Monthly Archives: January 2016

Research Statement Draft #1

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Autonomous vehicles, also known as smart cars, represent a unique ethical dilemma generated by the advance of human scientific knowledge and technological prowess. Specifically, autonomous vehicles need to be prepared for possible scenarios where harm, either to the vehicle, the driver, or pedestrians, is inevitable; these can be considered no win situations.  Normally, a driver would have personal agency in and responsibility for their choices in a no win situation, a self-driving vehicle is governed purely through algorithms which are designed to act in certain ways depending on the inputs that the vehicle receives. Thus autonomous vehicles become a rethinking of the classical trolley problem, which asks who we should save in a hypothetical situation in which we have the power to change the course of a runaway trolley which will harm one of two groups of people through various means and with various consequences. I plan to inspect the ethical problems of self-driving cars through the lenses of utilitarianism and applied machine ethics. I will be asking questions like: should autonomous vehicles be programmed in a certain way in no win situations? If so, who should choose the optimal settings? Should these settings be imposed or mandated in some way? What about ceding control to the driver at the last possible second?

Looking beyond these questions, I will be inspecting the current literature in regards to utilitarian ethics as well as literature regarding machine ethics. I also want to know as much as I can about the technical capacities of autonomous vehicles and any current ethical literature concerning them. I will also be drawing comparisons between autonomous vehicles and autonomous weapons platforms in that both are emerging technologies which have a significant capacity to harm which are completely governed by decision algorithms.

David Earleywine Research Statement Draft 1

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Throughout the course of this semester, my research paper will focus on how corporations are defined in the political arena especially in light of the recent Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court case. This case effectively upheld the idea that “money is speech” and promulgated the idea that “corporations are people.” While the former idea is consistently supported throughout American history, the latter idea causes riffs and upheavals within the American community. Examining the historical context of cases leading up to the Citizens United case will help show why the Supreme Court reached its decision and determined corporations are people. This view of legal history dating back to the Constitution spanning through the time of Teddy Roosevelt and eventually to present day will help follow the definitions of corporations as determined by the Supreme Court and the impact it creates on elections.

One of the key issues surrounding the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United case is it allows corporations to give unconditional sums of money in elections.  The concern for citizens is that politicians are being “bought” by these corporate donations and sponsors. This is due in part to the idea that was upheld in the Citizens United case that “money is speech.” Tying that together with the notion corporations are people and should not have their speech (in terms of money) limited. One can see some of the real life implications of the Citizens United by taking a tertiary look at the before and after impact of Citizens United via the 2008 and 2012 election.

 

Research statement initial draft-Maggie Miller

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For my research project, I was interested in learning more about how one’s environment and/or culture affects their perceptions on mental illness, specifically depression. However, after beginning my online research I found that much of the research focuses on poverty. Therefore, I am going to focus my topic specifically on how one’s social class shapes and defines their perceptions of depression. More specifically I will focus on questions such as; do upper class citizens have a more positive or negative view of depression as opposed to lower or middle class citizens? The sociological theory that I will be looking at my research through is Karl Marx’s Conflict Theory. This theory will help me to better understand how resources that create social classes also tend to cause a divide between people. Furthermore, I will use this theory to examine what attitudes, beliefs and values are placed on certain social classes when it comes to perceptions of depression. As mentioned above, I am most eager to learn if and how one’s social class will affect the way that they see and perceive mental illness. Understanding these perceptions will give me a better insight to not only what they are but how these perceptions affect the people struggling with depression.

Research Statement Draft- Needle Exchange- Shannon Renz

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Drug use and abuse is an epidemic that is not only contained to the large cities or other urban areas as many think it is. Drug use has reached its expandable fingers across city, urban, rural, race, gender and country borders to the point where it has become a world wide epidemic and there is not a single solution for the problem; many countries are taking many approaches to combat the drug issues that each face individually. Many countries are concerned about the public health issues that have direct correlation with the drug use and abuse issues that pertain to the needle use and sharing that is involved. There have been some attempts in more than one country or region to instill a needle exchange program; benefits include clean needles for users, proper destruction of dirty needles, a point of contact with health officials on a somewhat regular basis, access to aid and help if user ready to seek rehabilitation, and the list can continue depending on the type of facility the region or organization has funding for. The benefits of a needle exchange seems to positive and would help those who need it yet the public and the government of most countries have deemed drug use and abuse as a criminal act, hence aiding those who use hard drugs that include needles would only be encouraging the drug use. Yet, there is some proof that the compassion and the personal contacts made at a needle exchange out weighs the criminal viewpoints of the current status quo of dug users and abusers.

Research Statement Draft – Shelby Wilhelm

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Capitalism as the cornerstone of the United States yields by-products of environmental and social degradation that have plagued not only the United States, but the world as well. The media, government and societal norms inflict the pressures of capitalism on citizens by defining success and progress as production and consumption, despite the fact that both of which are rather rapidly dismantling and undoing any efforts of sustainability. Consumers are brain-washed to believe they need to buy more, buy new and buy often. So while full-fledged efforts to tackle climate change are in motion and inspiring conversation and action amongst some, such intentions and attempts are only set to fail given economic policy and consumer behavior in the United States. To move toward halting the ecological destruction and erosion of the past and present demands not only culture change and a societal shift, but more importantly, vast review and alterations of the most fundamental political and economic policies of the United States. The current state of affairs promises only further harm and detriment to the planet and the people. Now, more than ever, the United States needs to begin the transition to adopting an ecosocialist approach in which socialism replaces capitalism and ecocentrism guides thought, behavior and policy.

Research Statement Draft 1 – Sara Deaton

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Sara Deaton

SOC 399

1/26/16

I am interested in learning more about alcohol addiction and how and why it starts at an early age and the factors that contribute to it. The main reason I am interested in this is because My father was an alcoholic, had been since he was 13 years old, and it also was one of the main factors that resulted in him having a heart attack and dying at the age of 58 back in May 2015. Genetics, home life, gender and the environment all have an impact on how you live your life, and I want to see how these factors affect adolescents.

My main research question is: What makes adolescents addicted to alcohol, and more importantly, does addiction occur more in boys or girls? In order to figure this out, I will be using Social Learning Theory as my main theoretical framework. Social learning basically states that we learn things in life by observations, and in this case, observations of other people engaging in addictive behavior can lead to the development of addiction (presumably). I want to know why this is true and if there is any way that we can change that.

My temporary hypothesis is: Boys are more likely to become addicted to alcohol at a young age. The reasoning for this hypothesis is that, with most of the people I know, more boys than girls tended to be more addicted to the substance. By knowing their story, I know that a lot of factors went into their addiction habit, including family life, their peers, and the neighborhood they lived in.

FEEDBACK:  What I need more criticism on is should I just base my paper by using one theory? Or should I try to find a contrasting theory to get more information? Do you think I could narrow down the focus of my selected topic?

Joel Balicki Research Statement Draft 1

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Joel Balicki

Research Statement

I am interested in Eastern European security and foreign relations with a focus on Poland and its position in the region. Currently, the topic I will be researching in my paper is Poland’s national security foreign policy stance on Russia. My research question is, Why is Poland not bandwagoning with Russia, with the assumption that Russia is Poland’s greatest national security threat? In its most general sense, bandwagoning as an international relations concept is where a state allies itself or appeases to the most powerful state around them in order to maintain peaceful affairs keeping in mind their best interests. It begs the question, why has Poland pissed in the Russian pool? The theoretical framework I am basing my research on is Realism. Realism at its core deals with power and rationality. Power drives politics and it is what allows states to have greater influence. States are the main actors in world politics, and states will act rationally and in their best self interest in order to gain more power. I would also like to incorporate the use of utility maximization and rational choice decision making principles. In short, a relationship with Russia will make Poland weaker and is detrimental to its national security, therefore it is not in Poland’s best interest to forge a relationship with Russia. For the future, I hope readers can gain more insight into the complexities of Eastern European relations. It is a serious security concern considering Poland is a part of NATO and Russia is of course a massive military power. A conflict is not in the best interest of any of these states yet it seems as though tensions are always high. Interestingly, both Poland and Russia are active in provocative behavior against each other and I would like to try to address the origins and reasons behind it. An in depth analysis of the situation can only be beneficial in the long run in order to understand the complexity of the situation.

Research Statement 1

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Dustin A Runyard

POL399

Research Statement Rough Draft

1/26/16

Currently I am interested in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO, and how it operates in the 21st century.  My interest has peaked of late considering that some academics are critical or view the role of NATO as being out dated or in decline post-cold war.  During my attendance at Carroll NATO and other international organization have been covered, and another of which is the European Union (EU).  I decided to examine the two organizations in a comparison study.  The study will examine if the role of NATO is diminishing with the evolution of the EU.  So far there are considerable amounts of information available and the literature review is already being compiled.

