Honors Social Science Inquiry (HNRS-110)

Because my topic is somewhat niche and slightly narrow, I was able to find scholarly articles on the topic but not as much data that I can import directly into Tableau. However, I have done a lot of extensive research, therefore, I will be conducting my own data that I can input into Tableau so that I can still utilize the tool with a more compatible data set. The data that I will be conducting and inputting will illustrate the number of mental health programs accessible to students at the forty-seven colleges of the state. Thanks to the advice of my professor, I will also include not just the number of programs, but college tuition, median income after graduation, graduation rates, and other information that may provide a deeper analysis of mental health care for college students in New Jersey.

Prior to making the decision of conducting my own data, I had searched through databases such as Pew Research Center, Gallup, and social science-based journals through ProQuest. As I discussed in my project contract, I did find a few data sets through Gallup and Pew Research Center. For the two found through Gallup, they broke down the information from a different perspective than what I am used to seeing. Gallup organized their data by generations. (1) This is an important data set because as times and society have modernized, it is essential to recognize that studies have shown that younger generations have a higher rate of mental health disorders than older ones. The Gallup poll connects this parallel by showing that the boost of technology use is the reason for the increase in mental health disorders among younger generations.

The Pew Research data set I found was also fairly unique as it took a more direct approach to find information on mental health among younger generations, specifically aged 13-17. (2) A group of teens were given a list of topics where they each had to vote what they believed to be the most prevalent issue among their peers. The top issues were anxiety and depression. Though this survey was conducted in 2018, I can only imagine that this number has since risen. Another aspect of the study also explains as to why it is important to look at graduation rates at different colleges for my own research project. The Pew Research Center looked at which students’ anxiety was originating from the pressure to do well in school in order to get into a good college. Though the greatest difference between the research done by The Pew Research Center and me is the group that is being surveyed, the source of a mental health disorder is the same: feeling pressured to do well in school in order to be more successful later in life.

Tying it back to my own data and project, I think it will be slightly easier to process and visualize the data because since I am compiling the data on my own, I have more control over it and how it is organized. It definitely will be more work compared to other topics that already have relevant and specific data sets out there, however, I am excited to see what I can find and actually create a data set on my own.

References:

1. Wolf, Ryan. “Wellbeing by Generation: Where Some Thrive, Others Struggle.” Gallup.com. Gallup, February 28, 2020. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/268025/wellbeing-generation-thrive-others-struggle.aspx.
2. Horowitz, Juliana Menasce, and Nikki Graf. “Most U.S. Teens See Anxiety, Depression as Major Problems.” Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project, January 5, 2020. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/02/20/most-u-s-teens-see-anxiety-and-depression-as-a-major-problem-among-their-peers/.

Initially, I wanted to focus my website project on immigration and its influence on economic disparities within the state of New Jersey.  I quickly found that finding sources that showed both the relation and correlation between immigration and economic disparities were not common and often separated the two categories from one another instead of in a more comparative manner.  I looked on sites such as JSTOR and ProQuest for my qualitative data, while I turned to sources such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis for my quantitative data.  Since I could not find data supporting the linking of my social issue, I reconfigured my topic to focus on immigration within New Jersey.

The whole process of finding a data source that is useful for my website project involved first looking at sources found on JSTOR and ProQuest.  Here, I was able to locate plenty of argumentative pieces that either advocated or rejected the ideas of immigration benefitting society as a whole.  These engines gave me choices from several sets of data and offered a wide range of perspectives, which is useful in the overarching goal of my website: to allow individuals to formulate their opinions based on unbiased data presented to them.  For more statistical and quantitative data, I plan to continue to use https://datausa.io.  This site provides New Jersey data having to do with the economy, diversity, education, and housing and living.  My selection of sources is indicative of my main goal of wanting to provide a range of perspectives so that individuals can think freely and draw their own conclusions using the data provided throughout my website.  I did not want to focus so much on immigration benefits or drawbacks, but I wanted to focus more so of the role immigration plays in New Jersey as well as its effects within the economy, demographics, education, and diversity.  Creating a well-rounded website with a balanced focus on aspects of immigration will provide readers with backgrounds of more knowledge.  Some questions I want to ask my data include:

1. How does immigration impact the economy?
2. What is the history of immigration, and where do we see immigrant groups moving?
3. Which populations of New Jersey face the most poverty?
4. What populations/demographics are largest within New Jersey?
5. Where do populations of immigrants usually move/congregate?
6. What roles has immigration and diversity played on culture and lifestyle?

