical Therapy, 96(2), 222-231.

Nanda, B., Balde, J., & Manjunatha, S. (2013). The acute effects of a single bout of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise of cognitive functions in healthy adult males. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 7(9), 1883-1885.

Raina, S. K., Chander, V., Bhardwaj, A. K., Kumar, D., Sharma1, S., Kashyap, V., … Bhardwaj, A. (2017). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among rural, urban, and tribal children (1–10 years of age). Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice, 8, 363-374.

Rees, P., Booth, R., & Jones, A. (2016). The emergence of neuroscientific evidence on brain plasticity: Implications for educational practice. Educational & Child Psychology, 33(1), 8-19. doi: 10.4103/jnrp.jnrp_329_16 Robson, B. (2013). Autism spectrum disorder: A review of the current understanding of pathophysiology and complementary therapies in children. Australian Journal of Herbal Medicine, 25(3), 128-151.

Roediger, H. L., Watson, J. M., McDermott, K. B., & Gallo, D. A. (2001). Factors that determine false recall: A multiple regression analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 8(3), 385-407.

Sibley, B. A., Etnier, J. L., & Le Masurier, G. C. (2006). Effects of an acute bout of exercise on cognitive aspects of Stroop performance. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 28, 285-299.

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The Effects of Gross Motor and Cardiovascular Exercise on Cognition Yerys, B. E., Wallace, G. L., Jankowski, K. F., Bollich, A., & Kenworthy, L. (2011). Impaired consonant trigrams test (CTT) performance relates to everyday working memory difficulties in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Child Neuropsychology, 17(4), 391-399. doi: 10.1080/09297049.2010.547462

Table 1 ANCOVA table for Exercise Group while controlling for Pre Scores on Memory (N = 50) Memory Score

Treadmill Group (n = 25) Madj(SD)

GMA Group (n = 25) Madj(SD)

F

p value

partial η2

PostRecall

6.75(1.05

7.81(1.09)

19.72

.001*

.30

PostLures

. 37(.36)

.33(.30)

.18

. 670

. 01

*p < .001

Table 2 Means and Standard Deviations for all the Cognitive Tests by Cambridge Brain Sciences Memory Score

Treadmill Controll

Test

Pre Test

Post Test

GMA Pre Test

Post Test

OOO

9.40 (3.52)

10.20 (3.29)

8.54 (3.44)

10.58 (3.33)

PA

5.36 (.76)

5.36 (.86)

5.12 (1.15)

5.29 (.75)

SS

35. 84 (18.45)

46.90 (17.16)

30.12 (17.70)

40.37 (16.26)

*p < .001

Appendix A Word Lists with Critical Lures in Parentheses List 1 (Car)

List 2 (Doctor)

List 3 (Music)

List 4 (Stove)

List 5 (Window)

List 6 (Spider)

1. Truck 2. Bus 3. Train 4. Automobile 5. Vehicle 6. Drive 7. Jeep 8. Ford 9. Race 10. Keys 11. Garage 12. Highway 13. Sedan 14. Van 15. Taxi

1. Nurse 2. Sick 3. Lawyer 4. Medicine 5. Health 6. Hospital 7. Dentist 8. Physician 9. Ill 10. Patient 11. Office 12. Stethoscope 13. Surgeon 14. Clinic 15. Cure

1. Note 2. Sound 3. Piano 4. Sing 5. Radio 6. Band 7. Melody 8. Horn 9. Concert 10. Instrument 11. Symphony 12. Jazz 13. Orchestra 14. Art 15. Rhythm

1. Hot 2. Heat 3. Pipe 4. Cook 5. Warm 6. Fire 7. Oven 8. Wood 9. Kitchen 10. Lid 11. Coal 12. Gas 13. Iron 14. Range 15. Furnace

1. Door 2. Glass 3. Pane 4. Shade 5. Ledge 6. Sill 7. House 8. Open 9. Curtain 10. Frame 11. View 12. Breeze 13. Sash 14. Screen 15. Shutter

1. Web 2. Insect 3. Bug 4. Fright 5. Fly 6. Arachnid 7. Crawl 8. Tarantula 9. Poison 10. Bite 11. Creepy 12. Animal 13. Ugly 14. Feeders 15. Smalli

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Feminine Autonomy and the Commodification of Virginity

By Taylor Collins Faculty Mentor: Dr. Maren Clegg-Hyer, Department Of English Abstract: In what is often considered his most problematic play, Measure for Measure, William Shakespeare creates a narrative about the conspicuous consumption of his era. In Measure for Measure, Shakespeare exemplifies the commodification of sex and virginity through a female protagonist who finds autonomy through her position in monastic life. By creating parallels between his fictional Vienna and historical London, Shakespeare produces a social critique that exemplifies a strict society seeking to eradicate moral corruption through harsh measures. The hypocrisy of the villainization of premarital fornication helps to define the line between the bourgeoisie and the proletariats, in the sense that the proletariats are oftentimes those forced into premarital sex to survive, while it is a luxury and a choice for the bourgeoisie. By characterizing Isabel through her intelligence and faith, Shakespeare removes her from the sexual economy and establishes her autonomy outside of the patriarchyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s control.

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Feminine Autonomy and the Commodification of Virginity

Autonomy is a concept that is often examined in literature and acts as a common theme and character arc, both in classic and contemporary narratives. Though it is one of the newer critical theories, Feminism has taken an interest in this concept and examines when, under what circumstances, and by which methods female characters establish autonomy. In what is often considered his most problematic play, Measure for Measure, William Shakespeare creates a riveting narrative about the conspicuous consumption of his era by framing the commodification of sex and virginity through the viewpoint of a female protagonist who finds her confidence and autonomy through her position in monastic life. By establishing Isabel as a nun, Shakespeare removes her from the sexual economy of fictional Vienna and links the concepts of autonomy and monastic life together to form a narrative that highlights the value of feminine intelligence and its relation to independence.

Despite the anti-Catholic sentiments of the time, Shakespeare did not shy away from overtly Catholic themes while writing Measure for Measure. Indeed, he made it so that the very nature of the work could not be separated from Catholic leanings and theology. Some scholars believe that Shakespeare had strong Catholic sympathies because his father and brother were suspected to have been practicing Catholics (Pearce). A handful of scholars even point to parts of Shakespeare’s own life which could suggest that he himself was Catholic, though there is no solid evidence to support this claim or others about Shakespeare’s religious beliefs (Anderson). Still, these Catholic overtones are evident in the narrative of the play as a young would-be nun resists commodification and seeks to establish herself as an autonomous figure outside of the patriarchy.

In Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, there is a great disparity between the perceived power of women and the actual power of women. Because one of the main characters in the play is a female about to enter a cloistered convent, there is significant discussion among feminist theorists about the autonomy of women and the concept of virginity as a bartering tool. One of the most prominent voices on the topic of feminist theory relating to Measure for Measure is Johnathan Dollimore. Dollimore argues that despite the fact that women are a central part of the proceedings of the play, and indeed one of the leading characters is a female, the women of the play are spoken for, rather than listened to. To support his claim, he cites the ignoring of Isabella’s mastery of rhetoric by male characters in favor of observing her physical appearance (Shakespeare 2.2), Mariana’s position as a pawn to be used as Isabella and the Duke deem appropriate (3.1), and the absolute silence of the prostitutes, despite their habitual presence in the play. While Dollimore concentrates specifically on Measure for Measure in his analysis, Claire McEachern takes a 59

Taylor Collins

different route to the approach of Shakespearian feminism. By using the source study that Dollimore conducted on Shakespeare’s own rejection of patriarchal archetypes as the basis for her work, McEachern creates a differing study by focusing on patriarchal archetypes with an analysis of the father-daughter relations in several of Shakespeare’s plays.

While Dollimore and McEachern both conduct source studies of general themes in Shakespeare’s works, there are several critics who focus solely on the feminine autonomy of Measure for Measure. Theodora Jankowski is one such critic who acts as a prominent voice in the conversation about feminine sexuality in Shakespeare’s works and the ways in which female characters revolt from their roles as sexual beings.

Jankowski applies the concepts of Queer Theory to perpetual virginity and celibacy as a rejection of sexual economy, heterosexual norms, and expectations of society. She claims that once a woman removes herself from the sexual economy, she ceases to be a woman (221). Instead, she steps outside the realm of the patriarchy and is no longer one of the dominated, but has developed her own autonomy. Jessica Slights and Michael Morgan Holmes developed a theory similar to Jankowski’s. In their analysis of the play, they address the strong anti-patriarchal sentiments and the challenge of societal norms in Isabella’s decision to become a cloistered nun. They discuss how a woman’s decision to adopt religious life is directly tied to rejection of heteronormative relations and creates a sense of self-dominance and autonomy. While there are some critics who do not view Isabella as a strong, benevolent character and criticize her actions as demonstrating a lack of devotion to becoming a nun, they are few and far between. A large majority of critics agree that Isabella’s actions act as steps toward acquiring her own autonomy and establishing herself as a force outside of the patriarchy’s control.

The society in which Shakespeare lived while writing Measure for Measure would not have been that different from the society which his characters experienced in the play’s setting of Vienna. While there are some fundamental differences between the two, including the type of religious power in play, they both exemplify a strict society trying to eradicate moral corruption through harsh measures. In Shakespeare’s London, the culture was emerging from Queen Elizabeth’s rule and the growth of the Anglican Church and Puritanism. In the time that Measure for Measure was written, James I was in power and was trying to establish an irenic rule, wherein several elements of Catholic practices were prohibited, and Catholic churches were shut down. In Shakespeare’s fictionalized Vienna, Duke Vincetio seeks to correct social and moral corruption by appointing a pro-tempore to make judicial decisions, as the Duke does not believe his decisions will be respected by the people, considering his years of 60

Feminine Autonomy and the Commodification of Virginity

laxity. The pro-tempore Angelo focuses mainly on the act of premarital fornication and implements the strictest rulings to establish dominance in his position. Claire McEachern, in her case study of Shakespeare’s works, claims that “Shakespeare’s experience and understanding of the pressures that patriarchy exerts upon its members enabled him to write plays that interrogate those same patriarchal systems” (272), drawing a second parallel between his real London and fictional Vienna and establishing one of the abstract concepts upon which the play builds. As a consequence of the atmosphere of his own culture, Shakespeare incorporates underlying commentary on the state of Venetian society. This serves as the backdrop in his play and applies to the era in which he lived, making the play a social commentary.

Given the period in which Measure for Measure is set, it is not unusual for premarital sex to be viewed as a faux pas. However, Angelo’s actions as pro-tempore are more grounded within the context that premarital sex is considered a sin by the community, despite the fact that most individuals in the community partake in the activity. This hypocrisy helps define the line between the bourgeoisie and the proletariats in the sense that the proletariats are oftentimes the ones who are forced into premarital sex to survive, while it is a luxury and a choice for the bourgeoisie. This concept is exemplified in act 1, scene 2, wherein Lucio is discussing the amount of money, and number of diseases, he has purchased at Mistress Overdone’s brothel; “Behold, behold, where Madam Mitigation comes! I have purchased as many disease under her room as come to—” (1.2.4446). The use of the term “mitigation” in reference to Mistress Overdone highlights her role as a character who capitalizes on the laxity of the Duke’s laws and reduces the solemnity of sex. Mistress Overdone herself confirms the idea that the proletariats are forced to use premarital sex to survive, as she laments to herself that “Thus, what with the war, what with the sweat, what with the gallows, and what with the poverty, I am custom-shrunk” (1.2.78-80). Lucio’s attitude towards Mistress Overdone and her participation in the sexual economy contrasts with his view of Isabella and her refraining from it. In act 1, scene 5, Lucio greets Isabella at the convent’s gate with the greeting, “Hail, virgin, if you be—as those cheek-roses / proclaim you are no less” (1.5.16-17), thus placing her in a differing social class than Mistress Overdone in the manner with which he speaks to her. By using respect in response to Isabella’s removal from the sexual economy as well as her natural social class, he separates her from Mistress Overdone who is confined to her class because of her status and because of her participation in the sexual economy. The distinction of social class due to her virginity in conjunction with her relation to Claudio establishes Isabella as a member of the bourgeoisie, while recognizing 61

Taylor Collins

Mistress Overdone as a proletariat. The criminalization of fornication before marriage highlights the religious undertones in the society, evidenced by Duke Vincentio’s belief that the society is falling into moral ruin (1.1.3-72). This enforcement of one man’s moral compass on an entire society is the catalyst for all the conflict in the remaining acts.

Despite the fact that it is used as a commodity in their economy, premarital sex is associated with a stigma rooted in the religious undertones of Vienna. In this fictional Vienna, sex is considered unclean and impure, and to engage in it without having first received the sacrament of marriage through the Church puts one’s soul in danger through the act of committing a Mortal Sin, in accordance with traditional Catholic dogma. This belief that sex is a sin opens the door to its perversion and use as a bartering chip. The perversion of sex and virginity is exemplified in Angelo’s proposition to Isabella to trade her virginity for Claudio’s life: “No Earthly means to save him but that either / You must lay down the treasures of your body / To this supposed, or else to let him suffer” (2.4.95-97). As a woman getting ready to enter a convent, the sacredness of her virginity would have been one of her highest values, something to be preserved and cherished before giving herself to monastic life. Whereas Lucio holds Isabella to a higher standard because of her virginity, exemplified by his using “virgin” as a title for her much as Catholics do for Mary, Angelo finds it alluring, as it galvanizes his lust. By attempting to trade Isabella’s virginity for her brother’s life, Angelo solidifies the materialism and intrinsic value of virginity and the heteronormative relations expected of women in the sexual economy.

In addition to the concept of the commodification of virginity, Measure for Measure addresses the feminine autonomy that comes from involvement in monastic life. The first true instance we see of Isabella’s autonomy comes in her discussion with Angelo regarding her brother’s life. In spite of his acknowledgement of her as “Virgin” when he arrives at the convent’s gate, Lucio attempts to persuade Isabella to use her physical being rather than her rhetoric to appeal to Angelo, advising her, “Go to Lord Angelo, / And let him learn to know, when maidens sue, / Men give like gods; but when they weep and kneel, / All their petitions are as freely theirs / as they themselves would owe them” (1.5.79-83). However, Rather than deploying the“speechless dialect”(1.3.67) of body language—rather than throwing herself at Angelo’s feet and hanging upon his gown—Isabella attempts to win over the deputy by appealing to his reason and faith, relying on rhetorical skill and ethical argument instead of on physical seduction to persuade him.

(Slights and Holmes 277)

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Feminine Autonomy and the Commodification of Virginity

By opposing Lucio’s suggestion for how she should appeal to Angelo, Isabella makes a defined statement about her autonomy and her intelligence, establishing herself as a formidable force and a politically intelligent woman in her argument. Consequently, Isabella’s rejection of Angelo’s proposition in act 2, scene 4 serves as another act of rebellion and resistance toward the patriarchy by establishing her self-dominance. Moreover, the “resistance derives not simply from her refusal to acquiesce to his wishes, but from the realization that she herself is responsible—through the exercise of her own free choice—for the preservation of her virginity” (Jankowski 229). This scene directly links the concept of feminine autonomy with virginity in the sense that it allows her to realize that she, not the patriarchy, has control over her body and her decisions. Through the presentation of the protagonist as a woman attempting to enter a convent, and therefore interested in maintaining her virginity and removing herself from the sexual economy, Shakespeare intrinsically links the characteristics of intelligence and autonomy to the vocation of monastic life. Through this relationship, he creates a character who is independent not in spite of her identification as a nun, but rather through the identification.

One of the most important, yet seldom acknowledged, revelations in Measure for Measure is the concept that a female’s status as a “woman” in society is entirely dependent on her involvement in the sexual economy of her society. Though there are undertones of this concept throughout the entire play, it is most prominent in act 2, scene 4 during which Angelo attempts to persuade Isabella to accept his offer after her initial decline.

Angelo states that, “Than faults may shake our frames—let me be bold. / I do arrest your words. Be that you are, / That is, a woman; if you be more, you’re none. / if you be one—as you are well expressed / by all external warrants—show it now / By putting on the destined livery” (2.4.135-40).

Though the preceding and following lines are necessary to understand the context of the statement, the lines “Be that you are / That is, a woman; if you be more, you’re none” (2.4.136-37) suggest Angelo’s belief that if Isabella finds herself morally above those who engage in the act of sex, she is not a woman. This belief suggests that a woman is stripped of her womanhood if she elects to pursue perpetual virginity rather than marriage, thus placing Isabella outside of the patriarchy’s control. As Theodora Jankowski puts it, “In a society that has a place for a woman only as a powerless (sexual) servant of men—wife or whore—the virgin with her intact hymen and unpenetrated body is most definitely not a woman, for she challenges her society’s most basic notion of a woman” (229-30). The concept of a woman being either a “wife” or a “whore” carries over into the denouement of the play, as Lucio says of Mariana that “she may be a punk, for many of them are neither maid, nor widow, not wife” (5.1.17963

Taylor Collins

80). This comment suggests that the only other alternative for a woman is to be a prostitute, with this decision completely depending on the female’s occupation in the sexual economy as her defining characteristic as a person and as a woman. Beauregard relates this concept of marriage as the only true option for women to the Protestant movement. By comparing Angelo’s “desire to raze the sanctuary” (2.2.178) to the concept that “for the reformers, marriage was highly valued and consecrated virginity was considered impious, and it is therefore significant that a sense of sacred permeates Shakespeare’s conception of the vow of chastity” (253).

