The Office of Undergraduate Research and the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research are pleased to announce the winners of the 2015 Roper Award for Research Experience (RARE). The RARE award is a special subset of the SHARE (Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts Research Experience) Award. Both SHARE and RARE are designed especially for students in the early stages of their college careers, to introduce them to research in their chosen field and give them the skills they will need for further research projects. RARE teams consist of a faculty mentor and a student apprentice who apply jointly for the program. Learn more about SHARE & RARE awards. L-R: Paul Herrnson, Professor Vin Moscardelli, Erin Puglia '17 (CLAS), Chris Bruno '16 (CAHNR), Professor Ben Campbell, and Caroline McGuire The following students were selected for their outstanding proposals:
| Student: |
Christopher Bruno, Resource Economics |
| Faculty Mentor: |
Benjamin Campbell, Agricultural and Resource Economics |
| Proposed Research: |
The Role of Demographics and Socioeconomics on Views of the Food System and Food Access |
| Summary Description: |
Mr. Bruno and Professor Campbell will be using Roper Center data to consider how different groups view the food system and access information about food-related issues. They will examine how different groups view organic, local, and genetically modified food products, considering the role of race, gender, income, and other characteristics to better understand differences in perceptions. This research will culminate with the development of policy recommendations that address potential racial and/or income inequalities within the food system. |
| Student: |
Erin Puglia, Political Science |
| Faculty Mentor: |
Vincent Moscardelli, Political Science |
| Proposed Research: |
Throwing the Bums Out: Public Attitudes Toward Scandal-Plagued Incumbents |
| Summary Description: |
Ms. Puglia and Professor Moscardelli will use exit poll data to consider the mechanism(s) by which Congressional incumbents involved in scandals lose vote share. While existing research has documented the phenomenon of reduced vote share for candidates in the election cycle in which a scandal is first reported in the media, the causal mechanisms have not yet been established, so this project aims to model this process. |
2014 RARE Winners
