Volume 6 (2014)

With this volume, The Journal of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research (JIUR) enters its sixth year of publication. From the inception, our intent has been to make this journal interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary in approach, publishing original and review papers, including literature reviews, book reviews, film reviews, position papers, empirical work, experiential reflections, and original quantitative and qualitative research. By offering undergraduates the chance to express their ideas to a broader audience, we seek to demonstrate the strength of undergraduate scholarship at Southern Adventist University and our continuing focus on academic excellence.

It is gratifying to know that this journal has become an integral part of our university’s present and its future. This year’s submissions outnumbered all of our previous yearly submissions and we already have students asking about submitting to the next journal. Since its birth, my hope has been that the journal would become a centerpiece of the academic life of our university and it is immensely satisfying to know that it has certainly found its deserved place.

The compilation of this journal would not have been possible without our graduate assistant, Wyntre Stout. This year she has built upon past experience and following the publication of this volume will leave an even more comprehensive guide for the next graduate assistant who will assume her responsibilities. Above and beyond our expectations (there were many – keeping a busy editorial board on schedule, working with anxious students who submitted manuscripts for publication, editing to insure each submission met written guidelines, formatting each and every page in compliance with professional standards, and a multitude of other demands that seem to occur weekly), she has downloaded all our volumes onto a web repository that affords worldwide access to the journal. To view this journal online and previous publications of our journal, please go to knowledge.e.southern.edu. Thank you again, Wyntre, for being who you are – a truly exceptional individual destined to make significant contributions in the field of psychology.

If there is a contingent within your university that is interested in producing such a journal, our step-by-step manual would serve as an invaluable guide. I would gladly share it with you for the asking (rcoombs@southern.edu).

We are pleased and grateful to our university, especially the School of Education and Psychology, for continued support, encouragement, and most of all the commitment to academic excellence that affords this publication.

Robert S. Coombs, D.Min., Ph.D.,

Editor-in-Chief