Angelo’s view of Isabella’s virginity as a “sanctuary” suggests, as David Beauregard says, a sense of sacredness in perpetual virginity, intrinsically tying autonomy with chastity through Catholic dogma. Similarly, Kenneth Colston ties the sacred nature of chastity and Religious Life in the Catholic faith to social class and Religious Life’s removal from the system by assessing that “no Protestant denomination consider[s] marriage or penance or holy orders a sacrament; paradoxically, the sacramental system and rule yield clerical autonomy, authority and prestige” (24). This comment suggests that while marriage is a holy sacrament in the Catholic Church, it is not the only route available to those who wish to join the clergy and that the rejection of it brings an autonomy and respect that marriage cannot commandeer.

Despite the fact that they were shamed for participating in it, women in Measure for Measure were expected to be active participants in the sexual economy of Vienna and to uphold the heteronormative stereotypes imposed upon them by men. Isabella’s decision to become a nun and remove herself from the sexual economy presents her as a threat to male dominance because she has declared self-rule over her body and her choices. By choosing chastity and perpetual virginity, Isabella has elected to remove herself from the realm of patriarchal dominance and the social hierarchy, making her both a prize to be conquered, as shown

by Angelo’s relentless pursuit of her, and a formidable source of change, as shown by the Duke’s actions.

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References Anderson, David E. “Was Shakespeare Catholic?” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 25 Apr. 2008, www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2008/04/25/april-25-2008-wasshakespeare-catholic/5519.

Beauregard, David. “Shakespeare On Monastic Life: Nuns and Friars in Measure for Measure.” Religion and the Arts, vol. 5, no. 3, 2001, pp. 248–72. MLA International Bibliography, doi:10.1163/15685290152813653.

Colston, Kenneth. “Shakespeare’s Franciscans.” New Criterion, vol. 33, no. 6, 2015, pp.

19–24. MLA International Bibliography.

Dollimore, Jonathan. “Shakespeare, Cultural Materialism, Feminism and Marxist Humanism.” New Literary History: A Journal of Theory and Interpretation, vol. 21, no. 3, 1990, pp. 471–93. MLA International Bibliography, doi:10.2307/469122.

Jankowski, Theodora A. “Pure Resistance: Queer(y)Ing Virginity in William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure and Margaret Cavendish’s The Convent of Pleasure.” Shakespeare Studies, no. 26, 1998, pp. 218–55.

McEachern, Claire. “Fathering Herself: A Source Study of Shakespeare’s Feminism.”

Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 39, no. 3, 1988, pp. 269–90. MLA International Bibliography, doi:10.2307/2870927.

Pearce, Joseph. “The Catholicism of William Shakespeare.” Knights of Columbus Columbia, Kights of Columbus, 1 Dec. 2016, www.kofc.org/en/columbia/detail/catholicism-of-william-shakespeare.html.

Shakespeare, William. “The Test of Measure for Measure. Measure for Measure: An Authoritative Text, Sources, Criticism, Adaptations and Responses,” edited by Grace Ioppolo, W.W. Norton, 2010, pp. 1–91.

Slights, Jessica, and Michael Morgan Holmes. “Isabella’s Order: Religious Acts and Personal Desires in Measure for Measure.” Studies in Philology, vol. 95, no. 3, 1 July 1998, pp. 263–92. JSTOR.

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Analysis of the Persecution of European Jewish Communities During the Black Death

By Drew Johnson Faculty Mentor: Dr. Frederick Downing, Department Of Philosophy And Religious Studies Abstract: The Black Death was one of the deadliest pandemics to occur in human history. From 1346 to 1353, it ravaged Europe, resulting in the deaths of approximately 50 million Europeans.

The Black Death incited a time of intense panic and paranoia.

Unaware of the science of disease transmission, many medieval Europeans came to believe in sensational rumors and conspiracy theories about the pandemic’s origin. One specific conspiracy theory would have deadly consequences for Europe’s Jewish communities: the conspiracy theory that the Jews orchestrated the Black Death as part of an attempt to destroy Christian Europe.

Belief in this conspiracy theory became widespread and led to some of the most intense episodes of Jewish persecution ever recorded. This paper intends to analyze the persecution of European Jewish communities during the time of the Black Death by discussing the well-poisoning conspiracy theory, Pope Clement VI’s attempts to exonerate the Jews, the massacres that occurred throughout Europe, and the role the Flagellant Movement played in these massacres. Also, this paper will discuss various theories that scholars have developed in attempts to explain why these persecutions occurred, and which social classes were most actively involved in the persecution of European Jewish communities.

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Analysis of the Persecution of European Jewish Communities During the Black Death

The Black Death was one of the deadliest pandemics to occur in human history. From 1346-1353 CE, the Black Death ravaged Europe, resulting in the deaths of numerous Europeans. Based on the calculations of historian Ole J. Benedictow, the Black Death killed approximately 50 million people in Europe resulting in a 60% reduction in its population (Benedictow 49).

Medieval Europe, during which the Black Death occurred, was often a time of panic and paranoia. Unaware of the science of disease transmission, many medieval Europeans that experienced the Black Death believed in sensational rumors and conspiracy theories about the pandemic’s origin. In particular, one of these conspiracy theories suggested that Jewish Europeans had caused the Black Death by poisoning the wells of Europe.

This conspiracy theory proved to have deadly consequences for the Jewish communities at the time. Belief in this conspiracy theory became widespread, and it led to some of the most intense episodes of Jewish persecution ever recorded. From 1348-1350, many European Jewish communities were persecuted and some were eliminated. Despite the efforts of Pope Clement VI to prove the Jews’ innocence and prevent the persecutions, many Jews were tortured and burned at the stake by anti-Jewish groups, such as the Flagellant Movement. Many scholars have researched Jewish persecutions at the time of the Black Death, but a consensus about why the persecutions occurred and which social classes were most actively involved in these persecutions has not been reached. This paper intends to analyze the persecution of European Jewish communities during the Black Death by discussing the well-poisoning conspiracy theory, Pope Clement VI’s attempts to exonerate the Jews, the massacres that occurred throughout Europe, and the role the Flagellant Movement played in these massacres. Also, this paper will discuss various ideas that scholars have developed in attempts to explain why these persecutions occurred and which social classes were most actively involved in these persecutions.

The Black Death Begins Modern science has shown that the Black Death was most likely caused by the plague bacteria Yersinia pestis. Many scientists believe that the plague involved in the Black Death was specifically the bubonic plague (Haensch et al. 1-5). Yersinia pestis is transmitted by fleas that often live on rodents (Benedictow 4). It is likely that rats carrying fleas infected with Yersinia pestis were on ships that landed in Sicily between September 1347 and January 1348 (Foa 13). After the arrival of the Black Death pathogen in Sicily, it quickly spread throughout the rest of Europe. Medieval Europeans were largely unaware of the science of disease transmission. While some medieval doctors deduced that the Black Death was caused by a biological agent, most were oblivious to the true nature of the pandemic and how to 67

Drew Johnson

treat it properly (Cohn 9-10). Due to the lack of information regarding the nature of disease transmission, many sensational explanations developed about the Black Death. One popular explanation was that the plague was of divine origin; it was believed that God was punishing European Christians for their sins and for their failure to reclaim the Holy Land during the Crusades (Cohn 9). Another popular explanation was that the Black Death was the result of planetary alignments (Foa 13-14). A good number of medieval doctors, and apparently even Pope Clement VI, subscribed to the planetary alignment explanation (Foa 13-14). Other explanations for the Black Death involved strange meteorological phenomena and mysterious supernatural beings and creatures. In these explanations, the source of the Black Death ranged from mysterious acid rain that could melt mountains to mysterious hooded beings that emitted poisonous smoke and even poisonous eight-legged, worm-like creatures (Cohn 705-706).

However, one of the most dangerous explanations to develop about the Black Deathâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s origin was the belief that the plague was of human origin.

Well-Poisoning Conspiracy Theory The explanation that the Black Death was of human origin centered around the idea that the plague was caused by poison. This explanation purported that certain groups were actively poisoning wells in Europe.

Initially, peasants and other socially marginalized groups were accused of poisoning wells (Cohn 9; Foa 14). Several instances were recorded during which peasants accused of well-poisoning were executed by means of hot pincers, disembowelment, or stake-burning (Cohn 9). In 1348, however, the focus and blame shifted from the peasants to the Jews. In July of 1348, in the town Dauphine of Southern France, the first major accusation of the Jews poisoning wells occurred (Foa 14; Graetz 102). Shortly after this incident, accusations and rumors that Jews were responsible for the plague quickly spread throughout Europe (Foa 14). These accusations and rumors quickly turned into widely believed conspiracy theories. According to these conspiracy theories, the plague was the result of an elaborate plot

by Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jewish communities to destroy Christendom (Foa 14). The writings of Jewish historian Heinrich Graetz provide a detailed description of the rather elaborate backstory for the supposed Jewish plot to destroy Christendom.

In his writings, Graetz states that Jewish communities were less severely affected by the Black Death than Christians (101). It has been suggested that Jewish communities may have fared better than Christian communities due to the sanitation of Jewish communities as a result of Jewish ritual laws about cleaning and bathing (Bryne 15; Pasachoof and Littman 154). Written sources from the time of the Black Death cast doubt 68

Analysis of the Persecution of European Jewish Communities During the Black Death

on the idea that Jewish communities fared better in dealing with the plague. Pope Clement VI stated in a papal bull issued in 1348 that Jewish mortality rates were equal to that of Christians, and Konrad of Megenberg, in his work Das Buch der Natur, written between 1348-1351, describes high Jewish mortality rates (Foa 14). Historian Phillip Zeigler has suggested that it is very possible that mortality rates in Jewish communities were even higher than those in Christian communities because most Jews were forced to live in “crowded and unhealthy ghettoes” (Ziegler 101).

Regardless of its validity, many Christians apparently did believe that Jews were either resistant or completely immune to the plague (Zeigler 101).

This led many Christians to become suspicious of Jews and to believe that they were somehow responsible for the plague’s origin (Graetz 101).

Graetz writes that “the suspicion arose that the Jews had poisoned the brooks and the wells, and even the air in order to annihilate the Christians of every country at one blow” (101). Graetz states that “It was charged that the Spanish Jews supposed to be in possession of great power and influence over the congregations of Europe had hit upon this diabolical scheme” (101). Jewish doctors in Spain were accused of creating the poison responsible for the Black Death; this poison was supposedly “concocted from the flesh of a basilisk, or from spiders, frogs and lizards, or from the hearts of Christians and the dough of consecrated wafers” (Graetz 102). The Spanish Jews supposedly commanded Jewish communities throughout Europe to put this poison in wells that Christian populations were using (Graetz 101-102).

Graetz describes that the well-poisoning conspiracy theories “were credited not alone by the ignorant mob, but even by the higher classes” (102). Courts and other legal authorities began to take these conspiracy theories seriously, and this resulted in Jews being arrested and interrogated about their supposed role in the poisoning of wells (Foa 14; Graetz 107). Torture was commonly used during these interrogations; many of the Jews who were tortured during these interrogations made confessions about being involved in a poison plot (Foa 14). There are even cases of Jews who were not tortured making confessions about the well-poisoning plot, but this was very likely due to the psychological stress and trauma of seeing their fellow Jews being tortured. Even though most of the confessions were obtained through torture, many people took this as authentic evidence of a massive Jewish conspiracy against Christian Europe.

From 1348 to 1351, many Jews were killed for their supposed involvement in the well-poisoning conspiracy (Voigtländer and Voth 1346-1347).

The primary means of execution during this period was being burned at the stake. Historian Samuel Cohn has stated that the Black Death persecutions “eradicated almost entirely the principal Jewish communities of 69

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Europe” (3). The first massacre of Jews during the Black Death occurred in Toulon, France in April 1348. In this incident, the city’s Jewish quarter was attacked, and forty Jews were killed in their homes (Foa 13). Graetz states in his writings that in May 1348 another massacre occurred in “a certain town of Southern France” (102). During this massacre, “the whole Jewish congregation, men, women, and children, together with their holy writings, were cast into flames” (Graetz 102).

Pope Clement VI’s Attempt to Protect Jewish Communities The persecution of Jews began to spread throughout Europe. Pope Clement VI attempted to defend Europe’s Jewish communities. In July 1348, he issued a papal bull stating that the plague was not of human origin; instead, it either had been caused by God or was the result of planetary alignments (Foa 13-14). In this papal bull, under the threat of excommunication, he also prohibited the killing of Jews without proper judicial sentence, the forced baptism of Jews, and the theft of Jewish property (Graetz 103). Unfortunately for Jewish communities, the papal bull had little effect on hindering the persecutions. As Graetz describes, “This bull was probably of some use in Southern France, but in other parts of the Christian world it produced no effect” (103). Clement’s attempts to protect the Jews were largely hindered by other European leaders who sought to take advantage of the persecutions either for political or economic reasons.

An example is shown in the actions of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. Charles IV encouraged the persecution of Jewish communities by allowing for the disposal and dispersal of murdered Jews’ property and by granting immunity to government and religious officials who had participated in the persecutions (Cohn 15). Furthermore, in the aftermath of massacres, Charles IV would often cancel the debts that many local elites had owed to deceased Jewish money lenders (Cohn 15). In October 1348, Clement VI issued a second papal bull in an attempt to prove that Jews were not responsible for the plague (Foa 14). In this bull, Clement VI noted how Jews were dying at rates equal to Christians and that countries that did not have Jewish populations, such as England, were still suffering from the plague (Cohn 14; Foa 14).

Despite Clement VI’s efforts to debunk the well-poisoning conspiracy theory, massacres of Jews began to occur throughout Europe. On January 9th, 1349, the rather infamous Basel massacre occurred, in which almost the entire Jewish population of Basel was killed (Graetz 107). Many of the Jews of Basel were forced into wooden buildings that had been built on an island in the Rhine River; these buildings were subsequently set on fire (Voigtländer and Voth 1347; Ziegler 103). It has been estimated that approximately 600 Jews were killed during the Basel massacre (Voi70

Analysis of the Persecution of European Jewish Communities During the Black Death

gtländer and Voth 1347). On February 14, 1349, almost the entire Jewish community of Strasbourg was massacred (Graetz 108). Originally, the city council of Strasbourg attempted to protect the Jews. However, this led to a public outcry, which led in turn to the city council being replaced by an anti-Jewish council (Foa 15). The new anti-Jewish city council decreed that the entire Jewish community of Strasbourg would be burned at the stake (Foa 15). Approximately 2,000 Jews were burned at the stake, and according to Graetz, “Only those who in despair accepted the cross were spared” (Foa 15; Graetz 108). Ironically, the Strasbourg massacre occurred several weeks before the city had its first cases of the Black Death (Ziegler 103). Another massacre occurred on March 1st, 1349 in Worms, Germany, which was home to the oldest Jewish community in Germany (Graetz 108-109). In this massacre, approximately 400 Jews were burned to death (Graetz 108-109). There are stories that members of Worms’ Jewish community attempted to fight back against their persecutors, but this has not been validated by historians (Graetz 108-109; Raspe 473-474). However, it has been determined that the Jews of Worms, likely in an act of desperation, did indeed set fire to their own houses before being burned at the stake (Graetz 108-109; Raspe 473-474). There are other recorded incidences, such as in Oppenheim and Vienna, wherein Jews chose to commit suicide to avoid being persecuted (Foa 15; Graetz 109).

Arrival of the Flagellant Movement Some of the most intense and violent episodes of the Jewish persecutions during the Black Death occurred in Germany. In the German city of Mainz, a violent altercation broke out between Jews and Christians (Ziegler 103). In this altercation, the Jews of Mainz are said to have killed 200 Christians (Ziegler 103). Various reports about the Mainz incident state that the Christians of Mainz killed anywhere from 6,000 – 12,000 Jews in retaliation (Graetz 109; Ziegler 103). Graetz states in his description of the Mainz incident that the Flagellant Movement was heavily involved in provoking the conflict (109). The Flagellant Movement was a religious extremist movement that gained prominence in Germany and Eastern Europe during the Black Death (Ziegler 88). Also called the “Brotherhood of the Flagellants” and the “Brethren of the Cross,” it focused on self-punishment as a means of penance (Foa 15; Ziegler 88). Members of the Flagellant Movement would often engage in public penance rituals of self-punishment; in these rituals, members would remove a good portion of their clothes and would whip themselves and their fellow members with leather thongs that had been tipped with metal studs (Ziegler 89-90).

