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Volume 7 | 2011-2012Northwestern University

CONTENTSNorthwestern Undergraduate Research JournalVOLUME SEVEN | 2011-2012Political ScienceIndia and Singapore: The Impact of Elite Choice and Public Support on Post-Colonial Democratic Success | Shaon Ahsan8Religious Studies Healing More than a Disease: Catholic FBOs in Africa’s Era of HIV/AIDS | Anna Martin 13Art History Report from Paris: The 12th century Tomb Slab of Queen Frédégonde | Luke Fidler 18MMSS US-China Trade: A Vector Error Correction Model | Brandon Zaharoff 20AnthropologyFluctuating and Directional Asymmetry: Skeletal Evidence for Life History Theoryand Human Evolutionary Ecology in Archaeological South Dakota Arikara SamplesBlake Erickson26English Literature Singing in Chains: Dylan Thomas and His Resistance Toward Death | Brandon Ng 28EconomicsBiological SciencesSouthwest to the Rescue? An Investigation of Hub Premiums and Southwest AirlinesSuzanne ChangTargeting MircoRNA-21 for Therapy Against Prostate Cancer Progression andMetastasis | James Lee3339Anthropology Cultivating Community: Space and Capacity in Urban Gardens | Emily Wright 41Theater ROOTS of EARTH: A New Genre of Mythic Performance | Britt Banaszynski 46Economics andAfrican StudiesLegal StudiesAnthropologyFemale Entrepreneurship in Dakar, Senegal: Factors, Pathways, and ObstaclesKatherine NorthcottLiberty, Equality, Brotherhood… and Secularism? The Codification of CulturalValues in France | Patricia RadkowskiAn analysis of limb element asymmetry in an Ancestral Puebloan populationKendra Sirak485261Psychology Watch What You Say: Spoken Self-Statements, Emotion, and Behavior | Alcina Lidder 62Environmental Policyand CultureCivic Participation and the Environment: An exploration of volunteering motives ofcollege-aged students | Pavan Krishnamurthy and Emma Solanki63Anthropology Leptin Levels in Lean Adult Filipino Populations | Omar Jamil 70Acknowledgments and Staff 3From the Editors 4About NURJ 5Research: Get Involved 75About the Contributors 76You can also view the journal online at http://groups.northwestern.edu/nurj

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe staff of the Northwestern UndergraduateResearch Journal would like to express itsappreciation of all those who recognize andcontribute to our endeavors. Without theirsupport, we would be unable to produce the2011-2012 edition of the Journal.First, we would like to thank Morton Schapiro,President of Northwestern University, alongwith Provost Daniel I. Linzer and RonaldR. Braeutigam, the Associate Provost forUndergraduate Education, for their generouspatronage.We are especially appreciative of our facultyadviser, Professor Allen Taflove of the ElectricalEngineering and Computer Science Department,for his unwavering dedication to NURJ as a whole.His direction and guidance allow us to producethe best version of the Journal possible.We value the work of our Chief Designer, ChrissyLee, who did a fantastic job designing the Journalon especially short notice. Thank you also to ourcover designer, Vasiliki Valkanas, our webmaster,Nic Roth, and the staff of Quartet Copies for theirquality print job.Finally, we would like to acknowledge themembers of the Faculty Review Board forcontributing their time and expertise tomaintaining the quality and integrity of the2011-2012 Northwestern UndergraduateResearch Journal.NURJ OFFICETECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, ROOM M4712145 SHERIDAN ROADEVANSTON, IL 60201EMAILNORTHWESTERN.URJ@GMAIL.COMSUBMISSIONS.NURJ@GMAIL.COMNorthwestern UndergraduateResearch JournalVOLUME SEVEN2011 - 2012STAFFCO-EDITOR IN CHIEF Alina DunbarCO-EDITOR IN CHIEF Angelica KielbusTECHNICAL EDITOR Chris HinojosaTECHNICAL EDITOR Judith KimWEB DESIGNER Nic RothFACULTY ADVISOR Allen TafloveFACULTY REVIEW BOARDJordan Gans-Morse POLITICAL SCIENCEVivasvan Soni ENGLISHIgal Hendel ECONOMICSLars Tønder POLITICAL SCIENCEJohn Paluch GERMANChristopher Kuzawa ANTHROPOLOGYLAYOUT AND GRAPHIC DESIGNChrissy D. LeeCOVER DESIGNVasiliki ValkanasPUBLISHERQuartet CopiesWEBSITEhttp://groups.northwestern.edu/nurjMission StatementThe Northwestern Undergraduate Research Journal provides students with theopportunity to experience writing and submitting original research. The goalsof the Journal are to encourage dissemination of ideas, increase undergraduateinvolvement in research, and recognize the impressive work being performedby undergraduates at NU.The views, statements, and conclusions expressed in the NorthwesternUndergraduate Research Journal are the authors’ own and not necessarily thoseof the Journal or of Northwestern University.3

FROM THE EDITORSTo the Northwestern Community:Whether you picked up a copy of this Journal as an undergraduate, postgrad,faculty member, or administrator, we are certainly glad you did!This year we have decided to print an unprecedented number of articlesand abstracts from the widest range of academic fields. Our hope in doingso is to allow our readers to experience in full the diversity of research beingperformed by undergraduates at Northwestern. Within these pages, weinvite you to explore the process of creating a unique theatrical experience,to follow the research being done on prostate cancer, to consider theeffectiveness of Southwest Airline’s marketing strategy, and to examine a12th-century tomb slab from Paris.As you peruse the abstracts and articles, we invite you to consider startingyour own research project. The Northwestern community is full ofopportunities to get involved in research. As a starting point, we wouldpoint you to undergradresearch.northwestern.edu, where you can engagein the dialogue of URGs, Language Grants, Circumnavigators Travel-StudyGrants, and more! Or if you’re already engaged in research, we encourageyou to submit your work for consideration in next year’s Journal to share itwith your Northwestern peers.We hope you enjoy the 2011-2012 edition of the NorthwesternUndergraduate Research Journal.Sincerely,Alina DunbarAngelica Kielbus

SUBMIT to theNORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATERESEARCH JOURNALRead this Journal online!Now accepting submissionsfor the 2012-2013 publication.Information and instructions available atgroups.northwestern.edu/nurj/2011Email submissions to:submissions.nurj@gmail.comDue November 1, 2012Visitgroups.northwestern.edu/nurjto see copies of this and past issues.Want to get involved with NorthwesternUndergraduate Research Journal?We are always looking for staff members!NURJ staff work to solicit submissions, revise articles, and facilitate the faculty review process.Contact Alina Dunbar at alinadunbar2013@u.northwestern.edu for more information.

RESEARCHINDIA & SINGAPORE:The Impact of Elite Choice and Public Support onPost-Colonial Democratic SuccessShaon AhsanDEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCEWendy PearlmanFACULTY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCEConventional theories discussing homogeneity, wealth, and a Britishcolonial legacy as factors determining democratic success have failedto describe political development in democratic India and authoritarianSingapore. In “India and Singapore: The Impact of Elite Choice andPublic Support on Post-Colonial Democratic Success”, a paper detailingresults from a departmental honors thesis in Political Science, theauthor uses a wide variety of primary and secondary sources to answerthe question of why democracy has succeeded in India yet has failedin Singapore. She argues that the decisions made by the respectivepolitical elites of India and Singapore, namely their first prime ministersafter independence, determined their democratic success. The choicesof these elites, made within the context of post-colonial challenges,were later reinforced by segments of their respective populations. Byoutlining these processes, the author hopes to fill a substantial gap inPolitical Science literature as it relates to democratic success.India and Singapore are anomalies in Political Science.Conventional theories, describing homogeneity,wealth, and a British colonial legacy as factors contributingto a state’s democratic success or their abilities to consolidatea democracy, fail to explain why India is democraticand Singapore, authoritarian. In attempting to filla significant gap in Political Science literature, I arguedin my honors thesis that democratic success in India andSingapore was largely determined by the political elites,who made conscious choices to pursue a certain regimeafter independence; their decisions were reinforced, overtime, by segments of their respective population. Thispaper summarizes many of the findings described in thatthesis.Why has democracy succeeded inIndia yet has failed in Singapore?Some political scientists argue that homogeneousstates are more likely to achieve democratic success thanheterogeneous ones as homogeneity prevents “politicalentrepreneurs” from fragmenting society based on ethnolinguisticand religious concerns. 1 Quite often, politicalentrepreneurs encourage conflict among different communitiesthereby destroying the values of “compromiseand consensus” needed for democracy to flourish. 2Though many homogeneous countries have experienceddemocratic success, this theory fails to describe the realityin heterogeneous and democratic India, which boasts 22national languages and practitioners of five major religions,and homogeneous and authoritarian Singapore,where three-quarters of the population descends frommainland China. 3In comparison, other scholars such as SeymourMartin Lipset highlight that rich states, not poor ones,tend to find democratic success as their populations experience“occupational specialization, urbanization, andhigher education levels”, factors correlated with greateracceptance of democratic ideals. 4 Still, this theory doesnot account for the differences in democratic successas India formed a democratic state in spite of beingone of the poorest countries in the world: “More of theworld’s poor live in India than in all of sub-SaharanAfrica” and 456 million people out of a population ofone billion live “below the international poverty lineof $1.25 a day”. 5 In contrast, authoritarian Singapore isthe 27th most developed state in the world, accordingto the United Nations, and contains an overwhelminglymiddle class population, with more than two-thirdsto three-fourths of the “working population” earning$3,600 per month. 6Finally, some scholars including Myron Weiner andDiamond et al. have argued that former British coloniesare also predisposed to democracy as the British hadtaught the indigenous elites about democratic idealssuch as “imposing limits on government, of establishingnorms for conduct of those who exercise power,and of creating procedures for management of conflict”during the colonial period. 7 They also encouraged8 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHthe indigenous population to participate in elections,creating “democratic patterns of behavior and trust incompetition”, which enabled democratic success afterindependence. 8 Though both India and Singapore wereBritish colonies from 1858 to 1947 and 1819 to 1963,respectively, elite choice and public support rather thana British colonial legacy determined their democraticsuccess.The impact of elite choice and publicsupport on democratic successUnlike those who emphasize heterogeneity, wealth,and a British colonial legacy, I assert, like DankwartRustow, that decisions made by elites, particularly afterindependence, matter for democratic success. 9 In thecases of India and Singapore, namely those choices madeby their countries’ founding prime ministers, JawaharlalNehru (r. 1947-1964) and Lee Kuan Yew (r. 1959-1990),respectively, were primarily responsible for differences indemocratic success. In both of these countries, these mentransitioned their states to particular regimes in order toundercut certain sociopolitical or economic problemspresent after independence. Nehru, for instance, turnedto democracy as the solution to undermine ethnolinguisticand religious conflict, while Lee chose authoritarianismas a means undermine threats from communal andcommunist elements and jumpstart economic development.I argue that public support for the existing regimealso determines democratic success. For instance, ina democratic state such as India, public support reinforcedthe regime in times of great stress, enabling it toendure as had occurred during the elections of 1977.Two years earlier Nehru’s daughter, the late PrimeMinister Indira Gandhi (r. 1966-1977; 1980-1984),imposed authoritarianism in India in response to supposedpolitical chaos. In the 1977 elections, the Indianelectorate dissatisfied with authoritarian policies andever committed to democratic rule voted her and theCongress Party out of office. In contrast to democraticIndia, the middle class’s support for authoritarianism inSingapore helped to further entrench the regime therebypreventing democratization. Indeed, Singapore’s middleclass have not showed any interest in democracy as theycontinue to benefit from their authoritarian leaders’economic policies.MethodologyIn my original thesis, I used a combination ofprimary and secondary sources, many of which werereused for this paper, describing the impact of Nehru andLee’s decision to pursue a democratic or authoritarianregime after their respective independence and thereasons these regimes persist. I incorporated Nehru andLee’s published essays and interviews, speeches, andmemoirs, and census and other statistical data to betterVOLUME 7, 2011-2012understand the reasons behind their decision to establisheither democratic or authoritarian rule. Furthermore,I used constitutions, polling data, and articles fromnational and international publications to learn ofthe outcomes and public reactions to their policies.In addition, I depended on biographies to learn moreabout the personalities of these leaders and consultedhistories of India and Singapore to learn about theimportant political trends that had occurred since Indianand Singaporean independence. I supplemented all ofthese sources with articles and books that concerneddemocratic theories, British colonialism, and postindependenceregimes in former British colonies.It is important to note that I limited my discussionon elite choice to those decisions made under Nehru andLee instead of other elites in India and Singapore. Mostof the histories and other source material described theiroverwhelming influence on determining the regimes intheir respective states. Indeed, many others influenced thepolitical outcomes for both of these states, but little comparedto Nehru and Lee. Even after Nehru’s death andLee’s retirement in the 1990s, their respective ideals andinstitutions continued to impact politics in their respectivestates.IndiaAfter India received its independence from GreatBritain, Nehru labored tirelessly to establish democraticrule in order to undermine a number of serious problemsfacing his state. One of these problems came in theform of Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh communalism, whichhad resulted in an extremely violent and emotionallydevastating Partition around the time of independence.Fearing that lingering tensions among these communitieswould fragment the Indian state even further, Nehrucalled on his compatriots to forgo “narrow-mindedness”,which oft fueled communalism. 10 Though he remainedcommitted to diffusing tensions among India’s religiouscommunities, incidents such as Hindu nationalist NathuramGodse’s assassination of his friend MahatmaGandhi and the formation of a Sikh separatist movementin north India confirmed that hostilities remained. 11In addition to communal tensions, numerousethnolinguistic groups pressured Nehru to create forthem semi-autonomous polities or ‘states’. Given thefragile sociopolitical climate after independence, he hesitatedsince he felt that the formation of such states mightresult in greater fragmentation in India: “The countryhad just been divided on the basis of religion; would notdividing it further on the basis of language merely encouragethe break-up of the Indian Union”. 12 Though hesucceeded in persuading certain political leaders of thelogic behind his decision, ethnolinguistic communitiessuch as the Kannada, Marathi, and Telegu continued topush for them.Owing to the threat of fragmentation from the reli-NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL9

RESEARCHgious and ethnolinguistic communities of India, Nehru,an idealistic but pragmatic leader, believed democraticrule could reestablish and further entrench the “toleranceof heterodoxy and pluralism”, which had allowed these elementsto coexist for two millennia. 13 In a speech entitled“Free India is One Year Old”, he called on his countrymento “build up a free and democratic India, where theinterest of the masses of our people has always [been] thefirst place to which all other interests must submit”. 14 Hecontinued that “Freedom has no meaning unless it bringsrelief to these masses from their many burdens. Democracymeans tolerance, tolerance not merely of those whoagree with us, but of those who do not agree with us”. 15 Inthe years following this speech, Nehru, who was part ofthe Constituent Assembly, worked with his colleagues toincorporate these principles into India’s Constitution.Using the Constitution to establish democratic ruleUsing the Constitution, Nehru and his colleagues inthe Constituent Assembly tried to manage the problemof heterogeneity, which often hampers democratization.They incorporated various ‘provisions’ into the Constitutionin order to address the concerns of these diversecommunities and prevent the rise of the divisive politicalentrepreneurs. The various ethnolinguistic and religiousgroups of India, particularly minorities, were providedwith full protection under the law, the abilities togovern their cultural and religious affairs, proportionalrepresentation in the parliament and cabinets, and evena minority veto, which would allow minorities to “blockany attempts to eliminate or reduce” their autonomy. 16Truly, their efforts, particularly Nehru’s, helped to furthertransition India into democratic rule.Support for democratic rule fromthe Indian electorateThe Indian electorate has reinforced Nehru’sdecision to pursue democracy over time, particularlywhen they ousted his daughter from office in 1977.Two years before this incident, Prime Minister Gandhideclared a state of emergency, whence she suspended“all political freedoms” such as the freedom of speechand participation in elections and the parliament, arrestedall political dissidents, and subjected the lowerclasses to forced sterilization and housing demolitioncampaigns. 17 Convinced the members of the oppositionwere actively trying to oust her from power afterthey had accused her of fraud, tried to assassinate her,and succeeded in assassinating a minister in her government,she announced that “some authoritarianism wasneeded to thwart a ‘deep-rooted conspiracy that wouldhave ‘led to economic chaos and collapse’”. 18However, making a surprising move on January 18,1977, Gandhi declared that elections would be held laterthat year as India had achieved some measure of political‘stability’. Because the election date had been set for themiddle of March, only two months after she had madethe announcement, Gandhi assumed she would easilywin and thereby solidify her rule. 19 After all, the oppositionparties were deeply divided on key issues and werenot given enough time to unite against her. To her surprise,several of these national and regional parties thatformed the opposition joined together to form a coalitioncalled the Janata Alliance under the leadership of her oldfoe, Morarji Desai. Fearing “an electoral defeat [againsther] would probably ensure the institutionalization ofauthoritarian measures”, the parties in the Janata Alliancenot only united against Gandhi but also turned the electioninto a referendum on authoritarianism. 20The results of the election, in which 194 millionpeople out of 320 million registered voters turned out tothe polls, resulted in an overwhelming defeat for PrimeMinister Gandhi. Her opponents in the Janata Alliancewon 51 percent of the popular vote while Gandhi’sCongress Party received 30 percent and their first defeatin Indian history. 21 The Janata Alliance also swept electionsin the northern Indian states such as “Haryana,Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa and Delhi”, whichhad been a Congress Party stronghold for decades andachieved significant majorities in the south. 22 Moreover,Prime Minister Gandhi lost her parliamentary seat inRae Bareli district by a margin of 55,000 votes. 23The election results clearly demonstrate the Indianelectorate’s discontent with authoritarian policies in additionto their commitment to democratic rule. BecauseGandhi had suspended political freedoms such as thefreedom of speech and participation in elections andclosed parliament, the Indian electorate could neither influencethe creation of public policies nor remove them ifthey were unfavorable; thus, they were made to suffer dueto harmful policies such as forced sterilization and urbanhousing demolition. 24 In addition to their dissatisfactionwith authoritarian policies, the Indian electorate also feltcommitted to democratic rule as it best safeguarded theirrights. Under the authoritarianism, certain governmentofficials often denied the public crucial services if they didnot conform to harmful government policies. 25 In contrast,democratic rule would allow them to restore theirpower over elected officials: “the decline of the elected officialmade the vulnerable to arbitrary authority, and thateven corrupt elected officials [who could be voted out ofoffice] were preferable to the authoritarian regime underwhich they were now living”. 26SingaporeLike India, newly independent Singapore also facedserious challenges. After Singapore left the Malaya Federationin 1965, which they joined shortly after theirindependence from Great Britain two years prior, Leeturned to authoritarianism to remedy a number ofproblems facing the state including communalism. Inhis memoirs, he describes that people fleeing communal10 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHunrest in neighboring countries frequently relocatedto Singapore, seeking refuge with family members andfriends, and would relay them news of violent ethnicconflicts, which would in return spur violence in thestate. 27 Such had occurred after the Malaysian electionsof 1969, when Malays there were allegedly “attacked” by“Chinese groups”, resulting in “‘a violent anti-Chinese’reaction and several deaths”. 28 After members of the MalaysianChinese fled to Singapore, they recounted storiesof brutalities the Malays inflicted upon their communities,which spurred violence against the minority Malaycommunity in Singapore. 29 Because members of theSingaporean armed forces were biased towards theirrespective ethnic communities, law and order becomedifficult, creating a chaotic and hostile atmosphere. 30In addition to communal unrest, Lee believed communismwould continue to threaten newly independentSingapore. Though not as serious as the communalism,communist groups had started challenging the establishmentduring the colonial period and had not subsidedafter independence. 31 The communists, particularlyfrom mainland China, had cultural or familial ties to theChinese in Singapore and, thus, had a network of individualsfrom which to recruit new members to carry outcommunist activities such as conducting demonstrationsagainst the government, hampering Lee’s ability to rule. 32Moreover, Lee also noticed that Singapore sufferedfrom a continued lack of economic development afterindependence; it had “less than 100 million [dollars]in the kitty”. 33 Indeed, it had neither directly benefitedfrom international trade that occurred on the islandduring the colonial period nor profited economicallyfrom their participation in the Malaya Federation. 34Furthermore, Singapore was also “faced with a lack ofphysical resources and a small domestic market”, bothof which affected Singapore’s economic growth. 35Given this combination of challenges, Lee experienceda significant psychological and ideological transformation.36 He feared that Singapore may not surviveas it no longer had a foreign power on whom to dependfor support to remedy the various problems in the state:“There is no British army and, much as the Malaysiansthink that they can step in, I think they will find that thisis a real hornet’s nest if they do step in”. 37 According toRandolph Kluver and Ian Webber, “the nation has hadto define its role from a defensive posture”, and aroundthe time of independence Lee had to forgo the goal ofdemocracy in order to pursue authoritarianism, whichwould allow for the rapid creation and implementationof public policies to ensure political order and foster economicdevelopment. 38Using the courts to establishauthoritarianism in SingaporeLee tried to establish his authoritarianism throughthe limitation of public discourse. In order to establishVOLUME 7, 2011-2012the level of conformity needed to ensure the successfuland swift implementation of his public policies, heused libel suits to impose “harsh financial penalties andrestrictions” on his critics, including those in the mediaand in the Parliament. 39 For instance, he sued the Far EastEconomic Review (FEER) and its editor, Derek Davies,for “quoting a renegade priest” that claimed the “governmenthad attacked the Catholic Church” after theyarrested more than seventeen of its members for being“Marxist conspirators”. 40 In his memoirs, Lee maintainsthe courts fined both FEER and Davies for their transgressionsas they had meddled in “Singapore’s domesticaffairs”. 41 Furthermore, he also filed two major libel suitsagainst opposition member, J.B. Jeyaretnam, in the spanof two decades; the first, to punish Jeyaretnam for callingLee “unfit to be prime minister” and, the second, for suggestingthat he had encouraged a government ministerto commit suicide. 42 Both criticisms, he maintains, couldhave hurt his credibility as a leader, and in return convincedsome Singaporeans not to cooperate with his policies.43 Indeed, such libel suits had a significant impact ontransitioning Singapore to an authoritarian regime.Support for authoritarianism fromthe Singaporean middle classAuthoritarianism in Singapore has endured forover four decades due to the support it has received fromthe middle class, the reason for which can be attributed tosome of the highly beneficial economic policies the leadersof the ruling party, the People’s Action Party (PAP),which resulted in economic growth. Shortly after independence,they actively tried to persuade multinationalcompanies to use Singapore’s bevy of low-skilled laborer’s“to produce electronics such as tape-recorders, televisions,and computers for export”. 44 Through their effortsthey were able to cut unemployment in half; however,when Singapore faced “stiff [and often debilitating] competition”from other Asian countries, they quickly turnedto creating a “new industrial policy”, which focused ondeveloping high tech, high growth industries such as“computer and computer peripherals, auto parts, andorganic chemicals”. 45 Because the government was ableto generate high profits, they were able to increase wagesfor their employees, which allowed them to have access tobetter housing, education, social status, and ultimately abetter quality of life.Catherine Lim maintains as more and more Singaporeansjoined the middle class over time, they developedan attitude called “moneytheism” or an “attachment toinfluence”. 46 Her assessment is consistent with the resultsof a survey conducted by the Singapore 21 Committeein 1997, in which middle class Singaporeans indicatedthat they equated wealth with success, and 60 percentwould choose higher salaries over career satisfaction. 47Keiko Tamura asserts based on this survey that the “Singaporeandream” is “to obtain the 4Cs: a credit card, clubNORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL11

RESEARCHmembership, condominium, and a car”. 48 She continuesthat “becoming rich and obtaining the 4Cs means workingin some sort of professional or managerial job thatprovides a high salary, and this means getting drawn ontothe side of” their authoritarian leaders, who have bothcreated and continually provided them with opportunitiesto expand their wealth. 49Indeed, it must be reasserted that the middle class inSingapore has not been a major driver of the economicgrowth that has increased their wealth; instead, they havedepended on the “strategic government-owned corporations”especially in the first few decades after independence,when the predominately impoverished populationreceived opportunities to become better educated andthereby increase their wealth. 50 David Brown and DavidMartin Jones maintain that this has created the feeling inthe Singaporean middle class “owes” much to their authoritarianleaders for their success and that the continuationof authoritarianism would mean that political leaderswould provide them with more benefits in return fortheir support. 51 Lam Peng Er argues that their continueddependence on their authoritarian leaders is the primereason that Singapore has not democratized in spite oftheir tremendous wealth. 52 For democratization to occurin such a developed state, a segment of the population,preferably the middle class must be “autonomous” fromtheir authoritarian rulers in order to develop political attitudesthat are in opposition to the regime. 53 However, atruly independent middle class is yet to be developed inSingapore.ConclusionThus, elite choices and differences in public supportfor the existing regime determined levels of democraticsuccess in India and Singapore after independence. InIndia, Nehru made the decision to pursue democraticrule in India in order to undermine the threats fromethnolinguistic and religious communities. Over time,the Indian electorate reinforced democratic rule andsent a message to future leaders that they would notaccept authoritarianism. In contrast, Lee establishedauthoritarianism to combat the serious problems ofcommunalism and communism and limited economicdevelopment. Authoritarianism remains in Singaporebecause the middle class continues to give it support inexchange for material benefits. In the future, it will beinteresting to see the impact of elite choices and publicsupport on democratic success in these two countries.AcknowledgementsI would like to thank Dr. Wendy Pearlman, Dr.Jeffrey Winters, and the Weinberg College of Arts &Sciences for helping me complete this paper.Endnotes1 Fish, M. S., & Brooks, R. S. (2004). Does Diversity Hurt Democracy? Journal ofDemocracy, 15(1).2 Ibid.3 The National Portal of India. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://india.gov.in/Department of Statistics, Singapore. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.singstat.gov.sg/4 Lipset, S. M. (1959). Some Social Requisites of Democracy. American Political Science Review, 69-105.5 Burke, J. (2001, July 14). More of World’s Poor Live in India than in All Sub-SaharanAfrica, Says Study. The Guardian. World Bank. (n.d.). India - New Global PovertyEstimates. Retrieved from http://go.worldbank.org/51QB3OCFU06 United Nations Development Programme. (2010). Human Development Index (HDI) -2010 Rankings. Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/Tan, E. S. (2004). Does Class Matter? Social Stratification and Orientations in Singapore (p. 11).7 Weiner, M. (1987). Empirical Democratic Theory. In M. Weiner & E. Özbudun (Eds.),Competitive Elections in Developing Countries (p. 20) [Introduction].8 Diamond, L., Lipset, S., & Linz, J. (1987, Summer). Building and SustainingDemocratic Government in Developing Countries: Some Tentative Findings. WorldAffairs, 150(1), 7.9 Rustow, D. A. (1970, April). Transitions to Democracy: Toward a Dynamic Model.Comparative Politics, 2(3), 337-363.10 Nehru, J. (1971). The Appointed Day. In Independence and After: a Collection of Speeches, 1946-1949(p. 11).11 Guha, R. (2008). India after Gandhi: the History of the World’s Largest Democracy. NewYork: Harper Perennial.12 Ibid., 190.13 Sen, A. (2005). The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture, andIdentity (p. 80). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.14 Nehru, J. (1971). Free India is One Year Old. In Independence and After: a Collection ofSpeeches, 1946-1949 (p. 13).15 Ibid.16 Part III: Fundamental Rights [Constitution of India]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/Const.Pock%202Pg.Rom8Fsss(6).pdfLijphart, A. (1994). The Puzzle of Indian Democracy: A Reinterpretation. Unpublishedmanuscript. Retrieved from http://www.rgics.org/pdf1/wpo-18.pdf17 Indira Gandhi’s Dictatorship Digs In. (1977, July 14). Time Magazine.18 Ibid.19 Weiner, M. (1977, July). The 1977 Parliamentary Elections in India. Asian Survey, 17(7), 619.20 Ibid.21 Ibid.22 Jnapathy, V. (2005). Indira Gandhi: Woman of India’s Destiny (p. 101).23 Statistical Report on General Elections in India, 1977. (1978). Retrieved from ElectionCommission of India website: http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1977/Vol_I_LS_77.pdf24 Guha, 498-500.25 Weiner, 623.26 Brass, P. R. (1994). The Politics of India Since Independence (p. 44). Cambridge: Cambridge University.27 Lee, K. Y. (2000). From Third World to First: The Singapore Story, 1965-2000. New York:HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.28 Bass, J. R. (1970, February). Malaysia: Continuity or Change? Asian Survey, 10(2), 152.29 Lee, 22.30 Ibid., 23.31 Nam, T. Y. (1969-1970, Winter). Singapore’s One-Party System: Its Relationship toDemocracy and Political Stability. Pacific Affairs, 42(4), 467.32 Christie, C. J. (2001). The Cold War and the Ideological Foundations of Non-Alignment. In Ideology and Revolution in Southeast Asia, 1900-1980: Political Ideas ofthe Anti-Colonial Era (p. 187).33 Sundby, K. (2010, August 6). Lee Kuan Yew News - New York Times.34 Richardson, M. (1992, July 2). Singapore Asks: Why Do We Need An Opposition? New York Times.35 U.S. Department of State. (2011, December 2). Background Note: Singapore.36 Barr, M. D. (2000). Lee Kuan Yew: The Beliefs Behind the Man (p. 31).37 Ibid., 32.38 Kluver, R., & Webber, I. (2003, October). Journal of Communication Inquiry. Patriotismand the Limits of Globalization: Renegotiating Citizenship in Singapore, 27(4), 371-388.Riegel, 83.39 Means, G. P. (1996). Soft Authoritarianism in Malaysia and Singapore. Journal of Democracy, 7(4).40 Lee, 129.41 Means.42 Lee., 158-159.43 Ibid.44 Lee, E. (2008). Singapore: The Unexpected Nation (p. 271). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.45 Krause, L. B., Tee, K. A., & Yuan, L. (1987). The Singapore Economy Reconsidered (p. 62).46 Lim, C. (1994, September 3). The PAP and the People – A Great Affective Divide.Strait Times. Retrieved from http://catherinelim.sg/1994/09/03/the-pap-and-the-peoplea-great-affective-divide47 Tamura, K. T. (2003, June). The Emergence and Political Consciousness of the MiddleClass in Singapore. The Developing Economies, 41(2), 195.48 Ibid.49 Ibid.50 U.S. Department of State.Brown, D., & Jones, D. M. (1996). Democratization and the Myth of the LiberalizingMiddle Classes. In D. A. Bell, D. Brown, K. Jayasuriya, & D. M. Jones (Eds.), TowardsIlliberal Democracy in Pacific Asia. Macmillan.51 Ibid.52 Lam, P. E. (1999). Singapore: Rich State, Illiberal Regime. In J. W. Morley (Ed.), Drivenby Growth: Political Change in the Asia Pacific Region. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.53 Ibid.12 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHHealing More than aDISEASE:Catholic FBOs in Africa’s Era of HIV/AIDSABRIDGED VERSIONSub-Saharan Africa contains 68 percent of all AIDS cases but only 10 percent ofthe world’s total population. Over the years, fund raising and awareness of HIV/AIDS has increased drastically, but epidemiologists have failed to produce consistentsuccess in lowing HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in developing countries. Myresearch examines Catholic faith-based organizations (FBOs) providing HIV/AIDs care because of their heavy involvement in Africa and their view regardingcontraceptives. Opponents of FBOs fear that the religious will impose their ideasregarding sexual purity on the marginalized and create more obstacles in HIV/AIDS prevention by propagating stigmas and presenting an unrealistic strategicplan. However, my research shows that Catholics can be an effective governmentalpartner and in some cases have an advantage in fighting HIV/AIDS. Personalaccounts of fieldwork in Africa indicate that practices on the ground concentrateon issues other than sexuality, and an analysis of ethics show that historic viewson contraceptives may be waning. Furthermore, global health studies indicatethat the disease has social, economic, and cultural components that are stronglyinfluenced by the surrounding environment and that these factors must be addressedfor successful prevention and treatment. Catholics have established tiesin African communities and have a commitment to infrastructure developmentwhich has given them strength in addressing all aspects of the disease. My researchconcludes that all future HIV/AIDS strategies need to consider the diseasebeyond biomedical parameters.Anna MartinDEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIESLaurie ZolothFACULTY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIESIntroductionToday over 33.3 million people are infected withHIV/AIDS and another 25 million have already diedfrom HIV/AIDS. 1 In the past two decades, remarkableprogress has been made. The developed world aptlyreduced HIV/AIDS prevalence rates among its owncitizens, but similar campaigns in Africa have failed toproduce consistent success.In 2003, President Bush created the President’s EmergencyPlan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) which dramaticallyincreased US governmental HIV/AIDS spending andprimarily supported twelve different countries in Africa. 2Controversy surrounded his decision to award aid to faithbased organizations (FBO), since HIV/AIDS preventiondepends on responsible sexual behavior. 3 Under theObama administration starting in 2008, FBOs have continuedto receive a large share of PEPFAR funding withCatholic Relief Services, the third largest recipient, receiving$103,000,000. 4VOLUME 7, 2011-2012Despite their heavy involvement, Catholics havethe most incompatible beliefs with secular HIV/AIDSprevention strategies because they view contraceptivesas intrinsically evil. Official Catholic policy considersthe use of condoms between sero-discordant marriagepartners in which case one partner is HIV-positive andthe other HIV-negative as illegitimate. Protestants alsopromote abstinence before marriage policies but do notobject to birth control within a marriage between serodiscordantcouples.While I do not want to dismiss the need for or importanceof condoms in the battle against HIV/AIDS, Iintend to show that developed countries’ obsession withsexual freedom and the power of medicine distorts theappropriate response. The culture-war on sexuality primarilyresides in developed countries and obscures thebenefits that FBOs contribute on the ground in developingcountries. This disease has sociological, cultural,and economic components that need an appropriateNORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL13

