UNC Asheville's Fall 2013 Symposium: Full Schedule

9:00am PST

Acknowledgements

The Undergraduate Research Program would like to give a speical thanks to everyone who assisted in the organizing and planning of the 2013 Spring Symposium.

Speakers

Jane Doe

Tuesday February 12, 2013 9:00am - 10:00am PST
TBA

Opening Comments, Acknowledgements

8:00am PST

UNC Asheville Celebrates: Service-Learing, Internships & Service

Celebration of the Collaborative work done by students in the community

UNC Asheville Foundation Inc.

For their continued support to the Undergraduate Research Program

Monday December 2, 2013 8:00am - 8:05am PST
UNC Asheville

Opening Comments, UNC Asheville Foundation Inc.

8:30am PST

Snack Attack: Comical Paintings Exposing Hidden Deceptions of the Modern Food Industry

For most people, indulging in a puffed cheddar cheese snack is as a harmless act. However for some, eating those crispy, addicting puffs is like inviting death by a psycho killer in the Bates motel. This series of large-scale paintings combines images from iconic horror films and classic junk food advertising into humorous Neo-pop art paintings that relate to American culture. These paintings seduce the viewers through luscious paint and pop culture iconography into examining the hidden deceptions of modern food manufacturing. By researching the ways in which processed food is negatively affecting the nation, as well as researching classic horror films and other pop-art painters of food, the artist will underscore the darkness behind the industry, but in a comical and colorful way that people may respond to more immediately. Food is now an attractive but fraudulent pop culture phenomenon and Snack Attack was created to investigate how painted images can bring awareness of this phenomenon through humor, while also enabling the artist to find inner peace with her own food struggles. These paintings reveal the manipulation of food industries and the hidden horrors of what people are unknowingly consuming.

Moderators

Brent Skidmore

Speakers

Allison Fawcett

Sponsors

Virginia Derryberry

Monday December 2, 2013 8:30am - 8:50am PST
237 Owen Hall

Art Studio, Oral

8:30am PST

Unit Plan on Found Object Sculptures

Students in a 5th grade art class participate in a unit on found object sculptures. The following presentation provides an overview of how students performed on this particular unit. In addition, images of student’s art work showing student engagement and deepening student understanding will be shared.

Moderators

Dr. Nancy Ruppert

Nancy Ruppert

Speakers

Aaron Gibbons

Monday December 2, 2013 8:30am - 8:50am PST
221 Highsmith Union

Education, Oral

8:30am PST

Kevin

Through a series of dramatic twists and turns, Kevin’s party ends in disaster, and his life takes a turn…..for the worst.

Moderators

Dr. Anne Slatton

Speakers

Daniel Bradley

Sponsors

Anne Slatton

Monday December 2, 2013 8:30am - 8:50am PST
012 Karpen Hall

Mass Communication: Film, Oral

8:50am PST

Obscuring the Narrative

When one is shown a work of art, more often than not the immediate reaction is to search for some sort of hidden meaning in the work that goes deeper than just the surface of the paint. This series poses the questions: what happens when the typical devices of a metaphorical narrative are portrayed without enough clues to completely resolve this unknown or implied narrative? How much information is necessary to intrigue the viewer? How can the artist prompt the viewer to find his or her own personal meaning without providing a definitive or singular significance to the piece? The series formulates a method for portraying the essential elements of a narrative without revealing immediately ascertainable metaphorical content. A drawing mannequin is used in mysterious positions and situations in these paintings both to convey the idea of human emotion, and to negate it, as the mannequin is just an inanimate object. Many of the artists essential to the metaphysical and surrealist movements were called upon in this research project.

Moderators

Brent Skidmore

Speakers

Julie Wright

Sponsors

Robert Dunning

Robert Tynes

Monday December 2, 2013 8:50am - 9:10am PST
237 Owen Hall

Art Studio, Oral

Mapping Sites in Gα12 for Activation Independent Binding to the TPR Region of Protein Phosphatase 5

Heterotrimeric G proteins are a protein family capable of causing many effects throughout the cell through the sheer enormity of signaling pathways they influence. Gα12 has been studied for its role in cell growth, apoptosis, adhesion, and migration. It has been shown to interact with protein phosphatase 5 (PP5) in biological pathways causing PP5 translocation, dephosphorylation of K+ channels, dephosphorylation of intestinal cell kinase, and the ASK1 pathway. Despite this knowledge, the specific location of binding between Gα12 and PP5 is unknown. In this experiment, I created an assay capable of determining the interaction between the TPR region of PP5 and Gα12. Using this assay, the activation states required for binding were determined. I also utilized a comprehensive Gα12 NAAIRS mutant library to determine the exact location necessary for binding between Gα12 and PP5.

