Tyranny of Multiculturalism

*Final Essay for my "Social and Cultural Foundations of Psychotherapy" course.  This is a doozy weighing in at 22 page.  Abstract below and here's the link to the .pdf.

Abstract:
     This essay will discuss concerns of the author around suggested standards for practice int he category of multicultural counseling.  The argumentative backdrop is set by a questioning of evidence-based practice and empirically-supported treatments.  Further literature review includes suggested multicultural initiatives and criticisms of such directives.  Considerable length is given to discussion on the necessity of a "political therapy", consequences of practice, and "everyday evilness."

Library Statistics

     I posted the "beta" of this report a few weeks ago, but here is the final draft.  Not much has changed other than some typo corrections (although up re-rereading some still exist).  Essentially I made observations of our university library to monitor the number of computers being used throughout the week.  Without all the stats and graphs, here's the conclusion and link to the .pdf.

     In conclusion, several inferences can be made from this data.  Firstly, the staff hypothesis that the library is most busy during "regular business hours" can be confirmed as seen by the trends in percentage of vacant computers and population.  Secondly, my first hypothesis -- that there would be a significant negative relationship between population and the percentage of vacant computers can be confirmed by the presented data.  Thirdly, my second hypothesis -- that day-of-the-week would not have a significant relationship with the percentage of vacant computers -- has been refuted.  Lastly, my third hypothesis -- that time-of-day would have a significant relationship with the percentage of vacant computers -- can also be refuted.
     Additionally, the initial analysis has been largely supported by in depth statistical analysis.  A library patron's strongest probability for finding a vacant desktop computer to work on would be when there is the highest percentage of vacant computers.  this happens to be on the second floor on Friday if one is not constrained by time, however, if time is an important factor on will find the highest percentage of vacant computers on Thursday around 9:00 p.m.  In general, however, there is a higher percentage of vacant computers later in the week, on a higher floor, and later in the day.  Further research and considerations may need to be made to accommodate for population and (potentially) inherent noise levels associated with more populous times and floors within Ingram Library.

Euthanasia: Implications of a Right to Die

     As the third semester of my graduate career winds down (or winds up!) I've got plenty of final papers/projects to share over the next couple of days.  Let's start by talking bout something light... you know, like death.  The following will be submitted as my final essay for my Human Service Practicum course, for which I volunteered at a hospice.  Here is a link to the .pdf document; the abstract can be read below.

Abstract and Author's Note:
     This article begins an inquiry into the implications and applications of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia within the context of hospice and end-of-life healthcare; accompanied by psychological and therapeutic considerations.  The foundation of this research lies in the acknowledgement of my own (the author's) biases, beliefs, and curiosities.  "The physicians had argued that the claimed right [to die] was analogous to a woman's right to decide to have an abortion (Mariner, 1997, p.2059)."  In acknowledgement of my own beliefs and preferences and in regard to abortion I am a proponent of choice in the hope that "life" will be chosen.  the intent of this article is to explore previous literature and investigate if I, or the reader, can settle upon a similar decision for end-of-life decisions as I do to the corresponding stance on beginning-of-life decisions (the aforementioned opinion on abortion).