RESEARCHdegree of consideration if either prevention or diseasemanagement is to succeed. I will show why HIV/AIDSstrategies cannot follow a strictly biomedical solution,reveal the strengths that FBOs provide, and examineofficial Catholic policy on contraceptives. Through myvalidation of Catholic FBOs, whose beliefs appear themost problematic, I hope to simultaneously validate theparticipation and actions of FBOs from other religiousaffiliations.African Specific ObstaclesIt is essential to identify country specific behaviorsand beliefs that foster the spread of HIV/AIDS in orderto understand how to create successful prevention andtreatment plans.I. GenderIn sub-Saharan Africa women account for 60 percentof HIV/AIDS cases. 5 African societies “encouragethe abuse of women … [and] view sex as male conquest”which creates a greater need to provide supportdirected towards marginalized women. 6 When combatingpoverty and starvation, women are more vulnerableto contracting HIV/AIDS due to their increasedprobability of engaging in for-profit sex. 7 Biologically,women also face an added threat because of the increasedamount of surface area exposed on female’sgenitalia compared to male’s, the greater amount of semenpresent during sex compared to vaginal fluid, andthe increased amount of HIV in semen compared tovaginal fluids. 8 These social and biological factors helpto explain why HIV/AIDS affects women most severelyin sub-Saharan AfricaFurthermore, the migratory labor pattern in Africaincreases sexual concurrency and threatens traditionalfamilial units. 9 When combined with women’s socialstatus, the results are detrimental to African women’sability to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. A studyamong Zambian women showed that “only 11% ofwomen believed that they had the right to ask their husbandsto use a condom.” 10 As a means for preventinginfection, condoms are not a complete solution, becausethey require the consent of the male sexual partner,women-controlled prevention techniques are needed. 11II. Scientific Model of HealingFor medical ailments, Westerners often look for ascientific explanation and derive a technical solution,whether it is a pill, vaccine, or surgery. 12 In many cases,physicians have achieved great success when implementingWestern healing to other contexts. It seemsonly natural that physicians follow a similar model forHIV/AIDS, with condoms providing the solution toprevention and antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) prolongingthe life of HIV-positive patients.However, medical approaches to HIV/AIDS differfrom other cases in biomedical healing because a curedoes not exist. ARV treatment requires lifelong treatmentthat is exponentially costly due to unpredictablefuture complications, whether disease remission or contractionof a different infection. This difference is crucialbecause Africans possess an inherent skepticism towardsa strictly technical model of healing. Historically,African models of healing encompass the total personwith “the real cause … in the social, religious realm.” 13Given a distrust of modern medicine, disease preventionmethods and chronic disease management proveproblematic. Regular condom use requires behaviorchange. Additionally, ARVs are more cumbersome thanone vaccination. Patients need to take medicine continuously,visit their local hospital and clinic, and possiblyattend continuous counseling. This new, endlessmethod of medical treatment appears like a completelyforeign process.III. Cultural Obstacle to TreatmentMany African patients completely avoid diagnostictesting and treatment. In part, this may result frompoor healthcare access, but it also results from culturalbeliefs and the stigmatization of HIV/AIDS.Most diseases merely shorten one’s life or impairproper bodily functioning. HIV/AIDS is more deadlybecause it also compromises one’s ability to produce aviable lineage. HIV/AIDS not only disrupts sex, a lifegivingprocess, it uses this process to transmit death. 14Thus, HIV/AIDS not only prevents one from producingtheir own offspring but also represents a failure to continuetheir ancestors’ legacy. Thus, an infected personwill not only suffer as an individual but will also havedetrimental effects on his community and its future.In Africa, a diseased individual traditionally representsthe physical manifestation of a disordered community,the result of unhealthy relationships among the livingor dead members of the community. 15 Africans mustquestion the foundation of their community in order todetermine the deeper significance. A sick communitymeans no cure and no hope for the future which makesHIV/AIDS highly stigmatized and feared. This fear maydeter many from seeking diagnosis.Africa’s history of colonialism and racial conflictalso discourage many Africans from seeking out medicalhelp and adhering to medical advice. Due to the sophisticationof medicine, the average African has no mannerin which to gauge the accuracy of the physician’sadvice. Their instinct, based on the knowledge of animperialistic past, ultimately influences their decisionsand serves to disrupt Africans’ trust of ARVs, medicinesdeveloped by foreign whites. 16 Because HIV/AIDS preventionand treatment require lifelong commitment andbehavior change to produce effective results, this distrust– whether slightly or deeply ingrained – decreasesthe likelihood that Africans will adhere to only modern14 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHmedical treatment. Many experiment with traditionalAfrican healing since healers claim to have a cure toHIV/AIDS. 17 Alternating between medical and Africanhealing causes additional difficulties because ARVs willnot produce the desired results, further impairing Africans’trust in the foreign man’s advice.The beliefs regarding the motives of the foreign doctor,the fate of an HIV victim, and the limitations ofmedicine all have a presence in African culture and needproper consideration. Even if sufficient funding existedto provide Africans with condoms, ARVs, and propermedical attention from physicians, HIV/AIDS transmissionsand deaths would likely persist. In order for Africato achieve significant progress, the social and culturalcomponents of the problem also need attention.Catholic ResponseI. StrengthsThe Catholic Church complements medicine bypromoting the social aspects of HIV/AIDS treatmentand offering a comprehensive model for healing. Technicalhealing addresses the physical component of thedisease, and African healing aims to cure the disease bytargeting the disharmony and disorder present in thecommunity. Christian healing shares similarities withboth:healing is ... the involvement with Jesus…witheverything that diminishes our humanity, the powersof evil, the various contemporary idols of death.Health is therefore more than a mere absence of illnessin whatever form, but implies wholeness, fullness oflife. 18The story of the Gospel acknowledges that a completeprocess of healing requires patience, friendship,and love. 19 Furthermore, Catholics believe that theBody of Christ connects the diseased with the healthy. 20Instead of occupying a distinct space from the healthy,this approach to healing directly promotes solidaritywith patients and helps to eliminate HIV/AIDS relatedstigmas. The Church approaches healing as a lifelongprocess that needs broad community-based supportrather than a single-factor based solution. This approachcomplements Africans’ perception of health inwhich one’s community is directly linked to healing. 21In addition to providing a holistic model of healing,the Church has a long history of protecting themarginalized. The disadvantaged have the least abilityto obtain the medical attention they need, but they havethe highest risk of disease contraction. In addition tohealthcare, Catholic FBOs cover a full range of servicesfrom education to micro financing. Their commitmentto social justice enables them to target the social andeconomic components of the disease by empoweringwomen and eliminating poverty. The Church looks forpeople in need and acts as their advocate without anyother agenda.The Catholic Church’s last major strength lies in itsVOLUME 7, 2011-2012extensive grass root ties. It established itself in Africalong before the HIV/AIDS crisis began and has alreadygained trust and community support: “Catholic massesin Africa…are not American priests in Africa; theseare African priests in African parishes. I was the onlywhite in the entire church.” 22 With the leadership ofthe Catholic Churches in the power of Africans, it isapparent that the Catholic Church has gained the trustand support of African communities. Trust will enableagencies to help change social norms and values regardingsexuality, gender, and disease management.II. ContraceptivesWhile the Catholic Church may effectively addressthe certain components, objections arise due to Catholics’opposition to contraceptives. Even if condom useis not a panacea, a complete denial of its importanceblocks progress. The Catholic Church believes that allpeople have the ability to abstain from sex until marriageand maintain fidelity within marriage, but we canconclude from simple observation that people do notunanimously adhere to Catholic teachings in practice.Additionally, condoms prevent the spread of HIV betweensero-discodant couples within a marriage, andmedical clinicians recommend the use of condoms duringsexual relations between two HIV positive people inorder to prevent re-infection. 23 Thus, even in a chasteand faithful marriage, condoms have a necessary place ifone or both partners are HIV positive.Observations and evaluations indicate that CatholicFBO volunteers focus on different issues when in thefield than those residing in developed countries. Problemssuch as disease, poverty, death, and hunger provefar more pressing than issues of sexual freedom. 24 ChrisCarroll, a Northwestern sociology graduate student,described that during his fieldwork in South Africa thenuns heavily focused on ways in which they could stopthe HIV/AIDS epidemic, and depending on the location,some nuns would keep condoms in their parishesto distribute. 25 New York Times journalist, NicholasKristof, has observed similar practices on the ground,one priest whom he met said “that if he were pope, hewould build a condom factory in the Vatican to savelives.” 26 Practicality, rationality, and sympathy outweighorthodox policy in the midst of the HIV/AIDSepidemic. Instead of focusing on issues of sexuality,Catholic FBOs focus on solving social and structuralinequalities. Many FBOs still teach traditional programsgeared towards abstinence. This type of programhelps to provide a long-term methodological approachfor addressing behavior change. In order to achieve a90 percent reduction in HIV/AIDS prevalence rates by2031, a global health forecasting report indicates thatthe average number of sexual partners needs to decreaseby 70 percent. 27NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL15

RESEARCHIII. Encyclical Letter of Humanae VitaeThe differing stances on condoms, between the orthodoxand Catholic FBOs, produce a culture of hypocrisy.28 In order to ensure consistency in HIV/AIDS pastoraladvice, several Catholic ethicists have already developeda new framework built on an African paradigm.Before we consider this new theological approach, weshould first examine Catholics’ view on contraceptivesin 1968 encyclical letter Humanae Vitae and dynamismwithin Catholic ethics.It is important to note that when this encyclicalletter was written, AIDS was not an epidemic that capturedthe concern of the world. The main focus of thisencyclical letter, the use of contraceptives to preventpregnancy, rests on two important assumptions. Firstly,the Catholic Church believes that humans have thecapability to abstain from sex outside of marriage andpractice sex appropriately within a marriage. Marriagedoes not serve as an outlet to confine human sin, butrather it acts to create human life.Based on the church’s definitions of marriage, thetext states that sex within marriage is a “noble andworthy” act. 29 The important components of marriage,based on scriptural evidence, consist of a “unitive significanceand procreative significance,” or a relationshipbased on total sharing and fecundity. 30 The Churchbelieves that sex fulfills both components in marriagesince it helps to unite the couple and has the potentialto produce offspring. Thus, sex is not only “noble andworthy” but necessary for “true mutual love.” 31 Whilethe Pope realizes that sex does not always produce humanlife, the document concludes that one must recognizeand preserve the “intrinsic relationship [that sexhas] to the procreation of human life.” 32Section thirteen, “Faithfulness to God’s Design,”considers why the “procreative significance” of sex matters.The premise of this sub-argument assumes thatGod designed all of our body parts to have a biologicalpurpose and significance. To block the function of ourbody parts would be tantamount to blocking God’s designand working against God’s will. Just as God’s commandmentsregulate human actions in other spheres oflife, sexual reproduction should also follow God’s will. 33Since blocking the functionality of our body parts defiesGod’s will, it only follows that the church deems anykind of contraceptive or sterilization immoral. Furthermore,the Church directs couples to maintain theirfamily size through periodic abstinence which makescontraceptives unnecessary. 34This encyclical letter portrays condoms as intrinsicallyevil because they block contraception. A completedenial of condoms importance inhibits progress andeffective prevention strategies. Yet, as noted before, thisdocument aims to address a different audience thanthose primarily at risk in the AIDS epidemic.IV. Dynamism in Catholic EthicsChurch documents such as Dei Verbum and LumenGentium promote a dynamic Church tradition andcontinuous analysis of beliefs and moral teachings. 35At first, an incorporation of a newly justifiable act mayappear as a radical move for an established religion tomake “because it seems to imply that right and wrongchanges depending on the decade we live in.” 36 However,the development of a new view is acceptable ifthe meaning of the principle is expanded rather thanabandoned. 37 A shift takes time and progresses slowlyso that new ideas and definitions naturally enter societyrather than abruptly reshaping them. Since the intentof condoms has changed in the context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, it appears appropriate to reconsider theChurch’s teaching of condoms in which the main intentis to prevent the spread of disease.Section fifteen in the 1968 encyclical letter of HumanaeViatae validates condoms when used as a therapyto cure a disease. 38 For example, a hysterectomy is permissiblewhen an agent intends to cure a disease ratherthan prevent future pregnancy upon the discovery of atumor. The issue of controversy within the HIV/AIDScontext questions whether disease prevention equates tothe cure of a disease. The pope has denied this equivalencein the past. Yet, the Catholic FBOs that keep anddistribute condoms indicates the multiple viewpointson condoms within Catholicism and demonstrates aneed to reexamine condoms from the context of theHIV/AIDS epidemic. Rather than questioning themeaning of the words “cure” and “prevention”, I willfocus on how the expansion of a different principle canjustify the use of condoms within marriage when thesituation involves HIV/AIDS prevention.Historically, moral principles have served to providemeaning and direction when faced with moral dilemmas,and the 1968 encyclical letter of Humanae Viataeconsiders the morality of condoms from this perspective.39 In the context of HIV/AIDS, the perspectiveshould change because pain and suffering are intricatelyinvolved. Medical anthropology recognizes that littlemeaning may exist in situations of suffering and instead,emphasis is placed on the need for survival. 40 Note,“principles, however important are seen to be at the serviceof the fuller truth,” and in the context of HIV/AIDSthe larger significance questions the quality of life andsurvival of humanity. 41 By using the paradigm of sufferingand placing importance on survival rather thanmeaning ethicists may gain a different perspective onthe use of condoms.From this new paradigm, several ethicists have appliedthe principle of double effect to justify condoms.In the principle of double effect, a morally good or neutralact in which the agent intends a good end but alsoproduces an unintended evil side effect is justified solong as the evil side effect does not act as means to the16 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHgood end and the degree of good produced proportionallyoutweighs the evil of the side effect. 42 Therefore,the neutral act of using a condom within a marriage inwhich one or both partners have HIV/AIDS is used forthe purpose of a good end, the prevention disease transmission.Contraception is merely a side effect. Ethicistsreach this reevaluation – which states that an agent mayuse a condom to prevent disease transmission so longas the agent does not intend for its use to result in contraception–through a shift in focus (not abandonment)on Church traditions and scripture. Many principlesof contraceptives remain unchanged. For example, thisview would still condemn condoms for the purpose ofcontraception within or outside of a marriage.Pope Benedict XVI has not authorized the viewof condoms from this paradigm. However, progresswithin the Church follows a slow and arduous path. 43The increased support among Catholic ethicists andactions of Catholic missionaries suggest that the moralteachings of contraceptives have the potential for greatchange and that opposition to condoms may graduallydiminish. An eventual acceptance of condoms in thecontext of HIV/AIDS would help to unite “official” and“unofficial” policy and dispel confusion.ConclusionMy research has shown that Catholics can be an effectivegovernmental partner and in some cases have anadvantage in fighting HIV/AIDS. Global health studiesindicate that the disease has social, economic, andcultural components that are strongly influenced by thesurrounding environment and that these factors mustbe addressed for successful prevention and treatment.Catholics have established ties in African communitiesand a commitment to development giving them muchstrength in addressing all aspects of the disease. Personalaccounts of fieldwork in Africa indicate that practiceson the ground concentrate on issues other than sexuality,and an analysis of ethics show that historic viewson contraceptive may be waning and a new ethical approachalready exists. The Catholic Church has abilitiesand strengths that science cannot target alone. Therefore,the Catholic Church’s resources, knowledge, andpast experiences should be utilized when creating approachesfor addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic.Endnotes1 The AIDS2031 Consortium, AIDS: Taking a Long-Term View (Saddle River, New Jersey:Financial Times Press Science, 2011), xi.2 “President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR),”AVERT(Averting HIV and AIDS),accessed March 5, 2011, http://www.avert.org/pepfar.htm.3 Scott H Evertz, the Council for Global Equality, “How Ideology Trumped Science,”(January 2010): 2, accessed March 13, 2011, http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/01/pdf/pepfar.pdf.4 “President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).”5 UNAIDS, “The Global HIV Challenge,” 886 Emmanuel Katongle, “AIDS, Africa, and the ‘Age of Miraculous Medicine’,” in AppliedEthics in a World Church: The Padua Conference, ed. Linda Hogan, 144 ((Maryknoll,New York: Orbis Books, 2008).VOLUME 7, 2011-20127 UNAIDS, “The Global HIV Challenge,” 888 “Women and HIV/AIDS,” The National Women’s Health Information Center, last modifiedMarch 4, 2009, accessed March 13, 2011, http://www.womenshealth.gov/hiv/gender/index.cfm#biological.9 The AIDS2031 Consortium, AIDS, 9.10 Maria Cimperman, When God’s People Have HIV/AIDS: An Approach to Ethics (Maryknoll,New York: Orbis Books, 2005), 13.11 Paul Farmer, “Condoms, Coups, Ideology of Prevention: Facing Failure in Rural Haiti inCatholic Ethicists on HIV/AIDS, eds. James F. Keenan et al., 188 (New York: Continuum,2000).12 Willem Saayman, “Aids, Healing and Culture in Africa: A Christian Mission Perspective,”Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, (March 1, 1992): 44, accessed March 9,2011,13 Saayman,”Aids, Healing and Culture in Africa,” 45.14 Steinberg, Sizwe’s Test, 25115 Saayman, “Aids, Healing and Culture in Africa,” 43.16 Steinberg, Sizwe’s Test, 139.17 Steinberg, Sizwe’s Test, 91.18 Saayman, “Aids, Healing and Culture in Africa,” 41.19 Katongle, “AIDS, Africa, and the ‘Age of Miraculous Medicine’,” 145.20 Bertrand Lebouche, Jean-Francois Malherbe, Christian Trepo, and Raymond Lemieux,“Religion in the AIDS Crisis: Irrelevance, Adversary, or Ally?,” in Applied Ethics in aWorld Church: The Padua Conference, ed. Linda Hogan, 174 (Maryknoll, New York:Orbis Books, 2008).21 Paul Chummar, “HIV/AIDS in Africa,” in Applied Ethics in a World Church: The PaduaConference, ed. Linda Hogan, 155 (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2008).22 Andrew Natsios, interviewed by Luis Lugo, “Religion and International Development:A Conversation with Andrew Natsios,” The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life,March 1, 2006.23 Stuart C. Bate, “Counseling: Differences in Confessional Advice in South Africa,” inCatholic Ethicists on HIV/AIDS, eds. James F. Keenan et al., 213 (New York: Continuum,2000).24 Farmer, “Condoms, Coups, Ideology,” 109.25 Chris Carroll (Northwestern sociology graduate student), in discussion with theauthor, November 201026 Nicholas D. Kristof, “A Church Mary Can Love,” New York Times, April 17, 2010, accessedFebruary 26, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/opinion/18kristof.html?scp=1&sq=catholic%20church%20mary&st=cse.27 The AIDS2031 Consortium, AIDS, 25.28 Bate, “Counseling,” 217.29 Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, Encyclical letter on the regulation of birth (July 25,1968). Vatican Website, accessed November 23, 2010, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanaevitae_en.html,para 5.30 Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, para 5.31 Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, para 5.32 Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, para 5.33 Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, para 14.34 Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, para 21.35 Marciano Vidal, “Progress in the Moral Tradition,” in Catholic Ethicists on HIV/AIDS,eds. James F. Keenan et al., 259 (New York: Continuum, 2000).36 Gallagher, “Catholic Medical Ethics,” 279.37 Gallagher, “Catholic Medical Ethics,” 273.38 Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, para 15.39 Gallagher, “Catholic Medical Ethics,” 281.40 Gallagher, “Catholic Medical Ethics,” 281.41 Gallagher, “Catholic Medical Ethics,” 281.42 James F. Keenan, “The Function of the Principle of Double Effect,” Theological Studies54, no.2 (1993), 300.43 Gallagher, “Catholic Medical Ethics,” 315.44 Gallagher, “Catholic Medical Ethics,” 315.NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL17

ABSTRACTReport from Paris:THE 12TH CENTURYTomb Slab of Queen Frédégonde 1Luke FidlerDEPARTMENT OF ART HISTORYHuey CopelandFACULTY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF ART HISTORYShirin FoziFACULTY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF ART HISTORYFig. 1. Tomb slab of Queen Frédégonde. Photo by the author.As the monks of 12th century St-Germain-des-Prés attempted to distinguish themselves fromthe profusion of religious institutions in medievalParis, they commissioned effigies of the Merovingiankings who had, according to tradition, founded theirchurch. In similar fashion to a contemporary projectat the abbey church of St-Denis, this production of aroyal necropolis used figural effigies to craft a particularnarrative of history, memory, and power in order toenhance the church’s prestige. Unlike St-Denis, however,the St-Germain-des-Prés ensemble included an effigyfor a woman, the Merovingian Queen Frédégonde. Mycurrent research project examines both the unusualdecision to introduce a female ruler into a 12th centuryroyal necropolis, and the anomalous rendering of thequeen’s image.In December, 2011, I received an UndergraduateResearch Grant to cover the costs of a research trip toParis. I proposed to examine how the extensive sculpturaland architectural activity at the abbey church ofSt-Denis in the mid-12th century turned on the problemof death. Historians of medieval art and thoughthave traditionally used the explosion of innovationat St-Denis to mark the onset of the ‘gothic.’ 2 The demarcationof the church as a royal burial space at thisseminal moment deserves further scholarly attention. InParis, I surveyed a wealth of material evidence, focusingon the holdings of the Musée de Cluny and severalmedieval churches: the abbey church of St-Denis, St-Germain-des-Prés, and St-Étienne-du-Mont. I also traveledto England, where I surveyed the holdings of theAshmolean Museum in Oxford, and analyzed contemporarydevelopments in tomb sculpture (the TempleChurch in London) and pilgrimage architecture (ChristChurch Cathedral in Oxford).My research suggests that the twelfth-century competitionbetween St-Germain-des-Prés and St-Denisstimulated the commissioning of royal tomb programsin both churches, with the former emphasizing a connectionwith the Merovingian kings and the latter18 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

ABSTRACTclaiming ties to the Capetian rulers. Scholars have demonstratedthat the two churches were in close dialogueduring the mid-twelfth century. 3 Why, then, did themonks of St-Germain-des-Prés take the unusual step ofcommissioning the effigy of a queen for their church,given that St-Denis commissioned no counterpart?Rendered in a hybrid of mosaic and enamel techniques(fig. 1), the tomb slab of Frédégonde baffles thefew scholars who examine it. In marked contrast to therest of the effigies in St-Germain-des-Prés and St-Denis,the effigy is two-dimensional. Although the slab is acenotaph, commissioned by the monks for a long-deadqueen, the tomb slabs of several contemporary queenssuggest points of comparison. 4 My research thus currentlypositions the anomalous effigy in a narrative ofCapetian queenship. The slab material (precious stonesand copper) resonates with propagandistic attempts torepresent queens as saintly figures; in the theologicalrhetoric of the day, saints were metaphorically describedas possessing bodies of “gold, silver, and preciousgems.” 5Frédégonde’s position as a polarizing figure in thedynastic history of the Merovingians makes this attemptall the more unusual. A palace maid and concubine, sheovercame her lowly station to marry King Chilperic Iaround 568. The monks at St-Germain-des-Prés wouldhave interpreted her legacy through historical accountsthat figured her as a monstrous exemplar; Gregory ofTours, in his widely read account, described her as amurderous, adulterous woman who “showed no fearof God.” 6 Significantly, however, chronicles such asthe later Liber Historiae Francorum also emphasizedFrédégonde’s role as the matriarch whose machinationsensured both the royal prestige of St-Germain-des-Présand the survival of her children, who constituted thesurviving line of the Merovingian kings. Her burial inSt-Germain-des-Prés presented the 12th-century monkswith an incentive to rehabilitate her legacy.Ultimately, the tomb will offer significant insightsinto how scholars map questions of style and femininityonto the mid-12th century intersection of art and death.Even as the monks chose to render Frédégonde’s cenotaphin the anomalous format described above, theycommissioned three-dimensional effigies for her husbandand male counterparts. Clearly, the project of representingand rehabilitating a dead female queen suggesteda new challenge for the monks; one they tackledin a highly distinctive way that can tell us much.Notes1 The study resulting in this paper was assisted by a grant from the UndergraduateResearch Grant Program which is administered by Northwestern University’s Office ofthe Provost. However, the conclusions, opinions, and other statements in this paperare the author’s and not necessarily those of the sponsoring institution.2 See Erwin Panofsky’s landmark publications Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism(New York, NY: Meridian Books, 1957) and Abbot Suger on the Abbey Church of St.Denis and its Art Treasures (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1946).3 See William Clark, “Defining National Historical Memory in Parisian Architecture(1130-1160),” In Grégoire de Tours et l’espace gaulois: actes du congrés international,Tours, 3-5 novembre, 1994 (1997): 345-58.4 See Kathleen Nolan, “The Tomb of Adelaide of Maurienne and the Visual Imagery ofCapetian Queenship,” in Capetian Women, ed. Nolan (New York: Palgrave MacMillan,2003), 45-76.5 Jacques Le Goff, The Birth of Purgatory, trans. Arthur Goldhammer (Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 1984), 142.6 Gregory of Tours, The Merovingians, ed. and trans. Alexander Callander Murray(Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2006), 149.VOLUME 7, 2011-2012NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL19

RESEARCHUS-CHINA TRADE:A Vector Error Correction ModelBrandon ZaharoffMATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES PROGRAMRobert CoenFACULTY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICSThis paper uses vector error correction analysis in addition to standard regression analysis to study the long-runrelationship of the US-China trade balance as well as exchange rates, relative prices, and real gross domestic productof China, the US, and OECDX (OECD excluding the US). The results indicate that an RMB appreciation would have asignificant long-term effect on the real GDPs of the US, OECDX, and China as well as the US-OECDX real exchangerate and the US-China trade balance. There is also clear evidence for the J-curve effect and that the Marshall-Lernercondition is met for the US-China trade relationship. This study also highlights the evolution of Chinese trade policy overthis time period and the implications of an appreciation on firms in both China and the US. Overall, the study suggeststhat a RMB appreciation would have a positive effect on the US-China trade balance and US and OECDX real GDP buta large negative effect on China’s real GDP. Still, an appreciation may be beneficial for China insofar as it increasesthe government’s ability to tackle inflation and asset price bubbles. The RMB appreciation would also have the effectof decreasing the cost of foreign goods and inputs in production to Chinese consumers and producers, respectively. Ifthis effect was large enough, it would cause the shift to an economy based more upon domestic demand and less onexports in China. This would make it less vulnerable to economic shocks in the rest of the world and sustain their growthregardless of the troubles of the United States.AcknowledgmentsI would like to thank Professor Robert Coen for all of his support as my faculty adviser. His guidance, throughweekly meetings and e-mails, was crucial in both the creating and interpreting of my models. Without his help Iwould not have learned as much about international trade and econometric modeling as I have. I would also like tothank Professor Joseph Ferrie and Sarah Muir Ferrer for their help in organizing thesis meetings and everything elsethat they have done to ensure that the MMSS thesis program continues to run smoothly. Additionally, I must thankall of my peers and professors, especially Professor Richard Walker, for challenging and inspiring me to learn as muchas I can in every subject. For their help in aiding my data collection, I must thank Jaime Marquez from the Divisionof International Finance at the Federal Reserve Board and Professor Tuck Cheong Tang at the Monash UniversitySchool of Business. Finally, I must thank my parents for their constant encouragement and support in my educationand listening to me talk about my thesis ad nauseam.Section I. IntroductionThe United States’ bilateral trade deficit with China has come under increased scrutiny from academics andpoliticians alike over the past few years as it has increased to $258 billion in 2007. 1 This has spurred much debateabout global imbalances and whether they were a cause of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Also, many leaders across1 Source: Data from Census.gov20 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHthe world have called for China to allow the Renminbi to appreciate but the US has stopped short of brandingChina a currency manipulator. The president of the People’s Republic of China, Wen Jiabao, has rejected foreignpressure so far but recently Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, alluded to the peg of the RMBto the dollar being temporary—possibly setting the stage for an appreciation. 2 However, it is unclear whether anappreciation of the RMB would be advantageous for China due to the decline in value of their large holdings of USTreasury bills as well as the decline in trade that an appreciation would cause.Demand theory predicts that if the price of China’s exports to the United States relative to US domestic goodsincreases, then the quantity of China’s exports demanded by the US will decrease as a result of relative price changes ornominal exchange rate changes. In international trade, the value of trade flows has been shown to follow a J-curve—initially the value of trade actually increases after the relative price of imports increases because trade quantities donot adjust immediately. Usually after an adjustment period varying from a couple months to a few years the quantityof imports demanded adjusts and the value decreases. The relative price increase will decrease the trade balance onlyif the Marshall-Lerner condition is met, namely the difference between the price elasticities of import demand andexport demand is greater than one. This paper applies three frameworks to China that have been used previously tostudy trade relationships in several other countries but separates the nominal exchange rate and relative price variablesin order to account for possible differences in elasticities and adjustment rates. In addition, I use a vector errorcorrection model to study possible endogeneity and feedback effects within the model. These variables include the realexchange rates between the US and China as well as between the US and the OECD minus the US (henceforth referredto as OECDX), real GDP of these three areas, and the US-China bilateral trade balance.I find evidence that the China-US trade relationship does satisfy the Marshall-Lerner condition. Thus, anincrease in the real exchange rate would lead to a decrease in the magnitude of the trade deficit between the US andChina. I also find evidence of the J-curve and a decrease in the value of imports within two years in response to arelative price increase of Chinese goods. Furthermore, I find that the value of China’s imports to the United Statesadjusts more quickly but less strongly to changes in the nominal exchange rate than to changes in relative prices. Thethird part of the model shows the sensitivity of China’s real GDP to the value of its exports.The remainder of the paper is organized into six sections as follows: Section II summarizes previous researchrelated to the topic and discusses where this paper builds upon the current research; Section III describes the dataas well as their possible shortcomings; Section IV describes the vector error correction models and discuses thoseresults; Section V concludes and suggests how the findings should affect China’s and the US’s trade policies andpossible areas for further research.Section II. Literature ReviewWhile the effects of real exchange rates on trade flows have been widely studied by economists, there are nouniversal truths about the ways in which trade flows behave. Paul Krugman constructs a demand equation forthe United States’ exports to the rest of the world and one for imports to the United States in order to study theUS’s growing trade deficit, especially with Japan, despite the weakening dollar. 3 He finds that from 1977 to 1985the import elasticity of real US expenditure to be 2.78 and the elasticity of the real exchange rate to be .92. For USexports he finds a foreign income elasticity of 2.47 and an elasticity of -1.40 for the real exchange rate using theforeign economy as the rest of the world. These two equations show that US exports are more responsive to thereal exchange rate than its imports, which suggests that any real appreciation of the dollar will decrease net exports.Another model of international trade is the vector error correction model used by Yusoff to estimate the effects ofreal gross domestic product of both Malaysia and its foreign trade partners and the real exchange rate on the bilateraltrade balance. 4 Yusoff also uses a two-step model that allows him to determine whether a bilateral trade relationshipsatisfies the Marshall-Lerner condition. By separating the trade balance regression into an equation for exports andan equation for imports, he averts the problem of having to take the log of the trade balance when it is negative.Narayan and Narayan also use an error correction model in their analysis of Fiji’s import demand function. 5 Theyfirst-difference all of the variables in their model and include an error correction term to account for any unit-rootsand any shocks to the system. The independent variables in the import demand function include lagged imports,domestic real GDP and the price of imports relative to domestic prices. Indeed, my own vector error correctionmodel is very similar as it is derived from the same logic that Narayan and Narayan use to construct their model,though I apply it to China, the US, and the OECDX.2 Dyer, Geoff. “FT.com / China - Beijing studies severing peg to US dollar.” 11 Mar 2010.3 Krugman, Paul et al. “The Persistence of the U.S. Trade Deficit.” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. Vol. 1 (1987).4 Yusoff, Mohammed. “Bilateral Trade Balance, Exchange Rates, and Income: Evidence from Malaysia.” Global Economy Journal. Vol. 9, Iss. 4 (2009): Article 7.5 Narayan, Paresh and Seema Narayan. “Estimating Income and Price Elasticities of Imports for Fiji in a Cointegration Framework.” Economic Modelling. Vol. 22 (2005): 423– 438.VOLUME 7, 2011-2012NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL21

