off-campus presentation

Roanoke College Junior, Tiara Mehic, recently presented her paper, “Kant’s Just War Theory”, at the George Washington University Undergraduate Philosophy Conference in Washington, DC earlier this month. This is Tiara’s first year doing research at Roanoke but her second time presenting. This past November she also presented at Sweet Briar College along with other students from Roanoke.

Tiara had never considered getting involved in research at Roanoke until a professor suggested the idea to her. “The paper I presented at the conference had been a term paper I wrote for Professor Wisnefske a year ago, and I was so passionate about the subject that I was excited to present it to an audience” she explains. Dr. Ned Wisnefske was her faculty mentor and she stated that he “was very helpful in guiding me in the right direction when I explained what I wanted to write about as well as answering any questions I had pertaining to the material.”

Tiara’s research paper was about Kant’s Just War Theory where she argued that “Kant was a Just War Theorist by setting up his Theory of Morality, Theory of Justice, establishing grounds for pacifism and realism, explaining Traditional Just War Theory and finally comparing it to Kant’s Just War Theory.” The paper took about two months for her to complete it and following that she submitted it to the Philosophy Club at George Washington University. Tiara was one of only nine participants chosen to present at this conference and the only one from Roanoke.

For students considering research, Tiara advises to definitely get involved. “It is a great experience to present your own work and be able to defend your position/research. The fact that you’re willing to present your research looks especially good on resumes. And the connections you make along the way aren’t bad either. I’ve made friends at these conferences, I’ve been able to stand in front of an audience and answer difficult questions about my research, I’ve been able to gain experience, and none of that would have been possible unless I made the effort to try.”

Amelie Rives (junior) recently presented her research topic, “Women, abortion, legislation, and reproductive health care”, at the Public Sociology Graduate Conference at George Mason last month. Amelie’s topic looks at the inequality within women’s health care, the inequalities within reproductive health, and the effect that politics of abortion have on women’s reproductive health. More specifically, through a series of interviews with Roanoke College students, Amelie’s paper “seeks to investigate perceived notions, through the use of qualitative data, about whether Virginia, with some of the strictest abortion laws in the nation, restricts women from obtaining basic reproductive care.”

Amelie started this research project as part of her research methods class she took with Dr. Shannon Anderson. She then worked on it as an independent study and submitted it when the call for proposals came out for the George Mason conference. This was Amelie’s second time presenting at a conference, this past spring she presented at a conference in Baltimore with her Anthropology 380 class but as she explains, “this time was different because it was my own data, not an entire class”. Amelie was one of four undergraduates at this conference and she presented her paper in the form of a round table discussion where she was given feedback on her paper.

Amelie plans to continue her independent study next semester due to her love for the topic and good relationship with her faculty mentor, Dr. Anderson. Dr. Anderson points out that working with Amelie has been great, “she is enthusiastic, intelligent, and has tons of energy…these are the qualities we as faculty love when working with students like Amelie.”

For students considering research opportunities, Amelie advises that “if you are interested in it, totally look into it, even if you’re not a science major. When you do your own research you give yourself the freedom to do what you want because you are invested in the topic.” Dr. Anderson also advises that if students “have the opportunity and there is a faculty member that they like, then jump at it! Research opportunities give you a sense of what everyone here is doing…it allows students to understand that they can participate in creating knowledge.”

Reid Mizelle presented his research project, “The qPCR Detectability of a Bovine-Associated Genetic Marker in Composite Fecal Mixtures and in Microcosms”, at the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Francisco this past June. The majority of the attendees at this conference were faculty and graduate students, very few undergraduate students so “for Roanoke College to have a student go to this is fantastic” states Dr. Brooks Crozier, Reid’s faculty mentor.  Dr. Crozier goes on to explain that conferences such as this one are “a good way for students to meet future graduate school faculty as well as students already in graduate school…those connections are critical.” This was Reid’s first time presenting at a national conference and he notes that the highlight was getting to meet a lot of big names and top people in the field. Reid even had the opportunity to meet a microbiologist whose work was referenced in his project.

Reid transferred to Roanoke College at the start of his sophomore year. He had been involved with Microbiology based research at his previous school and knew coming in that he wanted to do research here as well. Reid mentions that this has been “one of the best things I can take away from my undergraduate career. I’ve learned things in three years of undergrad that most people won’t get to; it gives me a step up.” Dr. Crozier points out that “I fully involve my students in my research projects to the point where they are helping to drive it.” He also mentions that Reid is “one of the most motivated students I’ve had” and that high motivation is what will get a student the opportunity to present at a national conference.

Reid’s advice to incoming freshman thinking about research is to “jump in the lab as soon as you can, the earlier you do, the more advanced your research can become.” Dr. Crozier recommends that freshman not only talk to their professors and advisors but also, “when other students are in a research lab, poke your head in and take a look at it.”

For more information on the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology you can visit: https://gm.asm.org/

Alyssa Bostrom, Roanoke College senior, presented her research project on Immigration and the media at the Eastern Sociological Society Conference. The conference was held at the Millennium Hotel in New York City this past February (23-26). The Eastern Sociological Society was founded in 1930 and is a non-profit organization devoted to promoting excellence in sociological scholarship and instruction.