Immigration is a vast topic that can be dealt with using social sciences or more pragmatic methods such as economic factors, so a majority of fields would be able to answer these questions, including economics, business, education, humanities, and other social sciences.  Immigration affects more people than we realize. As of 2017, 22% of New Jersey residents were born outside of the United States (^1).  Compared to my last topic, the data used for immigration in New Jersey is much easier to handle and break down seeing that I can extrapolate information having to do with different fields instead of focusing solely on the economics and disparities associated with immigrants.  However, sources indicated that economic concerns dominate the worries of Americans due to the labor market and revenue (^2).  Data supports the notion that economics plays a large role in the perception of immigration.

Most data usually requires cleaning or massaging to some degree in order to obtain the desired information, oftentimes because sources provide more data than is actually necessary.  I find that surveys are skewed at times because they depend on the honesty of respondents, and they may not answer every question completely truthfully, so data sources such as polls and surveys should be used with caution, as discussed in previous lectures.  Considering this, I will have to adjust it so that it provides readers insight to the topic from the general public’s perspective.  I do not foresee any problems with obtaining the necessary data, but one concerning issue is that recent data may be skewed as a reflection of the ongoing immigration debate throughout recent years.  Overall, the process of analyzing and visualizing data go together: after analyzing data, it is helpful to see its meaning and significance in the form of charts or graphs. It is easier for many to see effects versus reading about them.  It assists individuals in trying to comprehend data’s meaning and apply it to any given issue, and the process proves effective when wanting to draw conclusions of issues.

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Bibliography

(Image 2) Damicis, Jim, and Bethany Meys. “Immigrants Are Critical to the Economy.” Immigrants are Critical to the Economy | Camoin Associates, June 11, 2018. https://www.camoinassociates.com/immigrants-are-critical-economy.

(^2) Espenshade, Thomas J., and Vanessa E. King. “State and Local Fiscal Impacts of US Immigrants: Evidence from New Jersey.” Population Research and Policy Review 13, no. 3 (1994): 225-56. Accessed March 30, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/40229734.

(Image 1 and ^1) “New Jersey.” Data USA. Accessed March 30, 2020. https://datausa.io/profile/geo/new-jersey#demographics.

Social Science is an information heavy topic to talk about. It’s an information heavy topic because to talk about any social issue without knowledge can make you sound foolish or all over the place due to how big the history can be for certain subjects. That is why good sources and databases are a must when researching a social issue. Which can be hard because there are many databases that have been deemed worthy enough for usage, you just have to be able to tell if information is accurate because at times the information can prove to be false. Take Wikipedia for example. Wikipedia is a go to for many people in the world but people sometimes fail to realize that the information on Wikipedia can be edited by anyone in the world. This is why I have learned to use the databases that are provided by Ramapo College. The library at Ramapo offers many databases to use, such as, JSTOR, ProQuest, and Academic Search Premier and those are just a few databases. That’s not mentioning the other sources provided by the professor such as the Jane Addams Digital Edition, which holds newspapers and historical information for a variety of topics. But I usually just stick to using Ramapo College databases because they have everything I need. They have full text pdf, scholarly journals and sources, and they have the source already cited. I don’t ever have to worry about the credibility of the source I want to use because I know it’s credible. But questions I plan to ask my data are, how long has racism and discrimination been an issue on college campuses, how does racism and discrimination affect that colleges attendance rate and what is being done to combat this issue on campus. Finding data for some of these questions will not be easy at all. Proper wording of the question or the correct keys used will be important when finding data. I believe the most difficult question to find data for is how would racism and discrimination affect college attendance rates. This would be most difficult in my opinion because that kind of data is hard to attain. For that data to have any kind of statistical truth, people would have to confess to that being a reason why they make the choice to not attend a college. Not too many people would do that because not a lot of people like admitting that they are scared. So I believe a little cleaning would be needed for that question and data to be used. The process of analyzing and visualizing data can be difficult if you have no idea what you are doing. If you do not have the correct information to answer the question then the data you have would mean nothing. But the questions I plan to ask will cover a range of fields for me. I plan to ask questions that will give the history of the issue, that will tell me how the people feel about the issue, and will inform me of what is done to stop the issue.