RESEARCHSection III. DataAll data have been obtained for the years 1984 to 2007. Imports and exports are annual data obtained fromComtrade, a United Nations publication, and are reported in nominal US dollars. Exchange rate data were obtainedfrom the International Monetary Fund’s publication, International Financial Statistics. Real GDP, the GDP deflator,and Consumer Price Index data were obtained from the IMF’s World Economic Outlook database. The manufacturingprice index used to construct a relative price index uses value-added data and was obtained from the Bureau ofEconomic Analysis’s National Economic Accounts. The availability of data for only twenty-four years on an annualbasis for all variables is a limiting factor in my regression analysis especially due to several lagged variables, yet in hisstudy previously mentioned, Tuck finds very significant results using only thirty years starting in 1970, when Chinesedata are even less reliable. As far as the reliability of my own data goes, I am skeptical of China’s reporting of datain general as the authoritarian government has incentive to misrepresent figures in order to maintain a good image.Thus, I have constructed my framework so that I may rely on data from United States sources or internationalorganizations when possible. The Chinese data that I do use, especially consumer price index, have been released bythe IMF, so I believe them to be the best available. Ideally, I would be able to use quarterly or even monthly data toincrease the number of observations and trace the effects of exchange rate and price adjustments that occur duringonly part of a given year. This would be especially important as I believe that the effect of Chinese price data mayhave been skewed by the two inflationary spikes that occurred in late 1988 and into 1989 as well as 1993 through1995.Section IV. Vector Error Correction ModelEconomic theory tell us that there should be interaction between the real GDPs, relative prices, nominal exchangerates and trade balances both within and between countries via trade. These variables potentially contain feedbackloops in which an effect on one variable affects another, which affects another until the singular change has an effecton the entire system. One problem with this analysis is that the short-term dynamics and interaction between thevariables is unclear. To study the short-term effects, I used my model to create impulse response graphs for eachof the variables to show how they would react to a nominal appreciation or a real increase in Chinese prices relativeto those in the US. However, within each year the dynamics of the variables are unknown due to the fact that onlyannual data are available for China over the entire time period. The vector error correction model can be used tocorrect for non-stationarity in variables as discussed above. In order to construct a functional vector error correctionmodel several choices had to be made including the number of lagged independent variables as well as the numberof cointegrating vectors to include. These decisions were constricted by the limitations in the size of the data set aseach lag or cointegrating vector represents a valuable degree of freedom for estimating the model. To make thesedecisions, I used Johansen’s test for the number of cointegrating vectors as shown below.Using a similar methodology to Yusoff (2009), the vector error correction model for US-China trade can bewritten as:ΔZt = β0 + λ ECTt-1+ β1 ΔTBt-1+ β2 ΔlnCRGDP t-1+ β3ΔlnUSRGDPt-1 + β4ΔlnRERt-1 + εtwhere Δ is the first-difference operator, Z = {TB lnCRGDP lnUSRGDP lnRER}, with one lag for each of theexplanatory variables, and ECT is the error-correction term. TB is the value in trillions of dollars of US net exportsto China, lnCRGDP, is the natural logarithm of China’s real GDP denominated in trillions of RMB, lnUSRGDP isthe natural logarithm of real GDP of the US denominated in trillions of dollars, and lnRER is the natural logarithmof the real exchange rate calculated by multiplying the nominal exchange rate in Dollars per Yuan by China’s GDPdeflator (a proxy for prices in China) and dividing by the US GDP deflator (a proxy for US prices).In order to decide how many cointegrating vectors to use in the vector error correction model, I used Johansen’stest for the number of cointegrating vectors. This test rejected at the 5% confidence level the hypothesis that nocointegrating equations are present in the model but failed to reject the hypothesis that at most one cointegratingequation should be included. The 5% critical value is the value above which you can reject the hypothesis with 95%22 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHconfidence. I chose to use one cointegrating equation due to the limited size of the dataset and the very limitedbenefit of using more than one.Johansen’s Test for the Number of Cointegrating VectorsHypothesized Trace 5 Percent 1 PercentNo. of CE(s) Eigenvalue Statistic Critical Value Critical ValueNone * 0.752404 30.71109 27.07 32.24At most 1 0.268847 6.888924 20.97 25.52At most 2 0.219545 5.453325 14.07 18.63At most 3 0.038913 0.873178 3.76 6.65* denotes rejection of the hypothesis at the 5% levelEffect of Renminbi Appreciation on US Real GDPIn order to look at the long-run effects of the different endogenous variables on the real GDP of the US, Iestimated the following equation using a vector error correction model. The fitted equation is:lnUSRGDP = .5071 lnRMBUSD + -1.0303 lnRPUSC + .7087 lnUSORER + .9970 lnCRGDP + -3.0067lnORGDP + 32.4234(.0190) (.0292) (.0160) (.0462) (.0555)This analysis suggests that a 10% appreciation of the RMB would lead to a 5% increase in long run US real GDP.The impulse response analysis indicates that this effect would occur primarily over the first four years. Similarly, a10% increase in Chinese prices relative to US prices is expected to increase US real GDP by 10.3%. Due to the effectof the increase in Chinese prices, Chinese consumers would purchase more goods from the US, and US consumerswould purchase more goods domestically in place of the relatively more expensive Chinese goods. The fact that theeffect of a relative price increase is larger than an equal nominal appreciation may be accounted for in the interactionbetween the two variables. For example, a nominal appreciation could lead prices to decrease and diminish theeffects of the appreciation, whereas the RMB-USD exchange rate being fixed means that the nominal exchange ratecould not adjust to diminish the effects of a relative price increase of Chinese goods.On one hand, I expected a nominal appreciation to be associated with a relative decrease in Chinese prices asimports become cheaper because Chinese exporters have been found to sacrifice profit margins (i.e., prices) in theface of a nominal appreciation. On the other hand, it is possible that this may be more of a short-term effect, andin the medium term the decreased price of foreign inputs that are used for domestic production will make Chinesegoods cheaper domestically. This would create an increase in domestic demand that would lead domestic prices toincrease. The impulse response analysis reveals that the relative price of US goods to Chinese goods would initiallyincrease slightly, but by year four the effect would be significantly negative until it levels out around the ninth yearfollowing the nominal appreciation. This would support the logic that initially Chinese domestic prices do decreasedue to the decrease in prices of imports as a result of the stronger currency. US prices would increase, though at alesser magnitude due to the fact that trade with China represents a much smaller portion of the US economy thanthe portion of China’s economy that trade with the US represents. Then, as discussed above, in the medium termChinese demand for domestic goods would increase and cause prices to increase.The appreciation will also have a positive effect on the real GDP of other OECD countries as consumers in theUS and the OECDX (and the rest of the world) substitute goods from OECD countries in place of the relatively moreexpensive Chinese goods. Again, this effect will level out after four years, but there is an underlying assumption thatthere is a sufficiently high degree of substitution between goods from OECDX countries and those from China aspreviously discussed.VOLUME 7, 2011-2012NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL23

RESEARCHSection VII. ConclusionThis paper used data on US-China trade since 1984 to study the effects of an appreciation of the Renminbi on thetrade balance as well as the real GDP’s of the two countries. The topic of US-China trade has come under increasedscrutiny over the past couple years since the US trade deficit has ballooned. Still, there is no consensus on what theprecise effects of an appreciation of the RMB would be. While the results of this paper support the hypothesis that anappreciation of the RMB would significantly decrease the magnitude of the US-China trade balance, they also showthat China’s export sector and overall economy would suffer. However, in the medium term this might be a positivedevelopment in so far as it helps China control inflation and achieve its goal of decreasing its reliance on foreigndemand for economic growth. Regardless, this analysis does not suggest that China should allow the RMB to float;an evaluation of the merits of floating is beyond the scope of this paper. Additionally, as suggested by the impulseresponse analysis, an appreciation of the RMB would have significant though limited benefit for the US economy.It also suggests that the rest of the OECD might have the most to gain from an appreciation of the RMB due to thesubstitution to their goods and away from Chinese goods. The significant positive effect on the real GDP of boththe US and the rest of the OECD that has been withheld by the Chinese government’s refusal to allow the RMB toappreciate indicates that these policies should be considered mercantilist and treated as such.From the US perspective, this study emphasizes that the US government should not expect China’s appreciationto be the magic impetus that revives the US economy. Indeed, the analysis indicates that the full effects of a gradualappreciation will only be felt over a period of 2-4 years. Thus, more focus should be placed internally on job creationinstead of placing blame externally, especially since this has proved to be counterproductive in dealing with a Chinesegovernment determined not to appear influenced by the US. From the Chinese perspective, an appreciation willhave some negative effects on its real GDP growth rate, but it will have many positive side effects. These includethe beginning of a shift from reliance on exports to an economy driven by domestic demand, which would make itless vulnerable to foreign economic shocks. The appreciation would also help control domestic inflation and assetbubbles that can be particularly dangerous to China’s economy given the frailty of the banking sector. Finally, itwould aid in decreasing the income gap between the upper class that includes the owners of exporting firms thatare benefitting from the undervaluation of the RMB to the average Chinese consumer who is still quite poor despitethree decades of rapid economic growth.In order to inform policy decisions in the future and in other areas, further research is necessary on the effects ofa floating exchange rate using the vector error correction models that I use in my paper. In addition, improvementsin data collection are essential in ensuring the accuracy of these future studies. More research will decrease theuncertainty associated with international trade and allow consumers and companies across the world to makeinvestment decisions more efficiently, thereby increasing economic growth rates.ReferencesAhmed, Shaghil. “Are Chinese Exports Sensitive to Changes in the Exchange Rate?” International Finance Discussion Papers. 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RESEARCHRose, A. K. “Exchange Rates and the Trade Balance: Some Evidence from Developing Countries.” Economic letters. Vol. 34 (1990): 217-275.Rose, A. K. “The role of exchange rates in a popular model of international trade- Does Marshall-Lerner condition hold?” Journal of International Economics. Vol. 30 (1991): 301-316.Senhadji, Abdelhak, and Claudio E. Montenegro. “Time Series Analysis of Export Demand Equations: A Cross-Country Analysis.” IMF Staff Papers. Vol. 46, No. 3 (1999): 259-273.Tang, Tuck. “An Empirical Analysis of China’s Import Demand Function.” China Economic Review. Vol. 14 (2003): 142– 163.Taylor, John. “Discretion Versus Policy Rules in Practice.” Carnagie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy. Vol. 39. (1993).Tatom, John A.”The US-China Currency Dispute: Is a Rise in the Yuan Necessary, Inevitable or Desirable?” Global Economy Journal. Vol. 7, Iss. 3 (2007): Article 2.Yusoff, Mohammed. “Bilateral Trade Balance, Exchange Rates, and Income: Evidence from Malaysia,” Global Economy Journal. Vol. 9, Iss. 4 (2009): Article 7.VOLUME 7, 2011-2012NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL25

ABSTRACTFLUCTUATING & DIRECTIONALASYMMYSkeletal Evidence for Life History Theory andHuman Evolutionary Ecology inArchaeological South Dakota Arikara SamplesETRBlake EricksonDEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGYErin WaxenbaumFACULTY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGYThis study uses life history theory and human evolutionary ecology to address evidence offluctuating and directional asymmetry in South Dakota Arikara skeletal remains originatingfrom 700CE to 1862CE. According to life history theory, disruptions that force the youthful,developing body to divert energy away from growth in favor of survival and maintenanceproduce fluctuating asymmetry (Palmer 1994). Fluctuating asymmetry is defined as deviationfrom perfect bilateral symmetry of the body caused by environmental stress, developmentalinstability, and genetic problems during development (Leung et al. 2000). In turn,human evolutionary ecology is founded on the premise that the biological human body isaffected by cultural factors such as physical activity patterns. Engaging in strenuous activityfavoring one side of the body results in larger, longer muscles and bones on the given side.The co-option of muscle and remodeling of bone thus lead to directional asymmetry, orasymmetry that favors one side of the body (Blackburn 2011; West-Eberhard 2005). As awhole, this research correlates environmental stressors and activity patterns with physicaltrends in asymmetry. It highlights how human skeletal variation can reveal cultural activitypatterns and environmental conditions in archaeological populations.26 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

ABSTRACTRight and left lengths of the humerus, radius, femur,and tibia were recorded for 308 archaeologicalsamples. Percent differences between the sameclass of bones on the left and right sides of the bodywere calculated for each individual. These percent differenceswere used as measures of the degree of asymmetryfor each bone. Individuals were separated by ageand sex in order to analyze whether skeletal symmetrychanges over growth and development and whethermales and females are equally asymmetrical.Statistical analysis of asymmetry patterns produceda number of interesting conclusions. Results indicatethat infants are symmetrical. I contend that this is dueto the fact that infants are less likely to demonstratethe effects of environmental insult as compared to individualsfrom older age categories because they areless subject to strenuous, unimanual tasks, disease, andfood shortages. For example, infants have a consistentsource of food in the form of antibody-laden breastmilk which also helps to ward off disease (Owsley andJantz 1985). In turn, children exhibit fluctuating asymmetrywhile adolescents and adults exhibit directionalasymmetry. Childhood is a period of significant growth.When this period is interrupted by disease and malnutrition,fluctuating asymmetry appears in the skeleton.The directional asymmetry seen in adolescent and adultsamples is the result of consistent and intense physicaland/or cultural activities that stress one side of the body(Blackburn 2011). Adult Arikara females are moreasymmetric on average in upper limb bones (humerusand radius) than adult males. This is attributed togreater adult Arikara female involvement in agricultureand manufacturing tasks. A cross-cultural comparisonwas also performed between Arikara and ancestral NewMexico Puebloan remains. Adult male Arikara exhibitmore asymmetric humeri than adult male Puebloanswhile adult female Arikara exhibit more asymmetrichumeri than their adult female Puebloan counterparts.These results indicate that adult Arikara men and womenengaged in more stressful, unimanual activities thantheir respective ancestral Puebloan counterparts.This research is significant to the fields of physicaland biological anthropology because it builds upon thescience of skeletal and muscular change due to environmentalstress. By documenting bodily asymmetryand the environmental conditions in which it is seen,this study sheds light upon the external conditions thatinduce human skeletal variation. Also, this research issignificant to archaeology. Archaeologists who employskeletal analysis to examine body use patterns and theirassociations with distinct work environments will findthis work useful in establishing connections betweenculture and biology.Literature CitedBlackburn A. 2011. Bilateral Asymmetry of the Humerus During Growth and Development.American Journal of Physical Anthropology 145(4):639-646.Leung B, Forbes MR, and Houle D. 2000. Fluctuating asymmetry as a bioindicator of stress:Comparing efficacy of analyses involving multiple traits. American Naturalist 155(1):101-115.Owsley DW, and Jantz RL. 1985. Long-Bone Lengths Gestational-Age Distributions ofPost-Contact Period Arikara Indian Perinatal Infant Skeletons. American Journal ofPhysical Anthropology 68(3):321-328.Palmer AR. 1994. Fluctuating Asymmetry Analyses: A Primer. In: Markow TA, editor.Developmental Instability: Its Origins and Evolutionary Implications. Kluwer, Dordrecht,Netherlands. p 335-364.West-Eberhard M. 2005. Phenotypic Accommodation: Adaptive Innovation Due toDevelopmental Plasticity. Journal of Experimental Zoology 304B:610-618.VOLUME 7, 2011-2012NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL27

RESEARCHSinging inDylan Thomas and His Resistance Toward DeathEmily RohrbachFACULTY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF ENGLISHBrandon NgDEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LITERATUREChristopher LaneSECONDARY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF ENGLISHWhile Dylan Thomas, a 20th century poet, inherited many characteristics of his Romantic predecessors from the 19thcentury, his writing also diverged greatly from the traditional Romantic paradigm, specifically with respect to attitudestoward death. Death was a prominent concept in the Romantic tradition, particularly in the work of William Wordsworthand Percy Shelley, and these writers did not hesitate to write about the melancholia that death brings. However, writersin the Romantic tradition did not remain fixated on the ominous presence of death, since they ultimately conceptualizedhuman mortality as a path to spiritual transcendence, as an intermediary between human nature and the grand eternalcycle of Nature itself. Dylan Thomas, however, resists this type of solace. Though he writes about death frequently, heconceives of death as an absolute destroyer, as a constraining force that terminates a linear human existence. A moreextensive examination of Thomas’s treatment of death, in contrast to his Romantic predecessors, sheds light on hisidentity as a Neo-Romantic and the psychological issues he confronts in his work.1. The Paradox of Youth: “Green and Dying”In Dylan Thomas’s late poem “Fern Hill,” the adultspeaker characterizes not only his present self but alsothe “lamb white days” of his youth as animated equallyby growth and decay, by life and the death towardwhich life is always tending: “Nothing I cared, in thelamb white days, that time would take me,” the speakerrecounts (Thomas 46). He concludes, however, withthe more-complex understanding of those days thatnow has replaced that carefree thinking: “Time heldme green and dying / Though I sang in my chains likethe sea” (53-54). “Nothing I cared” then about time,the speaker declares, but now a perception of youthfuldays as paradoxically “green and dying,” creating anddestroying, is the speaker’s central concern.This vision of life animates virtually all of DylanThomas’s poetry. Albeit acknowledging the splendor ofthe natural scene surrounding him and the “young” and“easy” days that human existence allows, the speaker of“Fern Hill” experiences an intense anxiety toward humanmortality. In Thomas’s poetry, every day of lively“green” youth is equally one step closer to death, whichhe conceives exclusively as an absolute ending to humanexperience and thus a force to be resisted.The resistance to the death concept, to the pressuresof human mortality, take shape in a poetry thatboth inherits Romantic paradigms of thinking aboutdeath and revises them. Inspired by the quintessentialRomantic poets of the turn of the nineteenth century,Thomas’s work revealed similar themes to his Romanticantecedents, such as the sublime quality of the naturalworld, as well as the dynamic interaction felt between itand the human mind. Despite these marked similarities,however, the fundamental revisions Thomas made toRomanticism are often overlooked. His poetry revisedRomantic thought and poetics specifically in respect tothe treatment of death and human existence—a phenomenonthat Thomas stressed greatly in his work, as28 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHwell as a topic about which Wordsworth and Shelley,in particular, wrote extensively. Although each of thesepoets initially expressed melancholia about the prospectof death, in the poetry of Wordsworth and Shelley thespeakers ultimately assuage their feelings of lament byreinterpreting death as a path to spiritual transcendence.Thomas, on the other hand, refuses this type of solace.Instead, he conceptualized death exclusively as an evil,constraining force that ultimately does nothing morethan reduce human beings to their material existence.Moreover, Thomas conceived of human existence in alinear fashion, beginning with birth and ending withdeath, from which no transcendence can evade. It isthis attitude toward human mortality that constitutes akey divergence from the Romantic paradigm.2. Establishing the Romantic ParadigmM. H. Abrams summarizes the Romantic explorationof the relationship between the human mind andnature in Natural Supernaturalism, in the context ofdiscussing Wordsworth’s The Prelude and Milton’s ParadiseLost: “The vision is that of the awesome depths andheight of the human mind, and of the power of thatmind as in itself adequate, by consummating a holymarriage with the external universe, to create out of theworld of all of us, in a quotidian and recurrent miracle,a new world which is the equivalent of paradise” (28).In this sense, the intercourse between human beings andthe natural world is the path through which the mindattains “awesome depths and height.” As Abrams asserts,through this “holy marriage,” Wordsworth envisionsthat a sense of “paradise” will ensue in which mankindis capable of reaching its full potential, its full capacityfor thought and feeling. Abrams writes that throughthe “culminating and procreative marriage betweenmind and nature,” humans attain a more transcendentexistence. Marriage, or “the song,” as Wordsworth callsit, “will be an evangel to effect a spiritual resurrectionamong mankind—it will ‘arouse the sensual from theirsleep / Of death’—merely by showing what lies withinany man’s power to accomplish, as he is here and now”(qtd. in Abrams 27). In this sense, Abrams avers thatthrough merging with the natural world, which is somuch greater than one man, humankind can triumphover death and achieve a sense of rebirth and eternal life.Romantic preoccupation with the relationshipbetween humanity and the natural world resurfacedin the twentieth century, as a new generation of writersbecame interested once more in the concerns ofRomanticism. In fact, the central themes of Romanticismhave recurred over and again, as Jonathan Batepoignantly summarizes: “Romanticism has remained aliving legacy because, like a fit Darwinian organism, ithas proved singularly adaptable to a succession of newenvironments, whether Victorian medievalism […] orthe counter-reading of 1980s ideologism” (Bate 436).VOLUME 7, 2011-2012The rebirth of Romanticism in the twentieth century,which critics often call “Neo-Romanticism,” representsthis newfound inheritance of the Romantic tradition,but also reflects the changing, modern social and intellectualcontext in which this new generation of writersfound itself. As Abrams asserts, though works may offera “drastically altered perspective on man and natureand human life,” it is through this exploration that they“continue to embody Romantic innovations in ideasand design” (Abrams 32; see Ramazani 1-2). In thissense, Neo-Romanticism is a useful term for conceptualizingsome twentieth century-writers’ shared fascinationwith the human mind and its relationship to thenatural world.Thomas inherited his fascination with nature fromhis Romantic precursors, for through his poetry he freelyelaborates on the complex relationship between humanexistence and the natural world. But even so, though heworks within the paradigm of pondering the relationbetween human nature and nature, he also distinguisheshimself from the Romantics by conceiving of death notas a threshold to eternity, but as the decisive endpointof a linear human trajectory, a viewpoint embraced verymuch by classicism. T. E. Hulme, a twentieth-centurymodernist, in his 1911 essay “Romanticism and Classicism,”remarks on the fundamental difference betweenthe two schools of thought, albeit harshly denouncingRomanticism in the process: “Here is the root of allRomanticism: that man, the individual, is an infinitereservoir of possibilities […] One can define the classicalquite clearly as the exact opposite of this. Man is anextraordinarily fixed and limited animal whose nature isabsolutely constant” (115).Arguably in few places is the manifestation of man’srestrictive and bounded existence more pronouncedthan in Thomas’s poetry, which attributes the “fixed”and “limited” nature of human existence to the formidableforce of death that all humans must face.Although the speaker in “Fern Hill” tries to break theinescapable cycle of human life by reminiscing on thebeautiful “green” and “golden” days of his youth thatleave him singing at the end of the poem, ultimately heis unable to escape his pending fate—the force of deaththat leaves him in chains.To Hulme, it is precisely this inescapability, thisinevitability of man’s limitations that characterizes aclassical conception of human nature. Although humanbeings may see glimpses of a transcendent path to breakfree from their bounded existence, he argues that classicistsaccept that this path does not—and never will—exist. He remarks, “What I mean by classical in verse,then, is this. That even in the most imaginative flightsthere is always a holding back, a reservation. The classicalpoet never forgets this finiteness, this limit of man[…] He may jump, but he always returns back; he neverflies away into the circumambient gas” (119). Through-NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL29

RESEARCHout Thomas’s poetry, death is the inhibitor that preventshumans from flying “into the circumambient gas,” fromrealizing their boundless potential beyond the materialworld. For his Romantic predecessors, however, deathwas not viewed as an inhibitor, but rather as a means forhumans to transcend material existence and live forever.3. The Death Concept in Wordsworth and ShelleyFor Thomas’s predecessors, death was not an absoluteending, but rather an intermediary to the mergingof humanity with the eternal natural world. The “spiritualresurrection” that results from the unity of man andnature takes shape in Wordsworth’s “A Slumber Did MySpirit Seal,” in the context of a speaker confronting thepain of human mortality firsthand (qtd. in Abrams 27).The speaker describes a young girl that has died, thoughshe initially appeared timeless:A slumber did my spirit seal;I had no human fears:She seemed a thing that could not feelThe touch of earthly yearsNo motion has she now, no force;She neither hears not sees;Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course,With rocks, and stones, and trees. (ll. 1-8)While the girl initially seemed a thing that “couldnot feel / The touch of earthly years,” in fact the speakeris reminded of her humanity upon her death, for she isnow buried in the earth—indeed, she has “no motion,”“no force,” and “neither hears nor sees” (3-4, 5-6). Wordsworth’suse of words connoting stagnation generates asense of peacefulness throughout the poem, elucidatingthe girl’s newfound state of being. She is indeed inher grave now, rolling “round in earth’s diurnal course/ With rocks, and stones, and trees” (7-8). In this way,despite the fact that the girl’s material state of being hasended, Wordsworth writes that she continues to liveon by returning to the soil from whence she came. Herdeath is not final, but serves as a means to eternal life.As a result of the girl’s reunion with nature, sheeffectively lives forever, now part of the never-endingcycle of Earth that repeats itself with the course of eachand every day and year. Wordsworth’s use of the wordsimplying circular, endless motion, such as “around” and“diurnal,” is particularly significant since it suggests thegirl’s newfound endlessness, of human nature’s integrationinto Nature (7). In this sense, his presentation ofdeath is not one in which earthly death represents anabsolute ending to a linear human experience beginningwith birth. Instead, it is an intermediary that transformsthe individual to a state beyond the bounds of a linearexistence. In Wordsworth’s poem, death provides notan end, but an entry into the cyclical processes of nature.Shelley demonstrates the ability to reappraise thetragic ending that death creates in Adonais, a poemwritten shortly after the death of John Keats. Shelley’spastoral elegy records the drama of his psychologicalreaction to his friend’s death, transforming from initialshock, depression, and rumination to an eventualacceptance. At the beginning of the poem, Shelley’sportrayal of death is identical to Thomas’s experience in“Fern Hill,” for the speaker fixates on the immense lossand melancholia he experiences, manifesting his internalangst:O, weep for Adonais! Though our tearsThaw not the frost which binds so dear a head!And thou, sad Hour, selected from all yearsTo mourn our loss, rouse thy obscure compeers,And teach them thine own sorrow, say: with meDied Adonais […]. (Shelley ll. 2-7)The speaker expresses the tragic magnitude of Keats’sdeath, amplifying his importance through usingthe very name “Adonais,” a name that typically refers toa God or god-like figure. However, despite the speaker’sdivine reverence for Keats, his portrayal consists exclusivelyof Keats’s cold mortal head resting in his grave.The speaker’s fixation on the lone material imageryof Keats’s bare “head” manifests his despondency andextreme lament. Indeed, the speaker remarks that noamount of tears cried for Keats can “thaw” the perpetual“frost” that binds Keats in death.The melancholia present in the opening stanza ofthe poem only escalates as the speaker begins to turn hisfocus outward on the natural world, thereby expressingthe true tragedy of Keats’s death:Thy extreme hope, the loveliest and the last,The bloom, whose petals nipt before they blewDied on the promise of the fruit, is waste;The broken lily lies—the storm is overpast. (ll. 47-54)The speaker reflects on the great tragedy of Keats’suntimely death at the age of twenty-five, beforehis artistic talent could reach its prime, by comparingKeats with a prematurely dead flower. So young wasKeats when he died that his talent did not reach fruition,much like a flower that was destroyed before itcould bloom fully. Indeed, although Keats represented“the hope,” “the loveliest,” and “the last,” his petals were“nipt before they blew.” Shelley’s tone toward death ispessimistic and verging on fearful, schematizing it as a“storm” that left a “broken lily” in its aftermath. Thisrumination, however, does not serve as the speaker’s finalconclusion. Through additional reflection, he eventuallycomes to re-conceptualize death as the beginningof a more glorified existence.Although the first half of Adonais reveals the speaker’sintense internal angst and pessimistic characterizationof death, the speaker is ultimately able to achievea sense of reconciliation toward death, reinterpretingKeats’s tragedy not solely as an absolute end to his humanexistence, but more as a bridge between human lifeand eternal life. The speaker changes his perspective byreevaluating the relation between death and memory.30 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHThough Shelley expresses much grief toward the deathof his friend, at the end of the poem he no longer viewsdeath as a fixed ending of human existence, but rather asa path to spiritual transcendence, achieving a new meaningof death that, as we shall see, Thomas denies in hispoetry. The speaker avers:[…] keep thy heart light lest it make thee sinkWhen hope has kindled hope, and lured thee to the brink.Or go to Rome, which is the sepulcherOh, not of him, but of our joy: ’tis noughtThat ages, empires, and religions thereLie buried in the ravage they have wrought […]he is gathered to the kings of thoughtWho waged contention with their time’s decay,And of the past are all that cannot pass away. (ll. 422-32)Diverging from the despondent nature at the beginningof Adonais, Shelley’s speaker directs these lines tothe mourners of Keats’ death, instructing them not tomourn ceaselessly over him, but rather to maintain positivity,to “keep thy heart light.” When grief overpowersthem, he tells them to go to Rome, where Keats is buried,and to marvel at him and all of the other powerful mindswho are buried there, the people of various “ages,” “empires,”and “religions.” Although they are gone from theearth now, the speaker tells the mourners not to thinkof them as such, but rather to view the dead as eternal,“wag[ing] contention with their time’s decay.” In otherwords, death serves to monumentalize the deceased,for though their bodies may physically be gone, deathserves as a vehicle for us to honor them forever andhold fast to their timeless ideas within the confines ofour minds—within the memories that we have of them.Shelley asserts that through memory, the spirits of thedead remain glorified within us, preventing them fromever truly dying:The breath whose might I have invoked in songDescends on me; my spirit’s bark is drivenFar from the shore, far from the trembling throngWhose sails were never to the tempest given;The massy earth and spherèd skies are riven!I am borne darkly, fearfully, afar;Whilst burning through the inmost veil of Heaven,The soul of Adonais, like a star,Beacons from the abode where the Eternal are. (ll. 487-495)As Shelley’s speaker is composing the poem, thespirit of Keats apparently is descending upon him, andhe is captivated by the thought. He describes rememberinghis friend’s presence as being on a journey thatdrives him “far from the shore, far from the tremblingthrong.” The speaker epitomizes this idea through thefinal lines of the poem, describing Keats’ spiritual presencein his mind as being illuminating, “like a star,” nevertruly gone from being, but rather “beacons from theabode where the Eternal are.” In this way, he glorifies thedeath of his friend, conceptualizing death as a continuationof life. While Thomas explains death in a linearfashion, as a marked and finite ending to human life,Shelley does not grant death this power. As his speakerVOLUME 7, 2011-2012avers, death is not the ending of a rigid existence thatbegins with birth and ends with death, but rather theintermediary to a more glorified existence, for throughdeath, we remember the lives of the deceased, monumentalizingthem within the mind.4. Thomas as Neo-RomanticAlthough Wordsworth, Keats, and Shelley were allforced to confront the horrors and grief of death, theyultimately accepted it and reinterpreted it, leading toan eventual attaining of solace. Indeed, though in quitedifferent ways, each of these Romantics asserted thathumans can triumph over death and reach a sense ofthe infinite. This conceptualization of death, however,is one that Thomas resists entirely, viewing death as anultimate ending with no possibility for reappraisal. In“Fern Hill,” one of Thomas’s most prominent poems,he reflects on the extreme sorrow of human existence,for though we are initially enthralled in the temporaryjoys of life during our youth, ultimately death destroysall of us. Throughout most of the poem, Thomas reflectson the beauty and gloriousness of his days of hisyouth, employing rich imagery to characterize his idyllicexperiences running along the fields of “Fern Hill.” Hewrites,Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughsAbout the lilting house and happy as the grass was green […]And honored among wagons I was prince of the apple townsAnd once below a time I lordly had the trees and leavesTrail with daisies and barleyDown the rivers of the windfall light. (Thomas ll. 1-9)Rich imagery abounds in the first stanza of thepoem, as Thomas reflects nostalgically on his childhood.He describes his past self as a royal, majestic figure,“prince of the apple towns” and “honored” by everyoneand everything in the natural scene surroundinghim. Though such comparisons are clearly hyperbolic,as Thomas was only a child at the time, through depictinghis childhood experience in such a grandiose andelevated manner, he portrays the fond emotions of hisseemingly perfect upbringing. Imagery of the naturalbeauty surrounding him is ubiquitous in the first stanza,notably the richness of the “apple boughs,” the “trailwith daisies and barley,” and the “rivers of the windfalllight.” Indeed, throughout the first half of the poem,Thomas associates youth with happiness, remarkingthat he was in fact both “green and golden” during thedays of his childhood in Fern Hill (15).Thomas’s limitless bliss during his youthful years isalso reflected in the pace of the poem at the beginning.During the sections in which the speaker describes thejubilant days of boyhood, the poem moves incrediblyquickly through the use of enjambment, letting eachverse flow into the next, as opposed to pausing throughthe use of punctuation. For example, Thomas writes:“All the sun long it was running, it was lovely, the hay/Fields high as the house, the tunes from the chimneys, itNORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL31

