Open Access Kent State (OAKS)

This paper will focus on summarizing the threats of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by critically analyzing the problems associated with them in our food industry. The problems associated with genetically modified foods, such as patents created by corporations, toxins, increased cancer risks and environmental hazards, outweigh the benefits of them in our food industry. This paper discusses these arguments and the effects GMOs have on humans and the environment. Moreover, biotechnology companies create patents on genetically modified crops, which harms local farmers with the threats of litigation for inadvertently using patented seeds. Health risks such as toxins and increased risks of cancer also threaten humans who consume genetically engineered crops. The implications surrounding these health risks have caused other countries like the European Union and Canada to ban GMOs. Environmental hazards contribute to a decrease in insect and plant populations. This paper expands on the importance of individual actions to help deter GMOs from threatening our world.

The present paper will discuss the“North American Free Trade Agreement," widely known as NAFTA. It will first talk about the history of NAFTA, why it was created, and who was affected by its creation. Then the presentation will describe how NAFTA works and what the rules and regulations are for the agreement and how it is used in today's world. My presentation will further highlight the criticisms of this free trade as pointed out by a section of economists. In conclusion, the future of the NAFTA will be delineated. Specifically how things may end up changing and the effects of potential new policy changes on NAFTA.

There were many figures that the Scandinavian people looked to for religious purposes. One of those figures was Freya, the goddess of the Valkyries, known for fertility and beauty. She seems to be much unknown and still widely depicted in paintings. She provided dual purposes for the Norse people of both life and death. For many cultures those representations belonged to two separate deities. Fascination with her purpose and tales of her beauty were the source of paintings years later. Concepts of beauty have long been used as propaganda and debated for health reasons, but those ideas came from somewhere. In order to find the source of the Viking influence on beauty, we need to examine their ideal figure of beauty, the goddess Freya, and the fascination that non-Viking Europeans had with her. What cultural concepts of beauty did the Vikings bring with them to the British Isles during the Viking age? Why, or why not, have those ideas and concepts continued and spread? Analyzing imagery long after the Viking age will decipher the answers, and provide some explanations.

Who is the final girl? This presentation takes a look at the progression of one of the horror genre's most timeless tropes and the changes it has gone through over the span of film history. It takes look at the archetypal journey of the final girl, as she is evolving from being a character who is the virgin into one that takes on traits of the amazon. A more feminist attitude will be seen as one observes the increase of final girls in modern slasher films who don't need a male figure to come save them in the end. Examples of final girls shown will include older characters such as Laurie Strode from John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) as well as more modern final girls, such as Sidney Prescott from Scream (1996) and Erin from You're Next (2011). This presentation will explore what this says about our society and what progress we've made and what progress we still need to make in terms of feminism.

The female reproductive system is a rather sensitive region compared to other parts of the body, and the vagina itself contains lactobacilli, which regulate the pH and overall vaginal ecosystem. The balance maintained by these microbes is easily disoriented, which can lead to vaginal infection due to pathogenic microbes prevailing over beneficial ones. The purpose of this research was to discover if the use of feminine hygiene products and beauty products leads to the increase in vaginal infections and that these infections do not solely arise based on the vaginal ecosystem itself. A large range of scientific and medical literature was examined for information on the correlation between product use and likelihood of infection, as well as risks associated with the ingredients in products used. A list of ingredients from some common products was also gathered and compared to information found in the literature. It was found that with only some instances of benefits of some female products, there is a strong correlation between the use of several different products and the increase in vaginal infection, which can then lead to more major complications. There are alternatives that can be used in place of harmful products, but an overall increase and improvement on information available and education seems to be a key factor in decreasing these potential problems.