I am truly grateful for the opportunities that the College’s Social Science Scholars Program has been able to provide me with. The Social Science Scholars Program gave me a supportive network of students, both in my own class and from past cohorts, who I could talk to on a range of issues from involvement on campus to pursuing an undergraduate honors thesis. Not only has this program provided me with the opportunity to further myself both personally and professionally through gaining real world experience in data analytics, but without the Social Science Scholars program, I would certainly not have found myself in an internship that allowed me to apply concepts I learned in the classroom at Florida State to a meaningful cause where I could help further affordable housing advocacy in my community.
Category: Population studies
Social Science Scholar: City Service Mission (CSM) San Francisco
Without the Social Science Scholars program and guidance, I would not have had the opportunity to discover my career passions and how I want to translate the in-class learning I receive to my practical real-world applications. This summer I learned how nonprofits work on a deeper level, how my own identities shape the work I want to do in the future, and how social issues like homelessness are being addressed in cities across the nation.
The Measurement and Importance of Economic Freedom
Since the initial publication of the Economic Freedom of the World report in 1996, numerous scholarly studies have used the data to examine the impact of economic freedom on investment, economic growth, income levels, and poverty rates. Virtually without exception, these studies have found that countries with institutions and policies more consistent with economic freedom have higher investment rates, more rapid economic growth, higher income levels, and a more rapid reduction in poverty rates.
Entrepreneurship Programs Can Help Ex-offenders Stay out of Prison
This piece first appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat. Struggling to re-enter society with nothing but lost time and the additional burden of a criminal record, ex-offenders have a 76.6% chance of being rearrested within five years. This is dramatic evidence of the failure of the so-called “punishment” or “retributive” approach to criminal justice, which promises…
Are E-Scooter Services Good for Cities?
In short, we don’t have enough information to make a judgement on whether e-scooters make a net positive contribution to the Tallahassee community (or other similar places). Hopefully, the city of Tallahassee can use their current pilot program to carefully evaluate the safety and management issues and develop an understanding of who is using the scooter services and whether it is leading to a reduction in auto use.
Destined to Disappear? Lessons from Nonbinary People on Dismantling the Gender Binary
Finally, and most importantly, we can look to the activists and scholars who came before us. Although they did not always get it right, we should not dismiss the tools they gave us to study and critique gender inequality. Their critiques and interventions surrounding gendered language, violence, structures, and binaries arguably is key to liberation, regardless of if or how one is gendered.
Featured Blog by Award-Winning Faculty: Shared Histories
As the Lieutenant-Governor’s Medal highlights, this is a story with broader purchase. Focusing on a particular place, Shared Histories highlights how racial injustices developed through the complex mixture of local, provincial, and federal policies. But it also registers the possibility of implementing different policies and building different relationships. It is important to share the story of Indiantown, so it does not happen again. So we can learn from it and create a new and different future.
Parental Status and Biological Functioning: Findings from the Nashville Stress and Health Study
Our study should not be interpreted as suggesting the solution to the health risks of parenting is to avoid having children altogether. Rather, we believe the current findings signal a need for an increased attentiveness to the health risks of childrearing, particularly for parents with multiple children in the home. We hope the information provided here can inform parents and their healthcare providers of the potential health risks associated with parenting.
When Exactly is Flu Season?
At the start of the school year, I ran into a colleague in the elevator. Sam told me he enjoyed his summer break in spite of the hot and humid weather. His summer would have been perfect except for the severe flu he contracted a couple of weeks prior. This story might sound strange to…
Spinning, Rotating Queer Planetary Systems
My research on the Midtown neighborhood in Atlanta argues that when planning and urban development efforts fail to recognize the fragility of queer spaces, there can be serious consequences for the viability of LGBTQ spaces. In Atlanta plans for high-end redevelopment along the Peachtree corridor took precedence over longstanding LGBTQ bars on the street and explicitly excluded the adjacent Midtown gayborhood from influencing the redevelopment process. As interest in redevelopment in the Midtown area heated up, Midtown lost many gay and other queer residents who moved south and east in search of more affordable spaces further away from the Midtown “sun.”
