Concurrent Session 2 is 10:30 – 11:10 am. Talks are arranged with interdisciplinarity and themes in mind.
Empathy – KCC Jones A
Violence Spreads: The Role of Behavior Learning in Transmission of Violent Acts
Alyssa Dalen, Mentored by: Dr. Michelle Lelwica
Empathy Games: The Future of Empathy
Dominic Meyers, Mentored by: Dr. Najla Amundson
Reproducibility – KCC Jones B
Investigating the Extent of Reproducibility in Current Wildlife Ecology Studies: A Changing Tide for Science
Andrew Johnson, Jane Nolan, Mentored by: Dr. Althea ArchMiller
Applications of 3D Printing in Development of Chemistry Laboratory Equipment
Thomas Styrvoky, Mentored by: Dr. Mark Jensen
Health & Safety – Lab Theatre
A Proposed Hypothesis of Three Mutated Genes Mediating HLHS: SAP130, PCDHA9, and NKX2-5
Anh Nguyen, Brandon Ciak, Mentored by: Dr. Krys Strand
Leave the Levees: The Need to Change America’s Flood Protection System
Grace Weber, Mentored by: Dr. Najla Amundson, Zachary Oehm
Relationships – Olin 124
Maternal Indifference and Feminist Horror in Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook
Lexi Docken, Mentored by: Dr. Gregory Carlson
Faulkner’s Palimpsest: The Sound and the Fury as Adaptation
Skye Spindler, Mentored by: Dr. Amy Watkin
Gender & Power – Integrated Science Center 201
Aristotle in a Modern Political Satire
Daniel Houseman, Mentored by: Dr. Don Rice
The Body Politics of Witchcraft: Inscribing the Female Body in Early Modern Germany
Kim Krattley, Mentored by: Dr. Jonathan Clark
#BREW – Integrated Science Center 260
Building a Movement: Exploration of IDEAS
Skyler Stoner, Mentored by: Dr. Al Kagan
Sustainable Practices at Junkyard Brewing Company
Payton Ramberg, Mentored by: Dr. Jennifer Sweatman
Decisions – Integrated Science Center 301
Jesus The Jew, Jesus The Christ, Jesus The Racist Who Learned From His Mistake
Vanessa Truelove, Mentored by: Dr. David Creech
Replication of Bats, Balls, and Substitution Sensitivity Study
Emily Moyer, Jessaline Backer, Taylor Courier, Mentored by: Dr. Mona Ibrahim
Abstracts:
Violence Spreads: The Role of Behavior Learning in Transmission of Violence Acts
Alyssa Dalen
In our society clouded with fear of harm at the hands of others, a staggering one in every two children is exposed to violent acts each year. Why is violence pervading and festering in our society seemingly without resistance? As violent acts are committed at alarming rates around us, it is the transmission of these behaviors to individuals who experience or witness them that creates an unchallenged violent cycle. Understanding why violent experiences trigger a learning and continuation of violent acts and why we have failed to stop this cycle is imperative as we work to better understand an issue that devastates the lives of both victims and perpetrators. This research analyzes current literature on the social learning model of behavioral transmission, contagion theory of violence, and the broad lens of gendered violent experience. Viewing the behavioral and structural level of violence allows perspective to see past an individual’s moral character as the root of violence and instead see violence as a learned behavior. This project analyzes current research with the aim of unveiling the sociological underpinnings relevant to the cycling of violence, in order to inform an educated approach to interrupting the devastating epidemic of violent behaviors seen throughout our world today.
Mentored by: Dr. Michelle Lelwica
Empathy Games: The Future of Empathy
Dominic Meyers
Video games have garnered a bad reputation. From first person shooters, like “Call of Duty,” that glorify violence and war, to “Grand Theft Auto” that shows the romanticization of gangster life. However, these games only encompass a small range of gaming. The recently identified genre of empathy games utilize the virtual world to restructure our abilities to empathize for others. With games in the genre, like “Crystals of Kaydor,” literally changing the brain’s genetic structure in players the popularity and possibilities for empathy games to make change shows that it is crucial to understand its possibilities. Empathy games could become the future for how we empathize with others. Through analyzing game mechanics specific to this genre of gaming, examining examples and effects of this genre, and finding implications, it is clear that empathy could only be a click away.
