The “lie detector test”, more formally known as a polygraph examination, is used to detect deception across sectors such as, the U.S federal government, private sectors, and in the criminal justice system as a tool for interrogations. Despite the widespread use, there is little scientific evidence that the four primary measures that are recorded during the exam accurately and reliably detect deception. The four measures include skin conductivity, blood pressure, pulse, and respiration. When the polygraph is used for criminal investigations, it is common for detectives to prime suspects to believe that the tool is 100% accurate in detecting deception. The contention that the test measures physiological responses that indicate deception can also similarly explain the responses that a suspect may exhibit due to the pressure and anxiety-producing situation wherein a detective can use the tool to elicit a false confession. For this research project, I reviewed cases of exonerees, who took a polygraph test, through the National Registry of Exonerations in cooperation with the Innocence Project. The importance of reviewing these cases was to identify what the conditions were that led individuals to falsely confess. It is clear that when a polygraph test was administered during the interrogations, individuals were led to falsely confess which subsequently were falsely incarcerated for a crime that they did not commit. This serves to address the major issue about the criminal justice system that has continued to fail innocent individuals.

Academic Philosophy suffers from what’s been called a “demographic problem." In 2018, only 1 percent of full-time philosophy professors in the US were black and 17 percent were women. Progress in recruiting underrepresented groups has lagged far behind other humanities disciplines, particularly in race and gender. Given that undergraduate syllabi contain texts predominantly written by white and male philosophers, I hypothesize that students from underrepresented groups are less likely to major in philosophy. I am testing this hypothesis using several years of syllabi records from the University of Utah Department of Philosophy. Using the Simpson’s Diversity Index, based on assigned readings, each syllabus is given a score that illustrates to what extent the variety of possible identities of authors are represented. Each syllabus has been coded for race and the project has now enriched to include much-needed data on gender in a binary man and non-man approach. The study will analyze the average scores by semester and year to create a longitudinal comparison of author identities. I expect the diversity of authors for assigned readings included in philosophy syllabi will correspond to the diversity of undergraduates in the major. This novel research study will add to the literature that supports diversifying the philosophical canon.

There is limited sociological research on solidarities formed between Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in the United States. Scholars such as Cautin (2021), Briggs (2020), Schmitz et al. (2020), and Chavez (2000), have explored these solidarities in the context of race and gender. While this scholarship highlights the coalitional power in social movements, there is an opportunity to learn more about how BIPOC organizations build community in the face of adversity and across racial, gendered, documented, and able groups. This project is a case study of BIPOC organizations in Reno, Nevada, and the ways in which they create solidarity within and with other activist communities. Through semi-structured interviews of leaders and participants at Tu Casa Latina, Black Wall Street, Asian Community Development Corporation, and River Justice, I will gain a better understanding of the way in which these organizations build a sense of community. These interviews will focus on four main themes: 1) How are BIPOC solidarities created? 2) What are the coalitional politics of these groups? 3) What are specific characteristics and skills needed to sustain BIPOC solidarities? 4) Are there racial biases that support and/or prevent specific coalitions from establishing? By conducting these interviews, local organizations and future scholars researching activism in the Reno area will have access to strategies to better support each other.

While bureaucratic processes and institutions, such as planning institutions, are often credited for their unbiased processes and ability to create equal opportunities for all, the reality is typically quite the opposite. These processes of governance are interconnected with racial capitalism and are rooted in violence. This research examines the layered historic patterns of development, dissposession and planning processes in West Oakland, California to understand the current and ongoing displacement of Black residents. Centuries of racial oppression laid the foundation for the current conditions of the unhoused population being 70% Black while the overall population of Oakland is only 20% Black, and steadily dwindling. Based on a small urban ethnographic project and archival research, I take a critical view at the racialized bureaucratic workings of the Oakland Department of Transportation’s redevelopment project for 8th Street in West Oakland to expose the inherently racist planning practices and processes that configure the built environment and directly impact the Black residents of 8th Street today.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the practice of constructing computer systems that can perform tasks originally accomplishable by human intelligence. AI made extortionary leaps over the past decade with Amazon, one of the leading companies in online purchasing. According to Forbes, “Amazon is no stranger to AI. The company was one of the first to use the technology to drive its product recommendations. ” Additionally the MIT News posted in 2018, “breakthroughs in computer vision have enabled robots to make basic distinctions between objects. Even then, though, the systems don’t truly understand objects’ shapes, so there’s little the robots can do after a quick pick-up. ” This groundbreaking technology is showing potential to change the way society views the capabilities of machines. Soon the world will discover that machines can do more than just assist with everyday tasks. Machines have already been constructed in the light of human appeal and programmed to mimic human nature to increase the likeability in public opinion. Eventually the possibility will occur when machines become more “human-like,” but how will human society react to this development? How will they treat this newfound technology that demonstrates sentient life? What does ethics state giving rights or protection over new life? How should this be implemented for the new generation of evolutionary machines? This study examines what classifies a human and what level artificial intelligence needs to reach to be classified on the caliber of a human being.