Humanities

Moderator: Don Hooper

History Panel 3: “British Stereotypes and Beliefs”

Representations of the Irish in British Media
Jo Bennett
Research Advisor: Dr. Chad Fulwider, Department of History

I argue that stereotypes in the media cause a lot of damage in the public eye and can and do shift public opinion and biases in one way or another. Making movies and writing books that involve the Northern Irish conflict or just Northern Irish people at the time frequently showed the audiences that these people were dangerous. It warped the public’s opinion of the heavily Catholic Northern Irish, when in reality they were just a group of people who had been heavily oppressed and discriminated against by the British and Protestants and were fighting to break away from that oppression. In order to support this argument, I have analyzed movies, television shows, books, and news reports that were made and/or set at the time of the Northern Ireland conflict that were either created in Britain or specifically paint the British as the heroes of the conflict and analyzing the plot and characters to find anti-Northern Irish stereotypes. I also attempt to find some examples of media that show the Northern Irish point of view to contrast the sides. In conjunction with analyzing these pieces of media, I give a description and chronology of the conflict, as well as some of the pieces that led to the tensions, to provide some context for the media I analyze, as I feel it is important to know the background in order to understand just how powerful and damaging these stereotypes can be.

British Colonial Policy in Ireland and North America
Djeneba Keita
Research Advisor: Dr. Chad Fulwider, Department of History

In this presentation I explore British policies and actions in creating the “plantation system” of colonialism, first in Ireland and later in the British colonies in North American. In particular, I examine the British views of the Irish and Indigenous Peoples of North America and the impacts of British exploitation.

 

Social Sciences (SMIF & ECON)

Moderator: Barbara Davis

Centenary College Student Managed Investment Fund
Brian Barker, Anthony Jaure, Harrison John, Nathan Lim, Corey Nobles, Greg Petreas, Andy Purpura, Matthew Young
Research Advisor: Dr. Barbara Davis, Frost School of Business

The purpose of the Centenary College Student Managed Investment Fund is to facilitate the academic objective of teaching the theory and practice of managing long-term investment portfolios with annual spending objectives through a real-world environment within the Frost School of Business. During the course of their working careers, many Centenary business school graduates will accept the obligation to serve in a fiduciary capacity with responsibility for the administration of endowment or pension funds. Accordingly, this fund is used to expose Centenary finance students to investment policy development, asset allocation strategy analysis, investment manager selection and evaluation, and investment performance measurement.

The SMIF began operations on April 23, 2004 with an initial contribution by a Centenary College donor of $100,000. The SMIF operates under guidelines of a written Investment Policy Statement with a “Spending Rule” of 5.5%. The SMIF is viewed as a separate investment manager within the Centenary College of Louisiana Endowment and Investment Fund. The blended benchmark for the SMIF is: 55% S&P500 / 15% MSCI-EAFE / 30% Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate Bond Index.

Since inception, there have been $146,331 tax deductible, contributions into the SMIF and $88,419 investment policy directed distributions to Centenary College. As of December 31, 2020, the ending market value was $230,608 and the dollar gain since inception has been $172,696. Since the beginning of operations, the annual compound rate of return has been 7.99% and SMIF blended benchmark return has been 8.03%.

Student presenters will focus on the 2020 returns for the large cap, mid to small cap, international equity, alternative asset categories, and fixed income investment components of the portfolio. Comparisons of the actual returns to the designated benchmarks will be made and explained.

 The Effects of Exogenous Shocks on Children’s Human Capital Formation in Ethiopia
Andy Purpura and Nathan Lim
Research Advisor: Dr. David Hoaas, Frost School of Business

Using a panel study first started in 2002 and sourced from the organization Young Lives, we show the impacts of idiosyncratic and covariate shocks on children’s human capital formation at various stages of childhood in Ethiopia. Idiosyncratic and covariate shocks are both exogenous events. However, idiosyncratic shocks (i.e. death, unemployment, and injury) entail neighboring households in a given area experiencing different outcomes as a result of a shock. On the other hand, covariate shocks (i.e. natural disasters or epidemics) result in many households in a given area suffering from similar outcomes because of a shock. By using a random effects model, we further explore the importance of early childhood development, Ethiopia’s relevance as the observed entity, and further considerations in the role of human capital formation in today’s society. Our results do match some previous literature that shocks generally have an adverse effect on individuals and communities alike, but we observed anomalies of growth in some observed categories where losses were anticipated to have occurred.

 

CLC Group Presentation 2

Moderator: Lindy Broderick

The Effects of Covid-19 on Spiritual Formation Practices
Anna Jane Storms, Bryn Jenkins, Cara Armstrong, Jr. Escobar, Anna DiMaggio, Baylee Barajas
Research Advisor: Reverend Lindy Broderick, Christian Leadership Center

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives, changing our daily routines, interactions with others, even our spirituality. In times of hardship, Christian believers traditionally cling to their faith more fervently than before. During natural disasters, wars, or loss, people of faith pray, grieve and worship together. The past year has endured an unprecedented level of suffering, loss, and fear worldwide. However, the threat of spreading diseases has disrupted the familiar rituals and traditions Christians use to persevere through times of panic and suffering. How have Christians coped with the lack of prayer meetings, church services, or social events? How has the Christian idea of fellowship changed? Engaging in certain acts or practices to enrich or cultivate their relationship with God and others is called spiritual formation. Using the teachings of Catholic priest, professor, and theologian Henri Nouwen, we can understand what spiritual formation is and its significance in developing one’s faith. This study will explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has altered spiritual formation, explicitly analyzing the evolving practices of prayer, music, and worship services in the Christian faith.