Moderators

Ted Meigs

Speakers

Dr. Ted Meigs

Matthew Russell

Monday December 2, 2013 9:00am - 9:20am PST
125 Rhoades Robinson Hall

Biology, Oral

9:00am PST

Marginal Revenue Product and the Black Sox Scandal of 1919: Were the accused players underpaid?

In his book Eight Men Out, Eliot Asinof argues that eight Chicago White Sox players threw the 1919 World Series because they were underpaid relative to their values to the team owner. In this paper I examine an economically relevant aspect of the “Black Sox” scandal. Specifically, I estimate the marginal revenue products of the accused players. I use multiple regression analysis to create a value estimation model that determines the relationship between individual player performance and team performance; team performance and winning; winning and attendance; and attendance and revenue. By determining the relationship between these factors, I am able to estimate the marginal revenue product of the eight infamous players. According to my results, the players were indeed underpaid relative to their economic worth to the team.

Moderators

Chris Bell

Speakers

John Hamilton

Sponsors

Joseph Sulock

Monday December 2, 2013 9:00am - 9:20am PST
016 Karpen Hall

Economics, Oral

9:00am PST

Digital Textbook Project on Rosa Parks

In this presentation, we will discuss and demonstrate our collaboration, between Dr. Adcock’s Foundations of Global, Civic, and Economic Literacy K-6 course and Dr. Judson’s US Women’s History course. Students have collaborated to form a chapter for a digital textbook in US Women’s History that can be used at the elementary school level. We have utilized PBWorks as our technological medium to create this educational product. Our digital chapter, entitled, Rosa Parks explores the topic of race relations in the United States in 1955 and the myths surrounding Rosa Parks including her rise to national fame. We have implemented a variety of mediums and technologies to adequately teach this lesson to its fullest potential. We utilized primary sources such as interviews with the community of Montgomery Alabama, Rosa Parks autobiography, newspapers from 1955. Additionally we include secondary resources to be able to tell a broader and more accessible story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and how Rosa Parks came to be known as the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement. Some of the materials we used are historical documentaries, primary documents such as arrest records and first-hand accounts including novels written by historians. Combining conventional academic sources with digital tools allows students to experience a fuller engagement with these topics in US Women’s History in addition to developing pre-service teachers pedagogical content knowledge. Our presentation will include a rational for the chapter, a historical overview that provides context, a central historical question that guided the research and creation of the project, and NC State Standards for 8th grade social studies. The audience will also be guided through several aspects of the digital chapter and provided a forum for questions

Moderators

Trey Adcock

Speakers

Kashka Booker

Anna Dempsey

Gordan Fraser

Sponsors

Sarah Judson

Monday December 2, 2013 9:00am - 9:20am PST
246 Zageir Hall

Education, Oral | History, Oral

9:00am PST

The Effect of Exercise on the Work-Family Interface: A Follow-Up Survey

In the original study, “The Effect of Exercise on the Work-Family Interface: A Field Experiment Using Group Exercise Classes”, a significant decrease in both WIF (work interference with family) and FIW (family interference with work) was seen in a long-term exercise treatment group. This follow-up survey was done to ascertain whether study participants are still exercising after 11 months and if both WIF and FIW have remained lessened. Intensity of exercise, frequency of exercise, type of exercise, and potential barriers to exercising were all evaluated, along with corresponding conflict and stress levels. Likert scales, multiple choice, and open ended response were all used as measurement. Results will be analyzed in SurveyMonkey and statistical t-tests. Through this survey, we hope to determine the long term effectiveness of continued exercise habits and their effect on WIF/FIW and stress levels. We also hope to determine what barriers may exist for those who are not exercising and their corresponding WIF/FIW and stress levels. It is hypothesized that those who have continued to exercise will have sustained lower stress levels overall, and those that have not may not be experiencing the same lower levels of stress.

Moderators

Dr. Jason Wingert

Speakers

Laura Gardner

Sponsors

Alicia Tagliatela

Monday December 2, 2013 9:20am - 9:40am PST
125 Rhoades Robinson Hall

Biology, Oral

9:20am PST

Cell Sounds: A Harmonious Game of Life

This project is an exploration of user interface (UI) design and adaptive music. The challenge was to implement cellular automation with musical accompaniment. The user draws a unique pattern on a canvas and then watches their pattern animate as cellular automation. The underlying code is based on Conway’s Game of Life with an added element of interactivity: The user can continue adding cells on the fly while the game runs. The musical accompaniment was the main challenge of the project. The music adapts to the cellular patterns in real time. There are infinite possibilities that arise from different users and timbres. The goal was to make the output sound musical, lifelike and interesting. Natural timbres were chosen over electronic instruments. This project was coded in javascript, node and html5.

