Monday, February 22, 2016

2016 URCA Schedule Released

The 2016 URCA Symposium Schedule has been released. The event will begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 12 and continue all day until 4:30 p.m. at the John C. Myers Convocation Center with 55 different research and creative activity presentations from the students of the College of Arts & Sciences.


Ashland University
College of Arts and Sciences
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium
April 12, 2016
John C. Myers Convocation Center

Oral Session I: 9:00-10:15 A.M., Trustees Room
Dr. Dawn Weber 
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Jaylynn Buchmelter
Acceptance of Fate in Franz Schubert’s Winterreise (1827-1828) 
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Christina Fuhrmann, Music
Paul Pernici
A Population Growth Model with Time-dependent Carrying Capacity 
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Christopher Swanson, Mathematics
Lucas Trott

Pressure and Time: A Critique of the American Penal System in The Shawshank Redemption 
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Maura Grady, English 
Emily Shrider
Tacit Coordination: The Profile of a Coordinator 
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Christopher Chartier, Psychology
Oral Session II: 10:30-11:30 A.M., Trustees Room
Joey Barretta

Why the War Came: Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Emily Hess, History/Political Science
Garrison Stima

My Tree House
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Joe Mackall, English
Victoria Gruber
Enhanced Techniques for Performing Base N Arithmetic and Conversion
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Iyad Ajwa, Computer Science
Jeremy Hanna
The Effects of Distraction on Exercise
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Christopher Chartier, Psychology
Oral Session III: 10:30-11:30 A.M., Faculty Room
Zachary Lindesmith
The Broken Branch: How the Media Has Failed in Its Role in Political Discourse as It Moves Towards a More Democratic Platform
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. David Foster, History/Political Science
María Cardona
Lares: Revolution, Love, and an Awakening
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Joe Mackall, English
Stephanie Julian
Exploring Factors Impacting the Decision to Disclose Sexual Orientation: A Qualitative Study of Older Gays and Lesbians in Ohio
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Michael Vimont, Social Work
Cortney Kourie and Samantha Carson
Effects of Dietary Stress on Capture Behavior in Mice
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Dolly Crawford, Biology


Poster/Exhibition Session I: 11:45 a.m.-12:45 P.M., Alumni Room
Poster #1
Derek Baker and
Dan Whitacre
The Effect of Color on Athletic Performance
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. Christopher Chartier and Dr. Curtis Ickes, Psychology
Poster #3
Cassie Craig

Manipulating Amounts of the Lens Protein Alpha A-Crystallin Can Alter the Development of Lens Cataract
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Mason Posner, Biology
Poster #5
Emily Embrescia

Introverts and Extraverts on the Clock: Who will Perform Under Pressure?
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Christopher Chartier, Psychology
Poster #7
Meghann Fitzpatrick

Reducing Cookware Corrosion Can Reduce Metal Exposures in Developing Countries
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. Jeffrey Weidenhamer and Dr. Rebecca Corbin, Chemistry
Poster #9
Alexander Kaple

Investigation of the Chemistry of Red Maple Foliage, Acer rubrum L.
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Jeffrey Weidenhamer and Dr. Robert Bergosh, Chemistry; Dr. Mark Berhow, USDA
Poster #11
James Lentine
The Presence of Another: Video Game Stress
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Diane Bonfiglio, Psychology
Poster #13
Garet Litwiler and Rachel Swartz

The Absence of Larval Small-Mouth Salamanders: Is it Food, or Is It Flooding?
Faculty Sponsors: Prof. Merrill Tawse and Dr. Patricia Saunders, Biology
Poster #15
Dillon McClain and
Krista Lewis
Analytical Tools for Determination of Nematicidal Chemicals Released Into Soil
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Brian Mohney, Chemistry
Poster #17
Bryce McClish
Factors Influencing the College Choice of First-Year College Students
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Curtis Ickes, Psychology
Exhibition #1
Emma Daugherty

Graphic Designers are Problem Solvers
Faculty Sponsor: Prof. Michael Bird, Art
Exhibition #3
Kaylin Henry
Design is Personal
Faculty Sponsor: Prof. Michael Bird, Art
Exhibition #5
Alicia Jones
The Bruise
Faculty Sponsor: Prof. Keith Dull, Art
Exhibition #7
Janice Richards
Inner Waking
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. Diane Bonfiglio, Psychology and Prof. Keith Dull, Art
Poster/Exhibition Session II: 12:45-1:45 P.M., Alumni Room
Poster #2
Ethan Patterson
Changes in Microbial Gut Fauna Due to Dietary Stress
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Dolly Crawford, Biology
Poster #4
Olivia Perna