Thus far my primary research question has evolved and is still evolving.  The statement reads, Will the EU take a more active role in the regional security and national defense of European states, therefore unwittingly cause a degradation to the cold war alliance of NATO or will the role of the EU stay at more economical level only addressing security, world, regional stability and foreign policy as causal relationship for economic expansion.  Currently the approach or theory will build into Morgenthau’s realist theory, a sub group of realism.  However it specifically it will have the perspective of “concept of power” or rational choice for the actors.  Academically the paper will have value with determining the current strengths and weakness with states and how they behave interdependently.  The theory so far states, rational actors or “political man” will behave in a manner that will seek to maximize their benefits, therefore the rational state will seek the most powerful actors that will have the greatest effect, in clarity this is defined in this research as the greatest amount of security for the individual state.  My hypothesis so far: States with a lack of physical security will more likely depend on NATO.  There still needs to be some refinement in my theory, and as I start to look at materiel further, there will be a firm establishment for the outline of the research.

Austin Harris; Research Statement Draft #1

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In this paper, I am seeking to explore the potential consequences of re-examining Veblenian Economics within the theoretical framework of Revolutionary Science, as opposed to that of Evolutionary Science, which Veblen himself employed fruitfully in the early Twentieth Century.

In 1900, no one could claim a stronger influence on the sciences than Charles Darwin—well, actually Darwin himself had died recently, but you get the point. The real influence of Darwin comes from his contribution to Evolutionary Theory. Darwin and his like-minded contemporaries (the better and worse) developed a new theoretical framework for scientists across many fields to employ. One notable example is the Wisconsin-born economist Thorstein Veblen. Veblen’s work pioneered the use of evolutionary maxims in the social economy, and serves to answer many questions that are integral to our understanding of human experience today. In particular, Veblen described that economics as an increasingly evolutionary science moves progressively toward “matter-of-fact” reasoning and away from teleological reasoning. That is to say, if economics was an evolutionary science, then it was becoming more scientific.

A half century later, however, philosophers of science developed a new model. Thomas Kuhn writes that a scientific field does not evolve per se, progressing from one achievement to the next, but that it undergoes occasional revolutions. With each major achievement marking a new paradigm, in which the functions of normal science may then occur. Kuhn’s work offers a useful lens for examining the development and consequences of its predecessors, such as Darwinian Evolutionary Theory and even Veblenian Economics. It is that latter paradigm that I will be exploring in this paper. Notably, this will eliminate the role of evolution as the engine of economic-scientific progress, substituting revolution in its place. This will offer us a different view of the history of the field, and more importantly, provide a different range of possibilities and expectations for its future.

Research statement first draft- Sarah Anderson

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Sarah Anderson

SOC 399

1/26/16

 

Research Statement

Draft #1

 

I am interested in comparing the obsession and culture of American football with Europe’s obsession with soccer. I want to look at how much is spent on merchandise, specific statistics on the number of teams, and why it consumes so many members of society’s lives. I am going to take a rational choice theory approach to my entire research. I am interested in seeing if rational choice actually plays any sort of role, or if it lacks completely. I will take time to look at a brief history of both sides, but I don’t want to spend too much time doing that because I want the majority of my paper to be a comparison of the two sports, not how they came to be. My current state of research is limited, because I am still solidifying all of my blinders per say as to what I want readers to get out of my paper. I plan on getting into the “meat” of my paper very soon and to begin finding research articles as well as hopefully first hand accounts of both sides. Initially I wanted to just look at American football and the obsession it has created with its devoted fans. However, once I started researching, I was concerned I would both lose interest with the topic, as well as not find enough information to meet the requirements of the paper. This led me to believe that as I moved forward I would need to amend my research topic.

Currently I am trying to solve a questionable comparison between American football and European soccer through a rational choice theory perspective. I have found a pretty considerable amount of research on all three aspects of this topic and I am hoping that they will progress nicely together. As far as the future is concerned, I am hoping for readers to gain a lot of insight of the other side of the paper that they are reading (ie: if they are American why there is an obsession with European soccer, and if they are European why there is an obsession with American football). I also want to know specific statistics as far as money is concerned. I think this topic will be very beneficial to those that have questions about something similar to this, but don’t know where too look. This paper will compile a lot of information into one place that will be easy for readers to find and learn about this topic.