While Alyssa’s project is focused in the sociology field, she is actually a Spanish major with a Communications minor. She became interested in the subject of immigration when she took a mass communications class and learned about immigration. Her project currently focuses on how immigration is portrayed in Spanish media versus English media and she is hoping to expand the project to look at how the current election plays into immigration.

This project is an independent study and was Alyssa’s own concept. She started her proposal last October and most of it was done during the summer of 2011. Dr. Shannon Anderson is Alyssa’s faculty mentor for the project. Since most of this project was done over the summer, Alyssa worked with Dr. Anderson via telephone and Alyssa stated that “It was cool having in depth input from a professor that you can’t get in the classroom. I learned how to do advanced research one on one while doing something that means something to me.”

Alyssa first presented her project this past parent’s weekend and then was advised to apply to present at this conference. There were over 500 presenters and projects at the conference and being chosen to present as an undergraduate student is a very prestigious honor as Alyssa was amongst many graduate students and professors presenting their projects.

For incoming freshman thinking about research, Alyssa advises that “if they have an idea, they should go for it because the professors will help and while its nerve-racking presenting, it’s nice to know that people want to hear what you have learned through research.”

For more information on the Eastern Sociological Society you can visit: https://www.essnet.org/

Dr. Chad Morris and five of his Anthropology students traveled to Baltimore, Maryland to present at the national meeting for the Society for Applied Anthropology. Alex DeLaricheliere (sophomore) presented her paper topic Beyond Forced Volunteerism: Assessing Student Attitudes Toward Service Learning; Amelie Rives, Shapreka Clarke, and Ethan Guebert (all juniors) presented a poster presentation on “Studying Away” at Roanoke College: Toward a Culture of Off-Campus Learning Opportunities; and Ashley Dameron (senior) presented a poster on Exploring the Intersection of Tourism and Religion among the Eastern Cherokee.

The “Studying Away” group looked at how to make studying away more appealing to students by asking students what they thought the advantages and barriers to studying away were. A random sample of the student body was taken based on five categories; 1) Freshman 2) Sophomores and Juniors 3) Seniors 4) Science majors 5) Humanities majors. The results from the sample showed that the advantages most students saw to studying away were cultural reasons, personal growth, academic benefits, and career benefits. Minor barriers students saw were difficult application processes, credit transfers, home sickness, language barriers, safety issues, and lack of desire. Major barriers were financial issues, time constraints, and lack of opportunities. This particular research project was part of Dr. Morris’ Anthropology 380 course and while the students did the actual research they did “work closely with Dr. Morris in preparing for the presentation as well as submitting portions of the research process along the way for his approval” says junior Ethan Guebert.

When asked what the student/faculty research experience was like for him, Dr. Morris stated that it is part of the reason he is here. “Anthropology is learned best by doing, hands on is the best way to get knowledge. It is wonderful to have the opportunity to work one-on-one with students because it allows them to pursue their own interests.”

Dr. Morris has been attending these national meetings for over a decade now and while there are not a lot of anthropologists here at Roanoke, he enjoys getting to go to hear new ideas and bring them back for his classes and research here at Roanoke. When asked what is was like presenting at the conference Ethan Guebert said that “presenting to professionals was stressful…but it was also very rewarding because I had the chance to see how the professional anthropology world works and I got to meet authors of some of my text books.”

Dr. Morris’ message to freshman about research is that there are “so many faculty members willing to do this work but it is important to understand that research will not fall in your lap. Be proactive and search out faculty members about research.” Ethan’s message is that “the opportunities are there if you look for them. The process won’t be easy but it is ultimately rewarding.”

For more information on the Society for Applied Anthropology visit: https://www.sfaa.net/

Roanoke College students have been busy presenting their research across the country at a variety of regional and national conferences. Here is a look back at the presentations since January, 2011:

• Sarah Witt presented at MathFest 2011 in Lexington, Kentucky in August 2011 on “Using Graph Theory to Analyze Social Networks. This was an independent study project under the direction of Dr. Karin Saoub from the Math, Computer Science, and Physics Department.
• Brandi Neifert presented at the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 2011 on “A comparison of tooth breakage rates in Miocene carcharhiniform sharks from the Carmel Church Quarry, Caroline County, Virginia.” This was an independent study project under the direction of Dr. DorothyBelle Poli from the Biology Department.
• Maggie Anderson presented at the CUR Conference for Undergraduate Research Program Directors in St. Louis, Missouri in June 2011 on “Summer research programs: Towards deeper reflection”. Maggie worked on this project through URAP under the direction of Dr. Kimberly Filer from Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment and Dr. Julie Lyon from the Business Administration Department.
• Ashley Briggs presented at the Mid-Atlantic Society for Developmental Biology Regional Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in June, 2011 on “The effect of 4-hydroxyandrostenedione, an aromatase inhibitor, on heart size in zebrafish (Danio rerio).” This was an independent study project under the direction of Dr. Chris Lassiter from the Biology Department.
• Sarah Cohen presented at the Mid-Atlantic Society for Developmental Biology Regional Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in June, 2011 on “17-β Estradiol Causes Defects in the Craniofacial Cartilage and Nerves of Danio rerio.” This was an honors project under the direction of Dr. Lassiter from the Biology Department.
• Kenneth Lampert presented at the Mid-Atlantic Society for Developmental Biology Regional Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Friday, June 3, 2011 on “An androgen receptor:green fluorescent protein Construct for Producing Transgenic Zebrafish (Danio rerio).” This was an independent study project under the direction of Dr. Chris Lassiter from the Biology Department.
• Rachel Naylor presented at 2011 Mid-Atlantic Society for Developmental Biology Regional Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in June, 2011 on “Effects of an Aromatase Inhibitor on heart size in embryonic zebrafish (Danio rerio) using cardiac myosin light chain-2 (cmlc2).” This was an independent study project under the direction of Dr. Chris Lassiter from the Biology Department.
• Julia Boudrye presented at the Association for Psychological Science in Washington, D.C in May, 2011 on “Reserving Quiet Time Predicts Face-to-Face Cell Phone Manners with Friends.” Julia is a URAP scholar under the direction of Dr. Denise Adkins from the Psychology Department.
• Matthew Tripp presented at the Association for Psychological Science in Washington, DC in May, 2011 on “Predicting Interaction with Facebook Friends: Examining Personality, Gender, and Friendship Strength.” This was the continuation of a Summer Scholars project under the direction of Dr. Denise Adkins from the Psychology Department.
• Amy Roberts presented at the Association for Psychological Science in Washington, DC in May, 2011 on “Using Objective Methodology to Examine How Teacher Immediacy Influences Student Participation.” This was an honors project under the direction of Dr. Denise Adkins from the Psychology Department.
•  Maggie Anderson and Jennie Blaney presented at the Association for Psychological Science in Washington, DC in May, 2011 on “Teaching research skills outside the classroom: Institutional assessment by undergraduate researchers”. Maggie and Jennie were research assistants under the direction of Dr. Kimberly Filer from Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment and Dr. Julie Lyon from the Business Administration Department.
• Michael Bankert presented at Eastern Psychological Association in Cambridge, Massachusetts in March 2011 on “Examining the relationship between individual differences in musical knowledge and music preference.” Michael was a research assistant under the direction of Dr. Chris Buchholz from the Psychology Department.
• Chava Urecki presented at Eastern Psychological Association in Cambridge, Massachusetts in March 2011 on “The complexity of melancholy: Music preference and the perception of music.” Chava was a research assistant under the direction of Dr. Buchholz from the Psychology Department.
• Tyler Rinko presented at National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Ithaca, New York in March 2011 on “The European Debt Crisis’ Influence on U.S. Exchange Rates.” This was an independent study under the direction of Dr. Alice Kassens from the Economics Department.
• Giovanni Forte presented at the Virginia Association of Economists in Richmond, Virginia in March 2011 on “The Tiger Woods’ Effect: The Impact of Tiger Woods on Golf Participation and Sales.” This was a class assignment under the direction of Dr. Alice Kassens from the Economics Department.
• Nomin Baasandavaa presented at the Virginia Association of Economists in Richmond, Virginia on March, 2011 on “The Effect of Air Pollution Exposure on US Health.” This was a class assignment under the direction of Dr. Alice Kassens from the Economics Department.
• Katherine Kurtessis presented at the Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington in March, 2011 on “From Exile to Colonialism: The Changing Role of the Expatriate Community in Bocas del Toro, Panama.” This was an independent study project under the direction of Dr. Chad Morris from the Sociology Department.
• Kelly Mortland presented at the Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington on March, 2011 on “Assessing the Needs and Experiences of Roanoke Valley Senior Companions.” This project was a class assignment under the direction of Dr. Chad Morris from the Sociology Department.
• Kayla Klingensmith presented at Alpha Chi National Convention in San Diego, California in March, 2011 on “Immune Response to Acute Bacterial Exposure in the American Lobster.” This was an independent study project under the direction of Dr. Dar Jorgensen from the Biology Department.
• Brent Cox presented at Alpha Chi Honor Society National Convention in San Diego, California in March, 2011 on “Adherence and Awareness of Evidence-based Design:  Single-patient versus multi-occupancy patient rooms.” This was an honors project under the direction of Dr. Alice Kassens from the Economics Department.
• Nicholas Bonenfant presented at Alpha Chi National Convention in San Diego, California in March, 2011 on “Characterization of both a shortened root phenotype and a caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT) fusion protein in Arabidopsis thaliana.” This was an Honors Project under the direction of Dr. Len Pysh from the Biology Department.
• Kayla Drawdy presented at VATA Conferance in Richmond, Virginia in January, 2011 on “Case Study on the Post-Concussion Anomaly in a College Soccer Goalie.” This project was under the direction of Mr. Jim Buriak from the HHP Department.