Abstract
This paper critically explores the underlying assumptions linking development to population and quality of life. As will be argued, correlation is not causality, in that economic growth and development may correlate with, but is not a causal factor in regard to, quality of life. As will be seen, advocates of economic development as the curative measure for quality of life deficits in many countries frequently blur this distinction between correlation and causality in comparing and contrasting different jurisdictions and situations. However, as will be shown, these issues must be considered critically in a wider context in order to more fully understand the complexity of the debate and the flawed nature of the equation of economic development with quality of life.

From the Paper
"While overpopulation has long been a concern among population geographers, the acceleration of industrial development around the world in recent years has complicated analysis considerably. Politicians and policy makers have committed themselves to models such as "sustainable development" and economic growth is promoted as a resolution for many of the problems in the developing world, as well as the increasingly industrialized countries of East Asia such as China. This being said, the impact of these policies upon the environment and quality of life remain often undefined at senior ..."

Tags:growth, boom, earth

Abstract
This paper examines the multitude of issues related to crime and more specifically, the fundamental relationship between genetics and crime. It evaluates the three distinct methodologies (adoption studies, family studies, and twin studies) that are used to discover the correlation between genetic influences on antisocial and criminal behavior. It also reviews different twin studies and their correlation to antisocial and criminal behavior. It concludes with recommendations for finding solutions to the crime problem.

From the Paper
"Few issues are as controversial and difficult to resolve as crime. Over the past 20-25 years, public concern over certain aspects of the crime problem has intensified. In particular, law enforcement and the public have focused on the challenge of supervising parolees and probationers in the community, juvenile crime, the role of television in producing violence, and urban gangs. Researchers have found a causal relationship exists between crime and such traits as: age; economic status; education level; environmental factors; ethnicity; gender; genetics; intelligence (or lack thereof); psychological factors; race; sex; sociological factors; etc."

Tags:criminal, behavior, dizygotic, twins, monozygotic, genetic, etiology, law

Abstract
This paper examines and compares the writings of two authors on the cause and effect of consumerism. The paper argues that, of the two books, Schudson's analysis in "Delectable Materialism" is more plausible than that of Schor's in "Work and Spend". The paper outlines Schor's work and then explains Schor's inability to establish cause and effect in her hypothesis. The paper then outlines Schudson's work and shows how he has established a cause-effect relationship in his hypothesis on consumer culture.

From the Paper
"In developing the argument that capitalism and advertising have created a consumerist treadmill resulting in discontent, Schor traces the advent of consumerism as concurrent with the development of the market system and the growth of the middle class. As further support of her claim, she cites the historically relative absence of materialism prior to the advent of capitalism. Thus, Schor concludes that it was capitalism that precipitated the rise of a consumerist culture and the breakdown of historical values: "Thrift and sobriety were out; waste and excess were in in the midst of all this buying, we can discern the origins of modern consumer discontent" (Work and Spend). The key to Schor's hypothesis here is the apparent absence of materialism prior to the advent of capitalism. However, the seeming absence of consumerism could well have been a function of other factors such as lower incomes and more important, the absence of a wide range of consumer goods."

Tags:individual, identity, material, possession, pursuit, convenience, comfort, influence, working, hours

Abstract
This paper examines the amount and types of violence children and adolescents are exposed to, and whether there is a relationship between this exposure and the development of aggression in children and adolescents. The paper explains that thousands of research studies have demonstrated that exposure to violent television and video games tends to lead to the development of aggression in some children and adolescents, however there is no simple causal relationship, i.e. we cannot say for sure that exposure to such violence will lead to aggressive behavior. The paper notes that multiple variables have an impact, such as age and gender of the child, and level of mediation done by parents, and that different media have different effects. In conclusion, the paper shows that research has established that exposure to television and video game violence can lead to the development of aggression in children and adolescents and such exposure tends to desensitize them to violence, and dis-inhibit them from committing acts of violence.

From the Paper
"Violence on television is the most commonly experienced exposure to violence in the lives of most children. While it is common knowledge that there is a great deal of violence on television, it is important to bear in mind that there are many different kinds of violence on television. For example, some shows feature human actors, acting out brutally violent acts, such as murder, rape and torture. While these may not be intended for young children, the reality is that many such children have access to them. At the other extreme, even cartoons usually portray at least some violence. Often this is extreme violence, such as pianos dropping on heads. However, the characters usually do not bleed or die, and they are in any event clearly fictional, so one might expect that the impact is not as great as graphic violence with human actors."

Abstract
The paper argues that poverty and population growth feed off of each other, but do not necessarily have a causal relationship. The paper believes that society can support growing numbers of people with investment in farming technology and education.

From the Paper
""Thus as an empirical fact, more people and a higher population growth rate mean more poverty, not less." (Diamond). Such is the prevailing wisdom about the relationship of population to poverty. The answer then would seem to be simple; reduce the number of people over time and over time the welfare of each person will increase. Yet, this is not quite the case. The relationship between poverty and population lies not in the sheer numbers of people and resources but how society manages both. The...."

Tags:macroeconomics, food, production, developing, vs., developed, countries.

Abstract
The paper discusses how when Argentina goes through a financial crisis the total factor productivity (TFP) drops. However when Mexico goes through a financial crisis, the TFP drops but not as drastically. The paper researches the major theories that help to explain why the TFP in Argentina drops, while it does not in Mexico when a similar set of circumstances is applied. The paper reviews available literature and looks at the capital utilization model and the neoclassical growth theory. The paper concludes that the research supports the thesis that TFP and inflation do not have a causal relationship, but that they do follow similar trends in relation to fiscal policies.