Mentored by: Dr. Najla Amundson
Investigating the Extent of Reproducibility in Current Wildlife Ecology Studies: A Changing Tide for Science
Andrew Johnson, Jane Nolan
Reproducibility is a fundamental tenet of the scientific process. In spite of this, there seems to be a lack of clarity within the scientific community about what it means for a study to be reproducible. In order to examine this issue within the wildlife sciences, we reviewed the quantitative reproducibility of randomly selected studies published in the two main The Wildlife Society (TWS) journals, Wildlife Society Bulletin and Journal of Wildlife Management. We reviewed 80 total studies with 40 targeted from each journal. Of the studies for which we have received or found data thus far (15 studies), we were able to reproduce the specific published numbers of only 20% of them. However, we reached similarly supported conclusions for a total of 56% of the studies. Reproducibility shortcomings tended to be found within the data-processing steps and were more prevalent for drop-down analysis software, such as Excel®and SPSS®, than for code-based analysis programs like R and SAS®. Our discussion will highlight the need for increased awareness and transparency throughout the entire data analysis and publication process, and also that we need to have a wider dialog about open science and how it can be achieved.
Mentored by: Dr. Althea ArchMiller
Applications of 3D Printing in Development of Chemistry Laboratory Equipment
Thomas Styrvoky
With the widespread availability of microcontrollers and 3D printing, an additive manufacturing technique allows for rapid development and implementation of precise cost-effective open source equipment alternatives for undergraduate research. This project explores the potential for FDM printing (Fused Deposition Modeling) to provide an effective and cheap solution for usage in functional components for instrumentation. The primary component of the project involved the development of a peristaltic pump, a core component in many instruments involving fluid flow. This project covers the challenges of design, coding, and manufacturing process for instrument design. It utilizes affordable components to provide precise and repeatable delivery of small volumes. The integration of this project with LabView allows for many applications in automation of procedures to improve reliability and repeatability for experimentation.
Mentored by: Dr. Mark Jensen
A Proposed Hypothesis of Three Mutated Genes Mediating HLHS: SAP130, PCDHA9, and NKX2-5
Anh Nguyen, Brandon Ciak
Congenital heart diseases (CHDs) are the most common types of birth defects, affecting over 2.5 million people. Hypoplastic left-heart syndrome (HLHS) accounts for nearly 25% of deaths in children suffering from CHD. The underlying cause of HLHS is still unknown, but results of recent research suggest correlations with certain gene mutations as a probable cause. In mice, mutations in Sap130 and Pcdha9 have resulted in an underdeveloped and less efficient left side of the heart. The Nkx2-5 gene has been studied more extensively and its protein is a DNA-binding transcriptional activator in cardiomyocytes. We hypothesize that NKX2-5 regulates the transcription of Sap130 and Pcdha9, which function as transcription repressors in cardiomyocytes. Therefore, the mutations of these three genes are potentially the underlying cause of HLHS. Further investigation should focus on these three genes and their roles in the embryonic heart. Functional studies in mice with mutations in Sap130, Pcdha9, and Nkx2-5 may lead to better understanding of HLHS and potentially inform new pharmaceutical interventions and gene therapies.
Mentored by: Dr. Krys Strand
Leave the Levees: The Need to Change America’s Flood Protection System
Grace Weber
Flooding is a very real concern for anyone living near a river. To stop the fear of flooding, many towns take precautionary measures, such as erecting levees. Levees, as defined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are “man-made barriers along a water course constructed for the primary purpose of providing flood, storm and hurricane protection.” With over 100,000 miles of levees within the United States, they have become one of our primary means of flood protection. However, levees do not adequately fulfill their job of flood protection; they place unprotected, often poorer, communities in the paths of floods. Levees work to increase flood risk for those downstream while protecting the affluent behind their walls. This flood planning system harms far more than it helps. Levees continue to place unprotected communities in the paths of floods. It is crucial that we change this system. By looking at contemporary news articles as well as current legislative measures, we can understand why we must change this flood planning structure. The causes, effects, and solutions to our overuse of levees are vital to understanding and changing this flood prevention system that disenfranchises so many people.