RESEARCHwas air/ And playing, lovely and watery/ And fire greenas grass” (19-22). Indeed the speaker’s description of thenatural scene around him does seem to be “running.”He describes the different components of the scene,such as the sun, hay fields, and air through enjambedstaccato verses of primarily monosyllabic syllables, anduses the connective “and” frequently to link verses, asopposed to adopting more marked pauses (i.e. a comma,semicolon, or period).As the poem progresses, symbolizing the passageof time, Thomas’s tone shifts drastically. In retrospect,Thomas’s speaker realizes death’s presence and duplicity,as he writes, “Time let me play and be/ Golden in themercy of his means” (13-14). Although death disguiseditself through a seemingly generous time that granted“mercy” during his youth, Thomas is now fully awarethat the mercy was only temporary, for every day of hismajestic youth moved him one step closer to death:And nothing I cared, at my sky blue trades, that time allowsIn all his tuneful turning so few and such morning songsBefore the children green and goldenFollow him out of grace.Nothing I cared in the lamb white days, that time would take meUp to the swallow thronged loft by the shadow of my hand,In the moon that is always rising,Nor that I riding to sleepI should hear him fly with the high fieldsAnd wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land. (42-51, emphasis added)The scene portrayed here epitomizes Thomas’s realizationof the ominous nature of death. His discovery offalling “out of grace” is incredibly disturbing and exemplifieshis conception of death as a merciless “destroyer.”The speaker’s portrayal of death verges on that of aseductress, leading him unknowingly to the “swallowthronged loft.” Alas, the days of his youth have passed alltoo quickly, and the speaker now finds himself trappedin the grudgingly lonely days of adulthood.The speaker at this point is now an old man, anxiouslyawaiting death. Though death managed to foolhim during his younger days, he is now fully aware oflife’s paradoxical nature: “Oh as I was young and easyin the mercy of his means, / Time held me green anddying/ Though I sang in my chains like the sea” (52-54).The speaker acknowledges the limitations that time imposesbecause he perceives death as a fixed and absoluteend. Though time once held him “green,” he realizesnow that it simultaneously holds him “dying,” for itsprogression moves incessantly toward the end of humanexistence.Romantic writers, though expressing a similar lamentin response to the initial pain of death, neverthelessfelt themselves able to transcend the boundaries ofmortality. The speaker in “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal”observes that through the young girl’s unity with EternalNature, she in effect becomes eternal herself. Shelley’sspeaker remarks that Keats’s death actually brings abouta more-elevated form of existence through his being rememberedby countless generations thereafter. Thomas,however, resists all such reappraisal. At the end of hispoem, though he finds himself “singing,” fighting withall of his might against inevitable death, he admits thathe is ultimately in “chains,” forever bound to the fixedmaterial fate that time has given him.5. ConclusionAlthough modern criticism regularly analyzesThomas’s work relative to the inspiration he drew fromthe Romantics, such analysis overlooks many of thesubtle revisions he made to that paradigm. The similarities,marked most saliently by a shared curiosity aboutthe relation between the mind and natural world, andbetween Thomas, Shelley, and Wordsworth, can hardlybe doubted. Nevertheless, when examining the poetryof these poets through the lens of death, Thomas clearlydistinguishes himself from those that came before him.Both Wordsworth and Shelley were able to mitigatetheir sorrow by reappraising death—by assigning italternate meaning not limited to an absolute or finiteending to human experience. Rather, they were able toconstrue it as a path to spiritual transcendence, as a positiveforce that, albeit ending life, opens up a new realmof existence that should be revered—“where the eternalare,” as Shelley claims eloquently in Adonais.Thomas, by contrast, never attained that consolationor sense of reassurance in his poetry; he held oninstead to anxiety, angst, and his many qualms aboutdeath. Although Thomas repeatedly sought the solacethat Wordsworth and Shelley attained their poetry, ultimatelyhe could never break free of his preoccupationwith death, the formidable “chains” of a material understandingof human existence.Works CitedAbrams, M. H. Natural Supernaturalism. New York: Norton & Company, Inc., 1971.Bate, Jonathan. “Living with the Weather.” Studies in Romanticism 35.3 (1996): 431-47.Ferguson, Margaret, Mary Jo Salter, and Jon Stallworthy, eds. TheNorton Anthology of Poetry. New York: Norton, 2005.Hulme, T. E. “Romanticism and Classicism.” Speculations: Essays on Humanism and thePhilosophy of Art. Ed. Herbert Read. London: KeganPaul, Trench, Trubner, 1936. 113-40.Ramazani, Jahan. Yeats and the Poetry of Death: Elegy, Self-Elegy,andthe Sublime. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990.Shelley, Percy Bysshe. Adonais. The Norton Anthology of Poetry. 879-91.Thomas, Dylan. “Fern Hill.” The Norton Anthology of Poetry. 1571.Wordsworth, William. “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal.” The Norton Anthology of Poetry. 790.32 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHSOUTHWESTTO THE RESCUE?An Investigation of Hub Premiums and Southwest AirlinesUsing a regression study of data comparing 2000 and 2010, this studyinvestigates the effect of Southwest Airlines on the pricing strategy ofthe legacy air carriers (American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, USAirways, and United). Namely, it looks into if Southwest has curbedthe ability of the legacy carriers to command a “hub premium” bycharging higher prices for flights originating or terminating at theirrespective hub airports. Test results show that the hub premiums ofthe legacy carriers were large and significant in 2000 but had declinedby 2010. However, the declines cannot be clearly attributed to thepresence of Southwest Airlines at the legacy carriers’ respective hubairports. In fact, a Southwest presence seems to matter less in 2010than in 2000. The research also examines whether Southwest Airlinesextracts hub premiums of its own. Empirical evidence suggests thatSouthwest charges higher prices not only for its flights with an origin ordestination at airports where it has its largest operations but also for itsflights originating or ending at one of the legacy carrier hub airports.Suzanne ChangDEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICSRobert GordonFACULTY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICSSteffen HabermalzSECONDARY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICSI. IntroductionSince the US Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, six legacy carriers, American, Continental, Delta, Northwest,US Airways, and United, and several strong low-cost carriers, notably Southwest, eventually emerged after a longsuccession of mergers and bankruptcies. The legacy airlines began in 1978 with a mix of hub operations and pointto-pointlinear routes between cities other than their hubs; gradually over time the linear routes were dropped andairlines centralized operations at a few hub airports serving a wide variety of destination or “spoke” airports. As a result,the notion of a “hub premium” has been popularized in airline pricing studies to capture a difference in air faresbetween flights originating or terminating at a hub airport and those that do not take off or land at a hub.Research on hub premiums has focused on either identifying the existence of hub premiums or attributing possiblecauses to the presumably existing premiums. Borenstein (1989) concludes that an airline’s dominance at hubairports leads to higher fares for passengers traveling to or from these airports. Lederman (2008) finds that both ahub premium and frequent flier program partnerships allow airlines to charge higher fares for flights that originatedfrom places where their FFP partner was dominant.Berry, Carnall, and Siller (1996) attribute most of the hub premium to business travelers, who are more priceinelasticthan non-business travelers, an assertion further supported by Lee and Luengo-Prado (2005). In contrast, a2001 U.S. Department of Transportation study is highly critical of the position that the higher fares can be ascribedto passenger mix, despite its finding of a premium on prices at hub airports. It instead attributes the premium to airlinesnot meeting passenger demand for lower-fare seats in their hub markets. In short, while past studies agree onthe existence of a hub premium, they do not necessarily agree on the driving forces behind the premium.Adding to the disagreement in research findings, Gordon and Jenkins (1999) actually document a hub discountwith passengers on flights with an origin or destination at one of Northwest’s three hubs, Detroit, Memphis, andMinneapolis, paying fares about four percent less than passengers with an origin or destination elsewhere in Northwest’snetwork.Although Southwest’s operations first focused on smaller markets and at airports not dominated by the legacyVOLUME 7, 2011-2012NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL33

RESEARCHcarriers, the company’s rapid expansion in the last decade has brought it into more markets in which the legacy carriershave large operations, such as Philadelphia (US Airways), Denver (United), Washington Dulles (United), andMinneapolis/St. Paul (Delta, previously Northwest). In addition, Chicago Midway is currently Southwest’s busiestairport in terms of airport departures, adding significant competition to American and United Airlines’ hub operationsat Chicago O’Hare. With Southwest’s increasing presence in markets traditionally dominated by the legacycarriers, this study explores the notion that the legacy carriers have experienced a decline in their hub premiums andSouthwest’s expansion into the hubbing carriers’ hub markets is the driving force behind this decline.Southwest’s operations at some airports have become so large that these airports could effectively be consideredhubs for Southwest. Thus, this research also attempts to look into the plausibility that Southwest commands hubpremiums of its own.Southwest, by operating at hubs of the legacy carriers, can follow the hubbing airlines by charging higher pricesinstead of imposing price-decreasing competition on flights with an endpoint at these hub airports. To explore thepossibility that Southwest may benefit from such an umbrella effect (Borenstein, 1989), this study further examinesthe nature of competition between Southwest Airlines and the legacy carriers within the hub networks of these carriers.In short, this research, in studying the pricing practices of Southwest, intends to address if a Southwest effectexits, if Southwest commands hub premiums of its own, and if Southwest benefits from hub operations of the legacycarriers.II. Data and methodologyDataThe original source of the data is the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Domestic Origin and Destination Survey,Databank 1B (OD1B), which represents a 10 percent sample of airline tickets from reporting carriers. Data usedin this study are for the second quarters of 2000 and 2010 of the HUBSup Low Level O&D Data provided by DataBase Products, Inc. The same quarters of each year are used in order to avoid seasonality effects.MethodologyThis paper employs a model similar to that used by Lee and Luengo-Prado (2005) and defines the hub premiumas the ability of an airline to charge higher fares for flights to or from a hub than for similar flights in its own networkthat do not originate or end at a hub airport. The natural log of price, lnprice, is regressed on key variables and a setof controls. The key variables are as follows:• Share: variable with values between zero and one, capturing the carrier’s market share of O&D passengers measuredas the total passengers on a route served by a given carrier divided by the total number of passengers flyingon the same route served by all carriers.• Lowcost2: dummy variable equal to one if low-cost carriers, excluding Southwest (JetBlue, Frontier, Tower,AirTran, Midway, Legend, National, Vanguard, Spirit, ProAir, ATA, Access Air, and Sun Country), have greaterthan a 1% share of O&D passengers in a market, zero otherwise.• Hub: A dummy variable with a value one if the origin or destination was a hub for the marketing carrier, zerootherwise. For Southwest, the hubs are identified as the top 10 airports based on percentage of passengers whoare making a connection.• WN (Southwest’s carrier code): A dummy variable with a value of one if the origin or destination airport was atop 20 Southwest airport or near a top 20 Southwest airport, as determined by the number of flights departingfrom an airport.• AA, CO, DL, NW, UA, and US: dummy variables for each legacy carrier that take on the value of one if the originor destination of the route is at or near a hub of the given legacy carrier, zero otherwise.Southwest Effect ModelIn an effort to recognize the possibility that any significant changes in the hub premiums of the legacy carriersfrom 2000 to 2010 may be attributed to the operations of Southwest, models used by Lee and Luengo-Prado (2005)are modified into Equation (1).lnprice=α+β1hub+β2WN+β3lowcost2+β4share+βicontrolsi+βjslotsj+ε 1where controls iis the set of control variables (lnmiles, lnmktpax, and owprop) and slots jis the set of dummies for theslot-restricted airports. The intent of the lowcost2 and WN dummies is to capture a Southwest effect without incurringthe risk of mistaking a general effect of lowcost carriers as a Southwest effect.34 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHSouthwest Carrier ModelsTo explore the existence of a Southwest hub premium and the possibility of Southwest to benefit from an umbrellaeffect from the legacy carriers, the study takes a close look at some of Southwest’s pricing practices. As a result,regression models expressed in Equations (2) and (3) are formed.lnprice=α+β1hub+β2lowcost2+β3share+βilegacy_carrieri+βjcontrolsj+ε 2lnprice=α+β1hub+β2lowcost2+β3share+βilegacy_carrier_hubi+βjcontrolsj+ε 3where legacy_carrier iis the set of dummy variables for each legacy carrier (AA, CO, DL, NW, UA, and US), legacy_carrier _hub iis a set of dummy variables for all the legacy carrier hub airports, and controls jis a set of control variables(lnmiles, lnmktpax, and owprop).As illustrated, both equations search for a hubbing effect on Southwest’s part. However, Equation (2) examinesan umbrella effect within the legacy carriers’ entire networks while Equation (3) checks the effect at each individualhub airport of the legacy carriers.III. Empirical ResultsSouthwest Effect ModelTable 1 reports empirical results generated from regressions performed for the exploration of a Southwest effect(Equation 1). In 2000, the legacy carriers all demonstrate a hub premium ranging from Northwest’s 11.4% toUS Airways’ 29.6%. The carrier regressions that showed significance for the Southwest dummy were Continental,Northwest, and United, with the largest negative effect for Continental at -13%.By 2010, the hub premium of all of the carriers decreased with a revised range from American’s 5.1% to Continental’s17.6%. As for the Southwest dummy, the variable remained insignificant for US Airways and the largerapparent Southwest effect for Continental seemed to have disappeared by 2010. While a Southwest effect for Unitedpersisted in 2010, it exhibited a notable decrease in magnitude of about 7%. In contrast, a Southwest effect seemsto have developed since 2000 for both American and Delta, although it is unclear if the change for Delta is from anincreased presence of Southwest in Delta’s original networks or a side effect of Delta’s merger with Northwest, whichalready experienced a Southwest effect in 2000. The latter explanation is more logical because Southwest does notserve Atlanta or Cincinnati, Delta’s two largest hubs before the merger.Compared with the Southwest effect on legacy carriers, the other low-cost carriers presented more uniform behavioras demonstrated by lowcost2 in Table 1. In fact, the variable displays a significantly negative impact at the 1%significance level on all legacy carriers in 2010. Compared with empirical results for 2000, this represents an increasingnegative influence for all legacy carriers except US Airways. For Continental, a negative effect has developedwhile for both American and United, the impact has transformed from insignificantly positive to significantly negative.In addition, the magnitudes of the other low-cost carriers’ negative influences on the legacy carrier fares uniformlyexceeded those of Southwest in 2010. Thus, it seems a larger presence of low-cost carriers as a whole is morepowerful in creating price-decreasing competition than the effect of Southwest alone.Considering the results and changes together, particularly those of American and Delta, a decreasing hub premiumsuggests that the development of a Southwest effect from 2000 to 2010 negatively influences other carriers’pricing. Although some illustrated empirical results are not in line with the notion of a Southwest effect, they arenot implausible. The disappearing Southwest effect for Continental could be a result of Southwest transitioning itslargest operations to different airports. For example, Southwest’s operations at Houston Hobby were third on the listof Southwest’s airports in 2000 but fell to eighth as Southwest started service in Denver and increased the scope ofits operations at Chicago Midway. The changes for US Airways and United are a little more puzzling, though, especiallyconsidering the fact that a Southwest effect for United has lessened while Southwest’s larger operations by 2010were at or near all of the United hubs, Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington Dulles.Looking more closely at Southwest’s own pricing practices may provide some insight into these otherwise puzzlingresults.Southwest Carrier ModelsTable 2 presents empirical results derived from performing regressions on Southwest with legacy carrier dummiesincluded as explanatory variables (Equation 2). The results for 2000 indicate that compared with the rest ofits network, Southwest was charging premiums of about 6% for flights originating or ending at one of its so-calledhubs. Moreover, Southwest is able to charge higher prices for its flights at the hub airports of three of the legacy carriers,American, Continental, and Northwest, with the highest premium of 9.4% at Northwest’s hubs. These findingsVOLUME 7, 2011-2012NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL35

RESEARCHstrongly support an umbrella effect in that when the dominant legacy carriers charge higher prices at their hubs,other carriers benefit because they can also charge higher prices without having to worry about losing passengersto cheaper airlines. It should be noted that the findings of an umbrella effect from the legacy carriers do not contradictthe earlier findings of a negative effect of a presence of Southwest on the legacy carriers. That is, a negativeSouthwest effect for legacy carriers does not mean that Southwest has to charge lower prices on these routes than onSouthwest’s other routes in its network. Southwest simply has to charge prices lower than those of the legacy carriers.Thus, Southwest can have a negative effect on the pricing power of legacy carriers while still benefiting from an umbrellaeffect from the legacy carriers’ patterns of charging higher prices on their hub routes.Table 3 covers empirical results generated from a separate set of regressions containing a dummy variable foreach legacy carrier hub airport (Equation 3). Statistics reported in the table could bring more clarity as to what specificairports might be most responsible for the behavior of each legacy carrier’s dummy variable. Based on the table,Southwest seemed to extract large premiums from Dallas (14.8%), Detroit (9.4%), and Houston Hobby (8.7%) in2000. The premium of Detroit matches that of the Northwest dummy listed in Table 3 for the previous regressionbecause Detroit was the only Northwest hub at which Southwest had operations in 2000. Since Dallas (DAL) is closeto Dallas Fort-Worth, an American hub, and Houston Hobby (HOU) is near Houston International (IAH), a Continentalhub, the premiums found at the two Southwest airports can help explain the statistical significance of theAmerican and Continental dummy variables.There are some notable changes from 2000 to 2010. First, Southwest’s hub premium has decreased by more thanhalf to 3.5%. Another change that stands out and could possibly explain the noted decrease in Southwest’s hub premiumis the increased significance of lowcost2. Empirical results in both Tables 2 and 3 indicate that a higher presenceof other low-cost carriers had an impact of -4% on Southwest’s prices by 2010, a sharp contrast to the variable’spositive effect for 2000 as shown in Table 4 when it was significant at the 5% significance level. Although Southwesthas been the most attention-grabbing low-cost carrier with its stable success and rapid expansion, it is certainly notthe only low-cost carrier that has been expanding. Thus, Southwest is sure to have seen increased competition atairports at which it once enjoyed more dominance. Finally, the potential umbrella effects experienced by Southwesthave also gone through some changes over the same time period. An umbrella effect from American Airlines hasdisappeared while a premium at Delta hubs of 6.5% has developed. This, however, could be the result of the Deltaand Northwest merger since Northwest was demonstrating an umbrella effect for Southwest in 2000. The effect fromContinental decreased slightly while there still does not seem to be any effect at United’s hubs. Southwest did notoperate at or near any US Airways hubs in 2000 but new operations at Philadelphia and the development of a USAirways hub at Phoenix have not generated any benefit for Southwest in terms of its ability to charge premiums atthese airports. In fact, the regression with the airport dummies shows that there is no significant pricing differencefor Southwest’s flights to or from Phoenix or Philadelphia.A significant price premium of 4% has developed at Chicago-Midway. However, a premium for Southwestwithin American’s hub network seems to have disappeared due to a hub discount of -4.8% at Fort Lauderdale, whichis near American’s Miami hub. Furthermore, Southwest lost a significant premium at Dallas, which was its mostimportant premium-driving airport in 2000. The development of a premium within Delta’s hub network does seemdue in most part to the merger of Delta with Northwest as Detroit continues to show signs of a premium (6.2%) andnewly expanded operations in Minneapolis (MSP) from the Delta-Northwest merger have given Southwest its largestpremium among legacy hub airports for 2010 at 11.2%.It is interesting that Southwest has not been able to charge a premium to its passengers with origin or destinationat or near one of United’s airports. By 2010, Southwest had operations at or near all of United’s hub airports. Recallingearlier results that the effect of Southwest on United’s prices decreased from 2000 to 2010, the lack of an umbrellaeffect from United is a bit puzzling. One plausible explanation is fiercer competition between the two airlines, whichwould force both parties to charge lower fares at United’s hubs than for flights of similar length in their own networks.Another possible justification could be the baggage fees that the legacy airlines started to charge during thepast couple of years. Baggage fees effectively increase the price of travel with a legacy carrier. The higher price, however,is not reflected in the ticket price in the data. Unlike the legacy carriers, Southwest continues to allow passengersto check in two bags for free. Thus, by 2010, the disparity in baggage fees may make fare comparisons difficultand could lead to misleading results.IV. ConclusionThis study, in its attempt to add on to research on hub premiums, examines possible effects of Southwest Airlineson the hub premiums extracted by the legacy carriers. This research also explores Southwest’s pricing practices to seeif it is able to charge a hub premium of its own and if it benefits from the hub operations of the legacy carriers.While empirical results show that the hub premium has decreased for all of the legacy carriers, the decreases can-36 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHnot be clearly attributed to an increased presence of Southwest. The changes for American and Delta were closest towhat was expected. From 2000 to 2010, both airlines saw a decrease in their hub premiums that coincided with thedevelopment of a negative Southwest effect. Results for Continental, US Airways, and United do not support thesame intuition. Most puzzling, however, is the lessening adverse effect of Southwest on United even though Southwestwas in close competition with United, particularly at Denver and Los Angeles, by 2010.Perhaps the most intriguing findings are the pricing practices adopted by Southwest within the hub networks ofthe legacy carriers. The results show that Southwest demonstrated a hub premium of its own for both years. However,as with the legacy carriers, Southwest’s hub premium has decreased from 2000 to 2010, which may be due toan increased presence of other low-cost carriers since the lowcost2 variable gained significance during the same timeperiod. Furthermore, Southwest is able to benefit from an umbrella effect from at least some of the legacy carriers,more so in 2000 than in 2010. Positive public perception about Southwest Airlines resides on its tendency to offerprices lower than those of the legacy carriers. However, this does not mean that Southwest cannot or does not chargehigher prices at the legacy carrier hubs relative to other flights in Southwest’s network. That is, Southwest can undercutthe legacy carriers while still offering higher prices of its own.Southwest’s current image seems to be that of a knight sweeping in to save consumers from price gauging habitsof the legacy carriers. Southwest’s expansion in the airline industry has undoubtedly affected all the legacy carriers bybringing competition to their dominant markets. However, the effect does not appear to be uniform across the carriers.In addition, Southwest seems to also be absorbing consumer surplus by charging higher fares both at its largerairports and within the legacy carrier hub networks. Part of Southwest’s tendency to raise its ticket prices relative tothe legacy carriers’ prices doubtlessly reflects the willingness of customers to pay a premium to fly Southwest to takeadvantage of its free baggage service. Extending this study of the relationships between Southwest and the remaininglegacy carriers and the driving forces of airline hub premiums with the application of more sophisticated econometricmethods, especially by addressing potential endogeneity of explanatory variables, serves as a future researchtopic, one that should bring additional clarity to the pricing strategies of major airlines.ReferencesBerry, S., M. Carnall, and P. T. Spiller. “Airline Hubs: Costs, Markups, and the Implications of Customer Heterogeneity.” NBER Working Paper Series, 1996.Borenstein, S. “Hubs and High Fares: Airport Dominance and Market Power in the U.S. Airline Industry.” RAND Journal of Economics 20, no. 3 (1989): 344-65.Gordon, R.J. and D. Jenkins. “Hub and Network Pricing in the Northwest Airlines Domestic System,” Northwestern University (1999). http://faculty-web.at.northwestern.edu/economics/gordon/gordon_jenkins_1.pdfLederman, M. “Are Frequent Flyer Programs a Cause of the ‘Hub Premium’?” Journal of Economics and Management Strategy 17, no. 1 (2008): 35-66.Lee, D. and M.J. Luengo-Prado. “The Impact of Passenger Mix on Reported ‘Hub Premiums’ in the U.S. Airline Industry.” Southern Economic Journal 72, no. 2 (2005): 372-394.U.S. Department of Transportation. Dominated Hub Fares. Domestic Aviation Competition Series. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, Washington, DC, 2001.AcknowledgmentsI would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisors, Dr. Robert Gordon, for his time, invaluable insights,and patience, and Dr. Steffen Habermalz, for his encouragement and guidance throughout my research and writingprocess. My thanks also go to Data Base Products, Inc. for its generosity in providing me the research data freeof charge. I could not have proceeded with my thesis without the data. Most importantly, I would like to thank myfamily for their unyielding support.VOLUME 7, 2011-2012NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL37

RESEARCH38 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

ABSTRACTTargeting MircoRNA-21 forTherapy Against Prostate CancerProgression and MetastasisJames LeeBIOLOGICAL SCIENCES PROGRAMMOLECULAR PHARMACOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRYMing ZhangFACULTY ADVISORMOLECULAR PHARMACOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRYFEINBERG SCHOOL OF MEDICINEIntroductionWith its ability to affect every organ and tissuethrough various mechanisms, cancer is one of the mostcomplex diseases that we face. Prostate cancer is themost prevalent cancer in men; one in six men will bediagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, andone in thirty-six men will die of the disease. 1,2 The roleof microRNA-21 (mir-21) in prostate cancer has notbeen clearly defined yet, and the goal of this experimentis to investigate how mir-21 affects prostate cancer progressionand metastasis (invasion of other organs). Understandingits role might be a key in designing a newtherapeutic approach to prostate cancer.BackgroundMicroRNAs (miRNA) regulate gene expression bydegrading messenger RNA (mRNA) that encode forproteins. 3,4 A single miRNA molecule can interact withas many as hundreds of target mRNAs and can thereforeorchestrate many different pathways at once to elicit abroader cellular response. 3,4 A few of these modulatorsare deregulated in cancer, making miRNA a potentialtarget for therapy. 3Cancer results from multiple perturbations of differentgenes and proteins. 3 Within this context, miRNAsserve as pivotal centers, capable of concurrently regulatingnetworks of related processes in cancer progressionand metastasis (figure 1). 3,5 Considering this uniqueability of miRNA, miRNA-mediated cancer therapywill be more comprehensive than therapy targetingindividual genes or proteins. 3 Also, miRNA’s specificityVOLUME 7, 2011-2012for mRNA sequences make miRNA treatment more effectivethan current chemotherapy that affects normalcells. 3 Mir-21 is one of the miRNAs deregulated in cancer. 5Its over-expression is correlated with tumor growth, butits mechanism is not yet understood. 5 Understandingmir-21’s role in prostate cancer can help develop a therapeuticapproach targeting mir-21-mediated pathways.Previous research suggests that transforming growthfactor beta (TGF-β) and Ras, two proteins involved incancer, activate mir-21. 4,5 In prostate cancer, Ras activationand aberrant TGF- β activity play significant rolesin tumor progression, suggesting a relationship betweenthese proteins and mir-21. 5,6 Also, maspin, a keytumor suppressor, is believed to be downregulated bymir-21, contributing to tumor proliferation and invasion.2,7,8,9,10,11 Therefore I hypothesize that TGF- β andRas induce mir-21 expression in prostate cancer. This inturn silences maspin, subsequently leading to prostatecancer progression and metastasis.MethodFirst, the relationship between mir-21 and maspinwill be investigated. Prostate cancer cells will betreated with anti-mir-21 that inhibits mir-21. Anti-mir-21-treated cells with low mir-21 will be compared withuntreated cells with high mir-21 for maspin expression.Then, to investigate the effect of mir-21 on tumorcharacteristics, assays that investigate cell proliferation,migration, and invasion will be conducted with cells expressinghigh vs. low mir-21 levels. Subsequently, to fur-NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL39

CULTIVATINGCOMMUNITY:Space and Capacity in Urban GardensEmily WrightDEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGYRESEARCHTimothy Keese EarleFACULTY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGYHelen B. SchwartzmanSECONDARY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGYJesse MummGRADUATE STUDENT MENTORDEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGYDigging in the dirt, nurturing plants, and enjoying fresh air—these are basic experiences that people share in urbangardens, during which gardeners interact and establish relationships that form the foundation on which a communitygrows. However, the spatial design of a garden, such as physical layout and leadership structure, can impose barriersto building that community. This study examines the physical and symbolic elements in five urban garden spaces andanalyzes the effects those elements have on the gardens’ community-building capacity. It concludes that collectivistgarden spaces, which provide structure for shared responsibilities, decision-making, and benefits, have greater capacityto build community than individualistic garden spaces.IntroductionUrban gardens across Chicago are envisioned asimportant spaces to build community. Characteristicstypically associated with community gardensinclude communal growing plots, group workdays,and joint decision-making. These characteristics doindeed provide ample opportunities to build the fourpillars of ‘community’, as put forth by McMillan andChavis (1986): membership—an individual’s feelingof belonging; influence—each member’s equalcontribution to the group; benefits—fulfillment ofmembers’ needs through group resources; and a sharedemotional connection through a common history,place, or experience. However, not all gardens havethose typical characteristics and as a result, urbangardens vary in their capacity to build community.In a community garden, as Kuo, et. al. (1998) argueis the case in all urban common spaces, the physicalVOLUME 7, 2011-2012features of the space influence “the quantity and qualityof informal social contact among neighbors,” in turnaffecting the development of neighborhood social tiesand the building of community (Kuo, et. al. 1998:826).Kuo, et. al. (1998) find that more lush and vegetativecommon spaces develop stronger communities in urbanneighborhoods. Whether it is the amount of vegetationor the type of seating area, the construction of gardenspace plays a key role in determining the capacity of thegarden to build community. This study examines thephysical and symbolic space of five urban gardens ina Chicago neighborhood to understand: which spatialelements enhance or diminish a garden’s communitybuildingcapacity, what progress has been made towardthe gardens’ community-building goals, and howindividual gardeners and their social positions withinthe neighborhood have shaped the garden space itself.Drawing on the theories of Lefebvre (1991) andNORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL41

