Lucerna, vol.10 (2015)
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Items in this collection are the scholarly output of undergraduate UMKC students, either alone or as co-authors, and which may or may not have been published in an alternate format.
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Item Political Ideology and the Judiciary: Conservatism in the Supreme Court(UMKC Honors Program, 2015) Brown, JonathanThe dichotomy experienced today of the two most common political ideologies in the United States, liberalism and conservatism, has become influential and pervasive in virtually every facet of government bureaucracy, social institutions, and political thought. Although a relatively recent phenomenon by some standards, the role of liberalism and conservatism (and the relationship between both ideologies) has become a mainstay within the American political system, most notably within American political institutions and political thought. These two ideologies, together, dictate and greatly influence the outcomes of elections, the passage or failure of congressional policy, and the actions of the President himself. Additionally, these two ideologies (with conservatism being the focus of this paper) influence the processes and outcomes of the political and ostensibly apolitical aspects of the judiciary in the venue of the Supreme Court. All aspects of the Supreme Court are, today, subjugated to the influence of political ideology, most notably that of conservatism.Item Music Therapy and the Treatment of Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder(UMKC Honors Program, 2015) Crane, HaleyThe prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased in recent years, calling for professionals to develop more effective therapies for treatment. Music therapists have been working with children with autism since the 1940s (Reschke-Hernández, 2011) and design music interventions to meet specific non-musical needs for their clients (American Music Therapy Association, 2015b). The purpose of this paper is to describe the characteristics of ASD, define music therapy, and outline how music therapy can address the needs of children with ASD.Item On Midpoints in the Middle Ages(UMKC Honors Program, 2015) Crosby, ChaseWhile the centuries surrounding the turn of the first millennium in Europe are typically associated with ignorance, superstition, and the dismissal of scientific thought in the name of religion, many brilliant, forward-thinking minds of the Middle Ages— including those of the devoutly religious—often go overlooked. Among them, is that of a 14th-century man named Nicole Oresme, a French scholar who, according to Marshall Clagett (the author responsible for the English translation and biographical information found in this paper), appears for the first time in the records of the College of Navarre in Paris, France as a student of theology in 1348 [1, p. 4]. He would later be appointed Grand Master of his aforementioned alma mater, and eventually employed by King Charles V to translate various works of Aristotle into French. His time spent at the College would yield his most interesting and revolutionary contributions to mathematics, not the least of which was a cleverly detailed attack on astrology, a pseudoscience held to be true by many during his lifetime, and in fact, many still today [1, pp. 6-7].Item Poverty Re-Cycles: Why America Needs to Prioritize Child Health Disparities(UMKC Honors Program, 2015) Gentry, MariaWhen we think about children, we envision cute, innocent little people who have not a care in the world. Though optimistic, this vision is unfortunately not reality. Today, more and more children are suffering health disparities due to their socioeconomic status and race. Disparities are an issue of equity—what makes an affluent white child more important to care for than a low-income minority child? The foundations of adult health and success are laid early in childhood, so the health impact of early development and education lasts a lifetime. Since health disparities caused by socioeconomic status and race are becoming more and more pronounced, they affect children in more areas than just health. Thus society needs to make eliminating disparities a widespread priority. Most disparity research to date has documented differences and mechanisms for differences, but more solutions need to be found. After all, if our children are not thriving in the present, our country will not be able to thrive in the future.Item Homosexuality in the Heartland: Alternative Print Media from 1970s Kansas City(UMKC Honors Program, 2015) Neal, AutumnThe 1960s and 1970s were full of cultural, political, and social change in the United States in which activism for civil rights became widespread. These decades are remembered as a time when ideas about counterculture permanently changed, a time when African Americans fought for equal recognition, when young Americans who did not want to conform to the ideals of their elders created their own culture, and when average Americans stood up against what they believed was an immoral war. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the Vietnam War, and the Kent State massacre are events often discussed from this period. However, one area of American activism is often overshadowed: the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual (LGBT) community and its fight for equal rights.