Mentored by: Dr. Najla Amundson, Zachary Oehm
Maternal Indifference and Feminist Horror in Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook
Lexi Docken
Originally released in 2014, Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook is an Australian feminist horror film depicting a complex relationship between Amelia, a widowed mother, and her young son Samuel. A children’s storybook character named the Babadook creeps its way into the home and the soul of the suffering mother, victimizing Amelia and wreaking havoc in her relationship with Samuel. The Babadook haunts with no clear purpose, but with close analysis, viewers may make a connection: the Babadook character symbolically represents the harshest circumstances of widowed motherhood. To understand the Babadook’s influence on the maternal experience, I have first examined the progression of the story, then analyzed the film through components of feminist film theory as well as the horror genre, and finally connected the haunting experience within the film to the real experiences of what may be identified as maternal indifference. An analysis of The Babadook demonstrates the significant impact of the narrative film in visually communicating messages — and in this specific case, messages about cultural and societal expectations concerning motherhood. The film successfully addresses issues of the maternal experience and expands upon the monstrous-feminine phenomenon in an empathetic manner.
Mentored by: Dr. Gregory Carlson
Faulkner’s Palimpsest: The Sound and the Fury as Adaptation
Skye Spindler
The esteemed novel by William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury, is well-known as a four-part saga, each told from its own point of view and form of narration. I argue that each narration within the text is centralized around the story of the Compson family, and that the four-part book is an adaptation that adapts itself. I have termed such a work of self-adaptation a palimpsest, borrowing from Gerard Genette’s theorization of adaptations in his work, Palimpsests; though adaptations may have many layers, it is possible to study and appreciate the erasures and over-inscriptions of other authors and works within a single text. I argue that such a relationship within adaptations produces affect. Thus, palimpsest as a term for a self-adapting text is a concept that allows for the study of the affective relationships; in the context of William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, because the four-fold adapted narration of the novel is about the Compson family, a ‘palimpsestuous reading’ studies the affective relationship each narration and narrator has to each other and the central story. This central story I have referenced is either one of a rapidly decaying Southern gentry, or a hopeful promise of renewal, but certainly one fraught with pain and violence. Although the parts of the novel may seem disparate, analyzing all four narrations as a singular adaptation is a method of ‘palimpsestuous reading,’ of the Compson family’s tale that tells a richer story than understanding them as sequential chapters.
Mentored by: Dr. Amy Watkin
Aristotle in a Modern Political Satire
Daniel Houseman
The 2018 satirical film, Vice, explores Dick Cheney’s rise to power and what he would ultimately do with said power. The director, Adam McKay, utilizes Aristotle’s artistic proofs (ethos, pathos, and logos) to communicate the film’s rhetorical message of the American public not wanting to think critically about politics. Rather, they want to focus on simpler, more enjoyable things and let politicians tell them what to believe. This research is significant because it clearly demonstrates Aristotle’s theory of rhetoric within a modern and comedic context, making Aristotle engaging and relevant today. The research process included watching the film several times and taking note of scenes where McKay used an artistic proof. Then, the scene was analyzed to determine what McKay was trying to communicate with the use of the proof.
Mentored by: Dr. Don Rice
The Body Politics of Witchcraft: Inscribing the Female Body in Early Modern Germany
Kim Krattley
The purpose of my research is to investigate how the early modern (1500-1700) German patriarchal society inscribed the bodies of women internally and externally as a means to exert control over women and to persecute them as witches. Women as witches were blamed for the misfortunes of the time period such as famine and disease and were accused of practicing magic to undermine patriarchal society. Both the internal and external beliefs about women’s bodies served as evidence of evil doings associated with witchcraft. This includes the improper assumptions between female reproductive anatomy and the determination of women as witches through the external identification of the “Devil’s mark”. By linking theories of female reproductive anatomy and demonologies I will demonstrate how the internal and external misinterpretations of the female body provided society proof of women’s evil ways as witches. My research will conclude with the belief that the patriarchal society’s creation of the witch was used as a way to maintain men’s colonization over women.
