H.H. Furness High School

H.H. Furness High School Senior Research Topics

Theme: Contemporary Issues in Society

Directions: Choose one of the following questions to write a 8-10 page research paper on. No more than one student per class may choose a particular topic.

Objective: To research one of the following topics from the perspective of how it helped to shape the contemporary society in which we live.

Politics:

1. Barack Obama’s rise to political prominence and his victorious 2008 presidential campaign. 2. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 3. The legacy of George W. Bush. 4. Post-9/11 reforms in homeland security. 5. The political mishandling of Hurricane Katrina at the local, state, and federal levels. 6. The political debate over nationalized vs. privatized healthcare in America. 7. Social Security: Current status and future outlook.

Science and Technology:

8. The global warming debate and the “Green Movement.” 9. The development of alternative energy sources. 10. The development of file sharing programs (Limewire, Kazaa, etc.) and their impact on the entertainment and software industries. 11. The uses and abuses of social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, etc.). 12. The impact of cell phone technology on society. 13. The environmental impact of the proliferation of plastic water bottles.

Health:

14. Continental Africa and the AIDS epidemic. 15. The ethics of prenatal genetic screening tests. 16. The proliferation of fad diets in American culture and their impact on health. 17. The epidemic of childhood obesity in American society. 18. The fight against autism. 19. The abuse of prescription pills in American society.

Sports:

20. Major League Baseball’s steroid scandals. 21. Hazing practices in college and high school athletics. 22. The origin and cultural impact of the WNBA. 23. Roger Goodell’s disciplinary reforms as NFL commissioner. 24. Yao Ming’s international impact on the game of basketball. 25. NCAA recruiting scandals in football and basketball. 26. The high mortality rate of professional wrestlers. Entertainment:

27. The proliferation and cultural implications of tabloid television.

Social:

28. Physician-assisted suicide and the “right to die” debate. 29. Sexual Predators in cyberspace. 30. The influence of blogging in society (politics, entertainment, etc.). 31. The ethics of gay marriage. 32. Sexual abuse and the clergy. 33. Western views on Islamic Fundamentalism. 34. Media influences on societal violence. 35. First Amendment Rights and censorship of (choose one) music, video games, newspapers, etc.

Education:

36. The reforms and efficacy of The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. 37. The dropout epidemic in American schools. 38. The proliferation of school shootings. 39. The impact of standardized testing on education. 40. The societal impact on inequity in school funding.

Local:

41. The building of casinos in and around the Philadelphia region. 42. Joe Vento of Geno’s Steaks and the constitutionality of his “English Only” request for orders. 43. The reasons behind and steps taken to address the recent spike in violence against Philadelphia police officers.