The sweatshops of the past, as displayed by the Tenement Museum, were smaller, family-owned businesses. A small handful of people would work on making ready-made garments for a large department store, with the department store having commissioned each small sweatshop for mass production of one item. Eventually sweatshops became larger factories, slowly evolving into what we know them to be today. A peak example of modern day sweatshops are the sweatshops found in the deeply corrupt country of Bangladesh, especially their capital of Dhaka. “Dhaka is one of the poorest, densest and most populous cities in the world.” Bangladesh imports a good portion of all raw cotton imports globally for its huge textiles industry, which makes up nearly all of the country’s exports. It comes after only China in clothing exports. The minimum wage has been $0.35 an hour for a long time, until a recent increase to a still meager $0.42 an hour. There is poor infrastructure, such as poor electrical work in many of these factories. There is improper storage of chemicals like fabric dyes. Workers often risk serious injury and/or disability compared to non-factory jobs in the area. Dhaka is especially known for its building fires and collapses which have killed hundreds and even thousands of factory workers. This has been compared to the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, except that event resulted in reform, while many of these events have inspired much change.

Sweatshops of the past are very similar to sweatshops of today in terms of the poor conditions and infrastructure, frequent injury and accidents, low pay for workers, and common usage by large, affordable ready-made clothing brands. However the difference today is that sweatshops are no longer as prominent in wealthy, economically powerful countries. Sweatshops are most prominent in countries that are poorer and have much smaller economies. The developed countries still benefit from sweatshop labor, but they can afford to save their own population from the sweatshops while forcing it onto countries who can not afford the same privileges for their populations. The sweatshops of today are also often on much larger scales, with more technology than the sweatshops of the past. They can also produce larger quantities and varieties of products than the sweatshops of the past ever could.

Sweatshops hold no benefit for these workers, seeing as work outside the factories that has similar pay, at least in Bangladesh, has less hours and much less risk of injury or disability. Insatiable consumerism demands low prices and cheap goods, but the cost of that mindless materialism is the exploitation of people who are given little other option. We are responsible for how important this harmful industry has become to Bangladesh, and we are responsible for how the body count that the textile industry has collected there. It is up to us to hold these large clothing brands accountable.

Volodzko, David. “Bangladesh Is Burning And Sweatshops Are The Fuel.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 26 Mar. 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/davidvolodzko/2019/03/05/bangladesh-and-the-fire-next-time/#5147c1ad2ca1.

I fully anticipated difficulties in researching my topic. LGBTQ+ communities have not been advocated for until the 1950s and only recently has it been seen in a positive light. Policies like 600-20 also likely will skew information about LGBTQ+ in the military. This is not a topic that I can easily look up online and I was having difficulties finding sources on anything other than a general history. That being said, after a session with a school librarian, Christian Connor, I was able to find enough sources that half of my research is complete.

I was searching for mostly scholarly journals on the database Proquest, but the one specifically for social issues. I found numerous sources discussing LGBTQ+ in the military.  This source specifically focuses on men in the military and how homophobia of the working class has increased or decreased over the years. It mentions world war 2 and includes personal accounts of gay service members. For another source, an interlibrary loan would be necessary. The abstract proves that the full text would likely be helpful. The source states that a study was done that found no negative effect on the military after the DADA repeal, proving that LGBTQ+ being open in the military has no consequences. I also decided to look up blogs and newspapers to get information on public view. One newspaper was a NY Times article published in 1989. It talks about the debate in the pentagon over homosexuals in the military. Despite some saying the report to accept homosexuals was not flawed, the pentagon rejected the report on this basis, claiming it was biased. Another more current article is perfect to show the opinions of legislators about the recent ban of LGBTQ members in the military.  Congresswoman Hartzler said, “military service is a privilege, not a right.” 1 Finally, the last type of source I discovered was polls. I specifically used Gallup poll and I side with. There was a Gallup poll on how Americans are nearly evenly divided with slight favorability toward LGBTQ. In 1991, 50% compared to 43% still wanted to keep the ban on LGBTQ+ from joining the military. It will be interesting to see how it compares to modern-day opinion. 