Moderators

Susan Reiser

Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean of Natural Sciences at UNC Asheville, SENCER Center of Innovation South Co-Director

Susan Reiser teaches at UNC Asheville where she is a Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean of Natural Sciences. Her undergraduate and graduate degrees are both in computer science: a BS from Duke and an MS from South Carolina. After a 10-year career in industry and multiple stints at... Read More →

Speakers

Ryan Cox

Sponsors

Computer Science Faculty

Monday December 2, 2013 9:20am - 9:40am PST
217 Rhoades Robinson Hall

Computer Science, Oral

9:20am PST

The Affordable Care Act: Game Theory and the Strategic Forecast for Insurance Firms

This study explores the intersection between healthcare economics and game theory. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) exposes existing insurance companies to new pressure from novel market environments and increased competition, requiring optimal strategies from leadership. In the first section, the game-theoretic Mixed Strategy model is used, and results indicate that offering clinical services to directly compete with standard providers in the US is the most effective single strategy; payoffs can be augmented further by customizing strategies to corresponding market conditions. In the second section, the Game Tree model is used to predict the value of information within the new marketplace, as competing insurers aggress strategically and are affected by competitors' behaviors. The introduction of uncertainty is met with strategic suggestions from several game theorists, and their compatibility with known axioms is explored. A number of improvements to the efficacy of this study are suggested for future researchers.

Moderators

Dr. Chris Bell

Speakers

David Babb

Sponsors

Chris Bell

Monday December 2, 2013 9:20am - 9:40am PST
016 Karpen Hall

Economics, Oral

9:20am PST

Wilma Mankiller Digital Textbook Chapter

In this presentation, we will discuss and demonstrate our collaboration, between EDUC 220 and HIST 301 students on the creation of chapter for a digital textbook in US Women’s History. Our chapter, entitled, Wilma Mankiller, explores the topic of the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation…from a a variety of mediums and technologies. We utilized Pbworks to organize primary sources to be able to tell a broader and more accessible story of Wilma Mankiller. Some of the materials we used are in the form of autobiography, published works, public records, and live interviews. Combining conventional academic sources with digital tools allows students to experience a fuller engagement with these topics in US Women’s History in addition to developing preservice teachers pedagogical content knowledge. Our presentation will include a rational for the chapter, a historical overview that provides context, a central historical question that guided the research and creation of the project, and NC State Standards for 8th grade social studies. The audience will also be guided through several aspects of the digital chapter and provided a forum for questions.

Moderators

Trey Adcock

Speakers

Emily Edwards

Catherine Hill

Sponsors

Sarah Judson

Monday December 2, 2013 9:20am - 9:40am PST
246 Zageir Hall

Education, Oral | History, Oral

9:20am PST

Examining VO2 assessment as a tool to incite health behavior change

Clinicians and researchers assess health markers to make behavioral change in clients. In order to actualize this behavior change, a self-critical moment (sometimes called dramatic relief) must occur within the individual. Providing the typical clinically-obtained quantitative information, such as blood pressure and cholesterol, may not be enough to incite this self-critical moment as these numbers lack significant reference points to most clients. Translating such abstract, quantitative information into qualitative feedback, using terms and explanations with which the client can identify, may facilitate relevant connections between the individuals’ health markers and lifestyle, and thus have a greater impact on motivation to change. To illustrate this point, this research will focus on maximal aerobic capacity (VO2) testing. As a quantitative test that can illuminate several aspects of health, scales of VO2 data offer information about how an individual compares to others of the same age and sex. However, without relatable, qualitative explanation, an individual is unlikely to understand the importance of their results and what kind of health risks accompany a “below average” test result. In this report, the process of client VO2 assessment with qualitative feedback is discussed in terms of physiological, biochemical, and health-related impacts.

Moderators

Dr. Jason Wingert

Speakers

Stacy Miller

Sponsors

Aubrianne Rote

Jason Wingert

Monday December 2, 2013 9:20am - 9:40am PST
406 Wilma Sherrill Center

Health and Wellness Promotion, Oral

9:20am PST

Remaining Men Together: Chuck Palahniuk’s Revitalization of Masculine Identity in Fight Club and Survivor

Chuck Palahniuk has managed to startle his readers since the 1996 release of Fight Club, continuously depicting the grotesque reality of contemporary American society. The film adaptation of Fight Club in 1999 garnered him a cult-like following. Palahniuk’s fame may be the result of his challenging current thought on what it means to be a “man.” His Postmodern Gothic style challenges the reader to redefine stereotypical definitions of masculinity in Fight Club and Survivor. Set in a post-generation X world, Fight Club depicts the internal rage men know as a direct result of societal repression and Survivor represents the ultimate social effects that choosing to not deal with such emasculation and repression can cause. Through these works, Palahniuk exposes the problems of gender essentialist thought and showcases the need for a society that recognizes the fluidity of gender identity.

