W&L University Student Scholarship: Recent submissions
Now showing items 1241-1260 of 1388
-
Equal Access to Services: Investigating Access to Food among the Rockbridge Area's Latino Population
This paper compares and contrasts qualitative data and quantitative data regarding residents of Rockbridge County, Lexington (city), and Buena Vista (city), Virginia, which constitutes the Rockbridge area. The qualitative ... -
Understanding the Prevalence of Mental Health Disorders in Rockbridge Area and the Need for Health Reform
. . . This report identifies the impediments to mental health care in the Rockbridge Area, the scope of mental health illness prevalence within the community, the programs established to combat these issues, and it ultimately ... -
Searching for Justice for Juveniles in America: Are There Lessons to be Learned from the United Kingdom?
This paper suggests that if the U.S. continues its existing detention-heavy approach to juvenile justice, it will fall short of its social and criminal justice goals. Instead of deterring youth offenders, adult imprisonment ... -
Released But Not Freed: The Impact of Incarceration on Post-Release Employment
This paper focuses on the disparate access to the labor market for incarcerated males of low socioeconomic status, as this is the overwhelming majority of the prison population. The very presence of incarceration, compounded ... -
Mountaintop Removal and Poverty in West Virginia
Mountaintop removal (MTR) is a method of strip mining coal where the tops of mountains are blasted off with explosives to expose buried coal. (Defenders of Appalachia, p. 2). MTR is the most efficient, profitable way to ... -
The Homeless Mentally Ill
As of 2009, 20 to 25 percent of homeless people suffered from mental illness, which is three to four times greater than people suffering from mental illness in the general population. In fact, when 25 cities were surveyed ... -
Hydraulic Fracturing: State Regulation and Sustainable Economic Development
This paper explores the natural gas plays currently under way in New York and Pennsylvania. Communities in both states have protested vociferously to the unrestrained exploitation of the Marcellus Shale, yet New Yorkers ... -
Assets and Liberty: Encouraging Healthy Savings Habits for Low-Income Households
Our current welfare system places too much of an emphasis on income and consumption over wealth and assets. The United States has a long history of encouraging asset accumulation for all classes. We also have a long tradition ... -
Equal Opportunity and the Elderly
America currently fails to provide total health to its elderly population. America provides the elderly with vital, albeit modest financial, assistance through Social Security and Medicare, but makes little provision for ... -
Obesity, Physical Activity, and Health Implications in the Low-Income Community
Tackling obesity related poverty, specifically found in rural communities, is a larger problem than simply increasing physical activity. However, starting at physical activity allows for an opportunity to tackle problems ... -
The Ethical Implications of Juvenile Detention Centers and the Role of Mental Health and Education in Reducing Recidivism
. . . If the nationally accepted [juvenile detention] system continues in the path it is headed on, the recidivism will continue to rise. Due to a lack of funding and often severe over-crowding, it is difficult to assist ... -
Out Of Control: A Consideration of the Appropriate Response To Drug Addiction Given the Complicated Moral Agency of the Addict
Addiction is complex, painful, and ultimately stands as a significant obstacle the alleviation of poverty, and this paper represents but one all too brief attempt at understanding this problem. But I think a good place to ... -
Breastfeeding and Socioeconomic Status An Analysis of Breastfeeding Rates Among Low-SES Mothers
This paper focuses on the implications of the previous data for low-income women and their infants. It provides an overview of the science behind breastfeeding—including the physical and psychological benefits for both ... -
Is This Justice? A Look at the Representation Afforded Poor Defendants in America
This paper will articulate the clear nexus between economic stratification and criminal representation. Part II will demonstrate the disparate effects of our system of punishment on the economically disadvantaged and the ... -
The Zuckerberg Effect: A Case Study in Community and Educational Reform in Newark, New Jersey
This paper first establishes the educational and attainment gaps in Newark in comparison to the rest of New Jersey, and then articulates the complementary issues from outside the classroom and in the community. These gaps ... -
Summer Slide: The Need for Summer Intervention for Low Income Elementary School Students
Much of the literature and policies aimed at elementary education focus on making improvements to the calendar school year; however, one of the most important areas of elementary education reform to consider is the loss ... -
Exploring Community Trends in Juvenile Justice
This study examines the need and effectiveness of alternative rehabilitative services for juvenile delinquents in the Rockbridge County school system and juvenile justice system. We believe that juvenile delinquency has ... -
Why Should America Support the Earned Income Tax Credit?
The purpose of this paper is first and foremost to bring more attention to the Earned Income Tax Credit and to respond to growing arguments against it. First, I will explain the arguments and attacks. Then, I will explain ... -
Bound: How Elimination of Forced Labor Will Reduce Poverty
In Part I, this paper will illustrate the presence of forced labor in the U.S. and globally. Part II will introduce current laws and mechanisms in place for fighting forced labor, and examine their efficacy, or lack thereof, ... -
A New Optimism for Zip Code and Destiny: Promises and Limitations of Middle School Reform in Areas of Concentrated Poverty
This paper begins with the meaning and trends concerning educational disadvantage and high-poverty schools. I then provide an explanation for some of the factors—both external and internal to schools—that contribute to ...