Letter from the Editors
Staff Articles
- Spaces for Young Women of Color’s Trauma Meaning Making and Identity Development
- Investing in Chinese Women: A poverty alleviation empowerment model
- “Show Me Where It Hurts”: Treating the Wounds of Our First Responders
- Mechanisms of Liberation: Towards an Inclusive Pedagogy
From inception to publication, the journey of an idea is arduous. It begins as merely a thought and throughout rounds of edits, sleepless nights of philosophizing, and dinners spent debating, the idea transforms into a theory backed by the latest research in the field. As young researchers, the amount of psychological theory set before us is daunting, yet with each new class we beg once more: think of something new. During a time in which traditional higher education is facing an evolution, and where an undergraduate degree is standard, the Applied Psychology department at New York University continues to uphold its students to unparalleled levels of undergraduate research. The Applied Psychology undergraduate program does not merely produce graduates; it produces some of the country’s finest young scholars in the field.
Twice a year, OPUS, the Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies, showcases outstanding work of our underclassmen. The research presented in this volume of OPUS is especially multidisciplinary and diverse. From emergency medical trauma, to Chinese poverty alleviation and hair alteration practices of Black women, there is a wide array of populations and topics upon which this issue touches. The publication of this collected work would not be possible without the efforts of our dedicated senior and junior staff, contributors and the support of our faculty mentor Dr. Tamis-Lemonda as well as the department of Applied Psychology at large.
This issue is unique because of the circumstances under which it was created. During the Fall of 2012, students at New York University were asked to not only rise to the academic occasion, but also to withstand a historic breakdown of the entire city during Hurricane Sandy all the while pushing intellectual limits and some trying to stay, literally and figuratively, afloat. The publishing of OPUS was a feat and it is with great pride that we present to you our latest issue. We sincerely thank you for your interest in the undergraduate research of the Applied Psychology program at New York University.
Kara Duca
Caila Gordon-Koster
Coralie Nehme
Editors