RESEARCHof the gardening process. Everyone shares the garden’sproducts, unless they are donated to a food bank orsimilar organization. On the other end of the spectrum,gardens that have an individual gardening style designatespecific growing areas to individual gardeners.Each gardener has her own plot to grow plants and shekeeps all the products. This type of gardening style oftenrequires gardeners to apply for a plot and pay a fee ordue. Garden A has an individual gardening style. Thereare nine raised beds andone in-ground plot. Ofthese, four are designatedto a local high school andthe rest are distributed toindividuals living in theimmediate or adjacentneighborhoods. The gardenerstend to their ownbeds on their own schedules.As a result, it is rarefor gardeners to encountereach other, as reportedby an active gardener.Similarly, garden C hasmainly individual beds,with a few small communalbeds for herbs and perennials. The garden leader hasobserved that the gardeners maintain a narrow focuson their appropriated area, rather than considering themaintenance, development, and beautification of theentire site. Additionally, the leader is concerned by thelimited opportunities for the community’s involvementwith such few plots available.In contrast, gardens B, D, and E have spatial structuresthat support communal gardening. Garden B ismostly ornamental and is constructed more like a parkthan a garden, but has six small beds. Community youthtend to these beds and the rest of the space through anentrepreneurial program run by a local non-profit organization.Gardens D and E, both managed by a singledevelopment corporation, have a communal gardeningstyle even further along the spectrum. The entiregardening space in both gardens is worked by anyonewho is interested. There are specific workdays, usuallyon the weekends, and everyone—from neighbors topassersby—is invited to participate and receive a shareof the harvest.Boundaries: All of the gardens studied have boundariesbased on city lots, but the way in which they delineateand control those boundaries differ. The spectrumof this spatial construction ranges from low, picketfences without locks to high, metal gates that remainlocked. Garden B has a spatial construction akin to theformer end of the spectrum. A three-foot picket fenceruns along the two borders it shares with the sidewalk,a seven-foot wooden fence lines the back of the lot, andVOLUME 7, 2011-2012the interior side is bordered by the adjacent building.There is a small gate that remains unlocked, a purposefulmove that the leader of the organization has made toensure it is an open space for the community. Garden Chas a similar border fence without a lock.The other gardens are closer to the opposite endof the spectrum. Garden A has a low picket fence surroundingone half of the garden space that has grass,benches, and ornamental plants rather than growingplots. This portionhas neither a gate nora lock. The other halfof the space, which isthe designated growingarea, is surrounded by atall, chain-linked fenceand has a keyed lock. Atthe time of study, keysfor this lock had not yetbeen distributed to thegardeners. Gardens Dand E both have a high,black steel fence that runsalong the entire borderof the garden space. Theyare locked and are onlyopened during workdays or when other communityevents are held there. Everyone who is on the developmentcorporation’s garden committee, which is opento residents of the corporation’s housing and non-residentsalike, have a key to the garden. According to thehead of the garden committee, people can call anyoneon the garden committee and request that they open thegarden at any time.Symbolic SpaceLeadership: The leadership structure of gardens variesaccording to several attributes: number of leadershiproles, degree of formalization, and process of succession.Gardens A, B, and C all have a leader recognizedby the neighborhood as the point of contact for theirrespective gardens. In garden A, a long-term residentwho has been involved with the garden for over 10 yearsfills the leadership role. While her role is formalized,the succession of leadership is less so. The leader admitsthat she has been less active in the garden recently andwould like to pass on the leadership. Yet, one gardenercapable of playing that role who is a newer resident inthe area and considers herself the most active in thegarden, has hesitated to express her leadership interestfor fear of disrespecting the current leader’s seniority.The process of identifying and choosing a new leaderis informal, and it appears to be subject to the personalfeelings and will of the current leader and gardeners.The leader of garden B is the youth program directorand has been in his role for more than five years. HeNORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL43

RESEARCHcame into the position when the outgoing leader waslooking for a community member who would continueworking in the space and involve youth, which alignedwith the current leader’s goals. As with garden A, thisprocess was informal and subject to the previous leader’sdiscretion. This same informal succession processoccurred several years agowith garden C: the previousleader passed on responsibilitiesto the current leader,who had similar goals. Theleader has her own vision forthe garden, which she followswhen making decisionsabout the garden’s direction,but she often seeks the gardeners’input, thus givingothers an opportunity toplay a leadership role.Gardens D and E areboth led by a single gardencommittee. Both residentsand non-residents of the corporation’s housing are ableto sit on the committee and there is no formal processof election or succession. An employee of the developmentcorporation that owns the garden property playsa coordination and facilitation role, ensuring that committeemeetings and garden workdays are scheduledregularly.Investment: The main form of investment that gardenerscontribute is their time. The spatial structureof gardeners’ time spent in the garden is closely linkedto the physical gardening style. In gardens that have acommunal style, many gardeners contribute their timeduring weekly scheduled workdays. Gardens with anindividual gardening style depend on fewer gardenersto contribute time based on their own schedule.Thus, gardens A and C support individuals gardeningon their own time, while gardens B, D, and E have collectiveworkdays. Other forms of investment may bean agreement to follow norms or rules, dues or fees, orparticipation in the decision-making process. In gardenC, the leader consulted with the gardeners to develop alist of norms that gardeners would sign and be expectedto fulfill. This leader also asks gardeners to pay a due ofan amount commensurate with their income, thoughfew gardeners choose to contribute in this way. Gardenersfrom gardens D and E have the opportunity to investmore of their time by being on the garden committee,which enables them to reap greater rewards from theirexperience.Community VitalityGarden A: The community of garden A is representativeof the neighborhood at-large in that it is diverseand rife with tension along residency lines. The gardenerswho have lived in the area for a long time are moreapt to perceive the infrequent gardening activity as aperiod of dormancy in the fluctuating history of thegarden. They also tend to interpret the constructions ofphysical space pragmatically, such as viewing the chainlinkedfence as a method to prevent people from throwinggarbage and otherlitter into the gardeningspace. In contrast, gardenerswho arrived morerecently to the area orlive in adjacent neighborhoodsare more responsiveto levels of gardeningactivity and physicalconstructions, viewing alack of participation asa sign of disinterest anda chain-linked fence andlock as a barrier for othercommunity members toparticipate. Furthermore,residency status seems to be hindering, to a certain degree,the logical succession of leadership to a residentwho is the most active in the garden and a newcomer.Garden B: Garden B has a community distinct fromthe other gardens studied, since it is run by a non-profitorganization and neighborhood youth are the gardeners.The garden leader, who is neither a long-termresident nor a newcomer, has indicated the positiveprogression of his role and status within the neighborhoodcommunity; since he first arrived and began hisnon- profit work, his neighbors have come to accepthim as a part of their community. This acceptance lendslegitimacy to the garden and its youth involvement.Garden C: Garden C has an equal number of longtermresidents and newcomers. The garden leader haspurposefully maintained this even composition in orderto balance the needs of the gentrifying community.While there is a higher demand for plots by newcomersthan long-term residents, the leader has been careful toreserve half of the beds for the latter group, acknowledgingthat the garden’s history in the neighborhoodmakes her want to ensure that they are included. Thisstructure has not necessarily resulted in a strong, unifiedgarden community. In fact, the gardeners are not asactive and there is not as much interaction as the leaderhad hoped. However, the equal representation and theleader’s evolution toward a communal gardening styleprovide a growing number of opportunities for diversegardeners to interact. The leader is hoping that a localcommunity-based organization could take over thegarden so it would become even more embedded in theneighborhood.Gardens D and E: Gardens D and E share a communitythat is diverse and they have had significant success44 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHwith community building. The gardeners have spentcommittee meetings, workdays, and special events interactingand learning about each other’s lifestyles, andthus have come to view each other as members of thecommunity rather than long-term residents, newcomers,or other category. Furthermore, their communalgardening style fosters equality and shared responsibility.DiscussionA physical garden space that supports communalgardening, such as in gardens B, D, and E, has greatercommunity-building capacity than an individual gardeningspace. This type of spatial construction increasesthe amount of social interaction among gardeners bypromoting cooperative planning, decision-making,and actions. Communal gardening also increases theamount of investment gardeners make by distributingwork responsibilities evenly, which ensures that allgardeners receive benefits, such as a share of the harvestand social relationships. In contrast, individual gardeningdevolves planning and decision-making to separateactors, eliminating the discussion, debate, and collaborationso essential to the development of a community.Each gardener can construct the physical space of herplot in whichever way she so chooses. As a result, theindividual gardener has the power to affect the communitywithout the input of its members and has the abilityto work separately during his own free time, possiblywithout ever interacting with his fellow gardeners.The effects of boundary delineation and control ona garden’s community-building capacity are less clear.Across all gardens, the dialogue about fences and lockspresented several concerns. One issue that appears to beresolved or diminished by a fence and lock is the presenceof undesirable behavior and material, including litterand drugs. In this respect, boundary protection cansignificantly improve the quality of garden space andcommunity. However, many gardeners feel the negativeimpact on the community far outweighs any benefit:high fences and locks present a physical and symbolicbarrier to individuals’ participation that directly contradictsthe community-oriented purpose of a “communitygarden”. Based on the evidence gathered, the negativeperceptions are stronger than positive ones. Therefore,boundary delineation and control slightly decrease agarden’s capacity to build community.A symbolic garden space that has multiple leadershiproles and more opportunities for gardeners’ investment,such as in gardens D and E, is more capable ofbuilding community than a garden with a single leaderand few investment opportunities. The former symbolicstructure enables more fluid and open communicationand interaction among gardeners. Organized workdaysand committee meetings are forums that offer an evenground on which to relate. These settings let gardenersVOLUME 7, 2011-2012set aside the political, economic, and social contextsthat usually codify their words and actions and insteadcommunicate within the garden space in a way that isless influenced by their social positions in the neighborhoodand more determined by their shared interest ingardening and the goals of the gardens. As a result, thedivisions that exist within the neighborhood are erodedin the garden space, thereby building the integratedcommunity that the gardeners would like.ConclusionEthnographic evidence from this study indicatesthat physical gardening style, leadership, and investmentopportunities play a significant role in a garden’s capacityto build community. Physical boundary delineationand control play a role to a slightly lesser extent. Acrossall of these physical and symbolic attributes, the morecollectivist the garden space, the greater its communitybuildingcapacity. Conversely, the more individualisticthe garden space, the lower its capacity. These resultshave impressive implications for new and existing urbangardens: they underscore the importance of spatialconstruction in a garden’s pursuit of its goals, especiallyif those include community building or the garden islocated within a neighborhood fraught with discord.Future research on this topic, and specifically on therole of gardeners’ social positions within the surroundingneighborhood (i.e. long-term resident, newcomer)on garden space and community, would benefit residentsand planners seeking to build community withinincreasingly diverse and complex urban environments.AcknowledgmentsI would like to thank my advisor, Timothy KeeseEarle, faculty mentor, Helen B. Schwartzman, andgraduate mentor, Jesse Mumm, for all of their direction,patience, and support throughout this entire process.Their wisdom and critique made the development ofmy research and analysis possible.ReferencesHarvey, David. 1973 Social Justice and the City. London, Edward Arnold.Kuo, Frances E, William C. Sullivan, Rebekah Levine Coley, and Liesette Brunson1998 “Fertile Ground for Community: Inner-City Neighborhood Common Spaces.” AmericanJournal of Community Psychology 26(6):823-51.Lefebvre, Henri. 1991 The Production of Space. Oxford, Blackwell.McMillan, David W. and David M. Chavis. 1986 “Sense of Community: A Definition andTheory.” Journal of Community Psychology 14:6-23.NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL45

ABSTRACTphoto by Amelia BellA New Genre of Mythic PerformanceBritt BanaszynskiDEPARTMENT OF THEATREAnnie BeserraFACULTY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF THEATREBilly SiegenfeldSECONDARY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF THEATREThe development of ROOTS of EARTH has a longhistory in my creative research and is the primary artisticwork of my current Honors Project in Theatre. Theproject acts as a avenue for the synthesis my training indance, acting, music, choreography, and direction duringmy time at Northwestern University. During the firstphase of the Honors Project, I reviewed the literatureand works of artists who practice these artistic modesin cohesive, multi-media performances. I found thatthese multidisciplinary performance artists (e.g., Bill T.Jones, Blondell Cummings, Joe Goode, Emily Johnson)consistently research their own autobiographies andmemories as a source for incubation of their voices asmulti-disciplinary artists. By engaging with their specificpasts in live performance, these artists transform inthe language of their individual voices. However, theseartists’ works tend to be limited to solo performances,and, almost always, reject dramatic narrative (a story)as a way of organizing and presenting the research.These works, which tend mostly to live in purely felt,non-logical realms, also tend to allow meaning to getlost as its translates from artist to audience. My researchquestions, modeled from these artists’ research, include:How does my autobiography and memory serve as aresource for the creation of original work? How do theelements of live theatre (music, dance, acting, etc.) synthesizeto create an opportunity for cohesive, multi-sensorystorytelling? How can I transfer my solo researchinto an ensemble performance? And, most importantly,how do I, as an artist, make meaning from this researchand how does that meaning transfer to an audience?I have structured my Honors curriculum to build46 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

ABSTRACTon twelve months of creative research under the title,ROOTS of EARTH, which has revealed to me the significanceof researching the emotional memories tiedto questions of home, faith, and identity. Initially, theresearch took form by diligently looking at significantmoments in my personal history (including autobiographicalmoments and memories) and organizingthem into the aforementioned categories of home, faithand identity. From there, I magnified these events,exploring their connections with poignant momentsand relationships in my life, and engaged in dance, andmusic and theatrical exploration in order to deepenmy understanding of these moments. By fusing thesemulti-sensory products of research, I created a cohesiveevening of dramatic theatre. I presented this theatrepiece as a culmination of research in February 2012, toan audience of student and professional peers for review.After this solo presentation, I move into the arenaof ensemble storytelling, wherein I transfer the choreographic,musical, and theatrical ideas I developed in thestudio, to a group of dedicated actor/dancer/musicians.The methodologies for research in the rehearsal roomwill be based on the principles of devising work in aform I call intentional storytelling. In this performancedevelopment technique I created during the course ofan Undergraduate Research Grant, the creation of scene,character, and dramatic moment requires improvisationand collaboration: the ensemble decides, collectively,what each scene in the show needs to accomplish foreach character (the intention of the scene), and thenpulls from the plethora of artistic capacities of our actorsto create the drama. The performance, modeled onthe presentation of my solo research, can take the formof comedy, dance, physical gesture, spatial play, music,song, or poetry, all in service to the singular and simpleintention of each moment. Therefore, what maintainsthe show’s cohesiveness is the ensemble’s service to intention.My final research question, in which I ask howmeaning can be transferred from artist to audience,dictates the organization and presentation of this work.My hypothesis is that story is the ultimate link betweenhow an audience and artist make mutual meaning withina performance. Story, as it functions in performanceis, essentially, drama. Drama occurs when two characters,emotions, or worlds collide in conflict and then, bywhatever theatrical means, resolve. Therefore, though itmay be unconventionally told through multiple media,the dramatic story of ROOTS of EARTH will be reliablypresent in every moment. Effectually, this story modelinvites the audience to both witness and connect to acharacters’ growth, relationships and, ultimately, transformation.ROOTS of EARTH opens with an omniscientcharacter who introduces the thematic questions of theplay (not unlike the Greek chorus of the Theban Plays),VOLUME 7, 2011-2012as the ensemble comes to life inhabiting charactersof a mythic forest whose trees sing forgotten lullabiesand its people are doomed to lost wondering: two sisters,whose energies ride silent from the exhaustion ofhomelessness, dance and pull at each other in desperateneed of security; oppositely, three explorers bouncethrough space in farcical play in search of adventure,until their naive stamina dissolves and they are forced torealize their undeniable aimlessness. They are mythicallegories for our human struggle to accept the lonely,wandering fate of our condition. Later in the piece, theomniscient narrator intervenes as one character spiralsinto fear in her realization of her loneliness, teachingher to find stability within her own equilibrium. In achilling act, she opens her mind as the entire ensemblemoves inside to face the dark fears of her dreams. Eachof these characters is modeled from important personalrelationships that influenced my solo studio work, andtheir journeys bring to life the hypotheses I write as Iask questions about making meaning of my own autobiographyand memories.ROOTS of EARTH’s storytelling emphasis inintention-based origination departs from the work ofthe aforementioned artists, taking on a mythic form. Itbecomes a unique, genre-synthesizing performance thatemphasizes dramatic allegory in a cohesive story aboutpeople. In its incredibly specific, idiosyncratic sourceand presentation, this work rejects cultural boundariesand harnesses the sincere voice of the individual onthe global stage. This genre, unlike others, is entirelyinclusive as the allegories of the human experience areuniversal, crossing all forms of cultural boundaries.BibliographyAlbright, Ann Cooper. “Auto-Body Stories: Blondell Cummings and Autobiography in Dance.”Meaning in Motion: New Cultural Studies of Dance. Ed. Jane Desmond. Durham: DukeUP, 2003. (179- 205) Print.Cooper, Pamela J., and Rives Collins. The Power of Story. South Melbourne: MacmillanEducation Australia, 1994. Print.Dixon-Stowell, Brenda. “Blondell Cummings: ‘The Ladies and Me.’” The Drama Review 24.1(1980): 37-44. MIT Press. Web. 18 October 2011.Everest, James. “An Interview with Choreographer Emily Johnson, about THE THANK-YOUBAR” catalystdance.com. catalystdance, n.d. Web. 6 December 2011.Gere, David. “29 Effeminate Gestures: Choreographer Joe Goode and the Heroism ofEffeminacy.” Dancing Desires. Ed. Jane C. Desmond. Madison: University of WisconsinPress. (349-381) Print.“Go For What You Know.” Free to Dance. Dir. Adam Zucker. PBS, 2001. Videocasette.Grace, Sherrill. “Theatre and the AutoBiographical Pact: An Introduction.” Theatre andAutobiography: Writing and Performing Lives in Theory and Practice. Ed. Sherril Graceand Jerry Wasserman. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2006. (13-29) Print.Hanna, Judith Lynne. “New Moves for Men.” Dance, Sex and Gender: Signs of Identity,Dominance, Defiance and Desire. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988. Print.Kourlas, Gia. “Exploration with Myth, Memory, and Movement.” Rev. of The Thank-you Bar,perf. Emily Johnson. New York Times 11 November 2011. Web.McNamara, Joann. “Dance in the Hermeneutic Circle.”Researching Dance: Evolving Modes ofInquiry. Ed. Sondra Horton Fraleigh and Penelope Hanstein. Pittsburgh: University ofPittsburgh Press, 1999. 162-187. Print.Miller, Tim. Body Blows: Six Performances. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2002.Print.Phelan, Peggy. “Tim Miller’s My Queer Body: An Anatomy in Six Sections.” Theater: DukeUniversity Press Online Journal. 24.2. (1993): 30-33. Web. 6 December 2011.NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL47

RESEARCHFEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP INDAKAR, SENEGAL:Factors, Pathways, and ObstaclesKatherine NorthcottDEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICSPROGRAM OF AFRICAN STUDIESHilarie LiebFACULTY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICSUsing a combination of quantitative surveys and personalinterviews, I explored whether certain social, gender-specific, orpolitical issues affect the successful creation and maintenanceof female-owned businesses in Dakar, Senegal. After analyzingthe collected data, I found that the majority women weremarried, highly educated, and more likely to start businesseslater in life and in sectors that are typically female-dominated.From a political standpoint, even though there were severalgovernment initiatives designed to encourage femaleentrepreneurship in the country, the women I interviewed statedthat finding financial support was the most overwhelmingobstacle they encountered when starting their businesses. Iconcluded that more steps need to be taken to ensure thatwomen are able to gain access to the funds that have beencreated for them.Female economic empowerment in the developingworld has been proclaimed as a universal necessityfor the developing economies; the UN included theempowerment of girls and women as their third MillenniumDevelopment Goal, which lists the eight necessaryfactors the developing world must overcome in order tocombat poverty. 1 Various reasons have been offered toexplain the lack of female participation in the workforcein the developing world, including the role of patriarchyand social inequality. However, female entrepreneurshipin the formal, government-regulated sector andinformal, unregulated sector has started to make animpression on the global economy and developmentfocusedeconomic research has started to explore itsgrowth. Over a two month period in the summer of2010, I conducted a research project in Dakar, Senegal,looking at formal female entrepreneurs. My goal in thisresearch project was to meet and interview female, andmale, entrepreneurs in Dakar, and gather demographicinformation about these entrepreneurs. I hoped to identifycertain common characteristics that helped womenbecome entrepreneurs, and understand whether thesequalities differ from men’s. I also wanted to get a senseof the social and political atmosphere surrounding theentrepreneurial experiences of these women. In otherwords, how do women in developing countries succeedat starting their own businesses and what obstacles dothey encounter? While my sample size was small, only13 women and 2 men, I had a good introduction to howfemale entrepreneurs in Dakar succeed, as well as directexperience of where women work and how they financethemselves.DemographicsThe demographics of my sample show that mostof the entrepreneurs are late-middle aged, started thebusiness later in life, and are highly educated. The followingtable summarizes the key demographics frommy research:Table 1. DemographicsDemographics Mean MedianAge 51.8667 52Years Living in Dakar 43.0667 50Years of Education 16.333 16Years of Work Experience 19.846 21Years Business has Operated 9.4667 10Number of Employees 23.7333 1048 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHTable 1a. Demographics (percentages of entrepreneurs)DemographicsVOLUME 7, 2011-2012PercentagesMarried 52Divorced 50Widowed 16Never Married 21Support Exterior Households 10Main breadwinner of the family 10With an average age of 51 and an average residencyin Dakar of 43 years, the entrepreneurs spent the majorityof their lives in an urban setting. This setting offersthem access to resources which, outside the city, maynot be accessible or reliable, especially when it comesto banking and government loans. Their businesses onaverage have been open almost 9.5 years, indicating thatthe entrepreneurs decided to start their businesses duringmiddle age, rather than as young people. Prior tostarting their businesses, the entrepreneurs had about20 years of work experience. This may be due to thenecessity to earn a salary in order to support their families,the social pressure of staying home to raise theirchildren, or a desire to save money in order to have thetime and resources to start a company. Some 73% of theentrepreneurs identified themselves as the main breadwinnersin the family, and 67% also said that they supportedhouseholds outside of the one they live in. Fully60% of the entrepreneurs were married, and all but onehad children. Entrepreneurship, then, is also associatedwith finding a way to earn income to support both theimmediate and extended family structure.Overall, only 29% of women can read and write inSenegal. 2 But, women who have access to higher educationhave more opportunities and success in entrepreneurshipthan those who do not. 3 From my sample, theentrepreneurs I met were highly educated, averaging 16years of schooling. Education played an important rolein the profile of entrepreneurs, helping them increasetheir chances of success in the long run.One of the most important statistics was the sizeof their businesses: an average of 23 employees per enterprise,with a median of 10. Most of these businesseswould be classified as small and medium-sized enterprises(petites et moyennes enterprises, or PME, in thelocally spoken French). Comparatively, a microenterprisehas less than 10 employees, a small enterprise hasless than 50 employees, and a medium enterprise has lessthan 250 employees. 4 The women I met, even those whohave what qualify as “microenterprises,” described theirbusinesses as growing and expressed a need for resourcesthat matched that growth. The number of employees didnot necessarily reflect the overall size of the business. Forexample I visited a very successful and well-run doctor’soffice that had only 3 full-time employees.Politics of Female EntrepreneurshipThe Ministry of Female Entrepreneurship and Microfinancehas been continuously reformatted over theyears of President Abdoulaye Wade’s presidency. Theministry has previously been affiliated with the “Ministryof Women, Family, Social Development, and FemaleEntrepreneurship,” the “Ministry of PME, Female Entrepreneurship,and Microfinance,” and the “Ministry ofFamily, National Solidarity, Female Entrepreneurship,and Microfinance.” On a political level, female entrepreneurshipin Senegal is never addressed as an independententity, nor is it associated with the Ministry ofLabour or Commerce. In its current form, female entrepreneurshipcontinues to share a ministry with microfinance:“Ministry of Family, National Solidarity, FoodSecurity, Women’s Entrepreneurship, Microfinance, &Early Childhood”.One of the biggest complaints I heard from thewomen I interviewed was that because of the politicalassociation of female entrepreneurship with microfinance,political discourse considers female businessas microbusiness. This makes it difficult for PME’s tofind financial, managerial, and political support for theproblems they encounter.Nicole, the head of a women’s business union in Dakar,expressed this issue in our interview:“The real, good understanding of what female entrepreneurshipis does not exist; [until it is understood,] we will have a lotof problems in truly establishing anything political. If you takea very easy example: […] since a lot has been done in microfinance, they tell you that generally women don’t have anyproblems accessing financial support. But who are they talkingabout? Micro business, or small businesses, or medium-sizedbusinesses, or business in general?”The main complaint seems to be that the governmentdoes not take female entrepreneurship seriously.Normally associated with microfinance, female runPME’s are simply overlooked as legitimate large-scalebusinesses.In order to help boost the support of female entrepreneurship,the Senegalese government implementeda new body called the Direction of Female Entrepreneurship(DFE) in 2002. Then in 2003 it establishedthe National Funds for the Promotion of Female Entrepreneurship(FNPEF). In theory these new institutionswould provide direct aid to women interested in startingtheir own businesses, while helping provide necessaryinformation to the government on what female entrepreneursneed to be successful. The Direction of FemaleEntrepreneurship is an umbrella body that works withother organizations, governmental and non-governmental,and helps promote female-run businesses fromthe ground up.Most of the organizations I visited provided educationfor female entrepreneurs in the matters of businessorganization, finding financial support, and becomingformalized through government contracts. However,NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL49

RESEARCHmany of these organizations focused on informal economyworkers and so do not give as much help to thewomen who work in the formal sector. The DFE, whileproviding its own resources, works to unify the informationavailable and provides the best services it can.The FNPEF was created to provide governmentfinancial support for female entrepreneurs. Criteria forreceiving a loan from the FNPEF are based on the abilityof the women to pay the loans back on time. Becausethe FNPEF wants to guarantee that the women are makingenough profit to repay, they encourage women towork in sectors that they know and use their life skillsto their advantage. As a result, it became clear early inmy research that the majority of female entrepreneurswere involved in agriculture and agricultural transformationbusinesses. This is reflected in the correlationof women working in agriculture in the population atlarge. Women were also found to be the majority incommerce, the second highest correlation (see table 2.)Table 2. Correlation of Women to Sectors of Business.SectorPercentageof EntrepreneursinSectorCorrelationofWomen toSectorAgriculture/ Agribusiness 26.67% .237Artisanal 6.67% .105Beauty 6.67% .105Health 13.33% .154Education 33.3% -.139Food 13.33% .154Information Technology 0 n/aIndustry 13.3% .154Textiles 13.3% .154Commerce 20% .196Transportation 6.67% .105Other 6.67% -0.681While the funds are supposedly available to all femaleentrepreneurs, all the women I interviewed exceptone had not received money from these funds, evenafter applying. For the women, it is all political; themoney does not go to the women who need it, but tothe people who have government connections.Ndèye Fatou, an entrepreneur in agribusiness, commentedthat“[The Ministry of] Female Entrepreneurship, they helpwho they want. They help people who already have money.That’s not normal. We don’t have the [financial] means,and you need to help people who don’t have the means.”Ndèye, another entrepreneur in agribusiness, echoesthis comment:“They promised us financial support for our businesses,from 2008 till now. They put us in contact with bankswhere the conditions to access loans are very difficult. Theyput us on the same level as big businesses, but we’re not,we’re small businesses. […] The government doesn’t helpus.”Whether the government’s lack of support is as negligentas these women say, very few women appear tohave benefitted from government programs and insteadsought other sources of investment.Financial Support for Female EntrepreneursSmall businesses have various sources of funding.In Dakar, the main options are commercial bankloans, microfinance institution and other NGO loans,government loans, or independently financed. The lastoption includes personal savings and money loanedfrom friends and family. In my sample, the majorityof respondents (80%) said they were independentlyfinanced. The second most popular form of financialsupport was NGO or microfinance support (33%). Norespondents indicated that they had received financialsupport from a commercial bank.Table 3. Financial Support sourcesFinancial Support SourcePercentage ofRespondentsCommercial Bank loans 0%NGO/ Microfinance Institutionloans33.33%Independently Financed 80%Financed by other means 13.33%The women I interviewed chose to be in the formalsector of the economy. With this choice comes morefinancial woes; taxes, authorization, regulated products.Ndèye Fatou told me of some of the problems associatedwith deciding to run a formal business:“Myself, I love to work, I am professional […] I can do thework like other people—take a bag, fill it with bissap juice,ginger juice […] It works well like that. But there are labelsthat they sell, and that makes it more professional. I needan authorization number; I need to go pay I don’t knowhow much at the Chamber of Commerce. […] Then whenyou have put the authorization number on the label, it becomessomething serious.”Because they see their work as professional andserious, female entrepreneurs, want to be a part of thebusiness community officially, and taken seriously bythe government and financial institutions, However,the price tag associated with this formalization is high;getting authorization for food production, taxes onproduction, and import and export licenses are all expensivenecessities that formal businesses encounter. AsNdèye Fatou explained to me, there are many obstacles50 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHthat weigh heavily on female business owners, both financiallyand psychologically.As microfinance makes big waves in the internationalcommunity, I was surprised to see that so few womenused microfinance loans to help their businesses. Accordingto Ndèye Fatou, who occasionally uses microfinanceloans, she did not like the short repayment scheduleor the high interest rates:“You can’t take money each time you work — you won’tearn anything. Each month you’re obligated to pay thebank […] And sometimes I take a loan of 2,000,000 to3,000,000 [FCFA] […] too difficult, too difficult […] puttingmoney aside, or making something else, you just can’tdo it. It’s the loans that kill me.”The biggest financial problem for these women wasthat the size of the loans they needed was too big for amicrofinance institution, but too small for a commercialbank. Left in the middle without any resources thesewomen had to find alternative financing methods. Inthe end, Senegal loses since small and medium enterprisesmake up the majority of businesses there. Nicoletold me that“[s]olutions have been found at the institutional level forbig businesses, the problems were solved; solutions havebeen found for microenterprises […] but for the majorityin the middle, nothing has been done, or very little […]very few things have been done in all sectors.”There needs to be a formal solution for businessesin the middle. Based on my research most female entrepreneursrely on their networks of family and friends,as well as personal savings, to finance their businesses.In short, a business that aspires to become formally establishedrelies on informal methods of support. Usingtheir own resources, the women have been very successfulin their businesses, but all of the women desire toexpand their companies. The only way to do that is tohave sources of funding that are accessible and availableto their needs.ConclusionAlthough my project was small, I discovered informationthat encourages me to continue this research.My initial goal was to compare the profiles of femalebusiness owners with those of male business ownersand decide whether different characteristics amongstmen and women make it easier for women to start businesses.However, my interviews and statistical results donot appear to show much of a difference. Overall, forthe entrepreneurs that I met, education and work experienceplay a major role in starting businesses, and moststart their businesses later in life. Even in finance, bothmen and women struggled to find substantive financialbacking outside of their own means. However, with anew political atmosphere and pro-woman governmentcampaigns, I felt there should have been more financingavailable for women. This was not the case.I plan to do more in-depth studies at women whosucceeded in accessing government funds. Since theVOLUME 7, 2011-2012government has made money available to female businessowners, and since the women I interviewed hadqualifications that would allow them to take a loan,I want to understand who is actually accessing thesegovernment funds and how they succeed in taking theloans. Is it all political, like my interviewees claimed?Or are there other factors playing into the inaccessibilityof the National Funds for the Promotion of FemaleEntrepreneurship? The answers to these questions arenecessary to establish practical resources that enablewomen to create formal, larger-scale businesses and toultimately achieve their goals.Endnotes1 UN Millenium Development Goals. “Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and EmpowerWomen.” < http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/gender.shtml>2 CIA World Factbook. 2002 estimates.3 ILO. “From Entrepreneurship to Education: how empowering women can help theirchildren learn.” 4 EUROPA: “Définitions des micros, petites, et moyennes entreprises.” Works ReferencedCentre Africain de l’Entrepreneuriat Féminin. Manuel de Formation sur la Gestion des ActivitésEconomiques des Femmes: Manuel de l’Animatrice. Dakar: CAEF, 2009. Print.Doudou Sarr, Niang. “FONDS NATIONAL DE PROMOTION DE L’ENTREPRENARIAT FÉMININ :1,2 Milliard Pour Aider à l’émergence de Véritables Femmes Chefs d’entreprise.” LeSoleil. Grafisol. Web. 29 Nov. 2010. .Ministère des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises, de l’Entrepreneuriat Féminin et de la Microfinance,and Direction de l’Entrepreneuriat Féminin. Guide de la femme entrepreneure.Dakar: Ministère de PME, de L’Entrepreneuriat Féminin et de la Microfinance, 2006.Print.RBSA WED, and Bureau International du Travail. Diagnostic Institutionnel & Evaluation desBesoins des Associations de Femmes Entrepreneures du Milieu Urbain et Rural et duSecteur Informel. Publication. Dakar: BIT, 2009. Print.InterviewsNdèye. Personal Interview. 6 August 2010.Ndèye Fatou. Personal Interview. 16 August 2010.Nicole. Personal Interview. 6 August 2010.AcknowledgmentsThis project first and foremost would not have been possible without the inspirationand encouragement of Professor Jeff Rice, who pushed me to apply for the summer researchgrants and started me on my way to networking in Dakar. Without the advice and wisdomof Professor Hilarie Lieb, I would have been completely lost in the world of economic fieldresearch. I would also like to sincerely thank the both of them for vouching for and supportingme during a tough process.I would like to thank Sijh Diagne and Professor Souleymane Bachir Diagne for providingme with local contacts in Dakar and for making sure I wasn’t alone in this project.In Senegal, I owe all my gratitude to the staff of the West African Research Center, SaliouBodiang, Maréme Cissé Thiam of the Direction de l’Entrepreneuriat Féminin, Marie LaetitiaKayisire of the Organisation Internationale de Travail, Charles Fall of the Fonds de PromotionEconomique, Dr. Ndèye Sohka Guèye of Université Chiekh Anta Diop, and Dr. SerigneMoustapha Sene of the Ministère de l’Economie et des Finances. All of these people helpedme connect with the fantastic entrepreneurs I interviewed. I also want to thank Sidy Guèyefor teaching me Wolof, Genia Martinez for keeping me sane, Baye Diasse for helping makemy time in Dakar memorable, and Mame Souka for graciously letting me live in her home.Without help from all of these people, I would have never been able to complete myresearch.To all of the women I met with and who let me hear their stories: I thank you!This project would not have been possible without funding from the Weinberg Schoolof Arts and Sciences and the Program of African Studies.I would also like to thank my parents, who supported me wholeheartedly in thisjourney.NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL51