Color Priming and Concentration
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Curtis Ickes, Psychology
Poster #6
Kylie Shober and Allison Vredenburgh
Play60 as Compared to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Dariela Rodriguez, Communication Studies
Poster #8
 Morgan Snyder

Impact of Visual Representation on the Attitudes Towards Transgender Transitions 
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Christopher Chartier, Psychology
Poster #10
Corey Turpin and
Lacy Hepp
Calixarene-Core Star Polymers: Building Blocks for Micelles and Drug Delivery
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Perry Corbin, Chemistry
Poster #12
Samantha Ward

Wide Host Range Bacteriophages in Fecal Samples from Northern Ohio
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Paul Hyman, Biology
Poster #14
Olivia Widenmeyer

Gaining an Understanding of the Dynamics of an Ohio Species of Concern the Wetland Fowl: Sora and Virginia Rails
Faculty Sponsor: Prof. Merrill Tawse, Biology
Poster #16
Hannah Wiles and Jonathan Albaugh

Linking Health Literacy to Health Communication Behavior: A Pilot Study
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Ted Avtgis, Communication Studies
Poster #18
Dane Zunich
The Google Effect
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Christopher Chartier, Psychology
Exhibition #2
Abigail Nye
Leaving OSU
Faculty Sponsor: Prof. Keith Dull, Art
Exhibition #4
Hannah Thome
Do I Have to Be Naked to Get Your Attention?
Faculty Sponsors: Prof. Keith Dull and Prof. Cynthia Petry, Art
Exhibition #6
Rachel Yaeger
Challenges of Change
Faculty Sponsor: Prof. Keith Dull, Art
Oral Session IV: 2:00 P.M.-3:00 P.M., Trustees Room
James Coyne
Answering the Irish Question: Winston Churchill and the Formation of the Irish Free State
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Justin Lyons, History/Political Science
Alexandra Newhouse

The Illustrator's Identity: An Analysis of the Artwork in Willa Cather's My Ántonia
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Linda Joyce Brown, English
Megan Kracker
Pumping Iron and Cadmium? The Cadmium Content of Protein Drinks and Nutritional Powders
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Jeffrey Weidenhamer, Chemistry
Rupesh Maharjan, Raymond Acevedo, Abdullah Aldhfyan, Abdulmosen Alsalman,
Zachary Brown,
Omar Busheel,
Joseph Hemperly,
Ashley Herman,
and Dylan Moats    
MEDUSA: Monitoring Environmental Data Using Software Applications
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Iyad Ajwa, Computer Science
Oral Session V: 2:00 P.M.-3:00 P.M., Faculty Room
Joshua Frey
Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and the Compromise of 1850
Faculty Sponsor:  Dr. Emily Hess, History/Political Science
Ivan Larson

How to Interpret the Constitution: Justice Scalia and the Founders
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Christopher Burkett, History/Political Science
Emily Nieberding
"Falling, Falling Snow"
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Maura Grady, English
Olivia Perna
Estimating the Reproducibility of Psychological Science
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Christopher Chartier, Psychology

Oral Session VI: 3:15 P.M.-4:30 P.M., Trustees Room
Alyssa Predota
Dietary Iron and Fat Levels in Relation to Metabolism in Mice
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Dolly Crawford, Biology
Allison Brosky
Sacred and Secular Law: Frederick Douglass’s Religious and Constitutional Defense of Abolition
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Emily Hess, History/Political Science
Kouri Weber
Emerson and Whitman: A Difference in Proximity
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Deborah Fleming, English
Sophia Leddy
Old, not Dead: Why the US Should Care about the Russian Threat to Europe
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Rene Paddags, History/Political Science
Janice Richards
Inner Waking
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. Diane Bonfiglio, Psychology and Prof. Keith Dull, Art
Oral Session VII: 3:15 P.M.-4:30 P.M., Faculty Room
Grace McCourt
Cover Pebbling Numbers
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Christopher Swanson, Mathematics
Tara Marasco

Samuel Adams, James Madison, and Religious Liberty
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Christopher Burkett, History/Political Science
Charlie Michel
#BlackMindsMatter: The Psychological Repercussions of Racial Prejudice
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Sharleen Mondal, English
AJ Thomas
“The Extent of Liberty at Stake”: Justice Anthony Kennedy’s Constitutional Rights Philosophy
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Jeffrey Sikkenga, History/Political Science
Maggie Andrews
My Return to Route 77
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Joe Mackall, English