Graetz states that the violence that occurred at Mainz initially broke out during a Flagellant public self-punishment ritual (109). The Flagellant 71

Drew Johnson

Movement was a movement that was prone to violence, especially during the public self-punishment rituals; moreover, their presence often would disrupt the authority of local church and political leaders (Ziegler 86).

According to Ziegler, the Flagellant Movement at its prime “threatened the security of governments,” even though it “did not, in the long run, amount to very much” (86). Initially, the movement mostly engaged in violent activities against religious and political authorities, but its main target quickly became Jewish communities (Foa 15). The movement did give credence to the well-poisoning conspiracy theory, but their motivation for persecuting Jewish communities mostly centered on the idea that killing Jews would placate God (Foa 15). They believed that the Black Death was mostly the result of a divine plague, and killing Jews, who they perceived as the enemies of Christianity, would both purify Christian Europe and encourage God to rescind the plague (Foa 15). Emboldened by this belief, groups of Flagellants traveled throughout Germany and surrounding regions attacking Jewish communities (Ziegler 106).

As Foa describes, “All over Germany, massacres of Jews accompanied the arrival of flagellants” (15). A typical pattern began to emerge: groups of Flagellants would enter a German city and by working together with the residents of that city, they would attack, and in most cases, exterminate, the city’s Jewish community (Ziegler 106). The Frankfurt massacre was conducted according to this pattern. In July 1349 in Frankfurt, Germany, a group of Flagellants arrived, and they almost immediately began to attack the city’s Jewish community (Ziegler 106). Collaborating with the local townspeople of Frankfurt, the Flagellants effectively eliminated the city’s Jewish community (Foa 15; Ziegler 106). A similar situation happened in the German city of Cologne, wherein Flagellants collaborated with the local townspeople to exterminate the city’s Jewish community (Foa 15).

Flagellants even participated in some massacres outside of Germany.

They were involved in the massacre of the Jewish community in Brussels, during which approximately 500 – 600 Jews were killed (Graetz 112; Ziegler 106). Graetz states that the Flagellants and their allies “attacked the Jews of Brussels, dragged them into the streets and killed all—about 500” (112). The Flagellant Movement began to fade toward the end of the Black Death (Ziegler 107-108). Jewish persecutions decreased as the Black Death waned in intensity. In 1351, the persecutions ended (Ziegler 108).

Scholars Attempt to Explain the Persecutions Along with deaths caused by the plague, the Black Death persecutions virtually eliminated the major Jewish communities in Europe. According to Ziegler, “sixty large and one hundred and fifty smaller communities are believed to have been exterminated and three hundred and fifty massacres 72

Analysis of the Persecution of European Jewish Communities During the Black Death

of various dimensions took place” (108-109). Ziegler and other scholars have noted that the intensity of the Black Death persecutions has only been surpassed by the Holocaust (108-109). Various explanations have been developed as to why the persecutions occurred and as to the social makeup of the groups that persecuted the Jews. Some scholars, such as Ziegler, believe that the Black Death persecutions were simply a continuation of previous Jewish persecutions that had occurred in Europe in the Middle Ages. Ziegler notes that “Save for the horrific circumstances of the plague which provided the incentive and background, there was nothing unique about the massacres” (108). Anti-Jewish prejudices were rather common in medieval Europe and periodically, these prejudices would manifest in the form of persecutions and massacres (Foa 8).

The Black Death Jewish persecutions were just another manifestation of these prejudices. Other scholars have argued that these persecutions were primarily the result of economic tensions between Jews and lower-class Europeans. According to this idea, the anti-Jewish groups that attacked and persecuted the Jews were mostly composed of disgruntled lower-class Europeans. Proponents of this idea, such as Jewish historian Mordechai Breuer, believe that many of the “ordinary folk” in Europe came to hate Jews because of their frequent role in moneylending (Cohn 13). Moneylending was one of the few jobs that Jews could legally hold in medieval Europe, and their clients were frequently lower-class Europeans (Ziegler 98-99). These lower-class Europeans often came to resent the moneylending Jews, viewing them as evil and greedy due to the often high interest rates on loans (Ziegler 98-99). As a result, many of these Europeans readily accepted the well-poisoning conspiracy theory and used the persecutions as a means of getting revenge against their Jewish debtors. Other scholars, such as Samuel Cohn, have purported that the persecutions were not caused by conflict between Jews and lower-class Europeans, but rather the persecutions were orchestrated by members of the elite ruling class. Cohn has argued that the Black Death left many members of the elite ruling class feeling powerless and vulnerable. As a result, they essentially used Jews as scapegoats and used the persecutions as a means of releasing their frustrations and insecurities over their inability to stop the plague (Stearns 1367). In his research, Cohn has presented historical evidence showing that the anti-Jewish groups active during the Black Death, including the Flagellant Movement, were not groups of unruly angry peasants, but rather were well-organized groups led by members of the ruling social elites (12-15).

The persecutions that occurred during the Black Death were some of the worst instances of Jewish persecution in recorded history. Only the Holocaust surpassed these persecutions in terms of their intensity.

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Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jewish communities were not able to completely recover from these persecutions. Even though scholars are still debating the exact details about their origins, these persecutions have left a lingering impact on the history of Europe.

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Analysis of the Persecution of European Jewish Communities During the Black Death

References Benedictow, Ole J. “The Black Death.” History Today, vol. 55, no. 3, Mar. 2005, pp. 42-49.

EBSCOhost, library.valdosta.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login. aspx?direct=true&db=ulh&AN=16350177&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Benedictow, Ole J. What Disease Was Plague?: On the Controversy over the Microbiological Identity of Plague Epidemics of the Past. Leiden: Brill 2010. EBSCOhost. Web. 2 Mar 2017.

Byrne, Joseph. Encyclopedia of the Black Death. Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2012.

Cohn Jr, Samuel K. “The Black Death and the Burning of Jews.” Past & Present, vol. 196, no.

1 2007, pp. 3-36. EBSCOhost, library.valdosta.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.25096679&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Cohn Jr., Samuel K. “The Black Death: End of a Paradigm.” American Historical Review, vol. 107, no. 3, June 2002, pp. 703-738. EBSCOhost, library.valdosta. edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rlh&AN=6909129&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Foa, Anna. The Jews of Europe After the Black Death. University of California Press, 2000.

Graetz, Heinrich. History of the Jews: Vol IV: From the Rise of the Kabbala (1270 C.E.) to the Permanent Settlement of the Marranos in Holland (1618 C.E.). The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1894.

Haensch, Stephanie, et al., “Distinct Clones of Yersinia Pestis Caused the Black Death.”

Plos Pathogens, vol. 6, no. 10, Oct. 2010, pp. 1-8. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1371/journal. ppat.1001134.

Pasachoff, Naomi E., and Robert J. Littman. A Concise History of the Jewish People. Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc., 2005.

Raspe, Lucia. “The Black Death in Jewish Sources: A Second Look at ‘Mayse Nissim.’” The Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. 94, no. 3, 2004, pp. 471-489. EBSCOhost, library.valdosta. edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.1455650&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Stearns, Justin. “New Directions in the Study of Religious Responses to the Black Death.”

History Compass, vol. 7, no. 5, Sept. 2009, pp. 1363-1379. EBSCOhost, library.valdosta. edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=65019011&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Voigtländer, Nicol and Hans-Joachim Voth. “Persecution Perpetuated: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Semitic Violence in Nazi Germany.” Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 127, no. 3, Aug. 2012, pp. 1339-1392. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1093/qje/qjs019.

Ziegler, Philip. The Black Death. Harper and Row, Publishers, 1960.

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Would Easing Voting Requirements Increase Turnout? An Analysis of the 2016 Election

By Kennedy S. Horne Faculty Mentor: Dr. James Laplant, Department Of Political Science Abstract: The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine the factors that affected voter turnout in the 2016 general election across each of the 50 states, with a specific focus on ease of voting.

Many electoral reforms have been implemented in recent years with the intent of affecting turnout rates, yet it is not clear whether these measures have been successful. This study analyzes eight independent variables: voter ID laws, same-day registration, early voting, Democratic control, percentage of population with a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree, percentage white (non-Hispanic) population, online registration, and battleground status. The impact of these variables on voter turnout is measured in this study using correlation analysis, scatterplot analysis, and analysis of variance, as well as multivariate regression analysis. Three variables were found to be statistically significant: percentage of population with a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree, percentage white (non-Hispanic) population, and battleground status. Mixed evidence was found regarding the statistical significance of same-day registration. The results of this study suggest that ease of voting does not significantly affect voter turnout, and instead highlight the impact of socioeconomic factors, battleground state status, and the link to political efficacy.

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Would Easing Voting Requirements Increase Turnout?

Campaigns have sought to crack the code for voter turnout in U.S. elections for decades. Countless studies have been done in order to determine what factors influence eligible voters to cast their ballots when the time comes. One major question (and source of contention) is whether or not making voting easier has a positive effect on turnout rates. Some states have passed electoral reforms with the goal of expanding the electorate, such as early voting, same-day registration, and Election Day registration. Other states have proposed stricter voting requirements intended to combat alleged voter fraud; however, many argue that these stricter voter identification requirements restrict access to the ballot and end up depressing turnout. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Voter ID laws are thought to discourage political participation, especially among groups that have been historically marginalized by the American political systemâ&#x20AC;? (Rocha and Matsubayashi 2014, 666). If the idea of increasing voter turnout by making voting easier and more convenient seems commonsensical, then the opposite should also hold trueâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;stricter voting laws should decrease turnout. However, as previously stated, scholars are at odds concerning the effects of these laws.

The purpose of this quantitative study is to determine variables that affected voter turnout in the 2016 general election across each of the 50 states, with a specific focus on ease of voting. Other research on the matter has been reviewed in order to form hypotheses regarding variables possibly influencing voter turnout. Some of these studies deal with voter ID laws and the possibility of disenfranchisement lowering voter turnout, while others focus on whether electoral reforms meant to have a positive impact such as same-day registration or early voting affect voter turnout in the manner intended. Prior research conducted on these topics are detailed and explored in the first section of this study. The second section lists the data and methods used in this study, followed by the findings and a conclusion on the significance of this study and directions for future research.

Exploring the Predictors of Voter Turnout While there are many aspects of voter turnout, the most prominent topic being discussed at present is voter registration, and the recent and controversial voter identification (voter ID) laws. Voter ID laws and their effect on voter turnout is a hotly debated topic. Critics claim that these laws hearken back to the days of Jim Crow, with the express intent of suppressing minority votes. The proponents of these laws declare them necessary to decreasing voter fraud. It is worth mentioning the presence of party polarization surrounding voter ID laws. Hicks et al. (2016) examined state legislator behavior on restrictive voter ID bills from 2005 to 2013. The findings confirmed that party affiliation was a significant determinant, 77

Kennedy S. Horne

with Republicans being more than 900 times more likely than Democrats to support a voter ID bill (Hicks et al. 2016, 421). This makes party control an important variable to analyze. The findings also suggested a relationship between the racial composition of a member’s district, region, and electoral competition and the likelihood that a state lawmaker supports a voter ID bill. Hicks et al. note that the difference between black and white legislators’ votes on voter ID bills is only statistically significant for Southern legislators. Democrats in Southern states, especially black Democrats, were particularly opposed to these laws, which the authors speculate to be an effect of the region’s history with Jim Crow laws (Hicks et al. 2016, 424). Thus, race is also an important variable to be examined.

Yet the issue of voter ID laws and minority suppression does not end with just race. Cases have been made for other affected minorities as well. Pitts’ study argues that Indiana’s photo ID law has a small overall disfranchising impact on the electorate; however, the study provides empirical evidence suggesting that this law has an unequal impact on women compared to men (Pitts 2015). The reason for this inequity could be poll worker error regarding name changes, as these could disproportionately impact women (who are more likely to have name changes than men). While provisional ballots are supplied when proper identification is lacking, there is a very high chance that the ballot will remain uncounted, and women disproportionately have their provisional ballots rejected due to Indiana’s photo ID law (Pitts 2015, 614).

This disparity is similar to the issue young adult voters are claiming to have as well, yet it is the address on these IDs rather than the name that stirs up trouble in this case. Bauroth and Nelson (2016) conducted a survey of college students in the North Dakota University System to examine whether changes to North Dakota voter ID laws in 2013 influenced the ability of students to cast a vote successfully in the 2014 midterm elections.

North Dakota is the only state that does not require voter registration; however, the state does require its citizens to show valid identification before they can vote. The survey results indicated that several hundred students were unable to vote due to issues related to voter ID (Bauroth and Nelson 2016, 1). The findings of this study in conjunction with those of Pitts suggest that while voter ID laws may not have a tremendous disenfranchising effect on the population as a whole, these laws certainly seem to have one on certain overlooked subsets of the population.

In some instances, research suggests that certain electoral reforms designed to increase voter turnout levels (in this case early voting) can have a negative impact on voter turnout. Burden et al. conducted statistical analyses of voter turnout in the presidential elections of 2004 and 2008 on both the aggregate and individual levels. According to the results of 78

Would Easing Voting Requirements Increase Turnout?

their study, Election Day registration has a consistently positive effect on voter turnout; however, early voting seems to decrease voter turnout when implemented in circumstances where Election Day registration is unavailable (Burden et al. 2014). Burden et al. attempt to explain this unintended negative impact by claiming that voting is as much a social process as it is a political one. As such, early voting reduces the “civic significance” of elections.

In addition, it decreases the incentives for campaigns to invest in Get Out the Vote mobilization efforts (Burden et al. 2014, 96-98). However, it is also suggested that same-day registration and Election Day registration can partially balance these unplanned negative effects, as Burden states, “The only consistent way to increase turnout is to permit Election Day registration. Early voting reduces turnout by robbing Election Day of its stimulating effects. This depressant effect is only partially offset if SameDay registration is present or if Election Day registration offers a vehicle for the last-minute mobilization of marginal voters” (Burden et al. 2014, 108). Further, it is noted that the negative impact of early voting may not be applicable in historically low turnout elections such as midterms and off-cycle elections (Burden et al. 2014, 108).

While ease of voting is the main focus in this study, other factors should not be discounted. Pillsbury and Johannesen (2017) addressed a multitude of issues that have been determined to affect turnout when they released a detailed report on voter turnout in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The report used election results collected by the U.S. Elections Project from Secretaries of State and state election offices. According to the study, four out of ten eligible voters did not vote.

The most common reasons voters cited for not voting were “a lack of competition and meaningful choices on the ballot or problems with their voter registration or getting to the polls,” while the two factors that consistently correlated with higher voter participation were the ability to fix a registration issue when you vote (using same day registration) and living in a battleground state (Pillsbury and Johannesen 2017, 6). Another electoral reform they addressed was the impact of online voter registration. Although online registration does not usually expand the number of days available for voter registration, the study stated that the use of online registration significantly increased days before state deadlines, which led the researchers to believe this option aided voters who otherwise could have missed the registration deadline. Online registration was also shown to impact youth turnout positively (Pillsbury and Johannesen 2017, 23).

However, there are several studies that indicate no relationship between ease of voting and voter turnout. Berinsky (2005) studied the effects of electoral reforms including permissive absentee voting, voting79

Kennedy S. Horne

by-mail, early voting, and Internet voting. He states that electoral reforms tend to have a greater effect on retention than on stimulation. Instead of increasing levels of turnout from low-socioeconomic voters as expected, these electoral reforms simply make it easier for those already inclined to vote (Berinsky 2005, 478). Some of these socioeconomic factors include levels of education and race. Mycoff et al. (2007) produced similar results when studying the effects of voter ID laws on turnout after the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

The study was conducted at both the aggregate and individual levels using data from four different elections: those of 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. A Guttman scale variable was used to gauge the strength of each stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voter identification law; however, in the end Mycoff et al. concurred with Berinskyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s statement that making voting easier does not seem to increase turnout, as their findings suggested that voter identification laws did not have an effect on voter turnout at either level (Mycoff et al.

2007). A quantitative study is needed to supply further data on this issue for future discussion.

Data and Methods The units of analysis for this study are the 50 U.S. states, and the dependent variable is voter turnout for the 2016 general election. Voter turnout is based on total ballots counted as a percent of voter eligible population (VEP). Voter turnout for each state can be found online at the United States Elections Project (http://www.electproject.org/2016g). There are eight independent variables in this study, and each have been examined in order to determine their effect on voter turnout. The data for the independent variables of voter identification laws, same-day registration, early voting, and online voter registration can be found on the National Conference of State Legislatures website.

The data for the independent variables of percentage of population with a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree or higher, and white population can be found by state at the U.S. Census Bureau website (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table). The data for Democratic control is scored according to the Ranney party control index and can be found in the study conducted by Holbrook and La Raja (2017). The independent variable for battleground states in 2016 (states that received the most attention from the presidential campaigns) can be found in the study conducted by Pillsbury and Johannesen (2017). All variables are included in Table 1 along with their sources.