Outline:
Literature Review and Analysis
The Capital Utilization Model
Neoclassical Growth Theory
Probable Causes of Failure
Solutions to Reducing Inflation
Is Dollarization Really the Answer

From the Paper
"The Tequila Crisis in Mexico was one example where this exact effect was observed to have happened. As inflation rates rose, the opportunity cost of capital rose quickly as well. At the same time TFP drops below the trend (Quintin). Therefore Quentin and Edwin concluded that the TFP drop was due to a drop in capital utilization. When these authors applied this concept to models with homogeneous capital, using electricity as the key indicator or capital utilization, it accounted for almost 1/3 of Mexico's drop in TFP. When applying the measure with heterogeneous capital it tends to predict energy consumption more accurately (Quintin). This study concluded that unproductive capital remained unused. This left more resources to be devoted to more productive physical capital, according to Quintin."

Tags:Latin-America, economics, capital, utilization

Abstract
The paper explores the obesity epidemic through a comprehensive analysis of its development, as well as through a literature review pertaining to obesity and its controversial causes. The paper explores issues of self-esteem, abandonment issues, economics and prolonged psychological stress during formative years that can have contributed to the occurrence of obesity in adult women as well as in young girls. The paper then describes the findings of independent research regarding paternal abandonment between the ages of 6-19 and its effects on adult obesity in women. The paper includes the consent form, questionnaire, and raw data used by the study.

Outline:
Abstract Introduction Statement of Problem
Hypothesis
Review of Literature
Methodology
Findings
Conclusion
Limitations
Definitions of Terms

From the Paper
"Obesity is a significant and current social and physical issue in the world today. (Anderson & Butcher, 2006, p. 19) It is particularly troubling in developed nations and is currently labeled and epidemic in the United States. Many people seek to find answers to the obesity question within the biological and physical spheres of study, blaming the entire situation of obesity on the poor eating habits and low level of physical activity of those who suffer from it. One area of obesity research that has been neglected is its connection to psychological factors. The psychology of obesity is a significant and demonstrative factor in the behaviors that cause obesity as well as in its manifestation, which has recently become increasingly youthful, with children as young as two-five showing early symptoms of obesity as well as a potential future of obesity into adulthood. (Anderson & Butcher, 2006, p. 19)"

Tags:BMI, diet, overweight, race, drinking, smoking, income, education, healthcare, self-esteem, stress, depression

Abstract
This paper discusses the result of research which placed 200 male undergraduate participants in a 4x3 mixed factorial design to determine if the physical attractiveness stereotype applied to adultery. Participants were assigned to 4 conditions. Each group was presented with a scenario depicting the character "John" committing adultery with one of 3 women. The first independent variable was the manipulation of the attractiveness level of "John". "John" was presented as either an unattractive, average, or attractive man. A "no picture" group was created to measure the participant's base line response. The participants were then asked to indicate which woman (unattractive, average, or attractive) "John" was having an affair with. The paper shows that results indicated that the matching hypothesis does occur in situations of infidelity. Evolutionary implications and reasoning are also discussed.

Paper Outline:
Abstract
Method
Discussion
Bibliography

From the Paper
"Women look for a man whose appearance indicates a means to acquire resources and the ability to protect/care for any potential offspring (Townsend, 1990). These cues, coming from an evolutionary standpoint, are also very logical. Women have much more at stake than men do when it comes to child bearing. Females seek a mate that exhibits traits that imply that he will be able to provide for her during her pregnancy, since during those 9 months she will be unable to provide for her self (in an ancestral hunter-gatherer society). If the women in question does not embody the traits men find desirable, she will have to look for a man that is lower on the attractiveness ladder."

Tags:genotypic, gender, fertility, attractiveness

From the Paper
"Ongoing research into eating disorders is a significant and important need; this because over 35 percent of American women engage in binge eating, eight percent attempt to control their weight through self-induced vomiting, and nearly six percent abuse laxatives (Kendler, MacLean, Neale, Kessler, Heath & Eaves, 1991). In other words, almost half (49%) of American females have some type of eating disorder.

Clearly, there is a need to fully understand factors that produce eating disorders if therapeutic efforts to remediate the condition are to be successful. The study proposed here is designed to provide new insight into the connection between eating disorders and childhood sexual abuse as part of the effort to attain a more complete phenomena of the etiology of eating..."

Abstract
The paper examines the article "Does Marriage Reduce Crime? A Counter-Factual Approach to Within-Individual Causal Effects," where the authors attempt to determine if marriage has any positive effect on crime rates. The paper outlines the methodology used and looks at the authors' discussion on what it is about marriage that fosters desistance from crime.

From the Paper
"As to the methodology used to determine the existence of a link between marriage and crime, Sampson, Laub and Wimer depended almost exclusively on studying 500 men "who entered the transition to adulthood at high risk for continued involvement in crime" and who after the age of 30 or so became married. The authors then used three sets of additional data, being a 35-year long follow-up study to age 70 of the above 500 men, in-depth interviews with a "targeted subsample of 52" of the original 500 who "varied in patterns of criminality in adulthood" and a life history calendar to "assess yearly changes in key life events" like crime, incarceration and of course marriage (2006, 466). What the authors discovered as a result of all this research is quite amazing and clearly demonstrates a link between marriage and crime."

Tags:attachment, relationships, lifestyle