b'Literacy:The Dilemma Impoverished Areas FaceElizabeth D. BinghamSponsor: Dr. Anne Price, Department of SociologyAccess to literature is instrumental in the enhancement of literacy. Areas suffering from poverty, lack of transportation, and little to no access to public resources such as public libraries are shown to have a lower educational attainment level.These distressed areas are in dire need of resources that offer free literature to aid in the promotion of their literacy rate.Improved literacy aides in economic growth, reduction in poverty, and reduction of crime. This study examined and mapped the locations of public libraries in Lowndes County, Georgia and provided this information to show how these resources are inaccessible to many poverty-stricken neighborhoods. The data obtained to determine the neighborhoods showing the highest probability of need was derived from the census tracts available through the Census Bureaus web site. These tracts were analyzed by three factors: poverty, lack of transportation, and low educational attainment to demonstrate the dilemma impoverished areas face and how this promotes low educational attainment. Research conducted has shown that poverty, lack of transportation, and lack of resources has a profound effect on ones educational attainment and is foremost in producing a vicious cycle that will continue unless adequate resources are made available to those in need.From Smite to Common Plight: The Evolution of AIDS StigmatizationAubree M. CooperSponsor: Dr. Shelly Yankovskyy, Department of AnthropologyWhen the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic began in 1981 and previously healthy gay men and intravenous drug users began dying of rare cancers and infections, it was called gay cancer and seen in the public eye as a punishment from God for being a sinner. As research advanced, it was revealed a virus, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), was to blame for this disease. Yet, public fear and misinformation ran rampant. Organizations such as the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), UNAIDS, and individuals such as Princess Diana of Wales, Sean Strub, Elizabeth Glaser along with corporations such as Apple, have worked hard to change the public perception on the disease. Its gone from gay cancer to a disease that a significant majority of the population live with and live a long happy life, from a death sentence to another bump in the road. This research explores to what extent the contributions of many individuals, organizations and corporations helped alleviate the fear and misinformation surrounding HIV/AIDS.95'