Moderators

Dr. Dee James

Speakers

Taylor Sluder

Sponsors

Dee James

Monday December 2, 2013 9:20am - 9:40am PST
033 Karpen Hall

Literature and Language, Oral

9:20am PST

Does social television make new dramas a hit?

Diffusion of innovations theory seeks to explain how innovations are adopted within society. The first users of an innovation are called the early adopters. We are currently at this phase with social television. Perhaps in an effort to compete with the growing trend toward streaming programs, television programmers have incorporated the use of social television. Social television, the act of discussing television shows in real-time through the use of Twitter hashtags, adds a new level of engagement to prime time viewing. This paper explores the relationship between Twitter hashtag activity and program ratings of three fall 2013 dramas: a cancelled series, a new, successful series, and a recurring television drama. This paper provides a qualitative analysis of Twitter hashtag activity during the airing of Once Upon a Time and Sleepy Hollow. Using the social media analytic site, Tweet Reach, and the population of tweets per hashtag for a specific episode of each drama on Twitter, this paper will provide insight on the relationship between social television, viewer engagement and television ratings.

Moderators

Don Diefenbach

Speakers

Heather Johnson

Sponsors

Sonya DiPalma

Monday December 2, 2013 9:20am - 9:40am PST
038 Karpen Hall

Mass Communication, Oral

9:25am PST

Con-Conforming Practices by Drivers at Merrimon and Edgewood.

Moderators

Dr. Robert Yearout

Speakers

Sydney Masingill

Sponsors

Robert Yearout

Monday December 2, 2013 9:25am - 9:40am PST
230 Owen Hall

Management: Research & Quality Control, Oral

9:30am PST

Translating Creativity to the Canvas

How can an artist translate the personal creative process onto the canvas while revisiting the experience of participating in an artistic community? In this body of work, the artist creates paintings that allow for intuitive exploration while still maintaining a body of work that represents the artist’s personal experiences and relationships at annual visits to a creative community. The artist will utilize and unite both aesthetically pleasing compositions and intuitive mark making in order to build up both physical and conceptual layers of each painting. Through traditional methods of oil glazing, applications of both an under painting and a figure-ground exchange, the works explore a visual dialogue between the many layers, and allow the viewer to observe a tangible history of the painting through each subsequent transparency. The process-based series is created through learned, traditional aesthetic values, and combines this approach with intuitive brush marks and specific referenced photographs (taken by the artist) of people met through experiences at the creative community (Airy Knoll Farm). The presence of a readily available narrative, environment, or likeness in the work is not as important to the finished piece as it is to the artist’s personal process. The result is an aesthetically approachable body of work that holds interest for the audience through the visible history of each painting and reveals the artist’s personal creative journey to revisit experiences and time spent at Airy Knoll Farm.

Moderators

Brent Skidmore

Speakers

Dr. Brent Skidmore

Amy Zwierzynski

Monday December 2, 2013 9:30am - 9:50am PST
237 Owen Hall

Art Studio, Oral

9:30am PST

Rectangles

Students in a second grade class participate in a unit on how to identify, compare, and construct rectangles. The following presentation provides an overview of how students performed on this particular unit. In addition, video pertaining to student engagement and deepening student understanding will be shared.

Moderators

Dr. Nancy Ruppert

Speakers

Ashley Whitmire

Sponsors

Nancy Ruppert

Monday December 2, 2013 9:30am - 9:50am PST
221 Highsmith Union

Education, Oral

9:30am PST

Coping Methods

After two roommates both endure traumatic events, they try to put their lives back together.

Moderators

Dr. Anne Slatton

Speakers

Earl Farthing

Sponsors

Anne Slatton

Monday December 2, 2013 9:30am - 9:50am PST
012 Karpen Hall

Mass Communication: Film, Oral

Seeing the Task Forest for the Trees

Programmers have a secret lifehack which they haven’t shared with the rest of us - project management software. Git (along with its code-sharing web application, Github) is one of the most popular project management programs. It allows giant teams of programmers from all over the world to create features, fix bugs, and share new ideas for the same project at once. This kind of team management has been catered to coders alone. There is a need for an attractive, user-friendly project management web-application for the rest of us. This application allows individuals and teams to organize and enact their own projects in an aesthetically pleasing way. Projects will appear as stylized forests where each tree is a specific task that needs to be completed. The trees of similar species and appearance represent tasks in the same project. Trees will grow with time, blossoming as the deadline for a project approaches. Projects which have been completed will remain in bloom. A user can explore the two-dimensional forest in their web browser with their mouse with the ability to see and update the tasks assigned to them. Team leaders can use this application to create tasks and assign them to members of their teams. Details of a given task will appear as branches of the corresponding tree. Users can focus on specific trees or view the entire forest. I developed this project in HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, mongoose.js, node.js, express.js, and angular.js. I used Github for version control and typed the program via Sublime on a Windows 7 operating system. The officially supported browser is Mozilla Firefox.

