Student and faculty research highlighted

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – April 1, 2008) The following are summaries of some of the more than 100 student and faculty research projects being featured during the “Festival of Scholars” at California Lutheran University through Friday, April 4.

Business

The Economic Costs of the Iraq War

Student Greg Young of Minneapolis estimated the total cost of the Iraq War using economic and budgetary analyses. His research shows that the Congressional Budget Office estimate of about $600 billion in total direct costs is grossly underestimated. He asserts that the true costs to American taxpayers may exceed $2 trillion when other expenditures such as lifetime healthcare and disability payments, restocking of depleted military equipment and interest on loans used to finance the war are included.

Communication

Technology and Communication: Examining How Technology May Affect Social Interaction

Student Amber Trockey of Camarillo examined the effects of increased Internet communication on social interaction. She surveyed college students on the effect of Internet communication on the amount of time they spend in interpersonal communication and on whether they disclose more private information in Internet or face-to-face communication.

Education

Low Performing to High Performing: One California Title I School's Journey

At a time when more than 60 percent of the more than 6,000 Title I schools in California are failing, Mickey Stueck with CLU’s School of Education looked at how one Title I school moved from failing to high performing and sustained the achievement.

Shared –Inquiry Instruction vs. Direct Instruction in 9th Grade English Students

M. Mark Hetland, who teaches English at Taft High School in Woodland Hills and in CLU’s School of Education, studied the impact of two methods of studying a literary text on the writing scores of low- to moderate-ability high school freshmen. He compared teacher-directed, direct-lecture instruction to student-centered shared-inquiry methods and his findings showed that shared-inquiry raised writing scores for students of more diverse abilities that had been previously thought. Whereas shared-inquiry methods are mostly used only with honor students, his research shows that this method should be used more often with low- and mid-range students.

Political Science

Youth Social Networking and the 2008 Presidential Election

Stefanie Lucas, a Bakersfield resident and president of the Associated Students of CLU, examined the effect of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook on the political activity level of youths. Will social networking lead those who are not already politically conscious to become more politically active because many of their "friends" are involved? She also looks at what effect this may have on the 2008 Presidential election and the implications for political campaign strategies.

Sociology

Child's Play - How Play Styles Reinforce and Dismantle Traditional Gender Norms

Student Brandon Russell of Thousand Oaks observed nearly 100 elementary school students on their playground for a semester to determine whether their activities reinforced or contradicted traditional gender norms. He found most of the children’s imaginative, organized and sedentary play styles reinforced traditional roles with the exception of the rare female “tomboy” and the sedentary male “loner.”

It’s All About Me & God: Individualistic American Culture & Contemporary Christian Youth

Student Cassandra Anderson of Lake Forest looked at the shift from religion influencing society to society influencing religion. She examined the impact of individualism in America on a local college-aged Christian congregation. The study showed non-denominational Christianity’s popularity may be a result of its focus on what the church can do for you rather than what you can do for the church.

For complete abstracts and a full list of projects, go to http://www.callutheran.edu/ctl/research/fos_2008_abstracts.php.