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Would Easing Voting Requirements Increase Turnout?

Table 1: Variables, Characteristics, and Sources Variable

Min.

Max.

Mean

Median

Std. Dev.

Source

Percentage of Voter Turnout (2016)

43.0

74.8

61.772

61.850

6.337

United States Elections Projects

Voter ID Laws

1

5

2.300

2.000

1.374

National Conference of State Legislatures

Same-Day Registration

0

1

0.280

0.000

0.454

National Conference of State Legislatures

Early Voting

0

1

0.840

1.000

0.370

National Conference of State Legislatures

Democratic Control

0.179

0.833

0.450

0.406

0.179

Holbrook and La Raja (2017)

Percent with Bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Degree

19.2

41.2

29.238

28.550

4.945

U.S. Census Bureau (2011-2015)

Percent White (Non-Hispanic)

22.9

93.6

69.610

73.300

15.588

U.S. Census Bureau (2015)

Online Registration

0

1

0.600

1.000

0.495

National Conference of State Legislatures

Battleground States

0

1

0.280

0.000

0.454

Pillsbury and Johannesen (2017)

The dependent variable, percentage of voter turnout, ranges from 43.0 percent (Hawaii) to 74.8 percent (Minnesota) with a mean of 61.772 and a standard deviation of 6.337, demonstrating impressive variation. The mean indicates that 61.772 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot across each of the 50 states. The first independent variable, voter ID laws, was coded on a 1-5 scale: strict photo ID (5), non-strict photo ID (4), photo ID requested (3), ID requested/photo not required (2), and no document required to vote (1). Three independent variables were coded on a 0-1 scale: same-day registration, early voting, and online registration. States that did not allow the variables were coded with a 0, while states that did were coded with a 1. Fourteen states allowed same-day registration, thirty states allowed online registration, and forty-two states allowed early voting. It is important to note that the three states that have mail-in voting (Colorado, Oregon, and Washington) were coded with a 1, as all three states allow early voting 15-18 days prior to election day.

Democratic control ranged from 0.179 (Wyoming) to 0.833 (Hawaii) with a mean score of 0.450. A low score indicates Republican dominance in state legislative, gubernatorial, and federal elections, while a large score reflects Democratic dominance. The percentage of the population with a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree or higher in each state ranged from 19.2 percent (West Virginia) to 41.2 percent (Massachusetts) with a mean of 29.238 and a standard deviation of 4.945. The percentage of the white (non-Hispanic or Latino) population in each state ranged from 22.9 percent (Hawaii) to 93.6 percent (Maine) with a mean of 69.610 and a standard deviation of 15.588. Battleground states were coded with a 1, while non-battleground states were coded with a 0. The mean was 0.280. Fourteen states received battleground status in the 2016 election.

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The hypotheses to be tested in this study are as follows:1 H1: As the strictness of voter ID laws increases, voter turnout will decrease.

H2: States with same-day registration will have higher voter turnout than states without same-day registration.

H3: States with early voting will have lower voter turnout than states without early voting.

H4: As Democratic control increases, voter turnout will increase.

H5: As the percentage of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher increases, turnout will increase.

H6: As the white population increases, turnout increases.

H7: States with online registration will have higher voter turnout than states without online registration.

H8: Battleground states will have higher voter turnout than non-battleground states.

Findings The findings for this study lined up fairly well with the prior research that was reviewed. After running a correlation analysis, four of the independent variables proved to be statistically insignificant: voter ID laws, early voting, Democratic control, and online registration. Another four of the independent variables proved to be highly statistically significant at p<0.01: same-day registration, percentage of population of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher, percentage of white (non-Hispanic) population, and whether a state was a “battleground” state. Correlations for each independent variable are shown below in Table 2.

Table 2: Correlation Analysis of Voter Turnout Independent Variables

Voter Turnout in 2016

Voter ID Laws

-0.182

Same-Day Registration

0.534**

Early Voting

-0.118

Democratic Control

0.179

Percent with a Bachelor’s Degree

0.542**

Percent White (Non-Hispanic)

0.451**

Online Registration

0.017

Battleground States

0.408**

N=50, p<.01**, p<.05*

Figures 1-4 demonstrate the relationships that the statistically significant independent variables have with the dependent variable. The direction and strength of the bivariate relationship will be explored.

1 The correlations among all the election law independent variables are below 0.24. Since none of the independent variables are closely related to each other, there is no threat of multicollinearity.

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Would Easing Voting Requirements Increase Turnout?

Figure 1: ANOVA of Same-Day Registration and Voter Turnout

The correlation of 0.534** between voter turnout and same-day registration is highly statistically significant at p<0.01. In Figure 1, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to compare the voter turnout rate of states with and without same-day registration. The mean turnout for all states that do not offer same-day registration is 59.683. The mean turnout for states that do offer same-day registration is 67.143. The difference of means test is highly statistically significant at p<0.01. Thus, states that offer same-day registration have increased turnout.

Figure 2: Scatterplot of College Education and Voter Turnout The correlation 0.542** between voter turnout and percent of population with a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree or higher is highly statistically significant at p<0.01. Figure 2 demonstrates a positive relationship between these two variables. Note that there is an outlier. Hawaii has a percent of its population with a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree or higher that exceeds the national average of 29.238 percent, yet its turnout rate is still the lowest of any state. If Hawaii was removed from the data set, the overall mean would jump to 0.625**. Yet even with the inclusion of the outlier, the correlation coefficient is significant.

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Kennedy S. Horne

The slope of the regression line is 0.695. For every percentage point increase in the independent variable (population with a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree), the percentage of voter turnout will increase by 0.695 percent.

Figure 3: Scatterplot of White Population and Voter Turnout Figure 3 shows a correlation of 0.451** between voter turnout and the percentage of white population. This correlation is highly significant at p<0.01. The y-intercept is 48.998, meaning that if there was no white population, voter turnout would be 48.998 percent. The slope of the regression line is 0.184. This indicates that for every percentage point increase in the white population, voter turnout would increase by 0.184.

The scatterplot shows a positive relationship between the two variables.

As the white population increases, turnout increases.

Figure 4: ANOVA of Battleground States and Voter Turnout

The correlation 0.408** between battleground states and voter turnout is highly statistically significant at p<0.01. Figure 4 reveals the mean turnout for battleground states is 65.879, while the mean turnout for non-battleground states is 60.175. This difference of means is statistically significant at p<0.01 and shows that battleground states have a higher turnout than other states.

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Would Easing Voting Requirements Increase Turnout?

The multivariate regression analysis pictured in Table 3 gives results that largely agree with those discussed previously, with the exception of the statistical significance of same-day registration. Same-day registration is no longer shown as statistically significant in the multivariate model.

Only three variables remain statistically significant: percent with a bachelor’s degree, percent white (non-Hispanic), and battleground status. The slope coefficient for the variable percent with a bachelor’s degree is 0.629.

For every percentage point increase in the population with a bachelor’s degree, voter turnout increases by 0.629 percent. The slope coefficient for the variable percent white non-Hispanic is 0.162. For every percentage point increase in the white non-Hispanic population, voter turnout increases by 0.162 percent. The battleground variable has a slope coefficient of 4.956, meaning that as we move from a non-battleground state to a battleground state, voter turnout increases by almost five percent.

The multiple r-squared in the multivariate regression analysis is 0.70, indicating that the eight independent variables studied explain seventy percent of the variation in voter turnout for the 2016 general election.

Table 3: Multivariate Regression Analysis of Voter Turnout Independent Variables

Unstandardized Regression Coefficients

Confidence Interval 95%

Voter ID Laws

-0.417 (0.481)

0.545 to -1.379

Same-Day Registration

2.306 (1.551)

5.278 to -0.666

Early Voting

-1.396 (1.559)

1.722 to -4.514

Democratic Control

-1.236 (4.833)

8.43 to -10.902

Percent with a Bachelor’s Degree

0.629** (0.147)

0.923 to 0.335

Percent White (Non-Hispanic)

0.162** (0.042)

0.246 to 0.078

Online Registration

0.814 (1.218)

3.25 to -1.622

Battleground States

4.956** (1.260)

7.476 to 2.436

F=11.901**

Y Intercept=32.319

N=50, p<.05*, p<.01**

r²=0.70

Based on the multivariate analysis in Table 3, we find support for H5 (as the percentage of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher increases, turnout will increase), H6 (as the white population increases, turnout increases), and H8 (battleground states will have higher voter turnout than non-battleground states). We fail to reject the null hypothesis for the remaining hypotheses: H1 (as the strictness of voter ID laws increases, voter turnout will decrease), H3 (states with early voting will have lower voter turnout than states without early voting), H4 (as Democratic control increases, voter turnout will increase), and H7 (states with online registration will have higher turnout than states without online registration).

We find mixed evidence for H2 (states with same-day registration will have higher voter turnout than states without registration). The bivariate 85

Kennedy S. Horne

correlation is significant, as is the difference of means test. However, the variable is not statistically significant in the multivariate model when we control for socioeconomic factors and other political variables.

Conclusion The results of this study suggest that ease of voting does not increase voter turnout. Reforms advocated by political groups and officials intended to make voting more convenient are not having the desired effect on voter turnout, as demonstrated by the data on early voting and online registration. The variables for voter ID laws and early voting demonstrated a negative correlation with voter turnout. While this does lend credibility to the previously discussed research of Mycoff et. al, Burden et al., and Berinsky, neither variable was statistically significant. While early voting was deemed insignificant, it would have been interesting to have included the number of days each state allowed for early voting.

However, due to missing data for a significant number of states, early voting was coded on a yes or no basis. On the opposite side of the spectrum, reforms such as voter identification laws were deemed by many as a tool for disenfranchisement. Whether this was the intention behind such laws, this reform also has no significant impact on overall voter turnout for the election studied. The only electoral reform that may significantly impact voter turnout is same-day registration, a variable for which this study returned mixed findings. It is important to note that this study works with aggregate data clustered for each of the fifty states, and thus the relevance of these factors cannot be ruled out completely.

Further study on ease of voting and voter ID laws could be done, as the impact could be more significant in state and local elections than on the national level. Yet it would seem based on the findings of this study that the main factors behind voter turnout have little or nothing to do with ease of voting.

The percentage of the population holding a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree significantly correlates with turnout, as did the percentage of the white population. These variables are not direct measures of the ease of voting.

Instead, they appear to be more related to the socioeconomic conditions Berinsky discusses (Berinsky 2005, 478). Following this line of thinking, it would be interesting to include income as an independent variable in the future and examine the relationship it has with voter turnout.

One political factor that proved to be a very important variable in this study was a stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s battleground status. These states are subject to a substantial increase in campaign advertising and visits from candidates, while other states with a more predictable electorate are largely ignored.

Grouping the statistically significant independent variables of this study 86

Would Easing Voting Requirements Increase Turnout?

together supports the idea that political efficacy has a much greater influence on voter turnout than how easy it is to vote.

While it is important that voting is accessible and as convenient as possible, perhaps it would be more effective to focus on changing the publicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opinion on how much their vote matters. In the last five presidential elections, we have had two in which the winner of the popular vote failed to win the Electoral College. A trending suggestion to minimize the lack of political efficacy in recent years is to do away with the Electoral College completely in favor of a popular vote, where the president is elected directly by the people. The idea behind this suggestion is that if the popular vote decides the president, candidates will feel compelled to campaign more widely and voters will feel that they have a more direct impact on their government. This is not likely to happen anytime soon, yet it is important to consider the possible effects this could have on voter turnout. The more a government fails to reflect the will of the people, the less likely citizens are to participate in what is perceived as a wasted effort.

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Works Cited 2016 November General Election Turnout Rates. (2017). United States Elections Project.

Retrieved from http://www.electproject.org/2016g Absentee and Early Voting. (2017). National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absentee-and-early-voting.aspx Bauroth, Nicholas and Kjersten Nelson. (2016). Home is Where the Vote Is: A Research Note on the Effects of Changes in North Dakota Voter Identification Laws on College Student Turnout in the 2014 Elections. The Online Journal of Rural Research and Policy, 11(1), 1-10.

Berinsky, Adam J. (2005). The Perverse Consequences of Electoral Reform in the United States. American Politics Research, 33(4), 471-91.

Burden, Barry C., David T. Canon, Kenneth R. Mayer, and Donald P. Moynihan. (2014).

Election Laws, Mobilization, and Turnout: The Unanticipated Consequences of Election Reform. American Journal of Political Science, 58(1), 95-109.

Hicks, William D., Seth C. McKee, and Daniel A. Smith. (2016). The Determinants of State Legislator Support for Restrictive Voter ID Laws. State Politics & Policy Quarterly, 16(4), 411-43.

Holbrook, Thomas M. and Raymond J. La Raja. (2017). Parties and Elections. In Virginia Gray, Russell L. Hanson, and Thad Kousser (Eds.), Politics in the American States: A Comparative Analysis. Los Angeles: Sage/CQ Press.

Mycoff, Jason D., Michael W. Wagner, and David C. Wilson. (2007). The Effect of Voter Identification Laws on Aggregate and Individual Level Turnout. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, IL. Online Voter Registration. (2017). National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/electronic-or-online-voter-registration.aspx Pillsbury, George, and Julian Johannesen. (2017). America Goes to the Polls 2016: A Report on Voter Turnout in the 2016 Election. NonProfit Vote. Retrieved from http://www. nonprofitvote.org/documents/2017/03/america-goes-polls-2016.pdf Pitts, Michael J. (2015). Empirically Measuring the Impact of Photo ID Over Time and Its Impact on Women. Indiana Law Review, 48(2), 605-630.

Rocha, Rene R. and Tetsuya Matsubayashi. (2014). The Politics of Race and Voter ID Laws in the States: The Return of Jim Crow? Political Research Quarterly, (67)3, 666-679.

Same Day Voter Registration. (2017). National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/same-day- registration. aspx State QuickFacts. (2015). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/ quickfacts/table Voter Identification Requirements: Voter ID Laws. (2017). National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/esearch/elections-and-campaigns/ voter-id.aspx

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Selective Mutism: Diagnosis, Methodologies, and Treatments

By Jacob W. Highsmith Faculty Mentor: Dr. Joshua S. Rodefer, Department Of Psychology, Counseling, and Family Therapy Abstract: This article provides an overview of the current diagnostic criteria, diagnosis tools, and treatment of selective mutism (SM). SM is an Anxiety Disorder, as classified by the DSM-5. This is a recent change from its previous classification in the DSM-4 as a disorder first diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence.

The diagnostic criterion has remained relatively constant from the DSM-4 to DSM-5. SM typically manifests at an early age, around the ages of 3-5, when children usually begin to attend school or pre-school and are introduced to new and novel social situations.

SM may last from a few months to years; however, SM is not outgrown and early intervention is important as it can severely affect a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social and emotional development. Diagnosis of SM can be difficult, and the sole reason for the creation of the selective mutism questionnaire (SMQ) is to provide a valid parent self-report of the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s speaking ability. If SM can be diagnosed accurately, then treatments like the use of medication and/or cognitive-behavioral therapy can be utilized to help children live fulfilling lives with meaningful social interactions.

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Introduction Selective mutism (SM) has seen many transitions over time; however, the diagnosis has maintained similar diagnostic criteria in both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-4; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994) and in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The DSM-5 maintains that a child has SM if he exhibits the following: a consistent failure to speak in specific social situations despite an ability to speak in other situations, a lack of speaking which interferes with school or work or social communication, a lack of speaking that lasts at least one month (this is not limited to the first month of school), a failure to speak that is not due to a lack of knowledge or comfort with the spoken language required in the social situation, and a lack of speech that is not due to a communication disorder or an exclusive occurrence during another psychiatric disorder (APA, 2013).

While the diagnosis is expansive, Oerbeck, Stein, Pripp, and Kristensen (2015) found problems within the diagnostic criteria; the DSM-5 is not explicit about the amount of socially situated speaking that is sufficient for a child to avoid a SM diagnosis.

Selective mutism was noticed as early as 1877 when Kussmaul termed it as aphasia voluntaria, reflecting his belief that individuals were voluntarily choosing to refrain from speaking (as cited in Krysanski, 2003). He described the disorder as individuals with the ability to speak not doing so in certain situations (Krysanski, 2003). In 1934, Tramer renamed this disorder as elective mutism (as cited in Krysanski, 2003). Tramer believed that not only were individuals voluntarily refraining from speaking but that they instead elected to remain completely silent (Krysanski, 2003).

This idea of elective speaking remained until the DSM-4 changed the name of the disorder to selective mutism on the basis that children do not speak in select situations (APA, 1994). In the DSM-5, SM was classified as an anxiety disorder due to the similarities between SM and social anxiety disorders (Carbone et al., 2010).

Age of Onset, Prevalence, and Severity Selective mutism typically manifests around the ages of 3-5, usually concurrent with the start of schooling in which children are first introduced to new social situations (Black & Uhde, 1995; Cleator & Hand, 2001). Selective mutism may last from a few months to years (Krysanski, 2003). As long as it does not occur exclusively during other psychiatric disorders, SM may also occur during or because of other psychiatric disorders (Krysanski, 2003). Carlson, Mitchell, and Segool (2008) reported 90

Selective Mutism: Diagnosis, Methodologies, and Treatments

the prevalence of SM in the population as less than 1%, which is slightly more than the percent prevalence of autism in the American population, with SM being slightly more prevalent in females (Black & Uhde, 1995).

The commonality of SM seems to have underlying familial factors (Krysanski, 2003). Accordingly, both a physical exam of the child and the medical history of the parents should be considered (Krysanski, 2003).

Black and Uhde (1995) found that the prevalence of social phobia or avoidance disorder diagnosis in the parents of SM children is significant, leading many to believe that SM may be a derivative symptom of anxiety (Kristensen, 2000). Excessive shyness in family members may also be an indicator of genetic factors related to SM along with trauma or neurological injuries (Kristensen, 2000). Cunningham, McHolm, and Boyle (2006) found that SM is comorbid with social phobia (67.9% comorbidity rate) and other psychiatric disorders, which is a contributing factor to SM being classified as an anxiety disorder in the DSM-5 (Kristensen, 2000).

The frequent comorbidity between SM and communication disorders is the reason SM was classified under social anxiety and not social phobia during the DSM-4 to DSM-5 update (Oerbeck, Stein, Wentzel-Larson, Langsrud, & Kristensen, 2014).

The severity of SM varies from child to child with some children openly speaking at home with only immediate family, some speaking with peers on the playground, and some even speaking to specific members in the community (Cunningham, McHolm, & Boyle, 2006). However, Cunningham et al. (2006) found that children with SM, while less socially competent and more anxious, were not necessarily disliked or victimized by their peers at school. Even if a child is not disliked, they may still be unable to talk to who they want to, which may be because of fear of scrutiny or fear that their peer assessment will be negative in nature (Carlson, Mitchell, & Segool, 2008). The developmental psychopathology theory believes that SM may be caused by the child entering the school setting and being faced with negative feedback from peers, due to deficits that were previously undiscovered, and that SM is a way to avoid interaction with peers (Wong, 2010). While interesting, the developmental psychopathology theory only has minimal empirical evidence to support it; further research should be conducted to explore its effectiveness (Wong, 2010).

Intervention, Diagnostic Methods, and Assessments Early intervention is important as well as an understanding that SM is not outgrown and can severely affect a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social and emotional development (Hung, Spencer, Dronamraju, 2012). Parents are often resistant to help, and schools are not always cooperative; a cooperative partnership is ideal since SM affects most children as they enter the school system 91

Jacob W. Highsmith

(Hung et al., 2012). The main problem with SM is that its etiology and effective treatment options both remain misunderstood. One of the more popular origin theories is the behavioral theory, emphasizing negatively reinforced learning and portraying SM as a symptom of anxiety instead of being a behavior that the child is consciously manipulating (Wong, 2010). While the behavioral theory has significant empirical support, an earlier theory does not (Wong, 2010). Psychodynamic theory believes SM stems from an unresolved conflict, and the mutism is a coping mechanism used to punish parents (Wong, 2010). In addition to the psychodynamic theory, many believe SM to be a product of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to abuse or trauma inflicted upon the child at an early age (Wong, 2010). However, Dummit et al. (1997) and Black and Uhde (1995) cautioned that physical abuse, sexual abuse, and traumatization should not be assumed in children with SM. While children with SM are afraid of new situations, talking verbally, strangers, use of phones, schools, and other places or methods of being evaluated, it does not necessarily mean that the child does not enjoy himself or herself (Carlson et al., 2008).

The need for clear diagnostic classifications is not the only problem that has plagued SM diagnoses. Due to the nature of the disorder, children are not likely to speak to a mental health professional and allow for diagnosis through traditional methods (Cleator & Hand, 2001). Cleator and Hand (2001) advise that it is imperative to assess the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s language and speech abilities. An interdisciplinary assessment team taking a multidisciplinary approach is therefore important due to the possibilities of communication disorders, psychiatric disorders, or medical disorders (Cleator & Hand, 2001). A complete analysis of the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s neurodevelopment, along with hearing tests, speech and language fluency, and cognitive testing should all be considered before diagnosing a child with SM (Kristensen, 2000). Selective mutism can be hard to diagnose, especially when other psychiatric and communication disorders are often considered before SM (Wong, 2010). Other diagnoses of SM may include but are not limited to: mood disorders, hearing impairment, pervasive developmental disorders, expressive language disorders, intellectual disabilities, adjustment disorders, Aspergerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, schizophrenia, right hemisphere deficit disorder, social emotional learning disabilities, neurotransmitter imbalances (in relation to the mood disorders and anxiety disorders), and sometimes abulia (Carlson et al., 2008; Dow, Sonies, Scheib, Moss, & Leonard, 1995; Krysanski, 2003).

Because there are a wide array of possible diagnoses, it is advised that there be a multidimensional assessment involving the participation of family, schools, mental health professionals, speech and language pathologists, and even audiologists (Wong, 2010). Carlson et al. (2008) warns 92

Selective Mutism: Diagnosis, Methodologies, and Treatments

school psychologists, who are often front line responders, that they should be on the lookout for SM. School psychologists deal with socio-emotional needs, and, if left untreated, SM can cause major deficits in the child’s development (Carlson et al., 2008). Children with SM usually use non-verbal communication, though this does vary from child to child, meaning that they are able to complete written behavioral assessments to some extent (Carlson et al., 2008; Dow et al., 1995; Krysanski, 2003). Taking into account parent and teacher comments, reviewing standardized test results, and conducting non-verbal assessments are all important components of diagnosis but only allow for a very broad diagnosis (Carlson et al., 2008; Cleator & Hand, 2001; Dow et al., 1995). It is highly important that the interdisciplinary team be able to hear the child speak to assess the child’s language and speech abilities as well as behaviors and personality (Dow et al., 1995). Further assessment of the child through verbal means is difficult (Cunningham et al., 2006). There are some methods that have been created, such as defocused communication, that seek to create a relaxed diagnostic interview for the child, but typically the child only feels safe in the home and will only interact with the family in a manner similar to that of a non-disordered child (Cunningham et al., 2006; Oerbeck, Stein, Pripp, & Kristensen, 2015). By allowing the child to adjust to a mental health professional in the home over time, it may become possible to verbally assess the child through traditional methods or through the use of video recordings (Cleator & Hand, 2001). Giddan, Ross, Sechler, and Becker (1997) found that, even if a communication disorder is diagnosed, SM should not be ruled out. Though, according to the DSM-5, a communication disorder cannot be the reason behind the child’s mutism, which is another reason an interdisciplinary team is so vital (APA, 2013; Giddan, Ross, Sechler, & Becker, 1997).

The need for empirically based diagnostic tests or questionnaires is imperative to the further research of SM (Carbone et al., 2010). In most SM literature, there is no test that adequately assesses SM in children to aid in diagnoses (Carbone et al., 2010). Studies have typically been conducted using parent self-report questionnaires unique to each individual study (Carbone et al., 2010). Some studies have used anxiety scales or social phobia scales, but none of these really address the child’s speaking (Bergman et al., 2008; Letamendi et al., 2008). As well as providing little information relevant to the disorder, there has been no uniformity regarding the use of questionnaires throughout the literature. The sole reason for the creation of the selective mutism questionnaire (SMQ) is to provide a valid measure of the child’s speaking ability (Bergman, Piacentini, & McCracken, 2002). The SMQ consists of 17 items and is intended for use by a parent as a self-report of the child that seeks to measure the 93

Jacob W. Highsmith

child’s failure to speak in relation to SM (Bergman, Keller, Piacentini, & Bergman, 2008). The SMQ assesses the frequency of the child’s speech across the functional domains of childhood, which are separated into three sub-scales (Bergman et al., 2008). The sub-scales are divided into school, home/family, and public/social settings (Bergman et al., 2008).

Letamendi et al. (2008) conducted an independent validity study on the SMQ and found that the school and public/social settings sub-scales were the best for predicting SM in preschool-aged children and that the school sub-scale was the best predictor of SM in school-age children.

This corroborates the original results found by Bergman et al. (2008); they found that younger individuals were more impaired on both the school and public/social settings sub-scales than were older individuals.

The SMQ appears to be a promising measure of SM and a key tool for use in diagnosis (Manassis et al., 2007). The school speech questionnaire (SSQ) is another important contribution to the diagnosis of SM (Oerbeck et al., 2015). The SSQ is a modified version of the SMQ; it only contains 11 of the 17 SMQ items (Bergman et al., 2002). The SSQ is modified to be used by teachers to report on the child’s school behaviors and to allow for accurate comparison of home and school behaviors (Bergman et al., 2002).

The SMQ is useful in a variety of ways; it creates a baseline for diagnosis and treatment (Manassis et al., 2007). Having a valid and useful measurement of SM allows for better treatment planning, better determination of treatment effectiveness, and it may lead to an increase in understanding of SM phenomenology (Bergman et al., 2008; Letamendi et al., 2008). However, the SMQ is not an end all for diagnosis; it should be used in conjunction with neurodevelopmental examinations, grades and standardized test scores, and observation of the child speaking, whether in person or through audio or visual recordings (Letamendi et al., 2008).

Letamendi et al. (2008) found that the SMQ and SSQ are fundamental components of the comprehensive evaluation of SM. Treatments Since SM symptoms can continue into adolescence and even into adulthood, it is imperative that it be treated effectively (Black & Uhde, 1995).

Dummit et al. (1997) stressed that therapeutic interventions be implemented so as to alleviate the child’s anxious symptomology. While not much is known as to the cause of SM, there is a consensus that, if left untreated, it can severely impact social and emotional development (Hung et al., 2012). There are many experimental treatment options available with most researchers agreeing that school and parent cooperation is crucial (Hung et al., 2012). Psychoeducation is used to facilitate cooperation from schools and parents as they are oftentimes reluctant to admit that 94

Selective Mutism: Diagnosis, Methodologies, and Treatments

their child needs help (Carlson et al., 2008; Hung et al., 2012). There are various approaches to treatment of SM, the more common being behavioral, psychodynamic, psychosocial, biological, and micromodal (Hung et al., 2012). Krysanski (2003) instructs that the best ways to facilitate a comforting school environment for children with SM is to (a) place less emphasis on speaking in the classroom, (b) avoid forcing the child to speak, (c) avoid changing the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s peer group and environment often, and (d) facilitate interaction between the child and their peers. Allowing non-verbal communication is acceptable, according to Krysanski (2003), as long as the non-verbal communication is not reinforced; it is also imperative that all negative reinforcement for mute behavior is removed.

Cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT) using desensitization and relaxation techniques have been shown to help children in stressful situations such as school (Krysanski, 2003). Specifically, Oerbeck, Stein, Pripp, and Kristensen (2015) found that CBT, when adapted for children, upheld treatment gains a year after treatment was complete. Behavioral modification is supported by Bergman, Keller, Piacentini, and Bergman (2008) during their study of the ability of the SMQ to measure changes of SM in children before and after behavioral therapy. Bergman, Gonzalez, Piacentini, and Keller (2013) used integrated behavioral therapy for SM (IBTSM) to treat children with SM, with significant results. Bergman et al. (2013) found significant improvements in the speaking behaviors of children undergoing IBTSM treatment when compared to those children who were on the waitlist. IBTSM is accepted by parents and teachers and, most importantly, is a feasible treatment; speaking gains were maintained over a short-term follow up (Bergman, Gonzalez, Piacentini, & Keller, 2013). Another behavioral technique is the response initiation approach, where the child must spend the day with a therapist and must speak at least one word; over multiple meetings other goals are established for the child to complete, some in the sessions and others in public and school settings (Giddan et al., 1997). As the child becomes more comfortable, their teachers may be brought into the therapy sessions to try and generalize the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new behaviors (Giddan et al., 1997). Some special education programs use the response initiation approach to try and help children with SM inside the school setting (Giddan et al., 1997).

The psychodynamic approach looks to identify and resolve the internal conflicts of the child (Hung et al., 2012). Art or play therapy is often used to allow the child to become comfortable with a therapist so that traditional talk therapy is possible (Hung et al., 2012). Some psychodynamic treatments involve the family system in hopes of changing disruptive family dynamics; however, the psychodynamic approaches do not seem to have much impact on children with SM (Hung et al., 2012).

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The psychosocial approach uses psychoeducation, behavioral intervention, and play activities (Oerbeck et al., 2014). The psychosocial approach seeks to positively reinforce speaking behaviors and gradually expose the child to fearful situations; this approach is implemented jointly in the home and school (Oerbeck et al., 2014). The psychosocial approach is similar to the micro-modal approach, which usually combines psychodynamic and behavioral techniques including occupational and family therapy, dance therapy, school based interventions, and special education programs (Hung et al., 2012).

The biological approach, specifically drug therapy, is the current trend in SM treatment; many times drug treatments are used in conjunction with psychosocial therapy (Carlson et al., 2008). Serotonin imbalance, along with its effect on the levels of the neurotransmitters noradrenaline and dopamine, is believed to play a major role in social anxiety and mood disorders, which due to similarities in disorder characteristics may be related to SM (Carlson et al., 2008). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) affect serotonin levels directly, which indirectly effects the levels of other neurotransmitters (Carlson et al., 2008). SSRIs are second generation anti-depressants; they have been shown to be effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders and have less severe side-effects than earlier anti-depressants and other anti-anxiety drugs (Carlson et al., 2008).

SSRIs have increasingly been prescribed to children with SM due to the fact that SM shares similar diagnostic characteristics with social anxiety; the SSRIs fluvoxamine and fluoxetine in particular have shown significant results in helping children with SM (Wong, 2010). Disinhibition effects have been found in children diagnosed with SM who are taking SSRIs (Carlson et al., 2008). However, Wong (2010) reports that due to the nature of SM, the disinhibition effects are actually indicators of the effectiveness of SSRIs as a treatment of SM. Oerbeck et al. (2015) found that SSRIs do not work for everyone and are best used in conjunction with a psychosocial or multimodal approach that includes behavioral treatments.

Summary Selective mutism as a diagnosis may be highly underrepresented in the population due to the nature of the disorder and the difficulty in its diagnosing (Bergman et al., 2002; Cleator & Hand, 2001). While SM is not the first diagnosis that should be considered, it should not be ruled out due to there being another disorder present (Kristensen, 2000). There is no agreement between researchers and clinicians as to the cause of SM. While there are various theories, none seem to explain every aspect of SM; approaching SM through the lens of multiple theories is essential (Wong, 2010). While assessment is possible, in a typical clinical setting 96

Selective Mutism: Diagnosis, Methodologies, and Treatments

it is difficult, and the use of non-verbal methods is limited. However, the SMQ seems promising since it was designed to specifically help in SM diagnosis (Letamendi et al., 2008). It is imperative that a child be assessed by a multidisciplinary team to screen for other communication and psychiatric disorders (Wong, 2010). It is also very important that there be familial and school support, psychoeducation, and acceptance because they are crucial before any treatment can begin (Krysanski, 2003). Early intervention and treatment is essential (Black & Uhde, 1995). Children who are not treated may develop other anxiety disorders as they enter adolescence, and these disorders could continue into adulthood (Black & Uhde, 1995). The prevalence of social phobia or anxiety disorders in parents appears related to the development of SM in children, but the link needs to be further studied (Black & Uhde, 1995).

Since SM can be debilitating to children in school settings and impair their social abilities later in life, it is important that research into the causes and effective treatments of SM continually be conducted (Hung et al., 2012). Evaluation for SM using the SSQ should be implemented when a child enters school, and again after 2-months in the classroom to see if SM has manifested in any children (Oerbeck et al., 2015). By evaluating students nationwide at intervals, it may allow clinicians and researchers to pinpoint possible environmental factors for the development of SM if common themes are discovered. The lack of significant research in regards to the causes of the disorder is alarming since the prevalence (base) rate (0.71%) is slightly higher than that of autism (0.50%) (Bergman et al., 2002; Blanchard, Gurka, & Blackman, 2006; as cited in Carlson et al., 2008). Further empirical data needs to be collected on the use of pharmaceuticals, specifically SSRIs, for the treatment of SM and the possible damage or benefits that they may cause children and adolescents (Carlson et al., 2008).

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References American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Bergman, R. L., Gonzalez, A., Piacentini, J., & Keller, M. L. (2013). Integrated behavior therapy for selective mutism: A randomized controlled pilot study. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 51 (10), 80-689. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2013.07.003 Bergman, R. L., Keller, M. L., Piacentini, J., & Bergman, A. J. (2008). The development and psychometric properties of the selective mutism questionnaire. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 37 (2), 456-464. doi: 10.1080/15374410801955805 Bergman, R. L., Piacentini, J., & McCracken, J. T. (2002). Prevalence and description of selective mutism in a school-based sample. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41 (8), 938-946. doi: 10.1097/00004583-200208000-00012 Black, B., & Uhde, T. W. (1995). Psychiatric characteristics of children with selective mutism: A pilot study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 34 (7), 847-856. doi: 10.1097/00004583-199507000-00007 Blanchard, L. T., Gurka, M., & Blackman, J. A. (2006). Emotional, developmental, and behavioral health of American children and their families: A report from the 2003 National Survey of Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health. Pediatrics, 117 (6), 1202â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1212. doi: 10.1542/ peds.2005-2606 Carbone, D., Schmidt, L. A., Cunningham, C. C., McHolm, A. E., Edison, S., St. Pierre, J., & Boyle, M. H. (2010). Behavioral and socio-emotional functioning in children with selective mutism: a comparison with anxious and typically developing children across multiple informants. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38 (8), 1057-67. doi: 10.1007/s10802-010-9425-y Carlson, J. S., Mitchell, A. D., & Segool, N. (2008). The current state of empirical support for the pharmacological treatment of selective mutism. School Psychology Quarterly, 23 (3), 354-372. doi: 10.1037/1045-3830.23.3.354 Cleator, H., & Hand, L. (2001). Selective mutism: How a successful speech and language assessment really is sossible [Supplemental material]. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 36, 126-131. doi: 10.3109/13682820109177871 Cunningham, C. E., McHolm, A. E., & Boyle, M. H. (2006). Social phobia, anxiety, oppositional behavior, social skills, and self-concept in children with specific selective mutism, generalized selective mutism, and community controls. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 15 (5), 245-255. doi: 10.1007/s00787-006-0529-4 Dow, S. P., Sonies, B. C., Scheib, D., Moss, S. E., & Leonard, H. L. (1995). Practical guidelines for the assessment and treatment of selective mutism. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 34 (7), 836-846. doi: 10.1097/00004583199507000-00006 Dummit, E. S., III, Klein, R. G., Tancer, N. K., Asche, B., Martin, J., & Fairbanks, J. A. (1997).

Systematic assessment of 50 children with selective mutism. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36 (5), 653-660. doi: 10.1097/00004583199705000-00016

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Selective Mutism: Diagnosis, Methodologies, and Treatments Giddan, J. J., Ross, G. J., Sechler, L. L., & Becker, B. R. (1997). Selective mutism in elementary school: Multidisciplinary interventions. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools, 28 (2), 127-133. doi: 10.1044/0161-1461.2802.127 Hung, S.-H., Spencer, M. S., & Dronamraju, R. (2012). Selective mutism: Practice and intervention strategies for children. Children & Schools, 34 (4), 222-230. doi: 10.1093/ cs/cds006 Kristensen, H. (2000). Selective mutism and comorbidity with developmental disorder/ delay, anxiety disorder, and elimination disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 39 (2), 249-256. doi: 10.1097/00004583-20000200000026 Krysanski, V. L. (2003). A brief review of selective mutism literature. Journal of Psychology, 137 (1), 29-40. doi: 10.1080/00223980309600597 Kussmaul, A. (1877). Die Stoerungen der Sprache [Disturbances in linguistic function] (1st ed.). Basel, Switzerland: Benno Schwabe.

Letamendi, A. M., Chavira, D. A., Hitchcock, C. A., Roesch, S. C., Shipon-Blum, E., & Stein, M. B. (2008). Selective mutism questionnaire: measurement structure and validity.

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 47 (10), 1197-1204. doi: 10.1097/CHI.0b013e3181825a7b Manassis, K., Tannock, R., Garland, E. J., Minde, K., McInnes, A., & Clark, S. (2007). The sounds of silence: Language, cognition, and anxiety in selective mutism. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 46 (9), 1187-1195. doi: 10.1097/ CHI.0b013e318076b7ab Oerbeck, B., Stein, M. B., Pripp, A. H., Kristensen, H. (2015). Selective mutism: Follow-up study 1 year after end of treatment. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 24 (7), 757-766. doi: 10.1007/s00787-014-0620-1 Oerbeck, B., Stein, M. B., Wentzel-Larsen, T., Langsrud, Ă&#x2DC;., & Kristensen, H. (2014). A randomized controlled trial of a home and school-based intervention for selective mutism - Defocused communication and behavioural techniques. Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 19 (3), 192-198. doi: 10.1111/camh.12045 Tramer, M. (1934). Elektiver Mutismus bei Kindern [Elective Mutism in Children]. Zeitschrift fur Kinderpsychiatre 1, 30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;35.

Wong, P. (2010). Selective mutism: a review of etiology, comorbidities, and treatment.

Psychiatry (Edgemont), 7 (3), 23-31.

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The American Identity and Classism

By Lisa Garcia Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ubaraj Katawal Department Of English Abstract: While Fitzgerald’s work The Great Gatsby is considered a timeless classic, its essential message and social commentary carry with them critical undertones of classism. While Gatsby himself seems to be a glorified example of the American Dream, his ultimate demise stems from years of unmoving, systemic social pressure. An in-depth analysis of Fitzgerald’s use of imagery and color uncovers psychoanalytic elements of the novel such as themes of intersectionality and unhomeliness. When looking through this lens, the socioeconomic placement of all of Fitzgerald characters not only illustrates the vivid setting of the American 1920s, but provides a parallel for the difference in the imagery used throughout the narrative. Exploring the connotations of color, then, becomes an exercise in psychological expectation. Fitzgerald critiques the conventional wisdom of the time by attacking the aristocracy that becomes virtually impenetrable for anyone aspiring to achieve the American Dream. The story Fitzgerald tells in The Great Gatsby does more than tell the lives of a handful of elites; it reflects the nation’s collective understanding of how social mobility is meant to function.

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When asked what his objective was for his next work, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald replied that he wanted to “write something new—something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned” (Elmore 427). The argument that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby meets all of those qualities and more is largely uncontested. For many, The Great Gatsby is a work that is unequivocally American. Many argue that it represents the romance of the Jazz Age combined with the dazzling appeal of the “American Dream.” It has become so closely associated with the American Dream that schools across the country are incorporating Fitzgerald’s work into their routine curriculum in efforts to give students a better understanding of American identity. For example, one issue of The English Journal published an article on the importance of the novel for high school students, praising its value as an American classic while diminishing Gatsby’s character as a “gangster-turned-Romantic” (Ruggieri 1).

A more astute reading of Fitzgerald’s novel, however, reveals a sobering reality in which the author provides an un-romanticized commentary on the nation’s sense of identity. Themes of money, class, and status are explored through Fitzgerald’s uncanny mastery of the English language to reach a final opinion about America’s “historicism” (Turlish 442). His astounding use of imagery is the most subliminally effective technique for illustrating the presence of classism within the novel. Through the lens of Marxism, one could pinpoint the issue of classism as a mere symptom of the underlying corruption of American capitalism (especially during the Roaring Twenties). However, the issue of classism often extends beyond the engrained ideology of capitalism and stems from a sense of identity that extends much farther into the past than the artificial longevity promised by a prosperous decade. Fitzgerald uses subtle details to parse through the inherent differences among the characters and their respective classes. The bourgeoisie and the proletariat are, traditionally, easily distinguishable, but worlds collide when the Tom and Daisy Buchanans of high society begin to mesh with the Nick Carraways and, especially, the Jay Gatsbys of the world. These Jay Gatsby types are considered to be the biggest threats of all, as they are the “nobodies” who come from nowhere (Fitzgerald 71). The narrator Nick, like other Americans craving affirmation that their financial prosperity is on the horizon, is enticed by Gatsby’s success in achieving the American Dream. Fitzgerald’s commentary, however, supersedes economic climate and suggests that our elitism and exclusivity can be explained in light of our tendencies to “other” the unfamiliar. This othering can be seen through Tom and Daisy’s rejection of the likes of Gatsby.

A distinct difference in identity and aura is established in the novel as soon as Nick encounters Tom and Daisy for the first time. Fitzgerald 101

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appeals to the senses through imagery and the repeated use of color as a signifier for socioeconomic class. As critic A. E. Elmore notes, Tom and Daisy, characters who would typically represent the bourgeoisie, are continuously associated with images of white and silver (428). The scene is flooded with a sense of light and airiness. When Nick meets Tom upon his first visit to their Estate in East Egg, he notices the “shining arrogant eyes” and the “glistening boots” (Fitzgerald 7). He is then welcomed into a “bright rosy colored space” with “gleaming white” and a “frosted wedding-cake of [a] ceiling” where he is introduced to Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker, who are both draped across a chaise wearing “rippling” and “fluttering” white dresses (Fitzgerald 7-8). Elmore further explains that, not only do those in East Egg dress in white, but they fawn over the white race as well (428).

Tom, in an attempt to overcome his plateau of physical fitness in his early twenties, justifies the call for white supremacy. Tom claims that he, Daisy, Nick, and Jordan have dominion over the world, as Nordics were the first to produce “science and art, and all that” (Fitzgerald 13). Tom seems to have missed the wisdom of Nick’s father which Fitzgerald uses to preface the novel: “a sense of fundamental decencies is parceled out unequally at birth” (2). While Tom seems to be the only one to believe in this Nordic Ordinance of God, the rest of the novel reveals that Daisy and Jordan’s actions align with Tom’s beliefs, even if they make light of the subject initially. Those who attempt to decipher Fitzgerald’s messaging generally can detect his cautionary spin. Critic Lewis A. Turlish makes the connection between Fitzgerald’s work and Theodore Stoddard’s The Rising Tide of Color, both of which hint at the rampant racism of the dominant bourgeoisie (443). But while the polarized state amongst race and class systems are easily detailed, the psychology behind this strife can also be explained by further analyzing the free-floating actors in The Great Gatsby.

Nick, though often lumped into high society, actually proves himself to be an exception. Tom and Daisy are painted by Fitzgerald to be traditional elites, and the reader knows that Tom and Daisy Buchanan come from old money. Although Tom’s family has roots in Chicago, his family members have been established in New York long enough to build a reputation and somehow taint it. His parents even spent a year in France, while he marries Daisy (whose family is established in the South). Their old-money mentality serves as a stark contrast to the “nouveau riche” of West Egg where Gatsby and Nick reside. Nick Carraway is not established clearly as a member of high society, nor is he clearly defined as belonging to the middle or lower class. Although the narrator glazes over his personal history, the information he provides is enough to rule him out as part of an American, old-money lineage. While his family suppos102

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edly hails from the “Dukes of Buccleuch,” their presence in America is not noted until Nick’s grandfather’s brother comes to the United States in the 1850s. As the novel is set in the 1920s, little time is awarded to the family to lay roots in a completely new landscape. We do know that Nick comes from some money, however, as he has the freedom to travel and his family has sufficient funds to send soldiers in their place to fight during the war. Because he is neither part of Daisy and Tom’s circle, nor quite the anomaly that Gatsby presents himself to be, Nick makes the perfect narrator. His position is flexible enough to allow him to follow both the bourgeoisie of East Egg and the pseudo-bourgeoisie of West Egg. Nick experiences a sort of intersectionality, or an identity comprised of contrasting aspects, that allows us to view the inner workings of high society in the novel (Tyson 376).

West Egg comes to symbolize a different hue than the pure white associated with Tom and Daisy. For Gatsby, everything is golden and yellow. This becomes especially apparent when Nick decides to attend one of his extravagant parties for the first time. Elmore lists out the numerous instances during which Fitzgerald uses any variation of the color: Gatsby’s station wagon “scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains ... Every Friday five crates of orange lemons arrived …”

Pastry pigs and turkeys are “bewitched to a dark gold”. The bar has “a real brass rail”. The orchestra plays “yellow cocktail music”. Two girls wear“twin yellow dresses”, and Nick associates this color with them no fewer than five times before the chapter is out. (434)

The association of Gatsby and gold is subliminally present even before the novel begins. Fitzgerald selects a poem named “This Side of Paradise” from one of his novels, Thomas Parke d’Invilliers, which reads, “Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her / If you can bounce high, bounce for her too / Till she cry ‘Lover, gold-hatter, high-bouncing lover / I must have you!’” (Bettina 435). Here, the voice of the poem seems to be a direct reflection of Jay Gatsby’s internal yearning for Daisy’s affection, regardless of the cost. Even Gatsby’s final moments of life are filled with lasting imagery and are not without his signature color. As he floats in his pool under the “yellowing trees” he “shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass” (Fitzgerald 161). While some would argue that the golden yellow hues attributed to Gatsby are almost identical in connotation to the whites of Tom and Daisy, there is a distinct difference implied by Fitzgerald. The white prevalent throughout East Egg symbolizes a sort of divine purity.

It is calmer and more ethereal, as it invokes an image of heaven and a mood of soothing breathiness. The color is endorsed by a higher order.

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Gatsby’s golden yellow color, especially when related to his mansion, is more attention-grabbing with its gaudy and grandiose presence. It is not as subdued as white, and it is a color that demands to be seen. The color of gold also accompanies the sense of celebration and does so fittingly, considering the amount of entertaining that Gatsby does. Fitzgerald gives Gatsby this color because it is boastful, as is Gatsby himself. Further, he demands the world to acknowledge that he is a man who has done the impossible; he has achieved social mobility in a rags-to-riches tale—an accomplishment that threatens the “equilibrium” of present classism.

Fitzgerald also assigns a distinct atmosphere for the “valley of ashes,” the residence of the proletariat. Fitzgerald paints a setting that acts as an antithesis to the bright and airy utopia that is the Buchanan Estate.

The valley of ashes is “where ashes take the form of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (23).

Fitzgerald not only implies that there is a darkness lingering over the everyday lives of the lower class, but the ashes imply a level of filth that is especially degrading. The dichotomy between these two places shows the prevalent and obvious classism of the time period. Even Myrtle, Tom’s mistress, seems to be assigned a rainbow of colors, although they seem to be muted. The colors themselves could signify her attempt to rise to high society, while the muted tones represent her tainted past and corrupt ways for achieving social mobility. At first, she meets Nick and Tom wearing a dark blue gown but later changes into a cream-colored dress as the party goes on.

While Fitzgerald’s use of imagery clearly aims to categorize the characters in the story, the fate of each character still leaves much to be interpreted. While many pigeonhole The Great Gatsby as an American classic, they fail to recognize that the very character who is romanticized to signify achievement and greatness ends up dead. Still, Fitzgerald inarguably meant to make Gatsby a centerpiece for the American Identity. Critic Floyd Watkins observes the uncanny similarities between Gatsby’s persona and that of Benjamin Franklin (250). This Founding Father is one of the great pillars of American exceptionalism, pedaling a “bootstraps” mentality of the self-made man, and Watkins claims these “close parallels” between the two are used to make Gatsby a “personification of the American Dream” (252). Gatsby as a self-made man, however, never achieves his aspired greatness. Although Nick mentions at the start of the novel that Gatsby turns out quite “all right,” it would seem that Gatsby’s ultimate mission to earn Daisy’s love was a failure (Fitzgerald 2). Even with all of his riches and his life of excess, he could never quite attain Daisy. With the imagery that Fitzgerald established, he indicates to the reader the 104

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reason for this. While achieving the American Dream in today’s society is normally associated with total social conquering, Fitzgerald seems to imply that this is not necessarily so. Tom and Daisy are the classical aristocracy that comes from old money. They are established within their mode, and Fitzgerald seems to imply that institutionalized socioeconomic classes do not take kindly to the addition of free-floating variables that drift from one social status to another. This social mobility demonstrates not only that a man can ascend to a higher socioeconomic standing, but that successful men can likewise fall from their high standing. Tom and Daisy can never bring themselves to be with the likes of Gatsby because his success signifies a breach of the boundaries which establish Tom and Daisy in their wealth. This threatens the security of their socioeconomic status, prompting them to other him. An example of this includes the attempt Tom makes to invalidate Gatsby with the claim that he has “dirty” money. As a rich, Eurocentric, white supremacist, Tom favors an inherent foundational hierarchy that can accommodate only the people who fall into exactly the same category. Tom’s views of civilization succumbing to the “Negro Empire” applies now to those of all socioeconomic tiers who dare traverse into territory not original to their birthright. As critic Benjamin Schrier proclaims, “Gatsby enacts a deeply problematical drama of identification whereby the representational capacity of identity—ultimately American identity—is an object alternatively of desire and skepticism” (qtd. in Meehan 78). By casting Tom as the villainous antagonist who vanquishes Gatsby, Fitzgerald leaves the reader with a feeling that perhaps the definition of American itself is flawed.

Theorist Lois Tyson explains that the American Dream is merely another example of a false consciousness that is in place to help high society stay afloat (58). We see throughout the novel that all of Gatsby’s desperate attempts to win Daisy and become part of the “white” and “pure” society are met with ridicule by Tom. At the height of their confrontation, Tom exclaims, “I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that’s the idea you can count me out … Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they’ll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white” (Fitzgerald 139). He goes on to say that Gatsby is a bootlegger. While Tom and Gatsby are financially on the same level, Fitzgerald establishes a sense of mimicry here to show that regardless of Gatsby’s efforts, he is still inadequate. He makes such a show of it that even Daisy becomes convinced after their altercation that despite her affection for Gatsby, she is better off staying with Tom. There is also an element of hypocrisy underlying Tom’s concern for family institutions, considering his own infidelity. As Fitzgerald claims, 105

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while Gatsby may try his hardest and never succeed, Tom and Daisy have no bounds to moral or ethical obligations in the same way and can still be met with success. Fitzgerald describes them as “careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made …” (179). Arguably, the thing “that keeps them together” is the confidence that they are part of the aristocracy and that they are untouchable.

Because Gatsby achieves financial success but is never able to make any lasting connections or relationships (aside from those formed with Nick), Gatsby is stuck in a sense of unhomeliness, or a “psychological limbo” due to “cultural displacement” (Tyson 422). As critic Margaret Lukens illustrates, “[Gatsby] is a fish who has left his native water only to find the waters of Long Island Sound uncongenial …” (45). He has no sense of past after abandoning his former life as J. Gatz in North Dakota. He left his mother and father, a family of farmers, to pursue a life of luxury in a world that was so full of opportunity and promise.

Ultimately, the life that Gatsby strived for and the life that Tom and Daisy were spoonfed did not turn out to be equally rewarding, because, in the grand scheme of things, Fitzgerald implies that Gatsby could never truly have succeeded. With his use of coded imagery, Fitzgerald shows that the issue of society’s faulty American Dream stems from the indignant oppression of the proletariat from the aristocracy, as its members aim to preserve the exclusivity of their socioeconomic tier. This inherent sense of classism is what drives the lack of acceptance of peoples from one class to another and leads to results such as othering or unhomeliness of people who dare to go against the status quo. Those who attempt social mobility, such as Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby, are the true representatives of American Identity, hailing traditional values of American exceptionalism and individualism. Fitzgerald’s commentary in The Great Gatsby urges readers to question whether these idealized personas that we are encouraged to achieve will ever be welcome into the gridlocked climate of today’s world.

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References Bettina, M. “The Artifact in Imagery: Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.” Twentieth Century Literature, vol. 9, no. 3, 1963, pp. 140–142. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/441031.

Elmore, A. E. “Color and Cosmos in ‘The Great Gatsby.’” The Sewanee Review, vol. 78, no.

3, 1970, pp. 427–443, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27541823.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. London, Penguin Books, 2000.

Lukens, Margaret. “Gatsby as a Drowned Sailor.” The English Journal, vol. 76, no. 2, 1987, pp. 44–46, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/818165.

Meehan, Adam. “Repetition, Race, and Desire in The Great Gatsby.” Journal of Modern Literature, vol. 37, no. 2, 2014, pp. 76–91, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/jmodelite.37.2.76.

Ruggieri, Colleen A. “‘The Great Gatsby’ and the Cacophony of the American Dream.”

The English Journal, vol. 97, no. 3, 2008, pp. 109–109, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30046842.

Turlish, Lewis A. “The Rising Tide of Color: A Note on the Historicism of The Great Gatsby.” American Literature, vol. 43, no. 3, 1971, pp. 442–444. JSTOR, www.jstor. org/stable/2924045.

Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today. 2nd ed., London, Taylor and Francis, 2014.

Watkins, Floyd C. “Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatz and Young Ben Franklin.” The New England Quarterly, vol. 27, no. 2, 1954, pp. 249–252, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/362807.

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The Alto Trombone in an Orchestral Setting

By Melissa Raquel Wilcox Faculty Mentor: Dr. Doug Farwell, Department Of Music Abstract: This paper examines the history of the alto trombone in the orchestral setting. Further, this paper analyzes the importance of understanding this history in deciding when to use the alto trombone. The history of the alto trombone divides itself into three parts, mostly by musical eras: early uses of the instrument, the decline of the instrument, and the usage today. This research comes from multiple treatise entries from authors, Will Kimballâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website regarding the history of alto trombone, and Ken Shifrinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book that is a collection of alto trombone excerpts.

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When most people hear the word “trombone,” they picture a tenor trombone. In a concert band/wind ensemble setting, when the parts are divided into three parts, it is implied the first two parts are played by tenor trombones (with even the third/bass part being covered by the tenor trombone sometimes too). In a trombone ensemble, most of the players play on tenors, even if the top part goes up to a D5 (the D on the treble clef). In orchestral settings, the trombonist on first has to evaluate the part to see if there is a need to switch from the tenor trombone. The modern trombone world is dominated by the tenor trombone, but within the history of the trombone, the tenor was one of the voices in a set of three.

Ken Shifrin, the past principal trombonist of Great Britain’s City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, notes that in the sixteenth century, the trombone section was divided by its three important voices: alto, tenor, and bass. When a composer wrote out the instrumentation of their pieces, they wrote for first trombone, second trombone, and third trombone.

Traditionally, the first was always the alto, the second was the tenor, and the third was the bass. All three voicings of the horn were important, but currently the trombone world is mostly comprised of the tenor and bass voicings. What happened to the alto trombone’s importance?

In short, the alto trombone lost popularity because it was not found to be as universal as its counterparts. However, the alto trombone is no less important. This unique instrument has its own history apart from the tenor and bass. This paper will examine the uses of the alto trombone in the orchestral setting. Strictly speaking, this paper focuses on the E-flat alto trombone, not the earlier altos in the key of D or the modern altos with B-flat attachments.

This research will help an audience understand the history and importance of the alto trombone, in turn helping them determine when to use this instrument. Trombonists should understand when “first trombone” means alto and when it means tenor, based on the era and genre of the piece in question. A player who understands these historical nuances is more prepared to play pieces that require the alto trombone and help others understand the importance of studying the alto trombone.

Prime Time for the Alto Trombone The trombone section became a well-known section in the Renaissance period. Michael Praetorius wrote a three-volume treatise, Syntagma Musicum (1691), which describes the instruments during the Renaissance period (Kimball). Praetorius shows a distaste for the alto trombone in his second volume by stating, “[T]he musical quality produced by [the alto trombone’s] small body is not as good as that of the ordinary [tenor] trombone, which can be used to play equally high parts after steady prac109

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tice” (Syntagma Musicum II 43). However, in the third volume, Praetorius states that the alto trombone should be used if a part includes an E above the bass staff (Syntagma Musicum III). William Kimball, a professor of trombone at Brigham Young University, summarizes Praetorius’ descriptions of the alto: Praetorius offers a mixed, nuanced picture of alto trombone performance practice, saying 1) the alto trombone can play discant [sic] parts or melodies perfectly well; 2) however, he prefers the sound of the tenor trombone; 3) nevertheless, there are several specific musical uses for the alto instrument, and 4) most trombonists will need the alto trombone for the upper register, beginning in the range of e-a above the bass staff.

Kimball’s third point raises a question: What are the several musical uses of the alto trombone? Ken Shifrin answers this question with reference to the Baroque period.

Shifrin writes in the foreword of his book, The Professional’s Handbook of Orchestral Excerpts Alto Trombone, that in choral works during the Baroque period, the trombone section was used to double the corresponding voice parts. Hence, the alto trombone usually accompanied voices. It was hard for the alto trombone to evolve because the progressive composers during the time, like Johann Sebastian Bach, were conservative with the uses of the instrument. Bach strongly believed the instrument’s only role was to double the alto voice part (Shifrin).

Between the Baroque period and the Classical period, the alto trombone was predominately featured in choral music. Bach wrote several cantatas with the alto, while Mozart wrote several masses (genres that heavily rely on voice). Mozart’s masses left an impression on trombone history, especially his Requiem in D minor K. 626. While the Requiem includes the famous tenor trombone excerpt in the “Tuba Mirum” section, it also includes important alto trombone excerpts in the following sections: Die irae, Rex tremendae, Confutatis, Lacrimosa, Domine Jesu, and Benedictus (Shifrin 50-52). Mozart also wrote several operas whose orchestras included alto trombones (i.e. Idomeneo, Don Giovanni, and The Magic Flute), but he was in no way the first to do this.

While early Classical composer, Christoph Willibald Gluck, is known as the first composer to use the trombone in opera (in 1762, with his opera Orfeo ed Euridice), the late Renaissance/ early Baroque composer Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi wrote the trombone into his opera Orfeo much earlier, in 1607. This inclusion opened the genre of opera to the alto trombone (Kimball). While the opera genre is still a genre that heavily 110

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involves the voice, the instrumentation parts are equal in importance to the voice parts.

The alto trombone was a common member of opera orchestras before the Romantic period. As previously mentioned, the trombone section comprised three trombones (alto, tenor, and bass) during this time. Soon the trombone section would be found in symphony orchestras, where there were no voices. People credit Beethoven with introducing the trombone section to the symphony orchestra with his fifth symphony (1808), but Franz Beck used the trombone trio in 1760 with his Symphony No. 2 in E-flat (Shifrin). This became important for the alto trombone because it was finally in a setting without voices, but like the opera orchestra, the symphony orchestra only commonly featured alto trombones until the Romantic period.

The Decline of the Alto Trombone The Romantic period reflected the decline of the alto trombone. The Industrial Revolution caused an increase of the middle class, which increased the population of musicians. Almost every household had a piano in it, and more people could afford to study music without doing it through the Church (Eischeid). Music became a hobby for common people. Composers were also increasing the size of the orchestra. An orchestra in the middle of the Romantic period had around 90-120 people in contrast to orchestras before, which had around 20 people (Eischeid).

With the average person becoming interested in music and the orchestras growing greatly, there needed to be a place to seat everyone. This increased popularity resulted in an increased construction in concert halls around Europe and America (Farwell).

The Romantic period favored a big, full sound. Along with more players and bigger halls, composers wanted instruments that could produce this sound. This expectation was the prime contributor to the alto tromboneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decline. The alto trombone never had the reputation of full sound, yet few composers during the time tried to utilize the instrument.

Composer, Hector Berlioz had very mixed feelings about the alto trombone, but overall felt it should stay in the orchestral scene. In his Treatise on Modern Instrumentation and Orchestration he states: Its quality of tone is rather shrill compared with that of the deeper trombones. Its lower notes sound somewhat badly, which is one good reason for avoiding them in general, as well as because these notes are excellent on the tenor trombones, from which the alto trombone, in the orchestra, is scarcely ever separated â&#x20AC;Ś on their account it is to be regretted that the alto trombone is at present almost banished from our French orchestra. (152)

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Berlioz felt the alto trombone was important in the orchestra, and fully appreciated the way it played melodic solos. He also felt as if the alto trombone played these melodic solos better than the tenor, even though he preferred the valve alto trombone (Macdonald 228).

The Industrial Revolution also caused an increase in valve instrument production (Shifrin). While the tenor trombone was resisting the fate of becoming a valve instrument, its only competition was the simple-looking valve trombone (which resembles a stretched-out marching baritone) and Adolph Saxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s model of a six-valve trombone (Lemke). The alto trombone competed with many more models. In Paris, France, Jean Georges Kastner wrote a treatise on military music called Manuel GĂŠnĂŠral de Musique Militaire (1848), in which he showed the different types of alto trombones that were used during this time (see Fig. 1). The first trombone is similar to the alto sackbut, while the second is the more modern alto trombone.

The last trombone is a double-slide alto, but as one may notice, most of these alto trombones have valves. Below is a translated description of the different models: 1. Trombone 2. Trombone (other type) 3. Trombone with three valves 4. Trombone with three valves (German system, chin trombone) 5. Bass trombone with three valves 6. Trombone with three valves (other type) 7. Double trombone (with a double slide)

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Fig. 1. Types of Trombones during the Industrial Revolution. Kastner, Georges. Manuel Général de Musique Militaire a l’Usage des Armées Françaises. Paris: Typographie de Firmin Didot Frères, Imprimeurs de l’Institut de France, 1848. (Kastner, Militaire Pl.XVII). Image digitized

by Melissa Wilcox.

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Shifrin states in his book that the increase in valve instruments also caused an era of chromatic trumpets, and because of this, composers did not really see the need for a high trombone. It was almost pointless to put valves on the alto trombone when trumpets were also playing in that range. According to Shifrin, the redeeming quality of the alto is the way it blends with the voice.

Musicians today disagree about the use of the alto trombone in pieces caught in this transitional phase between the Classical/early Romantic period and the mid/late Romantic period. Composers like Johannes Brahms, Anton Bruckner, and Antonín Dvořák usually ignite this debate.

Shifrin states that it is best if players follow this simple rule: the tenor is the best choice for symphonic works, and the alto is the best choice for choral works. The alto trombone was always intended to be played with the voice. Regarding the two trombones in a choral setting, Shifrin states, The tenor trombone often sounds too heavy for these parts, and rather than strengthening what is often the weakest section of the chorus, instead succeeds in covering it. In my opinion, it is not so much the tesstitura of the first trombone part as the tone colour demanded that dictates the use of the alto, which having a cleaner, lighter sound, blends better with the voices and achieves a beautiful ringing quality.

While it seems the alto trombone is “stuck” only playing in choral works, an alternative view is that the alto trombone has mastered blending into the human voice.

The Alto Trombone Today Today, trombonists analyze parts when deciding if the part requires an alto or a tenor trombone. Some say that if the part is written in the alto clef, players should use the alto trombone. The flaw with that approach is that although most tenor trombonists know the alto clef, players who are not comfortable with the alto trombone will play their tenor trombones.

Some modern composers simply specify in the score that they want the alto trombone on a certain part. That way, there is no room for error, and the composer achieves the tone color they want from the trombone section. There is a debate in composer/conductor circles about whether ensembles should hire alto trombone players along with tenor and bass players.

Herman Scherchen, a famous German composer, wrote in his book, Handbook of Conducting, that every orchestra should have an alto trombonist (Scherchen 102). For composers like Alban Berg, the alto trombone 114

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is used more as an aid, in the same way that some trumpet players rely on the E-flat or piccolo trumpet to reach higher notes (Shifrin).

Although professionals still discuss the proper use of the instrument, Alfred Blatter, an orchestration instructor at the Curtis Institute of Music, writes in his orchestration textbook that the alto trombone is resurfacing in modern music. Composers like Arnold Schonberg and Igor Stravinsky wrote for the alto trombone, and Béla Bartok wrote for three alto trombones in Blue Beard’s Castle, stressing their use in the piece. As Blatter observes in Instrumentation/orchestration, Once given up for lost, the alto trombone is making a modest comeback. This rise in popularity has been due to a renewed interest in older music written specifically for the alto trombone, to the interest shown by some contemporary composers in its lighter, sweeter sound, and to the relative ease it offers in the performance of some of the high nineteenth-century orchestral parts. (163)

Norman Del Mar, a British conductor at the Royal College of Music, also states that the alto trombone should remain a relevant instrument; he references the F5 (the F on top of the treble clef) in Beethoven’s fifth symphony (Kimball). He believes that even though the tenor trombone can reach the high F in the symphony, the alto trombone gives the note a better sound quality. Roland John Jackson, an editor of Performance Practice Review shares this same belief by writing: As the [nineteenth] century wore on the alto began to drop away and the tenor and bass became fused into a single instrument. This, however, robbed the trombone section of something of its distinctive color and sonority; the absence of an alto trombone, for instance, takes away from the effectiveness of the entrance of the three trombones in the finale of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. (Jackson 410)

Even though Jackson mentions Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, he (along with other composers, conductors, and trombonists) feels it is important to follow this example with all pieces that were originally intended for the alto trombone.

Most tenor trombonists are exposed to the alto trombone, but few trombonists specialize in it. Some orchestras hold auditions for the alto trombone spot, but in most cases, the principal trombonist plays the alto trombone. This is why understanding the history of the alto trombone in an orchestral setting is so important. Knowing and understanding the history is imperative for being prepared in an orchestra. If a conductor hands an ensemble a Bach cantata, the principal trombonist is responsible for having an alto trombone at the rehearsals.

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Overall, anyone who plans to play the tenor trombone professionally, in a classical setting, should study and understand the alto trombone. First, a player should determine whether voices are present in the orchestral setting. If there are voices, a player can immediately conclude that the alto trombone is appropriate. If not, the player should consider the musical period in which the piece was written and the number of trombones in the ensemble. If the piece is Renaissance, Baroque, or early Romantic (before the orchestra grew to 90+ people) and there are only three trombone parts, it is safe to assume the first part is the alto trombone. If the piece is an opera, then a player should evaluate the score and look at the range of the part, consider the period in which the opera was written, examine the alto voice’s part, and make a judgement based on the other brass sections (mostly considering the trombone part). As a last resort, a player can always just look for the alto clef and assume the part requires the alto.