Moderators

Susan Reiser

Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean of Natural Sciences at UNC Asheville, SENCER Center of Innovation South Co-Director

Speakers

Jack Derbyshire

Sponsors

Computer Science Faculty

Monday December 2, 2013 9:40am - 10:00am PST
217 Rhoades Robinson Hall

Computer Science, Oral

9:40am PST

Relative Earnings and the Choice of Major: Evidence from Economics and Biology Majors

My study uses data on earnings and relative numbers of students declaring the economics and biology majors to test the hypothesis that the choice of major is influenced by relative earnings. It is based on the work of Dr. Herschel Kasper and extends it by using a more recent data set. Like Dr. Kasper I find that the proportions of students who choose the two majors rise and fall as relative earnings rise and fall. This result is consistent with Human Capital Theory which predicts that career choices are influenced by relative earnings.

Moderators

Chris Bell

Speakers

Skye Ferrell

Sponsors

Bruce Larson

Monday December 2, 2013 9:40am - 10:00am PST
016 Karpen Hall

Economics, Oral

9:40am PST

Laura Towne

In this presentation, we will discuss and demonstrate our collaboration, between EDUC 220 and HIST 301 students on the creation of chapter for a digital textbook in US Women’s History. Our chapter, entitled, Laura Towne Oppurtunities for Women during Reconstruction in the South explores the topic of Laura’s Townes female empowerment in during Reconstruction Era…from a a variety of mediums and technologies. We utilized video, ebooks, photographs, and oral histories. to be able to tell a broader and more accessible story of Laura Towne Some of the materials we used are Diary of Laura Towne, photographs, Letters of Laura Towne’s, …. Combining conventional academic sources with digital tools allows students to experience a fuller engagement with these topics in US Women’s History in addition to developing preservice teachers pedagogical content knowledge. Our presentation will include a rational for the chapter, a historical overview that provides context, a central historical question that guided the research and creation of the project, and NC State Standards for 8th grade social studies. The audience will also be guided through several aspects of the digital chapter and provided a forum for questions.

Moderators

Trey Adcock

Speakers

Speakers

Sally Garner

Sponsors

Sponsors

Anne Slatton

Monday December 2, 2013 9:50am - 10:10am PST
012 Karpen Hall

Mass Communication: Screenwritting, Oral

9:55am PST

Comparison Between Stop Watch Times and Radar Times collected for baseball Pitches”

Moderators

Dr. Robert Yearout

Speakers

Brian Connolly

Monday December 2, 2013 9:55am - 10:10am PST
230 Owen Hall

Management: Research & Quality Control, Oral

10:00am PST

10,000 Melodies

Applications such as Shazam and Musipedia provide large databases for searching for existing melodies and musical themes. Where are the modern sites for going more deeply into the study and comparison of all this music? A Dictionary of Musical Themes, a book originally published in 1948, offered a list of almost 10,000 classical themes. This browser-based application uses these themes to create an interactive exploration of melody. With a modern, intuitive, and interactive design the multimedia web app offers insights into the characteristics of historically successful tunes. The user can discover the art of the music through audio and visuals, and can manipulate the data, combining and averaging the themes to reveal patterns. HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, and JQuery combine to create the user interface, generating this view of MIDI data contained in a MySQL database and accessed using PHP.

Moderators

Susan Reiser

Eva Bares

Speakers

Courtney Boessel

Paige Carter

Jason Conger-Kallas

Miranda Creech

Hannah Criswell

Chasti Hite

Sara Huckaby

Monday December 2, 2013 10:00am - 12:00pm PST
223, 224 Highsmith Union

Art History: Arts of the African Diaspora, Oral

10:00am PST

Understanding Place in Socio-visual Geographies

Social Geographies Exhibit and products from their "outsider impersonations" projects in which they fabricated objects and biographies of ersatz outsider artists.

Monday December 2, 2013 10:00am - 12:00pm PST
223, 224 Highsmith Union

Art History: Outsider Art in the 21st Century, Oral

10:00am PST

Understanding Place in Socio-visual Geographies

Visual Culture will present interpretive labels describing specific works in the Social Geographies Exhibit, as well as recorded commentaries in Outsider Art. A group of students from all three courses will also present on their experience and the sculpture outcome of the 'Urban Renewal" interactive artist workshop with DeWayne Barton.