RESEARCHMuslim clothing bans based on two documents, giventhat their drafting is an act of framing. The Stasi CommissionReport reveals the concepts behind the 2003-2004 ban on religious clothing in schools. A transcriptof a National Assembly debate from July 6th, 2010reveals the concepts behind the 2010-2011 ban on theconcealment of the face in public. The analyses are presentedseparately for each source and the master framesand sub-frames are grouped accordingly. Since thesesources document framing, they do not by any meansFraming Analysis:2003-2004 Ban on Religious Symbols inSchools and the Stasi Commission ReportThe hijab (overall Muslim female modesty, most frequentlymanifested in a headscarf) or khimar (hair andneck cover, usually a headscarf) ban, part of an overallban on religious symbols in schools, was debated inFrance in 2003 and instituted in 2004. In early Decemberof 2003, a government-sponsored commission issuedthe Stasi Commission Report (thus named for thehead of the commission, Bernard Stasi) recommendinga federal law that would ban conspicuous religioussymbols in public schools. The law is an amendment tothe French Code of Education that expands principlesfound in existing French law, especially the constitutionalrequirement of laïcité: the separation of state andreligious activities.Master Frame: French SecularismSecularism is “the nature of the relationship betweenreligion and state.” 5 Secularism comes from theword “secular,” which is the opposite of sacred. Secularmeans “of or pertaining to worldly things or to thingsthat are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred;temporal; not pertaining to or connected with religion.”6 Secularism, by extension, refers to “secular spiritor tendency, especially a system of political or socialphilosophy that rejects all forms of religious faith andworship” or “the view that public education and othermatters of civil policy should be conducted withoutthe introduction of a religious element.” 6 It is the lattermeaning that is encapsulated in the French concept oflaïcité (spelled “laicite” throughout the paper for ease).Laicite is the concept of a secular society, in which religiousinvolvement is absent from government affairsand government involvement is absent from religiousaffairs. 8 “Secularism implies the independence of thepolitical and spiritual or religious options. They haveno control over the state and the latter did not presentthem.” 9 Most French-English dictionaries translate laiciteas secularism (a type of political system) althoughit can also be thought of as secularity in general or as“laicism” and “laicity.” 10To these French politicians…Secularism is the cornerstone of the republican pact, basedVOLUME 7, 2011-2012on three inseparable values: freedom of conscience, legalequality of spiritual options and religious neutrality of politicalpower. Freedom of conscience enables each citizen tochoose their spiritual or religious life. Equality before thelaw prohibits any discrimination or coercion and the statedoes not favor either option. Finally the political powerrecognizes its limitations by refraining from interferencein the spiritual or religious. Secularism thus reflects aconception of the common good. So that every citizen canrecognize themselves in the Republic, it subtracts the politicalpower to the dominant influence of any spiritual orreligious option in order to live together. 11The French type of secularism is a different breed.It is a “Secularism that is both uncompromising in applyingthe principles of the Republic and friendly to allreligious and philosophical beliefs.” 12 In recognizing thatall religions are equal, none are allowed in the publicsphere so as not to impose on others. 13 “Secularism isthe framework in which the French are fully guaranteedfreedom of worship and expression of all spiritual options.”14 Again, in privatizing religion, no French citizenfeels uncomfortable in the public sphere. The modernfoundation of France rests on secularism as the conceptof a soceity which practices religion privately, under the“freedom of conscience” concept.The French are passionat about secularism: “Franceis not the only Western country to insist on the separationof church and state - but it does so more militantlythan any other… Secularism is the closest thing theFrench have to a state religion.” 15 The comparison ofsecularism to a religion is fitting. As the Stasi Commissionwrites, “France is the only country to [have] explicitlyenshrined secularism in its constitution.” 16 Theword “enshrine” (in French “consacré,” which meansconsercrate, dedicate, devote) has an undeniable relgiousconnotation. Secularism is held in especially highregard in France and the French people have immensepride in their execution of this principle. The openingof the Stasi Commission Report reads “The FrenchRepublic was built around secularism. All democraticstates respect freedom of conscience and the principleof non-discrimination; they are experiencing variousforms of distinction between political and religious orspiritual. But France has elevated the status of secularism,a fundamental value.” 17 The French politicians whowrote the Stasi Commission Report were well aware thatsecularism is closely associated with a “set of images,values, dreams and desires that underlie the Republic.” 18These Frenchmen see “secularism as key to nationalidentity, cohesion of society, equality between men andwomen, education, etc.” 19Sub-Frame: Public OrderThe law of 1905 that separates church and statereads, “The Republic guarantees freedom of conscience.It guarantees freedom of worship, subject only to restrictionsset forth below in the interest of public order.”20 In the interest of public order, the French govern-NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL53

RESEARCHment can apply the principle of “reasonable accommodation”to religious and ethnic minorities, under whichit makes some concession as long as the actions of theminority do not conflict with the French identity. 21 TheFrench do not see such a “reasonable accommodation”as a solution to the effects of immigration.The point of the ban on religious articles in schoolsis to make sure that schools function properly and theirprimary purpose (education) is achieved. The StasiCommission Report identifies several other “points oftension” where secularism is not enacted properly and istherefore failing the French public: hospitals, the army,prisons, etc. French spaces should be religion-free soas not to disrupt the public order. The French governmentis in charge of maintaining public order in “sharedpublic spaces.” 22 The idea of French harmony is welldescribed in the microcosm of the workplace: “They[‘employees who wear headscarves and refuse to shakehands with their male colleagues’ and ‘employees donot recognize the authority of managers when it comesto women’] undermine the harmony which must existbetween employees, regardless of their gender and theirreligious and philosophical convictions.” 23 All Frenchcitizens must all be able to interact in a religion-neutralway. Private rights take the backseat to public harmony.Sub-Frame: National UnitySecularism is “a value which is based on nationalunity, as well as a guarantor of individual liberty.” 24 TheStasi Commission openly recognizes the power of theFrench government to unify the French people: “TheState allows the consolidation of common values thatunderpin the social fabric in our country.” 25 This isespecially important in the face of the diversity that immigrantsbring.Our political philosophy was based on the defense of theunity of society. This concern for uniformity outweighsany expression of difference perceived as threatening. Todaydiversity is sometimes presented in a positive light: respectfor cultural rights is claimed by some who view themas an essential aspect of their identity. Preserve culture,belief, memory - real or imagined - is seen as a form ofprotection while participating in a changing world trade.Deny the strength of community feeling would be futile.But the exacerbation of cultural identity can not set itselfin the fanaticism of the difference, carrier of oppressionand exclusion. Everyone must be able, in a secular society,to distance from the tradition. 26The French government must perform the difficulttask of forging unity while respecting the diversity ofsociety. 27Sub-Frame: School as the Birthplace of French CitizensUnder the 1905 law officially separating church andstate in France, “The French state could not allow anyproselytizing in public buildings - least of all schools,where the citizens of tomorrow were being taught.” 28The school is seen as the focus of this debate as theschool is supposed to be a safe learning environmentfor French youth and a place they can pick up Frenchrepublican, not religious, values. It is crucial that “theschool does not become an echo chamber of the passionsof the world, under pain of failing in its educationalmission.” 29 The wearing of conspicuous religioussigns “is enough to disturb the tranquility of schoollife.” 30While many other countries may conceptualize thepublic school as the birthplace of the enlightened andpatriotic citizen but, just as with the concept of secularism,France takes the idea of the school as birthplace ofthe French citizen more seriously…The issue of secularism has reappeared in 1989 where shewas born in the nineteenth century: at school. Its mission isessential in the Republic. It transmits the knowledge, criticalthinking form, ensuring their independence, opennessto cultural diversity, and personal development, educationof citizens as a future career. She prepares tomorrow’s citizenshave to live together within the Republic. Such a missionrequires a clear set of common rules. First of socializationand sometimes only place of integration and upwardmobility, schools have a major impact on individual andcollective behavior. In the school of the Republic are greetednot just users, but for students to become enlightenedcitizens. The school is thus a fundamental institution ofthe Republic, for the most welcoming of minors subject tocompulsory education, to live together beyond their differences.This is a specific area, subject to specific rules so as toensure that the transmission of knowledge in serenity. Theschool must not be sheltered from the world, but studentsmust be protected from the ‘fury of the world’: it certainlyis not a sanctuary, but it must encourage a distancing fromthe real world to enable learning. Yet in too many schools,the evidence showed that identity conflicts can become asource of violence, result in violations of individual freedomsand cause public disorder…. For the entire schoolcommunity, the veil is too often a source of conflicts, divisionsand even suffering. The character of a visible religioussign is perceived by many as contrary to the mission of theschool to be a neutral and a place of awakening of criticalconsciousness. It also undermines the principles and valuesthat schools should teach, including equality between menand women. 31This quote reveals how seriously the conceptionof the French citizen-student resonates with the StasiCommission. It also shows how the French school as thebirthplace of good citizens relates to the integration ofimmigrants (as well as the flipside of diversity and multiculturalism)and the process of “social mixing.”The ideal French school is characterized as a placetotally free of religion…The secular state that guarantees freedom of conscience,in addition to freedom of religion or of expression, protectsthe individual and allows everyone to freely choosewhether or not an option spiritual and religious, to changeor be waived. It ensures that no group, no communitycan impose on anyone a membership or religious identity,especially because of its origins. It protects each and everyone against any pressure or entity, carried out under coverof a particular spiritual or religious prescription. The freedomof individual conscience against proselytism is nowcomplete separation of the notions of neutrality and powerin the 1905 Act. 3254 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHArticle 10 of the Law on Education of July 10th,1989, establishes a “broad freedom of expression forstudents.” 33 The law of 2003-2004 is seen as an extension,not as a reversal, of this freedom of expression.“Religious symbols are not prohibited per se but can beif they are of a character or ostentatious protest.” 34 TheFrench government wishes to limit the religious contentinside schools so as not to impose on anybody else.At the same time that religion is not to be imposedon students, the school serves as a place to birth Frenchcitizens, a place to inoculate them with republican values.“The first republican values training is and mustremain in school.” 35 “As the school’s founding principle,secularism is a major theme of civic education.” 36 “Theinsistence on schools as religion-free zones goes to theheart of the French idea of citizenship.” 37 “The State defendsthe common values of society which it is derived.Buoyed by a strong vision of citizenship that transcendscommunity affiliations, religious, or ethnic, secularstate creates obligations towards citizens.” 38 Again, thisis deeply related to the idea of integration through thesecular school, as discussed in more detail below.Sub-Frame: Being “French First”A French person, regardless of his or her otheridentities, is expected to be “French first.” “Citizenshipin France has been based on the Republic recognizingindividuals rather than groups. A French citizen owesallegiance to the nation, and has no officially sanctionedethnic or religious identity.” 39 Historically, the Frenchhave gone through great lengths to get the public to seeitself as French. “Although it can be carried to extremes- such as colonial subjects being taught that their ancestorswere Gauls - this view of citizenship is fundamentallynon-discriminatory and inclusive.” 40The Stasi Commission locates and urges to phaseout programs that go against French-ification, for exampleELCO (“un enseignement des langues et culturesd’origine,” teaching of languages and cultures of origin).In the 1970s, France signed bilateral agreements withAlgeria, Spain, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Serbia-Montenegro,Tunisia and Turkey to teach immigrant childrenthe language and culture of their homelands “at a timewhen the arrival of immigrants was seen as temporary.” 41These contracts were renewed over time but the StasiCommission no longer feels that they are necessary sinceeven the teachers of these programs are “often of Frenchnationality and are destined to live in France permanently.”42 “The Committee notes that against the backgroundof the right to difference, we have moved to the duty ofbelonging.” 43 The ELCO program not only prevents immigrantsfrom being “French first” (or identifying withFrench national identity) and disrupts the “duty of belonging,”it completely prevents integration. “This deviceis often at odds with the integration of immigrant youth[and] promotion of the French language.” 44VOLUME 7, 2011-2012Sub-Frame: Immigrant IntegrationThe secular school is seen as a good place to integrateimmigrants. By keeping things religion-free, immigrantsare asked to embrace the French way of life.To the Stasi Commission, the compromise between thestate and religion seems to be an appropriate milieu foralso pursuing a “more proactive policy of integration.” 45Being French first and exhibiting the French identityis a way to integrate immigrants, thus the governmentreasons that French national identity can help with theintegration process.According to Akan, there are “two fundamental institutionsfor the integration of immigrants in France,namely, school and employment.” 46 “Adapting to Frenchways was in part an economic necessity, since laboroften stipulated that workers dress in a certain way.” 47The Stasi Commission seems to agree with all of theseopinions. In reference to the Labor Code and its prohibitionof discrimination, the Commission writes, “thejudicial court, while recognizing the rights afforded therespect for freedom of conscience, [should also] ensurethat such requirements are compatible with the properperformance of contract work.” 48 Again, the Frenchgovernment sees itself as negotiating a compromise betweencompeting claims: the freedom of conscience andprohibition of discrimination on the one hand, withthe neutrality required by public service or the place ofemployment. In reconciling these individual freedomswith French duties, the French government is hoping tomake integration into French society smoother.The Stasi Commission recognizes the role of theFrench government both in helping to integrate immigrantsin the future and in failing to integrate immigrantsin the past. The Commission concludes thatthe current situation is “a real failure of integrationpolicy of the last twenty years,” through programs suchas ELCO for example. 49 The French government is alsoresponsible for other, more indirect failures of integration,such as the fact that minorities tend to live in deprivedurban areas. 50Sub-Frame: Equality Between the Sexes and Women’sRightsBeing against the equality of women is seen as beingun-French. “Today, secularism can not be conceivedwithout direct link with the principle of equality betweenthe sexes.” 51 It is a part of French-ification. Thefact that women can walk around in traditional Muslimgarb is seen as a failure of the French government.“Basic rights of women are now being violated daily inour country. Such a situation is unacceptable.” 52 Whilethe Stasi Commission does recognize that some “girlsand women wear the veil voluntarily, but others areunder duress or pressure,” their focus is on the latter. 53The French government feels called “to rescue manyyoung girls and women of immigrant origin living inNORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL55

RESEARCHcities. Presented as the ‘silent majority’ who are victimsof pressures within the family or neighborhood, theseyoung women need to be protected and to that end,strong signals are sent by the government for Islamistgroups.” 54 The source of the bad pressure is from theircommunity. “This is the pressures that are exerted onyoung girls or young women to wear a particular suitand adhere to religious teachings as these groups perform,under penalty of having to be cleared from thesocial and community life.” 55 The French governmenthas failed to let these girls make up their own mindsabout religion.Framing Analysis:2010-2011 Ban on the Concealment of the Facein Public and the National Assembly DebateThe burqa (full-body cover, usually a loose garmentcovering the entire body) and niqab (face cover, usuallya veil combined with a headscarf) ban, a free-standingpiece of legislation, was debated in January 2010, theFrench National Assembly passed it in July 2010 and theFrench Senate passed it in September 2010. The debateanalyzed here is from July 6th, 2010. The ban came intoeffect in the spring of 2011. Women wearing a burqa orniqab (an estimated 2,000 Muslim women in France) 56in public places will face a €150 fine and will be forcedto take citizenship classes. 57 Anyone who forces a womanto wear a veil will pay a €30,000 fine and spend oneyear in jail. 58 Anyone who forces a minor to wear a veilwill receive double that punishment: a €60,000 fine andtwo years in prison. 59 “The bill is threefold: to protectthe republican pact, maintain public order and release,sometimes despite themselves, women who hide theirfaces in the eyes of their peers,” says Berengere Poletti onbehalf of the delegation of women’s rights and equalitybetween men and women. 60 Those are only a few of theframes used in the debate.Master Frame: Republican ValuesMinister of Justice Michele Alliot-Marie began theJuly 6th, 2010 National Assembly debate by referencingthe bill banning the concealment of the face in publicspaces as “the resolution on respect for republicanvalues against growing radical practices that couldundermine” France and claims that by continuing thedebate and voting on the bill, the National Assembly isproving “its commitment to the values that underlie ourrepublican pact.” 61 Concealing the face is absolutely un-French: “the concealment of his face permanently in thepublic space is unacceptable and contrary to our mostfundamental values.” 62 The veil in no way resembles thevalues of freedom, equality or brotherhood, and in factviolates each one.Sub-Frame: DignityThe sub-frame dignity often makes the Frenchrepublican values list, even though it is not officiallyone of the fundamental values of the French Republic(freedom, equality and brotherhood). “We must allbe united behind our core values. These values are thefounding values of our Republic and our democracy.These are the values on which we can not compromise:freedom, equality, fraternity and dignity.” 63 Dignity isthe outward expression of a person’s self worth, for examplein the phrase “having dignity,” but it also refersto another’s recognition of the innate human right tobe treated with respect. Dignity as the French NationalAssembly members in the July 6th, 2010 debate use itmeans something close to the latter, the preservation ofhuman worth. The French government should protectpeople from having their human dignity violated, whichis precisely what the veil does. “Constraint, concealmentof the face affects the dignity of the person. The enslavementor degradation of the human person are strictlyincompatible with our Constitution, our constitutionalvalues.” 64 Dignity is closely tied to the master frame ofrights. “The Republic does not accept violations of humandignity. It does not tolerate the abuse of vulnerablepeople.” 65 This law seeks to address that.Sub-Frame: French Pride and HonorIt is important to the French to be proud of Franceand of being a French citizen. “Let us be worthy of requirementsattached to the honor of being French, theprivilege of living in France.” 66 Being French defines thelives of these politicians and they believe it should dothe same for all citizens. It is a value that they must uphold.“I believe in my soul it is the duty of politicians totake their choice, to reaffirm our values, remember ourhistory, our identity, our culture.” 67 The French see thepreservation of their identity as vital. “The day whenthere will be many [more] minarets than cathedralsin France, it will no longer be France.” 68 Being Frenchrequires pride in France and attempts to honor thecountry.Master Frame: “Living Together”“Perhaps it is precisely when a lot of things disturbcommunal life should be remembered that the valueswe are living together.” 69 “Living together” refers to theFrench people existing in harmony. “Living togethermeans to recall a number of our core values.” 70 In fact,“living together” is a republican value but it plays sucha large role in how the French National Assembly memberssaw the issue that it deserves to be called a masterframe. It is closely implicated in the republican valuesmaster frame as well as its own sub-frames. “The will tolive together, which is the foundation of our republicanpact depends on our ability to come together aroundcommon values and willingness to share a commondestiny.” 71The French harmony, however, can be upset by56 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHthose who do not follow the rules of “living together.”“Volunteers, wearing a mask or a veil to hide back thenational society, rejecting the very spirit of the Republicis founded on the desire to live together.” 72 The Frenchgovernment wants “to convince women to give of themselvesto wear the full veil. However, we compel thosewho oblige them to accept the rules of coexistence andthe principles of living together.” 73Sub-Frame: Interaction NormsThe bill “aims to ban in public places, disguisingthe face to ensure the basic conditions of living togetherRepublican.” 74 A large component of what French societalharmony requires is, as the State Council put it, “aminimum set of requirements reciprocal and essentialguarantees of life in society.” 75 Interaction norms are asub-frame of “living together.” “Live together, it meansrefusing the withdrawal, refusing at the same time therejection of others... The will to live together implies theacceptance of the gaze of another, this means being ableto see that you are addressing.” 76 Being able to make eyecontact with another person is seen as fundamental inthe French mind. It is a way for people to connect andinteract.Offer everyone the opportunity to recognize the man orwoman with whom he exchanges, talks or contacts wasonce a social convenience tacitly admitted by all - in otherwords, an unwritten social contract that was not necessaryto formalize in a text. This social contract would be calledinto question, the public can still defend and guarantee, ina modern society, this minimum threshold below whichshared values of individuals within the same territoryceased to form a company? 77Some French politicians of the National Assemblywere very upset over the loss of human contact and societalnorms a veiled figure presented. “How not to feeluneasy about someone who says freely wear clothingthat conceals and insulates it entirely?... How could younot see a clear rejection of any form of civility?” 78 Onewent so far as to say, “Walking in public space coveredfrom head to toe, including face, is something so shockingas to walk naked!” 79Sub-Frame: RespectJean Glavany gives a moving speech on the NationalAssembly floor that shows how deeply implicated respectis with many other master frames and sub-frames.Wearing the full veil is also contrary to the principle ofbrotherhood. Madam Keeper, I readily acknowledge thatyou have rightly mentioned earlier the concept of livingtogether. It implies a respect for others requires that uncoverher face, because we’re not talking about any bodypart. Elisabeth Badinter said before the parliamentaryinformation mission, the face can see and be seen, which isthe basis of respect in a public dialogue and exchange. Thenotion of respect is essential in this debate. 80Respect is not limited to interactions between peoplebut is also connected to the broader idea of societalVOLUME 7, 2011-2012respect. President Chirac is quoted in the National Assemblydebate of July 6th, 2010: “Respect those who arrive,respect those who receive.” 81 The laws and customsof France are to be respected by those she takes in.Sub-Frame: Social/Public OrderClosely related and a sub-frame of “living together”is the idea of social or public order. Public order is discussedin more detail above. French society is seen asharmonious and ordered. “The veil… threatens publicorder. This reason alone can establish a prohibition ofany clothing hiding their faces. The first duty of legislatorsand mayors, is it necessary to point out, is to protectpublic order.” 82 The idea for the ban “is based on aconstitutional basis, the social order.” 83Public order is a clear legal basis which, in the intangibledimension that you mentioned, covers the minimum setof requirements for life in society. We agree with the referenceto the societal order. If, in 1789, this set of rules wasdefined by the concept of society, he took over the storythe meaning of ‘living together’ or, better yet, fraternity. Itis up to Parliament to define its contours. It is our responsibilityand we assume. 84It is up the French government to reconcile “theprinciple of public order and the right to respect forprivate life.” 85Sub-Frame: Immigrant Integration“Wearing the full veil is not a religious requirement,but the willingness of extremists to test the republic!” 86Many French politicians see the veil as a political, notreligious act. A generational gap exists between firstgeneration immigrants and, second and third generationimmigrants. The children of the first immigrantsuse radicalization of as ways to show their discontentwith their situation in France. “Certainly, our country isexperiencing difficulties with school, which reproducesinequalities; with a social elevator down, and with thepersistence of intolerable discrimination.” 87 The Frenchgovernment wants to forbid the veil so as to stop thisform of protest, even though it recognizes the motivationsof these immigrants. “Wearing the full veil is anexpression of a much broader phenomenon which findsits roots in the economic and social disintegration ofour society, particularly in disadvantaged neighborhoods,where the state is often absent today.” 88 The oppositionused the immigrant integration sub-frame astheir reasoning against the ban.It is obvious that the adoption of this text will be of littleeffect if we do not seek to address the roots of evil whichthe veil is merely a symptom. No person will never havethe slightest impact against the Republic’s abandonmentof some of our cities where they are mass unemployment,school failure and violence that make the bed of obscurantism.89Those for the ban wish to think that by preventingminorities from stepping out of the French mold, theywill be better integrated into French society.NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL57

RESEARCHMaster Frame: RightsThe French National Assembly members mentionedthe rights of women and of humans in multiple instances,with a great emphasis on the latter. “We mustdefend human rights, women’s rights, freedom andequality of men and women in our country.” 90 The ideaof protecting the rights of women as well as rights overalloften took the form of “our humanistic heritage” 91or “humanist values.” 92 Protecting rights became a markof a good country, of the French Republic. “We canbe proud of this model that underpins our social pactforged our identity and makes us focus, beyond ourborders, the ideas of respect for people and women, ofhuman dignity.” 93Sub-Frame: Women’s EqualityIn a resolution of May 11th, 2010 that lead up tothe National Assembly debate of July 6th, 2010, theNational Assembly wrote that it “considers that theradical practices detrimental to the dignity and equalitybetween men and women, including wearing a full veil,are contrary to Republican values.” 94 Asking women towear the veil but not men is clearly an affront to one ofthe core republican values: equality. “These practicesalso violated the principle of equality: you’ve all noticedthat [the Qur’an] only asks women to wear the full veil,not to men.” 95Allowing some women to wear the full veil in Franceconstitutes a “form of sexual apartheid” and is againstthe principles of the Republic. 96 “We condemn all sectarianforms of alienation. We condemn without appealwearing the burqa or niqab, because it is an insult towomen.” 97 “We condemn it as you wearing the full veilin the name of the Republic, its principles of freedom,especially freedom for women.” 98 Women’s rights andgender equality rise as a major sub-frame of rights. Theveil on Muslim women violates the republican value ofequality and it also undermines other progressive aspectsof French society. “How can we, in our country, fight forthe free accession to work, education, health care, equalpay for women, and not the means to fight against thatwhich symbolizes the ban all these freedoms?” 99 The veilundermines the entire edifice of French society.Sub-Frame: Identity versus Anonymity“The full veil dissolves the identity of a person.” 100Closely related to the women’s equality sub-frame is thesub-frame of identity versus anonymity. André Rossinotwas quoted by a member of the National Assembly ashaving said “What [is] the burqa? It shows that a womanis the property of her husband, father or brother andshe should not be seen by other men… the burqa is auniform that reduces women to anonymity.” 101 Not onlyis there a concern for women being subjugated, thereis concern that they become anonymous, identity-lessobjects.“I am against this prison of the full veil. It isolates,socialized, put away.” 102 Relating to the interactionnorms sub-frame of the “living together” master frame,the idea of the veil as an isolating prison is further developedinto how people connect to these women andrecognize them as having an identity. “The face is, theemotions it expresses, the preferred vehicle of the feelingof brotherhood. Stealing her face against the otheris to deny its own identity and take the risk of beingtreated without dignity as an object.” 103Sub-Frame: Liberation of VictimsSome of the National Assembly members usedphrases that made the French government’s failureto protect the rights of all citizens out to be a form ofvictimization, degradation and violence. “Constraint,concealment of the face affects the dignity of the person.The enslavement or degradation of the human personare strictly incompatible with our Constitution, ourconstitutional values.” 104 It is the place of the Frenchgovernment to intervene. “The Republic does not acceptviolations of human dignity. It does not toleratethe abuse of vulnerable people.” 105 A sub-frame of rightswas an understanding of veiled women as passive victimsand the ban as a way for them to end their enslavement.The women were portrayed as agency-less victims.“Wearing the full veil is often imposed on women whohave neither requested nor desired. This is a form of violencewhose perpetrators incur severe penalties.” 106 Theveil was seen not only as a symbol of this loss of dignity,but as a gateway to worse events. “The imposition of theveil is the first step of a downward spiral marked by theimprisonment and domestic violence.” 107 Even womenthat supposedly claimed to wear the veil by choice werequestioned and seen as pressured into it. “These women,even if they claim the port of this outfit, are often underthe influence of fundamentalist preachers, victims ofviolence within their families or forced to hide their facesby the pressures they face in their environment.” 108 TheFrench government was sweeping in and giving thesewomen an escape. “For them, this ban will be a point oftremendous support. They may invoke the law of the Republicto liberate themselves from the growing pressureon them.” 109 There was no discussion of exactly how thisban would help them, only that it would.Bérengère Poletti gave a compelling speech to theNational Assembly “on behalf of the delegation of women’srights and equality between men and women.” 110When you see one of these women fully veiled, blackgloved,black pavement, how do you feel? Obviously, eachof us has the feeling of crossing a person imprisoned, andeven inaccessible victim. These women who wear the signof alienation on their face must be paid even if they saythey are willing. As noted by Simone de Beauvoir, ‘the consentof the legitimate victims do nothing’ because it is oftenapparent, it is the result of a perverse brainwashing. 11158 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHThis adds another dimension to the sub-frame ofliberation of victims: veiled women should be liberateddespite their desires to keep the veil. The women cannotgive their consent to a practice that is deemed againstthe rights of women and of human rights in general inFrance. One National Assembly member quotes testimonyfrom a feminist: “It hurts the Republican valuesof liberty, equality and fraternity. No matter that somewomen wear it freely say: no one can consent to its owndegradation” 112 It is not the place (or right) of veiledwomen to decide to wear the veil because the act itselfshould be illegal.ConclusionThe discussions surrounding the 2003-2004 ban onreligious clothing in schools and the 2010-2011 ban onthe concealment of the face in public places both serveto illuminate many facets of French national identity.Under the master frame of French secularism usedin the 2003 Stasi Commission Report are the relatedconcepts of public order, national unity, the school asthe birthplace of French citizens, being “French first,”immigrant integration, and equality between the sexesand women’s rights. The July 6th, 2010 National AssemblyDebate featured the master frames of republicanvalues, “living together” and rights. The master frame ofrepublican values involves the three fundamental valuesof the French Republic (liberty, equality, brotherhood)as well as the sub-frames of dignity, and French prideand honor. The master frame of “living together” thatpromotes harmonious French existence includes thesub-frames of interaction norms, respect, social/publicorder and immigrant integration. The master frame ofrights of French citizens is divided into women’s rightas the sub-frame women’s equality, and human rights asthe sub-frames identity versus anonymity and liberationof victims.It may seem strange to speak of many master framessince “master” may imply a sole dominant element.However, secularism and the three republican valuesare definitely master frames in that it is difficult to rankthem (the three republican values are sub-frames of therepublican values master frame only for ease of reference).The master frames “living together” and rightscame up often enough to constitute their own frames,but could have just as easily been placed under republicanvalues: “living together” under brotherhood andrights under liberty. Naming frames is an inherentlysubjective exercise.The three fundamental republican values of liberty,equality and brotherhood, with the addition of the valueof secularism, encapsulate the discussions surroundingthe two French bans. The three master frames of theNational Assembly debate all find their place in the corevalues: the republican values master frame is exactlythe core values, the “living together” master frame isVOLUME 7, 2011-2012subsumed by the ideal of brotherhood, and the rightsmaster frame is a manifestation of liberty and equality.The Stasi Commission Report master frame Frenchsecularism may include many sub-frames related to thecore republican values, but it is its own distinct concept.French secularism is all three of the core values andnone of them at the same time: freedom of conscience, atype of liberty, calls for a secular existence; governmentneutrality towards religion requires that all religionsand their followers are treated equally; and the Frenchstrain of brotherhood is the secular connection betweenFrench citizens. Yet the core values do not capture secularism.Secularism is more than a guarantee of freedomand equality that allows for the French brotherhood.French history and France’s militancy for secularismtoday show how secularism is its own concept in theFrench mind.Endnotes1 “National Assembly Debate.” 6 July 2010. 23 January 2011. http://www.assembleenationale.fr/13/cri/2009-2010-extra/20101010.asp.Page 5.2 Goffman, Erving. “Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience.”Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1974.3 Snow, David A., E. Burke Rochford Jr., Steven K. Worden, Robert D. Benford. “FrameAlignment Process, Micromobilization and Movement Participation.” AmericanSociological Review, 51:464-481. 1986. Page 137.4 Mooney, P.H., S.A. Hunt. “A repertoire of interpretations: Master frames andideological continuity in U.S. agrarian mobilization.” The Sociological Quarterly, 37.1996. Page 179.5 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 1.6 “Secular.” Dictionary.com. 15 January 2011. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/secular.7 “Secularism.” Dictionary.com. 15 January 2011. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/secularism.8 Acomb Evelyn M. The French Laic Laws, 1879-1889: The First Anti-Clerical Campaignof the Third French Republic. New York: Columbia University Press, 1941. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=544043.9 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 4.10 This paper uses laicite and secularism interchangeably.11 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 2.12 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 2.13 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 7. The French Constitution has a clearseparation of church and state: “Article 2 of the 1905 Act summarizes the implicationsof secularism, ‘the Republic does not recognize, pay, or subsidize any religion.’”14 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 22.15 Op. cit. Astier.16 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 10.17 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 2.18 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 6.19 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 12.20 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 4.21 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 5.22 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 12.23 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 15.24 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 2.25 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 5.26 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 5.27 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 6.28 Op. cit. Astier.29 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 4.30 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 14.31 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 20.32 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 4.33 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 10.34 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 10.35 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 18.36 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 18.37 Op. cit. Astier.NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL59

