Students search for real-world solutions to global problems
Jepson students want to change the world. Thanks to their research this year on topics ranging from gender biases to global poverty, they just might succeed.
From designing a leadership training program for underprivileged girls to writing a case study questioning the business ethics of Google - which will be published in a forthcoming book edited by leadership studies professor Joanne Ciulla - Jepson students have found practical applications for their research that could lead to reduced negatives stereotypes of women and better business ethics, among other changes.
And that's just what they intended.
"With my research I wanted to fulfill my passion in a way that was contributing to my community," said Rebecca Frazier, '09, a psychology and cognitive science major and leadership studies and women, gender and sexuality studies minor.
After doing research on gender biases, Frazier became passionate about helping young women succeed - so with Dr. Crystal Hoyt, her adviser and mentor, and another psychology student, she designed a leadership training program for inner city girls. Story.
Chris Genualdi, '09, a leadership studies major and history and law and the liberal arts minor, was able to use his research to pursue an idea for a business and win Richmond's second annual "business pitch" competition. Because Genualdi says leadership studies is ultimately "about acting ethically," he chose to do his senior thesis on whether multinational corporations can help alleviate global poverty.
He got the idea while studying abroad in Bihar, a severely impoverished region in India, and credits a class he took on leadership in socially active businesses with helping him come up with the topic. Story.
For Will Stanton, '09, the business ethics of Google proved to be a worthy research endeavor. Last summer the David Davoud Donchian Foundation awarded Stanton $2,500 to conduct research on a contemporary business ethics issue. So he wondered: Is it ethical for a company to censor the Internet? Is it ethical to boast a brand motto of "Do No Evil" while potentially eroding civil liberties?
Stanton wrote two case studies on the company that has become a verb: "A Google That Knows More About You" on Google in America and "Dancing with the Dragon" on Google's business practices in China. Both pieces were selected for publication in Honest Work: A Business Ethics Reader by Joanne Ciulla, his mentor and faculty adviser (Oxford University Press, 2009).
"Upon close inspection, reasonable people can disagree as to whether Google's policies of censoring Internet content in China or reserving the right to turn over private information about American users to Iran could be construed as doing evil," says Stanton, whose senior thesis was on "Sex, Power and Deep Diversity." Watch Stanton's presentation.
Frazier, Genualdi and Stanton are not the only students who hope their research will make the world a better place. This year students also did research on the ethical treatment of animals, deliberative democracy, political engagement, reducing discrimination, and empathy, group-level guilt and identification. Read more below about how Jepson students are using their research to effect change:
- Xenia Schneider, '09, focused her research on the ethical treatment of animals. Schneider presented her research on the topic at a conference sponsored by the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics held March 5-7 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her paper was one of the few undergraduate papers accepted.
- Tony DeRosa, '09, decided to explore citizen deliberation as a vehicle to better public policy. DeRosa strongly believes that "social capital - or the bonds that tie citizens together - is best strengthened by deliberation at the level of a city or town." He plans to do further research on the topic in graduate school.
- Meredith Hull, '09, became passionate about engaging young adults in the political process after internships at the White House and in British Parliament. After conducting a study on voter engagement among college seniors with Dr. Al Goethals, they came up with a list of suggestions for ways that families, schools and the government can increase the potential for educated engagement in politics among young people.
- John Frank, '09, devoted his senior honors thesis to focusing on ways to reduce discrimination toward homosexuals. His research tested multiple approaches to reducing discrimination, and he is hopeful that his research will help raise awareness of the challenges homosexuals face.
- Laura Musser, '09, interned in Siem Riep, Cambodia, in 2008. Story. Because of her time there and her interest in the country, her senior thesis explored "Empathy, Group-level Guilt and Identification: Measuring Their Relationship Through Past American-Cambodian Relations."
Class of 2009 honors and accomplishments