Monday December 2, 2013 10:00am - 12:00pm PST
223, 224 Highsmith Union

Sociology: Visual Culture, Oral

10:05am PST

Collecting Feminisms: An Ethnographic Study of the UNC Asheville Feminist Collective

In 1998, on its cover, Times Magazine posed the question “is feminism dead?” Through work with UNC Asheville’s on campus feminist collective, it has become clear that the answer to this question is no. Through a combination of observations of group meetings, informal conversation and formal interviews, much evidence has surfaced about this group embracing the changes the feminist movement underwent through the years. The group has returned to classic feminist ideals and embraced new theories concerning gender, sexuality and queer identity. These theories, along with a multitude of others, have served to foster the creation of a group that encourages inclusivity, precision in language, consciousness raising and the intersectionality of identity and feminisms. This research helps to not only show that feminism is alive, but also that self identified feminists on this campus are at work promoting feminist ideals through their efforts during their meetings, school events and community functions.

Moderators

Dr. Heidi Kelley

Speakers

Lauren Jackson

Sponsors

Heidi Kelley

Monday December 2, 2013 10:05am - 10:25am PST
137 Zageir Hall

Anthropology, Oral

10:05am PST

Southern Appalachian Forest Community Response to Three Methods of Exotic Invasive Removal

Exotic plants often dominate areas they are introduced to, and may ultimately alter community composition, ecosystem structure and function. We studied the native plant community response to three different methods of exotic invasive removal – chemical, mechanical, and a combination of the two. The study was conducted on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Asheville over four consecutive summers (2008-2011). We aimed to determine which treatment was most effective in reducing exotic presence and increasing native species abundance and richness. We also identified species that were especially important in shaping the overall community composition. The cover and richness of native plants in the herbaceous community (all non-woody plants) and the tree seedling community (all tree species less than 0.2 m tall) increased significantly during the course of treatment, while the exotic cover and richness declined significantly. However, no treatment had a significant effect. In the tree seedling, herbaceous, and shrub communities, we found that the exotic tree/shrub Ligustrum sinense (Chinese privet) was a dominant species, and this information will be useful for future restoration and research projects.

Moderators

Ted Meigs

Speakers

Sarah Farmer

Sponsors

Jennifer Rhode Wards

Jonathan Horton

Monday December 2, 2013 10:05am - 10:25am PST
125 Rhoades Robinson Hall

Biology, Oral

10:05am PST

A Case Study of the Golf Industry in Western North Carolina

This paper illustrates a case study I conducted on the golf industry of western North Carolina, and applies aspects of the Structure, Conduct, and Performance Paradigm as well as basic economic concepts in order to clearly relay information that was uncovered during the extent of this project. Local golf retailers and course supervisors were interviewed, and supplemental online research was conducted as well. The resulting information I was able to obtain is included in the following paragraphs. The research portion of my project took place over the past three months, with the latter of that dedicated strictly to writing and composition. Throughout my research, I was able to uncover pertinent economic information relating to the golf industry and apply that to economic concepts, in order to more clearly understand how this fascinating industry functions. Furthermore, my research also yielded an elevated understanding in more advanced economic concepts, such as quasi-rents, which describe returns to firms that are temporary phenomena. The results of this project were that of meaningful significance, and typical of my expectations. The market for golf in western North Carolina is very diverse, and local courses tend to be “price-makers” in the industry due to such high demand for their products and services. Three types of golf courses were unveiled, and information pertaining to their differentiation amongst competitors was also incorporated. In addition, implications of this industry were rather small; no immediate or significant detriment was yielded as a result of common practices. As I implied, my results were rather generalized and typical of what one may expect after examination of an industry of this classification. My research was ultimately successful and proved to be both meaningful and appealing as well.

Moderators

Dr.Chris Bell

Speakers

Josh Ivens

Sponsors

Chris Bell

Monday December 2, 2013 10:05am - 10:25am PST
016 Karpen Hall

Economics, Oral

10:05am PST

Margaret Bourke-White

In this presentation, we will discuss and demonstrate our collaboration, between EDUC 220 and HIST 301 students on the creation of a chapter for a digital textbook in US Women’s History. Our chapter, entitled, Margaret Bourke-White explores the topic of transformations of Margaret Bourke-White’s experiences in photojournalism, using a variety of mediums and technologies. We utilized a combination of primary and secondary sources as well as an array of contemporary technology sources, such as PBworks and Time Toast Some of the materials we used were autobiographies, letters, media sources such as radio, websites, digital art catalogs and online museums. Combining conventional academic sources with digital tools allows students to experience a fuller engagement with these topics in US Women’s History in addition to developing pre-service teachers pedagogical content knowledge. Our presentation will include a rational for the chapter, a historical overview that provides context, a central historical question that guided the research and creation of the project, and NC State Standards for 8th grade social studies. The audience will also be guided through several aspects of the digital chapter and provided a forum for questions.

