Reinvention: an International Journal of Undergraduate Research

Radical Landscapes at the Mead Gallery addresses the topic on everyone’s lips

Catherine Laister-Smith — 2023-04-29

Review of Radical Landscapes at the Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre in Coventry.

Beyond the Nuclear Ideal: A Qualitative Analysis of Forum Posts by Single Mothers by Choice

Martha Dean-Tozer — 2023-04-29

In 2018, 3.2 per cent of all fertility treatments were undertaken by single patients. Despite this prevalence, there is limited research that explores the experiences of single mothers by choice through sperm donation. Previous studies have highlighted the value of online forums, in terms of accessible support and information sharing with others who have similar experiences. This paper aims to offer an insight into women’s experiences and concerns, and the advice they offer and receive when pursuing this pathway to motherhood. A thematic analysis of an online fertility forum of 39 forum posts by 28 different forum contributors was undertaken. Three themes were identified: ‘Making the choice’, ‘the challenges of becoming a single mother by choice’ and ‘support provided by the forum’. Women seeking solo motherhood through sperm donation appeared to carefully consider this decision, and plan for the potential future challenges. Furthermore, the use of online forums provided a sense of belonging and validation that created a safe space to share experiences. This enabled women to receive support that was presented as a crucial element in their journey to motherhood.

You Had Better Check the Facts: Reader Agency in the Identification of Machine-Generated Medical Fake News

Barbora Dankova — 2023-04-29

During the COVID-19 pandemic, much fake news emerged in the medical field (Naeem et al., 2020: 1). Nowadays, computers can generate text considered to be more trustworthy than text written by a person (Zellers et al., 2019). This means that laypeople are able to produce disinformation; however, they may not understand the implications. This study revealed the most reliable clues as guidance to spot machine writing. While natural-language processing (NLP) research focuses on L1 speakers, studies in second language acquisition demonstrate that L1 and L2 speakers attend to different aspects of English (Scarcella, 1984; Tsang, 2017). In this study, social media users completed a Turing-test style quiz, guessed whether news excerpts were machine generated or human written (Saygin et al., 2000) and identified errors that guided their decision. Quantitative analysis revealed that although both L1 and L2 speakers were equally able to defend themselves against machine-generated fake news, L2 participants were more sceptical, labelling more human-written texts as being machine generated. This is possibly due to concern about the stigma associated with being fooled by a machine due to lower language levels. However, factual errors and internal contradictions were the most reliable indicators of machine writing for both groups. This emphasises the importance of fact-checking when news articles prioritise exaggerated headlines, and NLP tools enable production of popular content in areas like medicine.

The Conflict Between Public Health And Civil Liberties: The Initial UK Government Policy Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Minaa Mujib — 2023-04-29

This paper aims to illustrate the tension between public health and civil liberties through the case study of the UK government’s emergency response to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the area of public health, this tension is predominantly approached by reference to two theories: liberalism and communitarianism. This paper studies these positions and how they are manifested in evidence-based policymaking by combining a study of public health policy with a study of public health ethics. The studies help demonstrate the UK government’s framing of health policy relating to Covid-19 in terms of liberalism and communitarianism. The paper concludes that in the initial UK government response to Covid-19, the government discourse evoked communitarian values and framed its policies as being evidence-led and as prioritising public health. However, the policy measures themselves manifested liberal values: they had the underlying concern of not infringing excessively on civil liberties, and individuals were given autonomy of decision making within the measures that were taken. The article concluded that emergency times require a communitarian response based on preventative action. This article is the first to combine public health policy with public health ethics to demonstrate how values form a key part of decision making.

How is Sociological Knowledge Possible? Influences of Kantian Epistemology in Max Weber’s ‘Verstehende Soziologie’ and the Problem of Objectivity

Ümit Ege Atakan — 2023-04-29

Kant’s ‘Copernican Revolution’ has caused a radical change in the common-sense theory of knowledge. The subject became the centre and the necessary premise for the validity of the objective world. This change in the understanding of knowledge has best manifested itself in Weber’s ‘Verstehende Soziologie’. Therefore, in order to understand the Weberian sociological method and to be able to detect the possible problems that may arise from his sociology, a better grasp of what Kantian epistemology is and in what ways it has influenced Weberian sociology is needed. Accordingly, this paper will firstly analyse Kantian epistemology with a special emphasis on transcendental idealism, and will expand and explain in detail Weber’s ‘Verstehende Soziologie’. Next, the paper will show how Weberian sociology relates to Kantian epistemology through the construction of ideal types. Before concluding, the focus moves to the objectivity claim of both Kantian epistemology and Weberian sociology and shows how objectivity arises from subjectivity through the establishment of causality. Finally, the paper will propose an objection to the objectivity claim of Weberian sociology and will argue that Kantian epistemology, when adopted as a method of sociology, becomes reflexive and threatens to deprive sociology of its objectivity claim.

The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on the Mental Health Statuses of Students Across Various Ethnic Identities

Carissa Samuel — 2023-04-29

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are linked to an increased risk of health challenges. This study looked at a diverse sample of students at Ohlone College, a community college in the California Bay Area, to 1) analyse the ethnic groups with the highest ACEs scores and 2) examine the relationship between ACEs and indicators of mental health, including depression, substance-use disorders and self-worth. Using a unique approach to study ethnic identity by incorporating more distinguished ethnic groups, rather than broad categories, our survey found that the two ethnic groups with the highest average ACEs scores were the Afghan American (n = 226) and Native American (n = 229). These two communities, along with the Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) American (n = 228) community, were studied. Through comparison, individuals with high ACEs scores were found most likely to also have higher PHQ-9 scores, higher substance-use disorder symptoms and lower self-worth scores. We concluded that the various societal impacts of ethnic-identity groups must be prioritised as an important facet of mental health. If ethnic identity is included as part of early intervention in situations with abuse and neglect (diagnosis and/or prevention), it may greatly reduce the risk of mental illness.

An Appraisal of the Work of Gustave Le Bon Within the Case Studies of Fascist Spain (1936–1975) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945)

Benjamin Galbraith — 2023-04-29

In a bid to explore the work of French sociologist Gustave Le Bon on dissimulating specific beliefs within a populace, this article will localise the factors he purported to amount to propagandistic success within the case studies of Nazi Germany and fascist Spain. This will be done using a consideration of primary visual sources and qualitative data associated with the campaigns in which they were used. Additionally, this work will analyse whether one can quantify propagandistic success, and whether this is at odds with the academic bases of Le Bon’s work. This research will ultimately provide a novel reading of Le Bon’s theory, demonstrating how the work can indeed allow for interesting analyses of different propagandistic contexts while concluding that there are limitations with the means through which the factors he brought to the fore directly contribute to successful propaganda initiatives.

The Power of Perspective: Analysing the Human Experience Within Macro and Micro Social Structures

Elle Pearson — 2023-04-29