RESEARCH38 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 5.39 Op. cit. Astier.40 Op. cit. Astier.41 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 18.42 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 18.43 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 18.44 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 19.45 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 11.46 Op. cit. Akan, page 247.47 Scott, Joan Wallach. The Politics of the Veil. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press,2007. Page 53.48 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 9.49 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 19.50 Op. cit. Astier.51 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 18.52 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 16.53 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 16.54 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 20.55 Op. cit. “Stasi Commission Report,” page 16.56 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 6.57 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 38.58 “Bill banning the concealment of the face in public space No. 2520: Amendmentsbefore the Committee.” January 23 2011. http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/pdf/amendements_commissions/cloi/2520-01.pdf.59 Op. cit. “Bill banning the concealment of the face in public space No. 2520:Amendments before the Committee.”60 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 10.61 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 2.62 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 6.63 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 6.64 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 3.65 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 5.66 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 5.67 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 9.68 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 25.69 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 20.70 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 21.71 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 2.72 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 3.73 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 5.74 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 22.75 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 8.76 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 2.77 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 37.78 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 7.79 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 32.80 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 13.81 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 25.82 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 11.83 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 3.84 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 40.85 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 17.86 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 23.87 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 26.88 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 36.89 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 24.90 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 22.91 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 10.92 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 22.93 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 5.94 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 7.95 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 13.96 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 11.97 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 34.98 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 12.99 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 11.100 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 3.101 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 10.102 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 27.103 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 11.104 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 3.105 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 5.106 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 22.107 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 10.108 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 6.109 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 10.110 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 10.111 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 10.112 Op. cit. “National Assembly Debate,” page 33.60 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

ABSTRACTAn analysis oflimb element asymmetry in anAncestral Puebloan populationKendra SirakDEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGYErin WaxenbaumFACULTY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGYThe ideal course of development in most organismsis characterized by a growth trajectory resultingin bilateral symmetry; an outward, perceivablesignal of viability and fitness associated with genotypicand phenotypic quality. Previous research has establishedthat though perfect bilateral symmetry is ideal,organisms commonly exhibit bilateral asymmetry (BA).Within a human population, BA can either be classifiedas fluctuating asymmetry (FA) or directional asymmetry(DA) based on observed patterns of deviation acrossthe sample. Analysis of asymmetry in long bones is animportant source of information concerning the impactof environmental perturbations, including nutrition,pathology, and mechanical demands, on the bilateralgrowth trajectory.Based on the understanding that BA may result whenorganisms experience external perturbations requiringallocation of energy away from symmetric growth andmaintenance in order to buffer themselves from stressexposure, this study seeks to analyze the presence of FAand DA across a single population through comparisonof bilateral maximum length measurements of the humeri,radii, femora, and tibiae. In order to explore trendsof asymmetry influenced by environmental stressors,maximum length measurements of the humeri, radii,femora, and tibiae were assessed for individuals (n=198)of an archaeological Ancestral Puebloan population(919-1640 CE). Because environmentally imposedstressors impacting skeletal asymmetry vary with age,the individuals in this sample were divided into five agecategories employed to highlight the distribution of dataacross specific segments of development.Statistically significant levels of BA were found inthe humerus (p

ABSTRACTWATCH WHAT YOU SAY:Spoken Self-Statements, Emotion, and BehaviorRichard ZinbargFACULTY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGYAlcina LidderDEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGYPatricia M NielsenSECONDARY ADVISORANXIETY AND PANIC TREATMENT PROGRAMTHE FAMILY INSTITUTEWe all have said something negative about ourselvesat some point. An athlete might say, “Iwas so embarrassed that I missed that shot;I can’t play basketball again!” or a student may say, “Iwould die if I had to make a presentation in front of thewhole class!” Patients undergoing psychotherapy alsoroutinely use exaggerated negative self-statements (R.Zinbarg, personal communication, October 7, 2011). Apatient might say, “I could talk to my spouse about thatten years ago, but I can’t possibly do it now!” Clearly,these statements are not literally true and individualswho utter such hyperbolic statements do not alwaysmean for others to interpret the statements literally. Butdoes saying something negative about yourself make youfeel worse than saying something positive? Does saying“I can’t” make you less able to accomplish a goal than ifyou had said “I can”? The current study explores spokenpositive and negative self-statements (“I can” and “Ican’t”) and their effects on emotion and behavior.White-Schwoch (2011) examined spoken self-statementsin the context of blood-injection-injury (BII) fear.Individuals who have a high level of BII fear are afraidof seeing blood, a gory injury, getting an injection or acombination of any of these features and show disgust,avoidance, and/or fear as emotional reactions uponexposure (Bienvenu & Eaton, 1998; Cisler, Olatunji, &Lohr, 2008). Participants were randomly assigned toread statements with the words “I can” or “I can’t” aloud.For example, one statement set read: “If a TV show hasscenes with blood in them, I can still watch those scenes”and “If a TV show has scenes with blood in them, I can’twatch those scenes.” Not all statements related to BII fear,but all expressed the ability or inability to perform an action.Participants then performed a behavioral approachtask in which they viewed BII, positive, and neutral stimuli.In the “I can’t” condition, the greater the individual’slevel of BII fear, the less time he or she spent looking atthe BII images. But in the “I can” condition there wereno significant differences in looking times based on levelof BII fear. Curiously, differences in looking times betweenconditions were not limited to BII pictures.To explore the surprising results and determinewhether there is a localized effect of the spoken statementsto BII images, we modified White-Schwoch’sbehavioral approach task such that the stimuli weregrouped together in blocks based on valence. Participantswith varying levels of BII fear were randomly assignedto read the “I can” or “I can’t” statements aloud.They completed the modified behavioral approach taskand rated their affect following each image. Participants’facial expressions and looking times were recordedwhile they viewed the stimuli.Data has been collected from 140 participants.Looking time and affect rating results will be analyzedby repeated measures hierarchical linear regressions andvideos will be objectively coded for facial expressionsand movements that reflect disgust and/or avoidance.Similar to White-Schwoch, we expect a negative correlationbetween BII fear and BII stimuli looking timein the “I can’t” condition but no differences in the “Ican” condition. However, we expect a localized effect oflooking time differences to only BII stimuli. We anticipatethat those in the “I can’t” condition will rate theiraffect as less positive and more negative after viewingBII stimuli than those in the “I can” condition. Hence,we expect that negative self-statements will make a personfeel worse about viewing BII pictures than positiveself-statements. Moreover, we expect that those in the “Ican’t” condition will exhibit more instances of disgustand/or avoidance behavior while viewing BII imagesthan those in the “I can” condition.The study’s findings can inform clinical interventionwith psychotherapy patients who use hyperbolic negativelanguage when discussing their feared stimuli orevent. The results are also applicable to members of thegeneral public who use hyperbolic negative language ineveryday conversations.ReferencesBienvenu, O. J., & Eaton, W. W. (1998). The epidemiology of blood-injection-injury phobia.Psychological Medicine, 28(5): 1129-36.Cisler, J.M., Olatunji, B., & Lohr, J.M. (2008). Disgust sensitivity and emotion regulationpotentiate the effect of disgust propensity on spider fear, blood-injection-injury fear,and contamination fear. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry,40(2): 219-29.White-Schwoch, T. (2011). Saying what we don’t mean: Spoken self-statements, affect, andemotional behavior. Unpublished manuscript.62 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHCIVIC PARTICIPATION&THE ENVIRONMENTAn exploration of volunteeringmotives of college-aged studentsYael WolinksyFACULTY ADVISORPROGRAM IN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND CULTUREJason SeawrightSECONDARY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCEPavan KrishnamurthyPROGRAM IN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND CULTUREEmma SolankiPROGRAM IN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND CULTUREVOLUME 7, 2011-2012I. IntroductionThe last four decades have seen a particular increasein environmental protection (Pastore and Barbarossa,2, 2011). While these practices come from governmental,corporate, and international organizations, thereis a strong need for grassroots mobilization and oftenstudents are seen as the missing link. However, there iscurrently a lack of extensive research concerning environmentalservice among undergraduate students. It isunderstood that non-traditional education is a powerfulmeans to enlighten future leaders. Considering thegrowing significance of environmental protection, it hasbecome important to analyze and develop better understandingsof the motives of volunteers to guaranteestronger retention rates. This study attempts to examinethree aspects of Voluntary Environmental Service (VES)and Voluntary Service (VS), in regards to undergraduateNorthwestern University students:(1) What are the demographics (sex, community,and family background) of undergraduateNorthwestern University students in VES andVS?(2) What motivates these students to participate ineither VES or VS?(3) Which of these motives tend to keep studentsactively engaged?The motivating factors for civic participation wereexplored by administered surveys, which examine theattraction to public policy making, commitment topublic interest, compassion and self-sacrifice. We believe,due to emerging career opportunities in environmentalpublic interest, there may be a strong motive forenvironmental service in regards to public policy especiallyamong career-oriented Northwestern Undergraduates.Moreover, social ties may be a strong indicatorof retention among students who are civically engaged.Finally, we believe that this will hold true for both environmentaland civic participation generally.This paper proceeds with four sections. Section II isthe literature review that highlights the history, politics,and the future of VES. Section III is a description of themethodology employed, including the discussion of themotivating codes, surveys used, and the statistical methodsutilized. Section IV examines the data by analyzingthe descriptive statistics and the multiple regressions.Section V concludes.II. Literature ReviewA. Altruism and ServiceAltruism is the basic prioritization of the welfareof others above one’s immediate self-interest. It is perceivedas a consistent virtue in human culture and it is acore component of many religions and traditions, whichcan ultimately be seen as the opposite of selfishness.Altruism in the twenty-first century has manifested itselfin many ways, whether it is devoting time to publicresearch, an NGO, or just volunteering, but one thingremains constant – service.Service is donating time, resources or an activitythat is performed by someone or a group of people forthe benefit of the public. Not everyone providing serviceis necessarily a volunteer, some maybe mandatedNORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL63

RESEARCHby educational institutions, employers, or even by thepenal code. Therefore, this research will focus on voluntaryservice, specifically the significance of civil society.Historically religious institutions have aimed to broadenthe reach of civil society, in lieu of American capitalism.Cohen and Arato help clarify the role of civil society inregards to economic society:In principle, similar consideration pertain to the relationshipbetween civil and economic society, even if historically,under capitalism, economic society has been moresuccessfully insulated from the influence of civil societythan political society has been, despite the claims of elitetheories of democracy. (Cohen and Arato, 29, 1992)The United States touts a political economy that, forthe most part, follows the equilibrium of the market.Without welfare contributions from civil society, theAmerican public at large would destabilize. However,many citizens devote large amounts of time and energyto specific causes or populations, which helps stabilizesociety. With this knowledge it should come as no surprisethat there are emerging interdisciplinary fields ofsociology, political science, and anthropology, which aretrying to discern the key factors that shape the motivesof these citizens.B. Critical PedagogyThese types of unconventional educational theories“were inspired by Paulo Freire’s community literacyprograms” (Whelan, 2, 2002), and education, coalitionbuilding, and advocacy are intimately connected in thisframework. Whelan claims popular education or servicelearning needs to be more broadly incorporated into theacademic educational process and that:This shift will involve redefining ‘education’. Educationneed not be confined to awareness raising activities, marketinggimmicks or to institutionalized programs. Populareducation implies personally and politically relevant content,alignment with the ideals of social movements and aninterest in collective action. (Whelan, 8, 2002)Paulo Freire, a critical pedagogist, is best known forhis critique of the banking concept of education. Traditionalistsview students as empty vessels to be filled bythe knowledge mediated by a teacher. Freire notes thatthis process “transforms students into receiving objects.It attempts to control thinking and action, leads menand women to adjust to the world, and inhibits theircreative power.” (Freire, 77, 1970) For Freire, this inhibitionof creative powers creates an apathetic population,which can be easily manipulated by politics.No pedagogy which is truly liberating can remain distantfrom the oppressed by treating them as unfortunates andby presenting for their emulation models from among theoppressors. The oppressed must be their own example inthe struggle for their redemption. (Freire, 54, 1970)Nowadays, scholarship concerning service aims totease out the complicated motives when dealing withvoluntary service. If we can better understand the motivatingfactors of students, institutions might be able tobypass these anarchic educational frameworks.The importance of voluntary service can clearlybe seen in its ability to educate youth in collaborationfor a public interest. Many avenues exist for voluntaryservice, whether it is health, poverty, or in this case theenvironment. Why some choose a particular type ofservice, is contingent on a host of variables and motives.However, that is not the goal of this research; insteadwe hope to explain compare the motives of our samplepopulations once they have committed to a realm ofservice. This consists of a broad range of variables thatcan be held constant across our data set, and finally helparticulate the underlying motives of voluntary environmentalservice.C. Motivating FactorsOne national survey, administered by the state governmenthealth and human service managers, exploredthe role that organizational factors play in shapingpublic service motivation (PSM). It found that PSM isstrongly and positively related to the level of educationand membership in professional organizations, additionally,sociohistorical context is a primary influence.The definition taken here of PSM is that “an individual’spredisposition to respond to motives is grounded primarilyor uniquely in public institutions and organizations.”(Perry, 471, 2000) Institutions that affect PSMare primarily parental relations, religion, observationallearning and modeling during the course of their lives,education and professional training.Due to the intimate relationship between PSM andeducation, many academic institutions have aimed toenhance greater access and resources to service learningand VES organizations in general. The Edwards andMooney study examined the apparent increase in popularityin service learning on a broad scope. They toofaced issues of accurately defining service in addition toservice learning due to the many avenues of opportunitiesto give back to various communities. The study waslocated in an academic institution, and service learningwas defined as “an evolving pedagogy that incorporatesstudent volunteering into the dynamics of experientiallearning and structure of an academic curriculum.”(Edwards and Mooney, 184, 2001) The goals for servicelearning are to critically reflect on recent service, todistill and synthesize current thinking in addition to illustratingthe educational differences between learningmethodologies and curricular benefits associated withdifferent options. Examinations were made in regards toout-of-class activities, volunteering, service add-ons, internships(or practica), service learning or service learningadvocacy. This form of critical pedagogy conductedacross student campuses is an integral component ofVES.D. Civic Participation and the EnvironmentBefore we can treat voluntary environmental service64 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHas a holistic issue, it is important to analyze the threemain types of VES -- natural resource management,ecological restoration, and environmental stewardshipprograms. Granted these categories overlap (as evidencedby the participation pool we examined), they aredistinct enough to analyze separately.(1) Natural Resource ManagementNatural resource management relies on volunteerefforts due to the necessary and important role that theyplay as a result of much governmental and agency doingless in comparison to what is needed for proper protection.Measham and Barnett first explore environmentalvolunteering in a general sense to then further extrapolateif there is a misalignment between the expectationsof volunteers and the objectives of the environmentalprograms available. An increased presence of environmentalvolunteers has been examined in general, whichoften stems from the positive feeling that the volunteersthen feel about themselves. Further, environmentalvolunteering in particular often has found linkages betweenenhancements in social connections with fellowvolunteers, in addition to an “enhanced sense of place.”(Measham and Barnett, 2, 2007) In the environmentalcontext, Measham proposes that there exist six motivatingvolunteering factors in the environmental context:helping a cause, social interaction, improving skills,learning about the environment, general desire to carefor environment, and desire to care for a particularplace. Through “activism, education, monitoring, restorationand sustainable living,” (Measham, 7, 2007)it encompasses all aspects examined in environmentalvolunteering, with many of these activities knowinglyoverlapping. Based on interviews and qualitative findings,realizations such as “a general attachment to environmentwas by far the most powerful motivator forenvironmental volunteering” were found. (Measham,18, 2007) Attachment was not examined depending onurban compared to rural differences. Since the worldis now so heavily reliant on volunteers, the researchershere felt that for environmental volunteer programsto be successful, it is necessary for the volunteers to beable to pursue their personal particular interests in theenvironmental realm, to be able to increase the sociallevel of volunteerism, which has been evident to keepvolunteers for longer.VOLUME 7, 2011-2012(2) Ecological RestorationThe North Branch Prairie Project in Cook CountyForest Preserves in Illinois relies almost entirely on theactions and efforts put forth from the volunteers in ecologicalrestoration. Through this particular VolunteerStewardship Network (VSN) which was created in 1983,more than 5000 people take care of 40,000 acres of landin Illinois. In particular, restoration is examined, whichis defined as “a commitment to the re-creation of an entirecommunity of plants and animals modeled strictlyon one that occurs naturally.” (Miles, 28, 1998) Throughadministered surveys, findings proved that ecologicalrestoration volunteers have a sense of connection withnature, in addition to finding satisfaction in making adifference. Further, Miles concluded that people whoenjoy participating in activities that challenge themphysically and develop their physical fitness resulted ina marginal increases in their satisfaction levels as tenureincreased.(3) Environmental Stewardship ProgramsEnvironmental stewardship programs and voluntaryenvironmental service in general, have an extreme needfor the retention of volunteers. While not only providingenvironmental opportunities, those that took partin the stewardship programs gained more appreciationfor the natural areas and the environment as a wholeas their participation continued. A particular emphasiswas focused towards the understanding of motivatingfactors which could lead to the increase in strength ofthe volunteer base. Additionally, “volunteer stewardshipprogrammes, therefore, have a critical role, not merelyfor the important habitats that are restored or monitored,but also for their influence in building a potentiallypowerful constituency of knowledgeable advocatesfor the environment.” (Ryan, Kaplan, Grese, 647, 2000)When one is involved in decision-making processesinvolving the volunteer work, learn during their experience,know that they are actually helping the environment,have increased levels of social interactions, properreflection on their actions and project organization,then commitment was shown to be enhanced and maximized.E. Significant ServiceAs a general consensus, minimal research has beendone exploring environmental volunteering motivations,particularly for young adults. While much of theresearch takes on a broader scope of population analysis,similarities can be drawn towards our explorationof Northwestern University undergraduate volunteers.When looking at university aged students in their involvementwith volunteer service organizations, “altruismwas shown to be an important motivation initiallyfor volunteering. However, more self-interested motivations,such as social interactions (e.g. existing friendshipsor the desire to make new friends), became moreimportant for continued participation in these volunteerefforts.” (Ryan, Kaplan, Grese, 630, 2000) Further,those students who more frequently volunteered reportedback with higher levels of satisfaction to the benefitsthat they received from volunteering compared to thosewho spent less time. These same individuals had morefriends in the groups that they volunteered in. “At firstglance, the social benefits did not appear as importantNORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL65

RESEARCHas some of the other benefits of volunteering. However,the social factors were found to be more important tohighly committed volunteers.” (Ryan, Kaplan, Grese,646, 2000) In the studies examined here, no correlationwas found between the actual age, distance needed totravel to sites or time available to the volunteers andtherefore were not factors that influenced the levels ofcommitment, frequency or duration of the volunteerswork. With these concepts in mind, we attempted totease out the underlying motives of undergraduateNorthwestern University students who participate inVES and voluntary service in general.III. MethodsA. Organization BackgroundThe survey that was administered is aimed at discerningthe motives of participation and continuedservice, and assumes that the undergraduate Northwesternstudents examined here have some level of interestin environmental service or service in general. For thatreason, we chose to examine three distinct student organizationcategories: Alternative Student Breaks (ASB),Students for Ecological and Environmental Development(SEED) and a general service category.These groups were chosen to represent sets of participantsthat either focus specifically on environmentalservice or are participating in general voluntary serviceon campus. We studied two ASB participant sets,one concerning the environment and one concerningpoverty. One important distinction between the participantssurveyed in ASB versus SEED is noteworthy.ASB participants only work on site for one week, whilethey do reflect and prepare for their service it should beunderstood as a lighter time commitment. Conversely,SEED focuses primarily on environmental issues andtypically the members have a greater time commitmentby participating in events and meetings throughout theentire academic year. A third group examined consistsof undergraduate individuals who take part in servicebut are not associated with a particular group examined.These individuals have a variation of commitmentlevels. Moreover we will analyze our results by lookingat different outcomes in regards to one’s community,gender, and youth background information.B. Dependent VariableThe dependent variable for this project is the civicaction returns rate. Civic action returns rate is simplythe willingness of a participant to continue to servetheir community. We are exploring the extent by whichfundamental motives have on the willingness to serve byusing multiple correlations between these data sets.C. Independent VariablesThe survey was coded for four independentvariables:(1) Attraction to Public Policy Making: the degree towhich formulating good public policy is viewed asexciting, dramatic, and self- fulfilling (three items);(2) Commitment to the Public Interest: the degree towhich the person is motivated to pursue a careerthat allows serving in the public interest (five items);(3) Compassion: the degree to which an individual experiencesmoral and affective regard for needy persons(eight items);(4) Self Sacrifice: the degree to which a person puts theoutcomes of public service before personal benefits(eight items).While these variables may have some degree of overlapand interaction, “confirmatory factor analysis [has]differentiated the four factors of motives for public service”(Perry, 1996).D. Confounding VariablesThe pool by which we selected survey participantshad some selection bias. Only Northwestern studentswere surveyed, thus locking the data in a pool withmany predetermined demographics (age, educationlevel, privilege), but Northwestern remains to be a quitediverse community (race, class, gender) and due to itsprestige, we believe this is an important area of researchexploration.E. Survey SpecificsThe survey constructed use empirically confirmedquestions found in the Public Service Motivation Scale(Perry 1993) and the Civic Action Scale (Moely, Merceret al., 2002).(1) Public Service Motivation Scale ValidityPublic service motivation represents one’s “dispositionto respond to motives grounded primarily oruniquely in public institutions.” (Perry, 1993) Age wasnot “significantly related to the Attraction to PolicyMaking, Compassion, or Self-Sacrifice subscales.”(Perry, 1997) Moreover, Perry (1997) found that maleparticipants scored higher on the Commitment to thePublic interest and self-sacrifice than their female counterparts.(2) Civic Action Scale ValidityThe Civic Action scale measures “intentions to becomeinvolved in the future in some community serviceor action.” (Moely, Mercer et al., 2002, p. 15) Surveyresults indicated that students participating in service66 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHlearning significantly increased on civic action, whilestudents in the traditional classroom setting did not.Moreover, female students scored “higher than malestudents on the Civic Action scale in two samples, aftercontrolling for Social Desirability.” (Moely, Mercer et al.,2002)IV. Data & AnalysisA. Descriptive Statistics(1) General DistributionsFigure 1 is a comprehensive motive distributionacross the four organizational categories surveyed.While, it is very accurate in describing motives, it isdifficult to generalize, due to the specificity of the organizations.Our sample population being 44 studentsis significant considering that the entire population atNorthwestern University is around 8000 students, makingour sample 0.55% of the population, yet this doesnot represent percent of the civically engagement population,just the overall student body. However, when furthercategorized between organizations, the sample sizebecomes so small that our results may have anomalies.Specifically two data sets, attraction to public policy inregards to ASB-Environmental and self-sacrifice in regardsto ASB-Non-environmental, diverged significantlyfrom the norm. We cannot make a generalization onthis data, so instead we further analyzed it through aggregateunderstandings, so we could effectively compareVES vs. VS.Figure 2 has a few interesting data trends. First, foreach of the categorizes surveyed, VES was found to havehigher or exactly even motive levels to that of the VSsurvey group of individuals. Particularly note worthywere the extreme deviations in regards to the attractionto public policy aggregate. This increase can partiallybe accounted for by the observations in Figure 1, thatthe ASB-Environmental group had particularly highattraction to public policy. Further, it appears that theself-sacrifice aggregate is overall higher for those whotake part in service that is of environmental themes.Finally, the Northwestern University students who weresurveyed have resulted in near identical indications oftheir civic action returns in addition to their compassionlevels. We believe that the civic action return ratesare so similar due to the nature of Northwestern Universitystudents, in addition to how the service is inherentlycompleted. This indicates that the type of servicewhich is completed does not necessarily correlate withthe return levels, but instead that individuals are morelikely to return based on what they personally gain fromthe service experience.(2) SexIn regards to sex, the significant statistical deviationsas seen in Figure 3 were compassion and self-sacrifice.We believe that these results represent broader differencesin sex. Furthermore, seeing that the deviationsin both motives are similar for sex, we investigated therelationship between compassion and self-sacrifice.R-squared value of 0.32, meaning that there is someco-linearity between these two variables, which is notsurprising considering that those who are willing to selfsacrificemight have developed a large degree of empathy,which can coincide with compassion.(3) CommunityIn terms of community background, Figure 4 showsstudents who identified with an urban upraising weremore likely to be attracted to public policy making,while those from suburban backgrounds preferred commitmentto public interest. We assume this to be thecase because of the interactions a given student mayhave encountered throughout their upbringing. Specificallyand dense urban areas, politics and political activ-Figure 1: Motive DistributionFigure 2: Motive Distribution VES vs. VSVOLUME 7, 2011-2012NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL67

RESEARCHFigure 3: Motive Distribution of SexFigure 4: Motive Distribution of Community BackgroundFigure 5: Motive Distribution of Parent InvolvementFigure 6: Motive Distribution of Youth InvolvementTable 1Estimate Std. Error t-value P-valuePolicy Interest -0.04004 0.05875 -0.681 0.500Public Interest 0.65711 0.13670 4.807 2.3e-05Compassion 0.17127 0.15762 1.087 0.284Sacrifice 0.07474 0.13142 0.569 0.573Multiple R-squared: 0.5669Adjusted R-squared: 0.522568 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