Mentored by: Dr. Jonathan Clark
Building a Movement: Exploration of IDEAS
Skyler Stoner
The American experiment is facing an unprecedented chapter with regards to its political ecosystem. Issues from national security, energy, the environment, and education are more polarized than ever. As demonstrated by the longest government shutdown in United States history this past year, elected leaders “across party lines” are overlooking a cornerstone of democracy: the importance of compromise. Modern politics has expunged the notion of compromise. Polarization on many issues are leading individuals to perverse behavior; holding their values and ideas to be principal, revered and, most alarmingly, the “truth.”
The purpose of my research is to identify organizations and models sparking dialogue in a nonpartisan manner and encourage openness to compromise. As a leader in global think tanks, The Aspen Institute is a model organization that I will analyze, drawing comparisons to similar organizations, in an effort to identify ways of adopting a version of it for the Fargo/Moorhead area. My research will analyze how movements begin, both on a local and national level. The process will involve collaboration with Aspen Institute colleagues to explore the idea of model programming. The end product will be tentative plans on how to introduce the Aspen model in our community to serve as a catalyst in the exploration of ideas. The goal extends beyond an event; it is to understand the process in creating a culture of intellectual curiosity, dialogue, and conversation, much like the Institute has been able to do in Aspen.
Mentored by: Dr. Al Kagan
Sustainable Practices at Junkyard Brewing Company
Payton Ramberg
The craft brewery business has been growing very rapidly over the past decade and, in many cases, the focus is on having a limited environmental impact through sustainable practices. Junkyard Brewing Company is a local brewery that also focuses on being sustainable. Through this project I will assess the sustainability of Junkyard and provide a portfolio of the sustainability efforts of similar breweries with suggestions on how Junkyard can improve. The Brewery Association contains data of many breweries across the globe that are committed to sustainability. They focus on key topics like water consumption, energy efficiency, waste and community. Coordinating with the owners of Junkyard, I will compare their data to those in the Brewery Association to determine where they are at and how they can improve. While comparing Junkyard Brewing Company to other breweries around the world on the aspects of water consumption, energy efficiency, waste, and community, they seem to be making efforts in all categories. Junkyard goes through great strides to continue to reuse their water sources and they try to use as many local ingredients as possible as well as donate their spent grain to local farms to feed livestock. They host events that allow the community to get out and enjoy their time all year round.
Mentored by: Dr. Jennifer Sweatman
Jesus The Jew, Jesus The Christ, Jesus The Racist Who Learned From His Mistake
Vanessa Truelove
Despite what we might like to believe, our world is divided by difference. Every religion in the world gives us tools for how we are supposed to address and deal with difference in our lives. In Christianity in particular, loving thy neighbor is a common teaching passed down through generations from the words of Jesus himself. But if dealing with difference is such an important topic for us as humans, why do we never talk about how Jesus came to the revelation to love thy neighbor? In my research, I analyse the passage from Mark 7:24-30 in which Jesus comes to the Syrophonecian woman at the well. Through looking at the socio-political position of Ancient Greece as well as the overall narrative of Mark, we as readers of the Bible and/or believers in Christianity can come to a greater understanding that the interaction between Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman serves as a glimpse into the idea of a human Jesus who made a mistake and learned from it. By interpreting this passage this way, we are able to relate more to Jesus’ teachings as well as emulate the example of admitting when we are wrong that he has put forth for us.
Mentored by: Dr. David Creech
Replication of Bats, Balls, and Substitution Sensitivity Study
Emily Moyer, Jessaline Backer, Taylor Courier
Replication is necessary to make sure the results and the findings of the original study are robust and not just a fluke, especially when a study has been cited as frequently as the “Bats, Balls, and Substitution Sensitivity” study (De Neys, W., Rossi, S., Houé, O. (2013). Bats, balls, and substitution sensitivity: Cognitive misers are no happy fools. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 20(2), 269-273. doi:10.3758/s13423-013-0384-5). This study is analyzing how we answer some questions as well as if people detect an error in their answers to the questions that are designed to provoke a wrong answer through substitution. Each participant answered two math questions, a control and a standard question which is designed to encourage substitution. They then rated their confidence level with each answer. We are using a sample of 100 Concordia students, and we will analyze our results using the SPSS program and ANOVA functions. We hypothesize that a majority of participants will give the incorrect response on the standard version of our question and that confidence ratings will be lower for that question. This will indicate that people can determine when they have made an error on a subconscious level.
Mentored by: Dr. Mona Ibrahim