Moderators

Trey Adcock

Speakers

Speakers

Madeline Garcia Johnson

Sponsors

Don Diefenbach

Monday December 2, 2013 10:05am - 10:25am PST
038 Karpen Hall

Mass Communication, Oral

Digital Communication- Is Privacy Possible?

The Internet provides several methods of communication, of which very few are secure. Of particular interest, given recent events, is the security of email. Email is often sent between servers with no form of encryption, allowing for the simple interception of this medium of communication. While many email providers began to encrypt their SMTP communication via a SSL/TLS wrapper in an attempt to address this issue, they did not address a larger issue that still remains; email history is stored in plaintext on servers with a high retention period, allowing for the easy retrieval of private communications should the server be compromised, or the email provider be forced to give up information. While systems do exist for private communication in a manner similar to email or instant messaging, these systems are not widely used due to a number of issues, including difficulty of implementation and use. The purpose of this project is to design and develop a communications protocol that addresses the vulnerabilities and privacy issues with email. This proof of concept system was written in C# on Microsoft Windows, however, the system can easily be ported to any programming language on any operating system and scaled up beyond email functionality.

Moderators

Susan Reiser

Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean of Natural Sciences at UNC Asheville, SENCER Center of Innovation South Co-Director

Speakers

Daniel Miller

Sponsors

Computer Science Faculty

Monday December 2, 2013 10:20am - 10:40am PST
217 Rhoades Robinson Hall

Computer Science, Oral

10:20am PST

Revolutionizing the Instrument & the Genre: the Scruggs Impact on Bluegrass

Bluegrass, a genre of American music that originated in the rural South during the mid 1940’s, is typically characterized by high pitched singing with specifically arranged, lonesome sounding harmonies atop speedy tempos--which are traditionally performed with acoustic instruments. Similar to jazz and country music, bluegrass is an aspect of American culture that blended European, specifically Scotch-Irish, and African-American influences. Initially, bluegrass was strictly a Southern phenomenon; however, with the advancements and developments of visual and auditory media during the 20th century, bluegrass was more easily spread throughout America and eventually the world. One man and his revolutionary banjo style aided tremendously in this movement of bluegrass music from the Southern genre that it was, to the national and international genre that it is today. Mr. Earl Eugene Scruggs left behind an everlasting legacy with his inventive banjo pickin’ which influenced, and continues to influence, innumerable musicians; yet, he also played a monumental role, not only in creating what is considered the fundamental bluegrass banjo sound, but his work with Lester Flatt brought traditional Southern bluegrass into popular culture through their roles within the visual and auditory media. This research examines the career and influence of Mr. Scruggs.

Moderators

Paula Withrow

Speakers

Rachel Hilton

Sponsors

Dan Pierce

Tracey Rizzo

Monday December 2, 2013 10:20am - 10:40am PST
117 New Hall

History, Oral

10:20am PST

The State of Health in China: Assessing the Viability of the Most Recent Five-Year Plan

In the last 30 years the world has seen an unprecedented amount of growth in a country that once had little role to play in world politics and economics. Since 1978, 500 million people have been raised out of poverty in China according to the World Bank. A market-based economy has brought massive growth and has certainly gained the attention of the rest of the world. However, with rapid growth comes increased inequality. China still has 128 million people living on less than $2.00 per day[1] If China is going to maintain this level of growth, changes need to be made in the policies related to the environment, education, and especially healthcare. A comprehensive “Five-Year Plan” was developed to detail the reforms that will address health and healthcare issues including a growing elderly population, non-communicable diseases associated with developed nations, and rampant corruption in hospitals and care facilities. This paper will answer the question; is healthcare reform as laid out in the most recent “Five-Year Plan” enough to address the complexity of health issues in a developing China?

Moderators

Dr. Surain Subramaniam

Speakers

Justine Reid

Sponsors

Surain Subramaniam

Monday December 2, 2013 10:20am - 10:40am PST
202 Zeis Hall

Interdisciplinary Studies, Oral

Digital Textbook Project: Consumer Culture and the Perception of Women: A comparison of the 1920s and present day

