This study attempts to examine China’s New Socialist Countryside Construction policy and its potential environmental and socio-political consequences. Aggressive urbanization threatens the traditional landscape and governance structures of Sichuan province’s Chengdu Plain. Current scholarship on this subject examines potential reconstruction models and population densities on villages throughout Sichuan. I examine Zhanqi Village as a case study, an experimental region which is currently undergoing transformation. This study explores how alternative development strategies can be deployed to maintain the cultural and historic landscape, while maintaining local planning goals. I employ current urban planning theories focusing on population density and anthropological theories of spatial relationships. Using data collected from consultations with experts and critical reading of existing scholarship I provide a historical overview of the physical landscape and discuss potential redevelopment schemes currently being considered by local authorities. Lastly, I conclude with a discussion on the challenges and obstacles that will arise as a result of these programs. I hope that my research will inform local authorities on the challenges of current development models and contribute to a broader discussion on sustainable countryside development in China.

Despite the increase of international students on university campuses in the United States and promotion that encourages international admissions, there is a lack of care and resources to ensure their academic success and overall satisfaction. Transitioning to the college environment is challenging for all students, especially for international students who encounter extra challenges such as language barriers, greater financial burden, and homesickness. In this study, I investigate how social support from campus clubs, friendship, family, and mentorship programs impact academic success. Pulling from an extensive review of the literature, the main goal of this project is to construct a social survey that will be administered to 100 undergraduates at the University of Washington to measure academic success and measures of social support. Academic success is measured as self-reported cumulative GPA. I hypothesize that students with stronger social support networks will result in higher GPAs. Students with greater life satisfaction are also likely to have higher GPAs compared to those with lower life satisfaction. Future work will focus on how these international students’ lifestyle and education impacted how they react to the transition.

As social movements, technology, and political periods change through time, so does the young adult and their personal values. However, since the industrialization of the United States, one of the most enduring facets of American society is its system of capitalism and the overemphasis on having, or striving for, a materialistic lifestyle. With that being said, it has been found that one of the major drivers of change in personal values is materialism, and my study shows what effects materialism has on peoples' life goals and what life goals my sample has. The purpose of my study is to explore, using a convenience sample of Bemidji State University (BSU) students, how a materialist identity (or lack thereof) affects BSU underclassmen life goals (such as private wealth, self-fulfillment, family life, and public interest), using the 1991 Easterlin and Crimmins study for comparison, and as a way to see how levels of materialism have changed over time.

Pew Research found that 77% of Democrats believe in climate change compared to 43% of Republicans. This project aimed to measure the impact of community led climate change education on individuals in a traditionally Republican district. This was done with a new approach in bridging the communication gap by bringing together community leaders to discuss climate change in the hope of disentangling the climate conversation from partisan arguments and to promote a dialogue that considers the inter-generational nature of this public health concern. I hypothesized that people will accept information about climate change when it is presented by a community member or relative. I, along with my research team, hosted a community-wide educational forum in Maple Valley and Granger, small rural towns in Washington. The Maple Valley forum was led by a city council member, with five local students who taught their community about climate change using the stories collected from regional farmers and the knowledge they learned in their high school science class. We surveyed the participants (N = 30) before and after the forum to assess whether their perceptions have changed as a result of the forum. After coding the surveys into quantitative data, the effectiveness of the forum was analyzed using a paired t-test. This research will help us assess and refine educational methods for communicating the science and impacts of climate change to rural communities.