Connors helped me find databases to search, how to request interlibrary loans, and how to search the school’s library for books. I also learned a lot while looking at multiple American textbooks throughout history. I did not expect to find anything relating to LGBTQ+, especially in the older textbooks. Instead, I looked for words involving Eisenhower, McCarthy, the Vietnam and Korean wars and so on. I was also advised to look at military records in the textbooks. I was so focused on those words, I actually forgot to check the more modern books for word homosexual. Created Equal: A Social and Political History of the United States second edition, published in 2006, had multiple pages on homosexuals in history. This includes events like the Stonewall riot of 1969 and the first gay pride parade. I am not only using the research methods for this class but also my other classes, for example, Critical Reading and Writing. I learned where to search to find specific sources, what to search, and that interlibrary loans are my best friend.

Footnotes and Work Cited

Belkin, Aaron, Morten G. Ender, Nathaniel Frank, Stacie R. Furia, George Lucas, Gary Packard, Steven M. Samuels, Tammy Schultz, and David R. Segal. “Readiness and DADT Repeal: Has the New Policy of Open Service Undermined the Military?” Armed Forces and Society 39, no. 4 (10, 2013): 587. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0095327X12466248. http://library.ramapo.edu:2048/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1432297745?accountid=13420.

By ELAINE SCIOLINOSpecial to The New,York Times. (1989, Oct 22). Report urging end of homosexual ban rejected by military: Pentagon rejects report critical of homosexual ban no security risk, says the military’s own research center. New York Times (1923-Current File) Retrieved from http://library.ramapo.edu:2048/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/110207622?accountid=13420

Saad, Lydia. “Gallup Vault: Issue of Gays in Military Split Americans in 1993.” Gallup.com. Gallup, March 13, 2020. https://news.gallup.com/vault/214745/gallup-vault-issue-gays-military-split-americans-1993.aspx.

1 Stark, Liz. “Lawmakers, LGBTQ Groups Divided over Transgender Military Service.” CNN Wire. July 27, 2017. https://advance-lexis-com.library2.ramapo.edu:2443/document/?pdmfid=1516831&crid=43768b5f-e6e2-4e5e-8934-9d1552b04c7e&pddocfullpath=/shared/document/news/urn:contentItem:5P3W-KJY1-JBSS-S2G0-00000-00&pdcontentcomponentid=385157&pdteaserkey=sr5&pditab=allpods&ecomp=pp79k&earg=sr5&prid=a954a7e6-71be-4a51-a45f-45bf7926ccc2.

At the American Humane Association Convention on November 14th of 1906, Jane Addams gave a speech arguing that child labor is the greatest social issue of the time. Miss Jane Addams presented “Child Labor and Other Dangers of Childhood“, which she wrote herself this article consisted of her opinion on child labor, including examples she has seen and reasons on how labor negatively affects children. The American Humane Association focuses on the topics of children and animals. Individuals interested in the protection of these topics were allowed to attend the American Humane Association conventions and meetings, according to the New York Daily Tribune. Within her presentation, Jane Addams stated, “It is always difficult to see the moral dangers which threatened our generation, and to awaken the public interest in them

sufficiently to accomplish their removal,” as she emphasized the importance of the underlying issue of child endangerment. Beginning to touch on the topic, Addams explains how it is society’s job to protect children through the process of discovery, investigation, and mediating and helping. Society soon began to push this issue backwards and use children for labor by the age of twelve.

Having children so young work so intensely for so long, caused developmental issues for these children according to Jane Addams. Often children would work full days and lack the time necessary to complete their education; other times, children would work half day and be in school the other half. Addams made points that children who attend a full day of school develop further as they have the opportunity to play and develop their mind and bodies. Being forced into work so prematurely deprives the child’s ability to do such things. Physical strain, starvation, and lack of sleep often occurred in full-time working children and most were found to be abnormal.

As her speech continued, Addams gave an example a boy’s situation while she worked in the Hull House. This twelve year old boy was the man of his family. he worked full time to provide for his mother and his grandmother by bringing home weekly wages.  After turning eighteen, this boy got mixed up in the wrong crowd and eventually broke; the boy had bottled up all of the pain, work, and weight that he had carried the past six years. He was unable to develop naturally because he was forced to grow up so fast.

Child labor often seems cheap and easy, but in reality it is seen as child cruelty as it drains the children physically and mentally. Owners of the business often see the situation in a light that makes them seem like a good guy. Addams explains one story of a girl who worked all day and slept in the factory as the workers rotated shifts. The manager viewed this as him helping by allowing them to rest, but virtually, he was endangering their wellbeing. Child labor can be viewed as child cruelty in many cases.

This paper by Jane Addams touches on the wellbeing of children and their treatment. It was written to inform and explain how these situations happen in real life. Being given at the American Humane Association Convention allowed Addams to reach an audience that shared the interest and compassion for helping protect children. 1906 was a progressive year for child labor and child abuse as the Children’s Prevention Society was formed and other groups brought the issue to attention. Child abuse has been a social issue for all of time and Jane Addams was one women who took a stand for the treatment of children.

Jane Addams, an advocate for immigration, gave a speech on October 28, 1907 at Carnegie Music Hall in which she expressed the many talents that immigrants offer to America despite the constraints they face.  Jane Addams’ concerns for immigrants were depicted in her autobiography, 20 Years at Hull-House, where she asserts that immigrants and their traditions should be respected, and immigrants should be assisted in assimilating into American culture.^1  In her inclusive speech, which can be found here, she expresses that societal advancements are often gained from those who immigrate to the United States from other countries.  She also asserts that by accepting and understanding the differences between native-born Americans and new immigrants to America that there “will be a material advancement in culture and appreciation of the finer crafts.”^2  Jane Addams’ messages of inclusivity also express that immigrants have the utmost potential, especially in material achievement of the crafts.  She expresses despair that immigrants are forced into types of work that are below their capabilities being that they were skilled tradesmen in their native lands.  Jane Addams describes the diverse trades immigrants are skilled in, ranging from metal workers to furniture makers and other creative forms. She advocates for them entering fields and types of work where they will best thrive so they reach their utmost potential as Americans.^3  Despite my topic being centered around economic disparities between classes across periods of American history, immigration relates to the economy. Immigrants increase the supply of labor in the nation.  There are misconceptions that immigration is a disservice to the American economy, but as Jane Addams supports, immigrants add value to America and its workforce.  Additionally, the Hull House in Chicago was the prototype for fixing the causes and symptoms of poverty, which only helped the economy.^4  Assisting those new to the country (immigrants) and central to the country (women and children) were root purposes of the Progressive Era.

Jane Addams gave this speech in 1907.  The date is significant to the context because during this time, immigration restrictions were placed on Japanese individuals who were trying to migrate to the United States.^5  The U.S. was regulating immigration and approving migrants at their discretion while it was looked down upon to accept more immigrants into the country.  This was a catalyst for the sentiments set against immigrants in general, which eventually resulted in forced assimilation in some cases since America wanted immigrants for forego their own cultures and become purely and distinctly American.  Jane Addams argues that immigrants add value to the nation and should be valued for their skills, not ostracized within American society.  The speech also places special focus on Chicago and the hardworking immigrants residing within the city. It does reflect Jane Addams living in a hull-house in Chicago; she asserts that Chicago is full of immigrants with amazing potential in material achievements, and she supports her assertion with their work done at Hull House.^6  In 1906, Chicago’s population grew with 64,000 immigrants.^7  The Hull House being in Chicago created a “haven of refuge” for immigrants as they sought better futures and better conditions than the ones they left.^8

This speech took place at Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; it was the opening lecture of the University Extension Society.^9  This setting impacts its content because it was a venue for musical excellence, and Jane Addams giving a speech in a venue such as the music hall would only add to her purpose and audience of wealthy intellects who were in the positions of offering aid to the nation.  Many strides were taken during the Progressive Era to help immigrants, women, and children, and Jane Addams’ persistence furthered the initiatives for better conditions and more promising futures for all inhabitants of the United States.

Bibliography

(^2, ^6, and ^9) Addams, Jane. “The Possibilities of the American Immigrant, October 28, 1907 (Excerpt).” Pittsburgh Daily Post, Jane Addams Digital Edition, October 28, 1907.

(^4 and Image 2) Friedman, Yael. “Carnegie’s Gift: The Progressive Era Roots of Today’s Branch Library.” Urban Omnibus, October 1, 2014.

(^3) “Give Aliens Chance.” The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), October 29, 1907. Page 8.

(^1) History.com Editors. “Jane Addams.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, April 16, 2010.

(Image 1) Michals, Debra. “Jane Addams.” National Women’s History Museum, 2017.

(^7 and ^8) “Ten Nights in a Bar-Room.” Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois), January 20, 1907. Page 55.

(^5) “The New Immigration Law.” The Hawaiian Gazette (Honolulu, Hawaii),  March 1, 1907. Page 6.

Jane Addams (1860-1935) was a peace activist who was the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. Her involvement was “instrumental in successfully lobbying for the establishment of a juvenile court system, better urban sanitation and factory laws, protective labor legislation for women, and more playgrounds and kindergartens throughout Chicago.” (5) It was during the first World War, that Addams began promoting international peace. Since her time, she has become known as the “most loved woman in America” while also “the most dangerous woman in America” because of how powerful her peace efforts were.

Though mental health has a history of being a taboo topic, it is still extremely interesting to be able to see how it was discussed in earlier times. When going through the “Jane Addams Digital Edition” it allowed me to find numerous primary sources that clearly depicted what mental health was thought of and also how those that suffered from a mental health disorder were viewed.

However, though many viewed mental health as a disease and ‘bad karma’, Addams, who was a social reform activist, supported the work that was being done in terms of bringing awareness. She wrote a letter in November 1911 to Clifford W Beers, who was the secretary for the National Committee for Mental Hygiene, praising him and members of the committee for taking upon such an important task. First Addams addressed how this committee’s focus was to help those with mental health disorders, describing their mission as “the prevention of insanity and the amelioration of the condition fo the insane.” (1) Though calling someone with a general mental health disorder as insane is quite unacceptable nowadays, it was the norm in the early twentieth century. Addams continued, however, “I can imagine nothing more valuable to any community than the carrying out of your well-considered plans.” (2)

To further demonstrate the general opinions of mental health in this time period, there was another letter, this time being written to Addams in 1917, by Carolyn Sturgis. In this letter, Sturgis writes how those that are affected by mental health ought to be arrested, otherwise, they cannot be helped. Sturgis writes in the letter to Addams, “just as you yourself will stand by what you think [is] right, so do I.” (3) Sturgis continues, “Of course the tendency of our enlightening age is to treat such people more and more by “passive restraint” but it is not possible to treat them until they have been arrested.” (4) This letter was truly eye-opening to see how mental health was viewed as something that in a way, possessed people, because the emotion demonstrated in letters and other historical documents of earlier time periods, do not necessarily demonstrate hatred, but rather fear.

Overall, mental health has never been an easy topic to discuss and it was not any easier in earlier centuries. However, social reform activists, like Jane Addams herself, helped further drive the movement forward into a more positive light. In the times I have researched mental health for other projects I have worked on, I had never come upon Addams’ involvement in the field, however, it was refreshing to see her true passion of helping others.

References:

1. Addams, Jane, “Jane Addams to Clifford W. Beers, November 9, 1911,” Jane Addams Digital Edition, accessed March 4, 2020, https://digital.janeaddams.ramapo.edu/admin/items/show/3524.
2. Ibid.
3. Sturgis, Carolyn, “Carolyn Sturgis to Jane Addams, June/July 1917,” Jane Addams Digital Edition, accessed March 4, 2020, https://digital.janeaddams.ramapo.edu/admin/items/show/13160.
4. Ibid.
5. Michals, Debra. “Jane Addams.” National Women’s History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/jane-addams.