While quality research was often hidden underneath lines and lines of small-lettered words, low quality research was often presented quite nicely. An exception to this rule was fellow Brooklyn College students’ poster, “Behind Closed Doors…If There Are Any: A Comparison of Social Issues that Define the Upper East Side and Harlem.” Despite the lengthy title, the group’s poster was very well done in my opinion. Words did not overwhelm the poster, and graphs were utilized strategically to explain content. The poster was a thorough analysis of the impact of race and income on a variety of societal issues, including alcoholism, homelessness, mental illness, domestic violence, and substance abuse. I was impressed by how comprehensive it was. Each member clearly did his or her part, and they all knew their respective sections very well. They walked me through the poster in an informative and engaging manner. There were major trends in the research; lower socioeconomic areas are plagued more intensely by these negative factors, as expected, but having it all written and organized clearly in one place is very important. It has a stronger impact on the viewer when he or she sees that not only is East Harlem subject to fewer health resources, but also has a higher rate of homelessness, higher rates of death due to drug abuse, and higher domestic violence rates than the rest of the city. For someone interested in education, public policy, public health, or just general community service, information like this is important. I applaud their ambitious project and creative presentation.
Poster Session
Observing all of the posters was slightly intimidating for me because my poster was about half the size of many of them. But then my critical eye kicked in, and I was incredibly dissatisfied by the amount of posters whose entire space was jam-packed with words. And many of the posters that did employ graphics/colors/images were a little light on the content side. For instance (I mentioned this in class), one poster was organized nicely and seemed engaging, and the topic caught my attention—do men have a greater tendency towards riskier decision-making? This field has been widely researched, so I was excited to see how they synthesized this material or came up with their own research to corroborate previous findings. They tested their hypothesis by measuring the amount of men vs. women who jaywalked on a particular street corner. That’s right, one street corner. For how long? Well, how long do you think four college students had the patience to sit at a street corner? They found no difference between men and women in their study. Shocking.