RESEARCHism are more visible, while in suburban areas, politicstakes the form of community engagement.(4) Youth Background and Parental InvolvementAs Figure 5 and 6 both clearly show, exposure tovolunteering starting at a young age is a powerful indicatorof civic commitment later in life. Across allmotives, there is a significant increase in fervor due toobservations of parental and youth involvement whichthen shapes ones actions particularly at the universityage.B. Inferential StatisticsTable 1 shows that the public interest motive has thesmallest P-value, proving statistical significance. Multipleregressions allowed us to establish the adjusted r-squared value. This technique was utilized to minimizethe statistical effect that the four variables had on eachother, in essence to account for statistical shrinkage.Finally with an adjusted R-squared Value at 0.5225, wecan conclude that there exists a strong positive correlationbetween public interest and civic action returns.V. ConclusionWhile it is understood that the sample populationsurveyed here does not represent claims that can begeneralized to the public at large, we feel that the findingsof the Northwestern University students providesvaluable information in regards to exploring the overallmotivation and retention factors of individuals whotake part in voluntary service. For Northwestern Universitystudents, our findings showed that the type ofservice that one takes part in no way an indication ofones compassion level or likelihood of their civic actionreturn. However, those who took part in VES had higherrates than those who participated in VS generally inregards to their attraction to public policy, commitmentto public interest and self-sacrifice. The clearest signalof participation in VES and VS later in life is parentalperceptions and individual engagement at a young age.This assessment is a start to the future explorations ofenvironmental service, but by no means is a completeassessment of the overall goals of undergraduates engagedin VES or VS. For example, areas such as politicalaffiliation, majors of study and career goals would alsoprovide valuable information to this study. Finally, ourresearch shows while there are fundamental similaritiesamong undergraduates who are civically engaged, therestill exist many distinctions between the motivating factorsof said service, and the willingness for undergraduatesto return to serve.AcknowledgementsWe would like to thank all of the undergraduateparticipants, who made this study possible. Additionally,without the help of Professor Yael Wolinsky andProfessor Jason Seawright’s guidance and generosity,this research endeavor would not have been possible.ReferencesAstin, Alexander W. & Sax, Linda J. How undergraduates are affected by serviceparticipation. Journal of College Student Development, Vol 39(3), May-Jun 1998, 251-263. Cohen, Jean L and Arato, Andrew. “Civil Society and Political Theory” Studies inContemporaryGerman Social Thought, Cambridge, Mass. 1992.Edwards, Bob and Mooney Linda A. “Experiential Learning in Sociology: Service Learningand Other Community-Based Learning Initiatives” Teaching Sociology Vol. 29, No. 2(Apr., 2001), pp. 181-194. Eisenhut, A. & Flannery, D. (2005). Fostering an Environmental Ethic through ServiceLearning. Californian Journal of Health Promotion, Volume 3, Issue 1, 92-102. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.Furco, Andrew. “Service-Learning: A Balanced Approach to Experiential Education.”Expanding Boundaries: Service and Learning. Washington DC: Corporation for NationalService, 1996. 2-6.Holdsworth, Clare(2010) ‘Why Volunteer? Understanding Motivations For StudentVolunteering’, British Journal of Educational Studies, 58: 4, 421 — 437Martinich, J. A., Solarz, S. L. and Lyons, J. R. (2006). Preparing Students for ConservationCareers through Project-Based Learning. Conservation Biology, 20: 1579–1583.Measham, Thomas G. and Barnett, Guy B. “Environmental Volunteering: Motivations, Modesand Outcomes” Socio-Economics and the Environment in Discussion 2007.Miles, I, Sullivan, W.C., Kuo, F.E. “Ecological Restoration Volunteers: the benefits ofparticipation” Urban Ecosystems, 1998, 2, 27–41Moely, B. E., Mercer, S. H., Ilustre, V., Miron, D., & McFarland, M. (2002). Psychometricproperties and correlates of the Civic Attitudes and Skills Questionnaire (CASQ):A measure of students’ attitudes related to service-learning. Michigan Journal ofCommunity Service Learning, 8(2), 15-26.Moynihal, Donald P. and Pandy, Sanjay K. “The Role of Organizations in Fostering PublicService Motivation” Public Administration Review. 2007 Pgs 40 – 53Muir, M.J. and Schwartz, M. W. (2009). Academic Research Training for a NonacademicWorkplace: a Case Study of Graduate Student Alumni Who Work in Conservation.Conservation Biology, 23: 1357–1368Pastore, Alberto and Barbarossa, Camilla. 10th International Conference Marketing Trends,Paris, 20th-22nd January 2011.Perry, J. (1993, October). Public service motivation: Construct measurement and validation.Paper presented at the National Public Management Research Conference, Madison,WI.Perry, J. (1996). Measuring public service motivation: An assessment of construct reliabilityand validity, journal of Public Administration and Research, 6, 5-22.Perry, James L. “Bringing Society In: Toward a Theory of Public-Service Motivation J PublicAdm Res Theory (2000) 10(2): 471-488.Perry, J. (1997). Antecedents of public service motivation. Journal of Public AdministrationResearch and Theory, 7, 181-197.Ryan, Robert L., Kaplan, Rachel, Grese, Robert E. “Predicting Volunteer Commitment inEnvironmental Stewardship Programmes. Journal of Environmental Planning andManagement, 44(5), 629–648, 2001Shandas, V. & Messer, W. (2008). Fostering Green Communities Through Civic Engagement:Community-Based Environmental Stewardship in the Portland Area. Journal of theAmerican Planning Association, 74(4), 408-418. Whelan, J. (2002). Popular education for the environment: Restoring confidence ineducation as a strategy for social and environmental change. Keynote Presentation, ThirdInternational Education and Social Action Conference, University of Technology Sydney.December. VOLUME 7, 2011-2012NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL69

RESEARCHLeptin Levels inLean Adult Filipino PopulationsOmar JamilDEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGYThomas McDadeFACULTY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGYChristopher KuzawaSECONDARY ADVISERDEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGYLeptin levels in lean populations are both lower than westernpopulations and show different trends. Males in lean populations haveshown little to no correlation with leptin, suggesting that low leptinlevels utilize the leptin mechanism in its “natural state” (Kuzawa etal. 2007). Leptin is believed to signal nutrient poor environments andresults in an increased appetite and decreased fat metabolism whenits’ levels are low. However the mechanism does not work to preventobesity, possibly because high leptin levels disrupt the hormone’s abilityto penetrate the blood brain barrier (Banks et al. 2001). Lean Filipinoadults, however, have leptin levels similar to western populations andshow strong correlations with measures of adiposity. Subcutaneousfat is the most significant contributor to leptin levels (p

RESEARCHVOLUME 7, 2011-2012leptin decrease remains for a significant period of time,up to a year after the starvation event (which was 8 weeksof a low calorie diet) leptin levels were still 35% lowerthan originally (Sumithron et al. 2011). This is whatmakes is very difficult for obese people to lose weight, becauseleptin begins to serve its purpose as an indicator ofstarvation and makes the body retain weight.However, there is evidence in mice that the rodentsrespond to low leptin doses that are administered intracerebroventricularly(Jequier et al. 2002). Theserodents begin to lose weight, have decreased appetitesand increased metabolisms. This procedure overcomesthe difficulty leptin has of passing the blood brain barrierwhen blocked by triglycerides (Jequier et al. 2002).While leptin does not usually function to protect againstobesity (because it is rendered obsolete at high triglyceridelevels) this method may help overcome that issue.Lean populations have a relatively small number ofobese (BMI > 30 kg/m 2 ) and overweight (BMI: 25-30 kg/m 2 ) members, based on the IOTF criteria, in comparisonto western populations (Cole et al. 2000). The correlationsbetween anthropometric measures and leptin aresupposed to be weaker in these populations, theoreticallymaking the hormone more effective. Rather than havingreached a saturation point, it is thought that leptinlevels are less correlated, smaller and more plastic inthese populations (Kuzawa et al. 2007). Lean adolescentsin the Philippines showed correlations in both malesand females. While female leptin levels correlated withtriceps skinfolds, BMI and body weight, males were significantlycorrelated with only triceps skinfolds (Kuzawaet al. 2007). The heaviest members of the population,the top 10%, strengthened the relationship between adiposityand leptin among males. When these members ofthe population are removed from analysis, the relationshipbetween triceps skinfold and leptin declines rapidly.This is consistent with the fact that leaner males have lessleptin and a weaker correlation between triceps skinfoldand leptin (Kuzawa et al. 2007; Bribiescas 2011).In the Tsimane, no correlation was found betweenleptin levels and anthropometric levels in lean adolescentmales, but were found in females (Sharrock et al. 2008).In Ache American Indians from Paraguay leptin levelswere lower than western populations, and also showedlittle sexual dimorphism when controlling for body fat(Bribiescas et al. 2001). Leptin levels in these populationswere very low (Figure 1) and correlated with anthropometricmeasures in females but less significantly in males.Relationships between leptin levels and westernpopulations are well studied and similar across the literature(Jequier 2002). Leptin levels are lower in malesdue to the influence of testosterone (Dicker et al. 2004).Leptin levels are most strongly correlated with body fatand other measures of subcutaneous fat, in these westernpopulations (Considine et al. 1996). While leptinlevels also correlate with BMI, WHR, Waist circumference,Hip circumference, triceps skinfolds and subscapularskinfolds, the greatest relationships are with measuresof subcutaneous fat (Heffner et al. 1996). Othermeasures become less significant when regressed withmeasures of subcutaneous fat (Considine et al. 1996).Due to the nature of different fat cells, leptin levelsdiffer based on the regional deposition of fat (Minocciet al. 2000). There are three basic measures of regionalfat deposition. Subcutaneous fat directly other the skin,and can be measured by triceps skinfold thickness, subscapularskinfold thickness and hip circumference (Gibson1990, Ruhl et al. 2001, Heffner et al. 1996). Visceralfat, commonly associated with health problems such asdiabetes and heart disease, can be measured by BodyMass Index (BMI), waist circumference or Waist to HipRatio (WHR) (Ruhl et al. 2001, Staiger et al. 2003, Heffneret al. 1996). Subcutaneous fat cells are larger andsecrete more leptin, so they have a greater influence/stronger correlation with leptin (Roemmich et al. 1998,Ruhl et al. 2001). When waist circumference and waistto hip ratio are added to regression models, however,more variation is explained than with measures of subcutaneousfat alone (Ruhl et al. 2001).MethodsThe study is a cross sectional analysis of data fromthe Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutritional Survey(CLHNS). The individual data, including all anthropometricmeasures relevant to the study were collected inthe first and every subsequent follow up survey (UNCCarolina Population Center 2011). These measuresincluded body weight, height, waist circumference andtriceps and subscapular skinfolds using standard anthropometricprocedures (Lohman et al. 1988). BMIwas calculated as a ratio of weight (kg) to height (m 2 ).The research was conducted under conditions of informedconsent and with human subject clearance fromthe IRB of the Emory University Medical School and theUniversity of Chapel Hill, NC (Adair et al. 2010).The data being used is from the 2005 follow up fromthe offspring only. This follow up added fasting blooddrawn for CVD biomarkers and genetics (Adair et al.2010). Blood samples were taken after an overnightfast and the plasma stored for analysis in EDTA coatedtubes. The regular anthropometric measures were alsotaken. The samples were allowed to separate, were frozenand shipped on dry ice to the University of NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill for analysis using a LINCO ResearchHuman Leptin ELISA kit.The study population was 1,597 individuals fromthe CLHNS using data collected in the 2005 follow up.Only subjects with all the available anthropometricmeasures of interest and leptin data were used in theanalysis. There were 909 males and 688 females total.All pregnant females, based on follow up blood testing,were removed from the data analysis.NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL71

RESEARCHAnalysis was done using version 10 of the Stata StatisticalPackage. Leptin levels at 0 were replaced with.04 (the lowest level of detection) and log transformedfor normality. Variables for triceps skinfold, subscapularskinfold, hip circumference and waist circumferencewere also log transformed to draw in the tails (rightskewed) of the data and improve normality before correlationand regression analysis. The strongest indicatorsof leptin were found (using regressions and correlations),then larger regression models were used to determinewhich indicators have the most influence overleptin when controlling for each other. Other analysisincluded comparison of leptin levels between populationsand checking for sexual dimorphism (t-tests). Allanalyses were run separately by sex.ResultsDescriptive StatisticsThe top 10% of the population (by BMI) was removedto see the affects on the correlation betweentriceps skinfold and leptin. The correlation for malesdropped from R2=.580 to R2=.394 and in females itdropped from R2= .247 to R2=.176. The drop in bothgenders shows that the heaviest people are causing thecorrelation between leptin and body fat.Simple AssociationsThe top 10% of the population (by BMI) was removedto see the affects on the correlation between tricepsskinfold and leptin. The correlation for males droppedfrom R 2 =.580 to R 2 =.394 and in females it droppedfrom R 2 = .247 to R 2 =.176. The drop in both gendersshows that the heaviest people are causing the correlationbetween leptin and body fat.Table 2: (above) regression models relating measures of body compositionwith leptin (ng/mL) to find the strongest indicator or leptin in malesFigure 1: (above) Comparing leptin levels between populationsIn males, the strongest indicators of leptin aremeasures of subcutaneous fat, the skinfolds and hipcircumference. BMI, weight and waist circumferencealso strongly and significantly (p

RESEARCHMultivariate AssociationsSubcutaneous Fat and Body Size (Males)Table 4: (above) Regression between measures of subcutaneous fat andbody size in Males.The first model was run to see if measures of bodysize (BMI and Weight) are still significant when measureof subcutaneous fat (triceps and subscapular skinfoldand hip circumference) are added. BMI (p=.836)and Weight (p=.799) both become insignificant whilethe measure of subcutaneous fat were still significant,with triceps skinfold having the highest t-value andmost significant impact.Subcutaneous Fat and Body Size (Females)Table 5: (above) Regression between measures of subcutaneous fat andbody size in FemalesThe same model was run for females with slightlydifferent results. While BMI (p=.541) and Weight(p=.215) become insignificant again, subscapular skinfolds(p=.307) also becomes insignificant. This suggeststhat subscapular skinfolds either do not correlate withleptin levels in females, or that subscapular skinfolds arenot a good measure of subcutaneous fat in females.Subcutaneous Fat, Visceral Fat and Body Size (Males)Table 6: (above) Regression between measures of subcutaneous fat, visceralfat and body size in Males.VOLUME 7, 2011-2012The next sets of models were used to determinewhether the impact of visceral fat on leptin was significant.When Waist circumference and WHR are addedto the model both are significant (p=.011 and .013), butless than they were with leptin alone. This suggests thatmost of the variation in males is caused by triceps andsubscapular skinfolds, which have the highest t-values.Weight was included so that overall size was not a factorin the model. Waist and WHR therefore influencevariation in leptin, but less than measure of subcutaneousfat. The best measure of subcutaneous fat variesbetween sex and age (Gibson 1990).Subcutaneous Fat, Visceral Fat and Body Size (Females)Table 7: (above) Regression between measures of subcutaneous fat, visceralfat and body size in Females.In females the results are more straightforward.When subcutaneous fat, visceral fat and size are addedto the model, subcutaneous fat measured by tricepsskinfold has the only significant relationship with leptin.Waist circumference (p=.912) and WHR (p=.998)are completely in significant, and hip circumference(p=.74) also drops out. Waist circumference and WHRwere inflating hip circumference. Triceps skinfolds havethe most significant relationship with leptin and explainthe most variation in females.DiscussionThe population is relatively lean based on the smallnumbers of obese and overweight individuals memberswhen compared to the US (33.9% of people are obeseand 34.4% of people are overweight) (CDC 2011).Despite having significantly less overweight and obesemembers, leptin levels were about the same as the USaverage of 19 ng/mL in females and 4.6 ng/mL in males.The Filipino adults averaged 18.2 ng/mL of leptin in femalesand 3.5 ng/mL of leptin in males. The differencesare very small, especially compared to the dramaticallylower levels in the Ache (Figure 1). It is very intriguingthat the ache had similar levels of body fat, but low levelsof leptin while the Filipino’s displayed low levels ofbody fat and western levels of leptin.The raised leptin levels may be a result of a populationexperiencing a nutritional transition. More andmore people in Cebu are eating fast foods, and nearlyNORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL73

RESEARCHZaharoffone third of a child’s caloric intake in Cebu comes fromsnack foods prepared outside of the house (Adair et al.2005). In the CLHNS alone these effects can be seen.Among the mothers that began in the study in 1983, 6%were obese or overweight at the time while 35% wereobese or overweight in 1998 (Adair 2004). In 1996 30%of people in Cebu were suffering from chronic disease,a major sign of an area in a nutritional transition. Thenutritional transition is marked by increased incomes,consumer good, fatty foods and sedentary jobs alongwith a decrease in housework. These increased levelsof obesity and overweight people are concentrated inCebu, again pointing to the effects of urbanization(Adair 2004). The nutritional transition may be augmentingleptin levels in some way.The trends in leptin compared to anthropometricmeasures were consistent with the literature basedon western populations. Leptin correlated with BMI,Weight, Ticeps and Subscapular skinfolds, waist andhip circumference and WHR. The larger models,however, show that triceps skinfold and the measuresof subcutaneous fat account for the variation when allfactors (subcutaneous fat, visceral fat and body size)are taken into account. In males, waist circumference,hip circumference and WHR are still significant, butless significant than triceps and subscapular skinfolds.Therefore, in males visceral fat is a significant contributorto variation in leptin. Among measures of subcutaneousfat, in males’ triceps skinfolds is the best measurewith the highest t-value. Among females only tricepsskinfolds are significant when other measure of fat andsize are added to the model. Subcutaneous fat measuredthrough triceps skinfolds are obviously the strongestindicator of leptin in both sexes.While it was demonstrated that the population inthe Philippines is lean, they do not share traits withother lean populations. Both gender have strong correlationsbetween anthropometric measures and leptin,and subcutaneous fat has a very strong relationship withleptin in both males and females. The correlation in bothgenders was much weaker when the top 10% (based onBMI) was removed, reiterating the fact that leptin correlatesmost strongly at high adipose levels, this findingreflects previous data from lean populations.Observing leptin in lean populations, and seeing themechanism by its original intention will not be possiblein this population due to the high leptin levels. Furtherstudies should investigate why leptin levels in this populationare so high, and if leptin can be used as a negativefeedback loop to fight obesity.Literature CitedAbout the CLHNS — UNC Carolina Population Center. UNC Carolina Population Center. Web.06 Dec. 2011. .Adair, Linda S. 2004. Dramatic Rise in Overweight and Obesity in Adult Filipino Women andRisk of Hypertension. Obesity Research. 12.8.Adair, Linda S., and Barry M. Popkin. 2005. Are Child Eating Patterns Being TransformedGlobally? Obesity 13.7: 1281-299.Adair, Linda S., Popkin, Barry M. Akin, John S., Guilkey, David K., Gultiano S. ,Borja, J.,Perez, L., Kuzawa, CW., McDade T., and Hindin MJ. 2010. Cohort Profile: The CebuLongitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey. International Journal of Epidemiology 1.7:1-7.Banks WA, Phillips-Conroy JE, Jolly CJ, Morley JE. 2001. Serum leptin levels in wild andcaptive populations of baboons (papio): implications for the ancestral role of leptin. JClin Endocrinol Metab 86:4315–4320.Bribiescas, Richard G. 2001. Serum Leptin Levels and Anthropometric Correlates in AcheAmerindians of Eastern Paraguay. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 115.4:297-303.Clement K, Vaisse C, Lahlou N, Cabrolk S, Pelloux V, Cassuto D, Gourmelenk M, Dina C,Chambaz J, Lacorte J, Basdevant A, Bougne P, Lebouck Y, Froguel P, Guy-Grand B.1998. A mutation in the human leptin receptor gene causes obesity and pituitarydysfunction. Nature 392: 398-401.Cole TJM, Bellizzi MC, Flegal KM, Dietz WH. 2000. Establishing a standard definition for childoverweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. Br Med J 320:1240–1243.Considine RV, Sinha RK, Heiman ML, Kriauciunas A, Stephens TW, Nyce MR, OhannesianJP, Marco CC, McKee LJ, Bauer T, Caro J. 1996. Serum Immunoreactive-LeptinConcentrations in Normal Weight and Obese Humans. The New England Journal ofMedicine 5: 292-295.Dicker A, Ryden M, Naslund E, Muehlen IE, Wiren M, Lafontan M, Arner P. 2004. Effectof testosterone on lipolysis in human pre-adipocytes from different fat depots.Diabetologia 47:420– 428.FASTSTATS - Overweight Prevalence. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Office ofInformation Services, 17 Nov. 2011. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. .Gibson RS. 1990. Principals of Nutrition Assessment. Oxford University Press.Haffner, S. M. et al. 1996. Leptin Concentrations in Relation to Overall Adiposity andRegional Body Fat Distribution in Mexican Americans. International Journal of Obesityand Related Metabolic Disorders : Journal of the International Association for theStudy of Obesity 20: 904-08.Howard JK, Lord GM, Matarese G, Vendetti S, Ghatei MA, Ritter MA, Lechler RI, Lboom SR.1999. Leptin protects mice from starvation induced lymphoid atrophy and increasesthymic cellularity in ob/ob mice. J Clin Invest 104:1051–1059.Jequier E. 2002. Leptin signaling, adiposity, and energy balance. Ann N Y Acad Sci967:379–388.Kuzawa, C. W., E. A. Quinn, et al. 2007. Leptin in a lean population of Filipino adolescents.American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 132(4): 642-649.Lohman T, Roche A, Martorell R. 1988. Anthropometric Standardization Reference Manual.Champaign IL: Human Kinetics BooksMinocci A, Savia G, Lucantoni R, Berselli ME, Tagliaferi M, Calo G, Petroni ML, de Medici C,Viberti GC, Liuzzi A. 2000. Leptin plasma concentrations are dependent on body fatdistribution in obese patients. Int J Obes 24:1139–1144.Popkin BM., and Gordon-LarsenP. 2004. The nutrition transition: worldwide obesitydynamicsand their determinants. Int J Obes 28, S2–S9.Roemmich, James N. et al. 1998. Gender Differences in Leptin Levels during Puberty AreRelated to the Subcutaneous Fat Depot and Sex Steroids. Am J Physiol EndocrinolMetab 275: 543-51.Ruhle, Constance E, and James E. Everhart. 2001. Leptin Concentrations in the United States:Relations with Demographic and Anthropometric Measures. Am J Clin Nutr 74: 295-301.Sharrock K, Kuzawa CW, Leonard WR, Tanner S, Reyes-Garcia V, Vadez V, Huanca T, McdadeTW. 2008. Developmental Changes in the Relationship Between Leptin and AdiposityAmong Tsimane Children and Adolescents. American Journal of Human Biology 20:392-398.Shimizu H, Shimomura Y, Nakanishi Y, Futawatari T, Ohtani K, Sato N, Mori M. 1997. Estrogenincreases in vivo leptin production in rats and human subjects. J Endocrinol 154:285–292Staiger, H. Otto T. Jürgen M. Claus T. Andreas F. Elke Maerker, Fritz S., H. Michael S. 2003.Relationship of Serum Adiponectin and Leptin Concentrations with Body FatDistribution in Humans. Obesity 11.3: 368-76.Steven B. Heymsfield, M., M. Andrew S. Greenberg, et al. (1999). “Recombinant Leptin forWeight Loss in Obese and Lean Adults.” Journal American Medical Association 282: 8.Priya Sumithran, Luke A. Prendergast,Delbridge, E., Purcell, K., Shulkes A., Kriketos, A., and Proietto, J. 2011. Long-TermPersistence of Hormonal Adaptations to Weight Loss. The New England Journal ofMedicine 365:1597-604.Taylor, R. W. et al. 1998. Body Mass Index, Waist Girth, and Waist-to-hip Ratio as Indexesof Total and Regional Adiposity in Women: Evaluation Using Receiver OperatingCharacteristic Curves. Am J Clin Nutr 67: 44-49.Van Harmelen, V., S. Reynisdottir, P. Eriksson, A. Thorne, J. Hoffstedt, F. Lonnqvist, and P.Arner. 1998. Leptin Secretion from Subcutaneous and Visceral Adipose Tissue inWomen. Diabetes 47.6: 913-17.74 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN RESEARCH AT NU?Are you interested in getting involved in undergraduate research but don’t know where to start?Northwestern University has several programs and opportunities specifically created to assistundergraduates in finding and carrying out independent research.UR@NUThe website of The Office of the Provost has a section called “UR@NU.” Filled with concise information andvideos from undergraduates currently involved in research, this website is the best source of informationfor topics such as “What is Research?/How to Get Involved” and “Research Opportunities.” It also providesvaluable information on sources of research funding once you have an advisor and project in mind.Check it out: http://undergradresearch.northwestern.edu/Undergraduate Research Assistant Program (URAP)A new pilot program through The Office of the Provost, URAP allows faculty members to request researchassistants for various projects. The projects are listed on the website, allowing interested students to submitapplications and communicate directly with the professor.Check it out: http://undergradresearch.northwestern.edu/undergraduate-research-assistant-program-urapScience Research Workshop (SRW)A program sponsored by the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence and the Departments of Biology andChemistry, the SRW program includes “science cafés” and peer-led workshops. During Science Cafés, facultymembers discuss their interest in getting involved in research, as well as a specific theme such as “How tonavigate the proposal process.” Workshops assist students in contacting science laboratories, developingresearch projects, and writing grant proposals.Check it out: http://www.northwestern.edu/searle/programs/undergraduateprograms/science-researchworkshop.htmlHumanities Research WorkshopsThe Office of the Provost has created a series of four workshops for those interested in humanities researchas opposed to science. The workshops – “Thinking About Research/Developing Questions,” “MethodologyFair,” “Resources and Opportunities,” and “Writing Workshop” – provide background information onperforming research and developing research proposals, as well as advising and mentorship.Check it out: http://undergradresearch.northwestern.edu/humanities-research-workshopsDepartment WebsitesThe best places for department-specific opportunities are department websites. Most departmentsin which research is performed have a “Research” tab on their website. Check out the website of thedepartment you are interested in for the most detailed information pertaining to research opportunities forundergraduates.Still Not Sure?Another option is to seek out specific faculty members who are performing research in a field ortopic you are interested in (you can find this information on department websites). Once you have a fewprofessors in mind, send out personal (not bulk) emails briefly introducing yourself and describing yourresearch interests. Then, meet with the professors and discuss what you could contribute to their research.Remember, don’t be afraid to talk with professors; most are happy to discuss their research and arewilling to involve undergraduates in their research!VOLUME 7, 2011-2012NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL75

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORSShaon AhsanShaon Ahsan graduated from Northwestern University in 2011,with honors in Political Science. Dr. Wendy Pearlman’s MiddleEast Politics course in winter 2010 sparked her interest in postcolonialpolitical development. She later worked on her paperfrom March 2010-May 2011 under Dr. Pearlman. She also receivedsupport from Dr. Jeffrey Winters, the 2010-2011 directorof the departmental honors program, and the WeinbergCollege of Arts & Sciences which funded her research in summer 2010. Shaon is thankful toeveryone who assisted her with her work. In the future, she hopes to practice corporate lawfor an international firm in Asia.Suzanne ChangSuzanne graduated from Northwestern University in 2011 withHonors in Economics and a Certificate in Financial Economicsfrom Kellogg. The growing trend of airlines charging feesfor checked baggage over the past several years sparked herinterest in the nature of competition among airlines, a topicshe explored in her senior thesis under the advisement of Dr.Robert Gordon and Dr. Steffen Habermalz. She currently worksat the Federal Reserve Board as a research assistant and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Financeor Economics.Britt BanaszynskiBritt Banaszynski will graduate from Northwestern Universitywith Honors with a B.A. in Dance with extensive coursework inPsychology and Music Theatre. Advised by Professors in Dance,Theatre, and Art History, Britt’s research harnesses memoryas myth in the creation and production of body-based, multidisciplinarytheatre. His undergraduate research culminatesin ROOTS of EARTH, a genre-defining story performedin dance, music, comedy and drama. Britt’s extensive choreographic and directorial work atNorthwestern has won him a Summer Undergraduate Research Grant, the Barbara E. GreenwoodScholarship and the Sandra Singer Scholarship. Britt was named a School of Communication“Senior to Watch.”Blake EricksonBlake Erickson is a senior majoring in anthropology and minoringin Spanish. Whenever he has a break from academics, heenjoys running, exploring Chicago, collecting vinyl records,reading medical anthropology books, and following Northwesternsports (Go ‘Cats!). He also enjoys volunteering atMather Pavilion in Evanston and at the Hope Alive after schoolprogram for elementary school students in the Cabrini-Greenneighborhood of Chicago.Luke FidlerLuke Fidler’s research examines the intersection of death,commemoration, and artistic practice. He has published andpresented papers on late-Soviet film, Canadian survey photography,Andy Warhol’s polaroids, and phrenology. After earninga degree in Art History, he plans to continue his studies at thegraduate level.Omar JamilOmar Jamil is a Senior Biological Anthropology major advisedby Dr. Thomas McDade. Alongside his thesis work on leptin,he is helping to develop a heavy metal assay from dried bloodspot cards in the Laboratory of Human Biology Research. Oncampus he has been heavily involved in the Muslim-culturalStudents Association, Special Olympics and is also a die-hard‘Cats fan. Next year he will be teaching AP Biology and Chemistryat Golder College Prep. In the future he wants to attend medical school, conduct researchon adolescent obesity and work with Muslim youth.Pavan KrishnamurthyPavan Krishnamurthy was born in South Dakota, but raised inDallas, Texas. He will complete his Bachelors of Arts in PoliticalScience, Legal Studies, Business Institutions, and Asian AmericanStudies this June. His time at Northwestern was divided betweenenvironmental volunteering, the Northwestern DebateSociety, community organizing, and research. He has spentmuch time organizing Asian American as well as environmentalcivic engagement. This fall he will start as an associate at ISNetworld, a contract risk managementfirm, back in Dallas.James LeeJames is a junior in WCAS, majoring in anthropology and minoringin global health studies. In addition to his interest inbiological anthropology and human population biology, Jameshas been interested in molecular biology research as well, especiallyin cancer biology and immunology. James is originallyfrom Seoul, Korea but grew up in Connecticut before comingto Northwestern.Alcina LidderAlcina Lidder is a senior Psychology and Global Health Studiesstudent in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.She began her honors thesis project in September under theguidance of Dr. Richard Zinbarg. In March, she presentedher research at the Chicago Area Undergraduate ResearchSymposium. Alcina is especially interested in her work onthe relationship between spoken self-statements, emotion,and behavior due to its significance to clinical interventions with psychotherapy patients aswell as its relevance to the general public. She will graduate in June and intends to apply tomedical school this upcoming year.Anna MartinAnna Martin graduated in 2011 from Northwestern Universitywith Honors in Religious Studies and with a second major inBiological Sciences. She found her thesis research particularlyappealing because it was an opportunity to apply her undergraduatestudy in religion to a bioethical question, uniting herseemingly different majors. She will be attending the Universityof Texas Medical School at Houston starting in August 2012. Thepast year she has spent time traveling in South America and South East Asia.76 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORSBrandon NgBrandon W. Ng graduated Phi Beta Kappa from NorthwesternUniversity in 2011, majoring in English Literature and Psychologywith a Minor in Economics. He is currently a PhD candidatein psychology at the University of Virginia, where he is studyingsocial and cultural neuroscience. While at Northwestern,Brandon completed honors theses in two departments. Hispsychology honors thesis focused on the effects of primingcultural values on memory, and his English honors thesis was an in-depth analysis of DylanThomas’s poetry. When he completes his PhD, Brandon hopes to pursue a career in academia,combining his love of teaching and research.Katherine NorthcottKatherine Northcott graduated from Northwestern University in2011 with a B.A. in Economics, African Studies and French. Afterher research experience in Senegal, her interest in global developmentand passion for women’s rights encouraged her to applyto the Peace Corps. She has recently been nominated to an HIV/AIDS education program in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a projecteddeparture date in September. She plans to continue working inthe field of global women’s empowerment.Patricia RadkowskiPatricia Radkowski wrote her Legal Studies thesis as a junior,a shortened version of which is featured here. She presentedit at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in Spring 2011.Patricia is currently finishing her Political Science and SlavicStudies theses. Her Political Science thesis was funded by theUndergraduate Research Grant and the Ginsberg Grant in PoliticalScience, and she hopes to present it at the UndergraduateResearch and Arts Exposition in Spring 2012. She will be taking the Fulbright to Poland thisupcoming year to begin a new project that involves all three of her fields of study.Kendra SirakKendra is a 2011 graduate of the Weinberg College of Arts andSciences, receiving a Bachelor of Arts with a major in both anthropologyand psychology. Her senior honors thesis project involvedexploring the influence of external environmental factorson bilateral asymmetry in a Native North American population.She will continue her study of anthropology in the Ph.D. programat Emory University and is currently interested in examining theevolution of hominid morphology and how it is impacted by changing environmental conditions.Despite moving to Braves territory, she intends to remain an avid Phillies fan.Emma SolankiEmma Solanki was born in Portland, Oregon and came to theMidwest for the first time when starting Northwestern. Shewill complete her undergraduate degree this spring in EnvironmentalSciences. While at Northwestern she enjoyed localprairie restoration, going to concerts in Chicago, spending timeon Lake Michigan and leading the largest environmental studentorganization, Students for Ecological and EnvironmentalDevelopment (SEED). This fall she will be starting her Masters in Sustainable Development atthe University of St. Andrews in Scotland.Emily WrightEmily Wright graduated from Northwestern University in fall2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and a minor inEnvironmental Policy and Culture. She is now working for theCoos Watershed Association in Oregon as an AmeriCorps VISTAmember. At CoosWA, Emily is developing environmental educationprograms for high school students and internships for communitycollege students. She is also expanding the organization’sresource development activities. In the community, Emily participates in the Ford InstituteLeadership Program. After she completes her position this August, Emily hopes to continueworking in the natural resources, community planning, and regional development sectors.Brandon ZaharoffBrandon M. Zaharoff, born in New York City, majored in MathematicalMethods in the Social Sciences and in Economics with aminor in Political Science and certificate in Financial Economicsfrom the Kellogg School of Management. His research builds onhis background in MMSS, especially Game Theory and StatisticalAnalysis, as well as studies abroad in Beijing and Paris whichdeveloped his broad understanding of the world’s three largesteconomies and informed his thesis research. He is lovingly supported by his family includinghis two parents and two younger siblings who reside in Weston, Connecticut.VOLUME 7, 2011-2012NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL77