Social Sciences – Page 10 – UROP Spring Symposium 2021

Social Sciences

Changes in Health Behaviors After the Onset of Covid-19 and Differences Between Men and Women

With the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic, many people’s daily lives and routines changed dramatically. Several studies have looked at how these changes impact health behaviors but seldom have looked at how changes in health behavior differ by gender. This study aims to examine changes in health behavior and identify if there are differences between men and women. Health behaviors are defined as anything that could have a negative or positive impact on health, specifically we looked at sleep, diet, exercise, smoking and drinking. Participants completed a survey asking how their health behaviors have changed since the start of the Covid-19 Pandemic. SPSS was used to analyze the data. Research will still need to be done on how we can address these differences and why some populations are more likely to have changes in health behavior. However, these results will help guide public health efforts to target specific populations.

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Mental Health & COVID-19

The purpose of this research is to understand the experience of COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic-related stress and the factors that exacerbate or buffer stress. This study is important simply due to the fact that COVID-19 has overall put more stress on the average person, so it is important to gather data during these trying times in order to see how much rates of stress, depression, hypertension, mania and other mental health ailments have taken a toll on the average person. With the pandemic in full effect, we are seeing a rise in mental health crises among minority populations. It is important to analyze this data and see what solutions can be implemented to combat this vital situation here in the United States.

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Examining Resistance in Military Occupations

The original research project in my first year of UROP was a historical analysis of different wars throughout history using factors outlined in Dr. Marcum’s research to determine whether a military occupation occurred, and then to determine whether or not the occupation failed. The current project is my independent research idea that looks at the military occupations from the perspective of the occupied countries rather than the occupiers. My initial goal of the project was to examine various cases of occupations and any instances of resistance from the occupied countries to figure out a framework for analyzing types of resistance. I used previous research done on resistance for occupations in Korea and Taiwan in Japan as my background research. In Resistance to alien rule in Taiwan and Korea (Hechter, Mateson, Hale 2009), the article conducts a comparative analysis of Japanese colonial rule in Korea versus Taiwan and how different factors of the colonial rule affected the duration and strength of the resistance in these two countries. Using this previous research, I examined resistance in the Mexican-American American War in 1846-1848 and the French Indochina War of 1858-1862 to see how the resistance strategies compared, and identified what factors contribute to the differences in resistance.

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Identifying physiological and behavioral mechanisms linking discrimination and subclinical cardiovascular disease among racially diverse young sexual minority men

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a leading cause of death for men in the United States. This is in part due to stress and substance use being closely associated with early risk factors of CVD prevalence. While little research exists on potential protective factors against the negative effects of stress, one possible mechanism that may mitigate the effects of stress exposure is social support. This cross-sectional study seeks to examine the association between physiological stress, substance use, and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness (CIMT). Approximately 50 participants, comprising of young sexual minority men (YSMM) between the ages of 18-35 years old, will be enrolled where these participants will have to fill out an online survey, providing information on stress and experiences of discrimination in childhood stress , adulthood stress, substance use behaviors, and current PSS. Participants will also be asked to take part in a non-invasive ultrasound to obtain CIMT measurements to evaluate possible signs of pre-clinical CVD. In addition, participants will be asked to provide saliva samples to measure salivary cortisol. At this current time, our project has not been able to produce results, however the investigation team hypothesize that YSMM that experienced higher in discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or racial/ethnic identity will have higher cIMT measurements than those lower in discrimination. The final conclusions and implications of this study might provide increased knowledge to the scientific community and clinical practice when it comes to understanding of CVD risk factors.

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Identifying physiological and behavioral mechanisms linking discrimination and subclinical cardiovascular disease among racially diverse young sexual minority men

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a leading cause of death for men in the United States. This is in part due to stress and substance use being closely associated with early risk factors of CVD prevalence. While little research exists on potential protective factors against the negative effects of stress, one possible mechanism that may mitigate the effects of stress exposure is social support. This cross-sectional study seeks to examine the association between physiological stress, substance use, and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness (CIMT). Approximately 50 participants, comprising of young sexual minority men (YSMM) between the ages of 18-35 years old, will be enrolled where these participants will have to fill out an online survey, providing information on stress and experiences of discrimination in childhood stress , adulthood stress, substance use behaviors, and current PSS. Participants will also be asked to take part in a non-invasive ultrasound to obtain CIMT measurements to evaluate possible signs of pre-clinical CVD. In addition, participants will be asked to provide saliva samples to measure salivary cortisol. At this current time, our project has not been able to produce results, however the investigation team hypothesize that YSMM that experienced higher in discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or racial/ethnic identity will have higher cIMT measurements than those lower in discrimination. The final conclusions and implications of this study might provide increased knowledge to the scientific community and clinical practice when it comes to understanding of CVD risk factors.

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Activity of squirrels and rabbits to domestic cats in Detroit, MI

Domestic cats are known invasive predators on small mammals and birds in urban areas. Due to domestic cats’ presence, concerns have raisen given the detrimental impact these pets can have on the local wildlife of metropolitan cities. In this study, we analyzed the temporal avoidance of squirrels (Sciurus niger, Sciurus carolinensis) and cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) to the presence of domestic cats (Felis catus) in Detroit Michigan.

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The Resilience Project: Measuring, Modeling, and Resilience to Hurricanes along the Eastern Seaboard

Hurricanes are massive storm systems that have major impacts on the human environment, especially infrastructure and the economy. It is imperative that we assess and measure recent patterns toward greater resilience to these powerful events, by minimizing the destructive potential that hurricanes will continue to bring in the near future. This undergraduate research study analyzes historic hurricane data, including their recurrence and magnitudes, as well as resilience measurement models that assess levels of impact to occurrences. Special focus is on southeast Florida which will continue to experience major impacts of storm patterns, especially coastal flooding from winds and storm surge. Five main results are found. First, Florida has the highest yearly frequency of hurricane strikes of any state on the U.S. Mainland. Second, the average frequency of mainland US hurricanes strikes since 1850 is 2 per year, and has not increased; however, the frequency of Atlantic hurricanes from 1985-2020 has nearly doubled. Next, the storm intensity of these strikes has slightly increased since 1850 (category 4 and 5 storms). Lastly, hurricane damage cost has increased by 100-1000 times; these rapidly growing costs reflect damage-prone societal infrastructure. It is also found that hurricane damage costs make up the significant majority of all weather event damage costs. The study offers strategies on a community level and on a regional level for increasing resilience, based on recent patterns of activity and the potential of enhanced storm activity in the near future.

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Differing Road Types in Urban Areas Impacting Coyote-Rabbit Relationships in Detroit

Over the past decades, Americans have moved to urban cities across the country. In an effort to cope with increasing populations, many cities have elected to build ever-expanding roadway systems, which increases wildlife habitat fragmentation and reduces connectivity. Detroit, the largest urban center in the state of Michigan, has a park system made up of a few dozen parks, which offers a number of resources to wildlife, including food and water. However, most of Detroit’s parks are separated by roads and buildings, hindering the ability for animals to move between green spaces. Here we assess the effect of various types of roads (residential, city transit, and highways) separating the parks on the potential predator-prey relationship between coyotes (Canis latrans) and cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus).

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Social relations and risk factors for cognitive health decline

Research has documented that physical and mental health outcomes (e.g., having diabetes, stress, depression) can increase risk for cognitive health decline. Other studies, however, have shown that more negative (i.e., demanding) relationships can lead to worse perceived emotional well being yet better cognitive health. To help better understand the ways in which social relationships may protect or contribute to cognitive health decline this study aims to examine how negative and positive relationship quality are associated with physical and mental health outcomes. This study uses data from the Detroit Community Study (N=907), which were collected in 2016. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses will be conducted to examine study research questions. Data analyses for this study are not yet complete, however, based on previous research it is hypothesized that those who report more negative relationships will be less likely to have diabetes, but report more stress and experience more depressive symptoms. In contrast, it is hypothesized that more positive relationships will be linked with decreased odds of having diabetes as well as lower stress and depressive symptoms. Given that specific chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, stress, and depression are known risk factors of cognitive decline, understanding the complex ways in which social relations affect these factors can help guide development of interventions aimed at promoting cognitive health.

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Entry and Exit in the affordable care act market

The background information regarding my research project is about how does the insurance companies enjoy benefits in both ACA and Medicaid markets in order to To prove why insurance firms both present in these two markets would benefit more than firms which don’t. These might relate to the big picture that how the US government would issue health insurance in the future and how firms and people can enjoy it. The social benefits are for the firms or people who involve in the insurance plan to realize their benefits. I am using the economic concept of economics of scope and capability to conduct my Project. Economics of scope (eos) is a possible benefit enjoyed by related diversifiers and Capability is the unique asset that helps a firm outperform others. I have been searching for articles or papers that support the advantages of presenting both in these markets. My main conclusion is that even though the firms who present in both markets would gain a lot of advantages, however, there are some disadvantages presented.

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