The purpose of this research is to enlighten an audience on the importance of the alto trombone, especially trombonists. While it is easy to reduce the alto trombone to a fun, extra project a trombonist can tackle, this instrument should be seen more as a necessity for trombonists hoping to perform with orchestras. For certain pieces, knowing the alto trombone is a skill equally as important as playing the tenor trombone. Alongside this research, a list of every orchestral usage of the alto trombone is available upon request.1 In the end, it is a musician’s responsibility to come in prepared for a rehearsal; understanding the history of the alto trombone is part of a tenor trombonist’s preparation.

1 If one would like the list, they may contact me at mrwilcox@valdosta.edu to receive the excerpt list that I have created.

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References Berlioz, Hector. A Treatise on Modern Instrumentation and Orchestration: to Which is Appended the Chef d’Orchestre. Translated by Mary Cowden Clarke, Novello, 1858.

Blatter, Alfred. Instrumentation/Orchestration. Longman, 1980.

Eischeid, Susan. Personal Interview. Spring 2017.

Farwell, Doug. Personal Interview. Fall 2017 Jackson, Roland John. Performance Practice: A Dictionary-Guide for Musicians. Routledge, 2005.

Kastner, Georges. Manuel Général de Musique Militaire a l’Usage des Armées Françaises.

Paris: Typographie de Firmin Didot Fréres, Imprimeurs de l’Institut de France, 1848.

Minkoff, 1973.

Kimball, Will. Alto Trombone. Kimball Trombone. 2014. Web. 2017.

Lemke, Jeffrey Jon. French Tenor Trombone Solo Literature and Pedagogy since 1836. Disssertation, University of Arizona, 1983.

Macdonald, Hugh. Berlioz’s Orchestration Treatise: A Translation and Commentary. Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Praetorius, Michael. Syntagma musicum, Band II: De Organographia. Facsimile edition.

Documenta musicologica, 14. Bärenreiter, 1958 Praetorius, Michael. Syntagma musicum, Band III: Termini musici. Facsimile edition. Documenta musicologica, 15. Bärenreiter, 1958.

Praetorius, Michael. Syntagma Musicum II: De Organographia, Parts I and II. Translated and edited by David Z. Crookes, Clarendon Press, 1986.

Praetorius, Michael, and Hans Lampl. A Translation of Syntagma Musicum III by Michael Praetorius. Thesis (D.M.A.), University of Southern California, 1957.

Praetorius, Michael. Syntagma Musicum III. Translated and edited by Jeffery T. Kite-Powell, Oxford University Press, 2004.

Scherchen, Herman. Handbook of Conducting. Translated by M.D. Calvocoressi. Oxford University Press, 1989.

Shifrin, Ken. The Professional’s Handbook of Orchestral Excerpts: Alto Trombone. Virgo Music Publishers, 1986.

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Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence

By Brody W. Lathem Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jeremy Tost, Department Of Psychology, Counseling, And Family Therapy Abstract: This study examined the relationship between domestic violence and participant sex on attitudes toward domestic violence. The current research aims to discover if males and females feel differently about domestic abuse. The participants, 78 undergraduate students at Valdosta State University, were given a questionnaire including scenarios depicting a situation wherein either verbal or physical abuse took place. It was predicted that males and females would not differ in their attitude toward physical abuse, but in the case of verbal abuse males would have higher comfortability ratings than females. However, when comparing males and females, there were no significant differences in either of the two attitude measures. Further, the data revealed that participants, regardless of sex, had significantly harsher sentiments toward physical abuse than verbal abuse.

These findings underscore the lack of sex differences in attitudes toward domestic abuse and pose questions related to the role of education in domestic abuse awareness.

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Nearly twenty people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States (Ncadv.org, 2017). Therefore, it is important for one to be aware of the signs of abuse and be aware of what is considered abuse. A review of the literature revealed that at least 30% of women have been in a domestic abuse situation in their lifetime (Pearce, 2014). Such a finding illustrates that women continue to find themselves in problematic situations. With improvements to our communities, education, and public awareness, we could help these victims overcome or avoid the situations entirely.

Educating our community, especially the youth, about signs of domestic abuse and what to do if their parents are experiencing verbal or physical abuse could pay dividends by encouraging young boys and girls to seek help by speaking with authority figures (Fox, Corr, Gadd, & Sim 2016). While many people tend to trivialize verbal abuse, it is equally important that people are informed of verbal abuse and its ramifications.

In discussions of verbal abuse, many people assume that verbal abuse is the only matter at hand. Unsurprisingly, our current justice system does not equally punish verbal and physical abuse per the Georgia penal code (Prittie & Hunter, 2017).

Verbal abuse, like physical abuse, can have damaging effects on many families dealing with abuse on an ongoing basis. For example, Morrison (2015) analyzed the effects of divorce or separation on continued abuse.

Their experiment focused on the effects these events have on children.

Approximately 18 children and 16 mothers were interviewed about their situations and experiences with abuse throughout their lifetimes. These interviews found that children in domestic abuse situations have overall negative feelings about contacting the abusive parent after separation.

Studies have found that when the marriage or relationship ends, that does not mean the domestic violence ends. The abuser will sometimes come to the home of their victim and continue abusing them.

A study conducted by Mouton, Rodabough, Rovi, Bryzki, and Katerndahl (2010) examined the psychological effects of abuse on older women between the ages of 50 and 79. They surveyed over 93,000 women and discovered that previous abuse in their lives played a negative role in their psychological health by causing more depressive symptoms such as fear and sadness. It was suggested that clinicians look for signs of abuse when these women experience depressive symptoms. Theoretically, it would seem as though women who experience any abuse in their lifetime have a lower quality of mental health. With proper education, it is possible that these symptoms could be alleviated to some degree.

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudinal differences of males and females across two types of abuse, physical and verbal.

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Utilizing a questionnaire, this study assessed participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; opinions in two specific areas: their overall attitude toward domestic abuse and the extent to which they felt some sort of retributive justice (e.g., jail time) should be administered to the abuser. The participants, undergraduate college students, were first asked to provide some demographic information, such as their race, sex, and current relationship status (single, in a relationship). They were then asked to read five scenarios that portrayed a type of domestic abuse. For each scenario, they were asked to provide a rating assessing how comfortable they were with the abuse. Following this, for each scenario, they were also asked to indicate the extent of retributive justice that should be administered to the abuser. The types of abuse were manipulated by way of the narrative scenarios the participants were provided. Three scenarios depicted physical abuse, while two depicted verbal abuse.

I predict an interaction of type of abuse (physical vs. verbal) by participant sex (male vs. female) on comfort scores such that males will report a higher level of comfort toward verbal abuse than toward physical abuse.

For females, their level of comfort will be about the same for verbal as for physical abuse. This predicted difference in attitude toward verbal abuse is based on the fact that most abuse cases are perpetrated by males with women aged 18-24 being the most common victims (Ncadv.org, 2017).

This could mean that males could be more likely to see themselves as perpetrators of the crimes.

Methods Participants The participants were college-aged adults (58 women, 20 men, age range: 18-22 years old) with a mix of ethnic groups (White: 24, African American: 42, Hispanic: 8, Asian: 4, Other: 2). Participants who varied in their college standings (Freshman: 25, Sophomores: 42, Juniors: 7, Seniors: 6) were surveyed via an online questionnaire.

Materials An online survey link was distributed to introductory psychology students via email and an instructor announcement. Four items detailed demographics (age, sex, college status, ethnicity, relationship status, and political affiliation). The participant then read five scenarios detailing abusive situations (three physical and two verbal). For each scenario, participants provided a comfortability rating (1 being extremely uncomfortable and 7 being extremely comfortable). Then participants responded to five questions assessing the extent of retributive justice they felt was warranted (1 being no punishment and 7 being severe punishment) (See Appendix A).

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The independent variable, the type of abuse, was manipulated by describing a physically abusive situation (two scenarios) and verbally abusive situation (three scenarios) between a couple. The verbal condition described three scenarios in which the boyfriend character, Alex, used demeaning language towards Jennifer. The physical condition described two scenarios in which Alex engages in physical abuse toward Jennifer.

After reading the scenarios, participants first responded to five questions assessing their comfortability with the abusive scenario, followed by five items assessing the extent of retributive justice they feel should be administered upon the abuser. They were prompted to ask follow-up questions via email.

Procedure The scenarios depicted fictional abusive actions between a heterosexual couple—Jennifer and Alex. The couple in the abusive scenarios was performing various menial at home tasks. The girlfriend, Jennifer, incited some sort of argument between the two, in a way that was not explicitly accidental or intentional. Then, Alex proceeded either to verbally abuse or physically abuse Jennifer, depending on the scenario. All participants read the same five accounts.

Students used a link to access the online survey provided by their instructor or myself. If the student refused to participate, he or she could leave the survey. If they agreed, they continued filling out the survey.

Afterwards, they placed their questionnaire into a manila folder to maintain anonymity. Reliability of the measures was acceptable as measured via Cronbach’s alpha. The five questions related to comfortability toward abuse (α = .73) displayed a high level of internal consistency. The five questions assessing retributive justice were also found to have acceptable internal consistency (α = .85). Validity of materials was ascertained via face validity, as determined by the researcher and professor.

Research Design This experiment employed a 2 x 2 mixed-model analysis of variance (ANOVA) with independent variables being types of domestic abuse (verbal or physical) and the participants’ sex (male or female). The participants’ comfortability toward the scenarios of verbal and physical abuse and rating of punitive justice were the dependent variables. Of particular interest is the extent to which males and females vary in either attitude in reaction to the (comfortability or punitive justice) abuse.

Results A 2 x 2 mixed-model ANOVA was conducted to evaluate the effects of type of abuse (verbal and physical) and participant sex (male or female) on 121

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comfort scores. There was a non-significant main effect for participant sex on comfort score, F (1, 78) = 0.43, p = .515, ηp2 < .05. Male participants (M = 1.96, SD = 0.81) had similar comfort scores to female participants (M = 1.86, SD = 0.82). There was a significant main effect of abuse scenario on comfort scores, F (1, 78) = 29.72, p < 001, ηp2 = .28. The comfort scores for verbal abuse (M = 2.16, SD = 0.79) were significantly higher than ratings for physical abuse (M = 1.59, SD = 0.84). There was a non-significant interaction between participant sex and attitude toward abuse F (1, 78) = 2.85, p = .095. ηp2 < .04. For males, there was a difference in comfort scores toward verbal abuse (M = 2.39, SD = 0.82) and physical abuse (M = 1.52, SD = 0.77).

For females, there was a similar difference in ratings between verbal abuse (M = 2.07, SD = 0.76) and physical abuse (M = 1.62, SD = 0.87).

See Table and Figure 1.

A 2 x 2 mixed-model ANOVA was conducted to evaluate the effects of type of abuse (verbal and physical) and participant sex (male or female) on amount of justice employed. There was a non-significant main effect for participant sex, F (1, 78) = 2.93, p = .091, ηp2 = .04. Male participants (M = 4.25, SD = 2.16.) had slightly lower justice scores than female participants (M = 4.86, SD = 1.25). There was a significant main effect for scenario on justice scores, F (1, 78) = 52.93, p < 001, ηp2 = .404. The justice scores for verbal abuse (M = 4.16, SD = 1.58) were lower than ratings for physical abuse (M = 5.22, SD = 1.56). There was a non-significant interaction between participant sex and amount of justice employed F (1, 78) = 0.05, p = .826. ηp2 = .01. For males, there was a difference in justice scores toward verbal abuse (M = 3.69, SD = 2.08) and physical abuse (M = 4.80, SD = 2.24).

For females, there was a similar difference in ratings between verbal abuse (M = 4.34, SD = 1.31) and physical abuse (M = 5.38, SD = 1.19).

(See Table and Figure 2.)

Discussion The results of the study did not support the predicted interaction that comfort scores toward domestic abuse would be higher in males than 122

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females. Overall, participants (both male and female) rated the scenarios as extremely uncomfortable in both physical and verbal abuse situations.

These results are consistent with the research conducted by Fox, Corr, Gadd, and Sim (2016). While this study focused on education, it still reveals a lack of differences between sexes when it comes to their attitudes towards domestic violence. In their work, it was found that educating young adults about domestic abuse yielded no significant differences between the two sexes in their attitudes toward domestic violence. The effect size was small indicating a lack of a relationship between the variables of education and domestic abuse.

In general, participants rated the scenarios depicting verbal abuse as uncomfortable (M = 2.16 on a scale from one (extremely uncomfortable) to seven (extremely comfortable)), but they were more uncomfortable (M = 1.52) with physical abuse. These findings are somewhat in line with the findings of Band-Winterstein (2015) who found that effects of abuse are usually pushed into the background in modern society, making it harder to recognize what is and is not abuse. This discrepancy could be because physical abuse is visible, and verbal is emotional. The effect size was small indicating a lack of a relationship between variables of sex and domestic abuse type.

The current research uncovered a significant scenario-based main effect on the amount of justice administered to the abuser and on comfort.

Participants rated the verbal abuse as requiring less justice and with less harsh comfort scores as compared to the physical abuse scenarios. While participants had largely negative views toward both types of domestic abuse, the data shows a slightly less comfortable rating for physical abuse than verbal abuse. This attitude could be due to the perceived greater severity of physical abuse compared to verbal abuse by both sexes or because the effects of physical abuse are easily visualized. Additionally, the outcome of death may be more so associated with physical, rather than verbal abuse.

Overall, it can be said that males and females did not differ in their views toward abuse. Regardless of whether the abuse was physical or verbal, scores were comparable for both sexes. For the most part, participants view abuse negatively to the point that that nearly all of the scores fell between a 1 and 2. Considering they are college students, this similarity between males and females could be due to participant education. Honesty in responding is an important component of any survey research.

Another factor that could have led to these results is social desirability.

Participants with a high comfort level toward abuse may have been afraid to admit it, knowing that tolerance of abuse is a social taboo. Lastly, we may understand the lack of differences between the sexes in terms of 123

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evolutionary forces that would favor negative feelings toward physical pain as opposed to emotional pain.

The current research faced some limitations. First, the researcher was limited to a small sample size of eighty individuals. Furthermore, the gender breakdown was uneven because the research had a large number of females (n = 58) compared to males (n = 20). A small sample size minimizes statistical power and the ability to detect real differences. As well, a small sample size increases the likelihood of sampling error and minimizes generalizability to a broader population. Also, a haphazard sampling method was employed to collect data. This methodology has the possibility of resulting in a biased sample further resulting in a lack of generalizability to the population.

The differences found between physical and verbal abuse offer some insight into our communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attitude toward these abuses and how much justice should be administered to an abusive individual. It is not surprising that physical abuse is viewed more harshly; nonetheless, the effects of verbal abuse should not be understated. It appears as though individuals recognize the negative effects of violence, of all sorts, and that is a good thing. Moving forward, future research may wish to examine the role of formal education and compare attitudes of educated versus uneducated individuals. While college students felt uncomfortable with domestic abuse of all kinds, this could be due to their level of education. As Fox, Corr, Gadd, and Sim (2016) stated in their research findings, education changes the attitudes of individuals toward domestic abuse by making the community more informed. The better we are able to understand these mechanisms, the better we can positively shape public opinion.

The current research shows that participants generally have negative attitudes towards domestic abuse. As well, males and females have similar attitudes toward domestic violence, regardless of type (domestic or verbal). Most would agree that reducing domestic violence requires the consideration of multiple approaches and perspectives. The current research contributes by highlighting the similarities in attitudes by participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sex and shows us that, in our modern era, college aged students have a similar negative attitude towards all types of abuse.

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References Band-Winterstein, T. (2015). Whose suffering is this? Narratives of adult children and parents in long-term abusive relationships. Journal of Family Violence, 30(2), 123-133. doi:10.1007/s10896-014-9660-z Fox, C. L., Corr, M., Gadd, D., & Sim, J. (2016). Evaluating the effectiveness of domestic abuse prevention education: Are certain children more or less receptive to the messages conveyed? Legal And Criminological Psychology, 21(1), 212-227. doi:10.1111/ lcrp.12046 Morrison, F. (2015). ‘All over now?’ The ongoing relational consequences of domestic abuse through children’s contact arrangements. Child Abuse Review, 24(4), 274-284.

Mouton, C. P., Rodabough, R. J., Rovi, S. D., Brzyski, R. G., & Katerndahl, D. A. (2010).

Psychosocial effects of physical and verbal abuse in postmenopausal women. Annals Of Family Medicine, 8(3), 206. doi:10.1370/afm.1095 Ncadv.org. (2017). Statistics. [online] Available at: http://ncadv.org/learn-more/statistics [Accessed 29 Jun. 2017].

Pearce, L. (2014). Bringing attention to domestic abuse. Nursing Standard, 28(39), 22-25. doi:10.7748/ns.28.39.22.s24 Prittie, J., & Hunter, N. (2017). Georgia Domestic Violence Benchbook. Available at: http:// icje.uga.edu/documents/2014DVBenchbookFinal.pdf [Accessed 25 July 2017].

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Valdosta State University A Regional University of the University System of Georgia and an Equal Opportunity Institution. www.valdosta.edu