In this presentation, we will discuss and demonstrate our collaboration, between EDUC 220 and HIST 301 students on the creation of chapter for a digital textbook in US Women’s History. Our chapter, entitled Consumer Culture and the Perception of Women: A comparison of the 1920s and present day, explores the topic of the way in which advertising and our culture of consumerism plays a major part in the way in which our culture views women and even in the way women view themselves from a a variety of mediums and technologies. We utilized primary source documents and time period advertisements, current day academic articles, educational video, and the PB work page to be able to tell a broader and more accessible story of the way in which consumerism values have affected our culture- specifically women’s roles- and how women’s perceived roles have in turn affected our consumer culture. Some of the materials we used are multiple ads from 1920s and present day, “The Story of Stuff” video, The Dove “Campaign for Real Beauty” advertisement, and “Sexism and Sexuality in Advertising” by Michael Jacobsen and Laurie Anne Mazur. Combining conventional academic sources with digital tools allows students to experience a fuller engagement with these topics in US Women’s History in addition to developing preservice teachers pedagogical content knowledge. Our presentation will include a rational for the chapter, a historical overview that provides context, a central historical question that guided the research and creation of the project, and NC State Standards for 8th grade social studies. The audience will also be guided through several aspects of the digital chapter and provided a forum for questions.

Moderators

Trey Adcock

Speakers

Speakers

Erin Berry

Morgan Heflin

Janna Peterson

Sponsors

Ameena Batada

Monday December 2, 2013 10:30am - 12:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Honors, Poster

10:30am PST

Content Analysis of the Portrayal of Female Lead Characters in Television

Self-confidence is an integral aspect of mental health, and this trait is especially important for females. As a persuasive vehicle, media plays a role in the behaviors and thoughts of viewers. Because of media’s influential abilities, we were interested in looking at the occurrence and characteristics of females performing acts of power in a variety of shows over different genres. Data were analyzed for a total of 25 hours of television content - five hours each from Law and Order: SVU, House, Orange is the New Black, Parks and Recreation, and Breaking Bad. Findings showed that when a female asserted herself over a peer or superior, the act was primarily verbal as opposed to physical, she tended to show power over males, and she stepped up more often when there was a witnessing group of 2-3 people. Exploring how television portrays strong female characters can give an insight into the images that real life women are viewing and emulating.

Moderators

Dr. Ameena Batada

Moderators

Dr. Ameena Batada

Speakers

Sarah Merritt

Rebecca Williams

Sponsors

Ameena Batada

Monday December 2, 2013 10:30am - 12:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Honors, Poster

10:30am PST

An Examination of Adverse Childhood Experiences Within a College Population

In 1998, Felitti & Anda et al (1998) published the first in a series of studies examining the long term health outcomes of adverse childhood experiences, which is defined as childhood exposure to multiple types of abuse, including emotional, physical, sexual abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction. The results indicated direct links between ACE scores and biological problems or risk factors later in life, such as, cardiovascular disease, lung disease, liver disease, depression, obesity, smoking, and substance abuse. It was found that as the ACE score increased the number of risk factors for the leading causes of death in the United States increased as well. Currently, there is minimal published research examining the prevalence of ACE scores in a young adult population. An examination of these experiences in a younger population can assist in identifying strategies and variables to address that may decrease the likelihood of continued development of health problems in later adulthood. The proposed study will attempt to address this gap in research by having college students complete the ACE Questionnaire. The results of the study will be utilized to identify initial prevalence rates of adverse childhood experiences in a college population. This research can lay the groundwork needed to further examine the related health and psychological outcomes of ACES scores within a young adult population.

Moderators

Heather Ulrich

Speakers

Reighlah Collins

Rachel Young

Monday December 2, 2013 10:30am - 12:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Psychology, Poster

10:30am PST

The Effect of Spatial Continuity and Displacement on the Auditory Motion-Onset Response

A long-standing question in the study of auditory perception is whether the neural processing of sound movement relies on genuine motion-selective analyzers or merely comparison of “snapshots” of a sound’s starting and ending points via static spatial auditory networks. To investigate this question, this study explored the effect of spatial continuity of virtual moving sounds on the motion-onset response (MOR), a characteristic electroencephalographic (EEG) signal evoked by moving sounds. Past research (Getzmann & Lewald, 2012) shows that the MOR is more pronounced in response to discontinuous, ”jumping” sounds than to smooth, continuously-moving sounds. This implies that the MOR signals spatial change rather than true motion-detection, supporting the “snapshot hypothesis.” However, the observed hemispheric laterality of one MOR component may indicate a possible role of sound continuity in facilitating the processing of sound movement direction. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the MOR evoked by intermediate levels of sound resolution, between abrupt two-point displacement and smooth movement. By determining the effect of various levels of sound continuity on amplitude, latency, and anatomical localization of components of the MOR, we investigate whether perception of sound movement relies, at least in part, on “true” motion-sensitive networks in the auditory processing stream.

Moderators

Dr Michael Neelon

Speakers

Matthew Underwood

Sponsors

Michael Neelon

Monday December 2, 2013 10:30am - 12:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Psychology, Poster

10:30am PST

Snack Attack: Comical Paintings Exposing Hidden Deceptions of the Modern Food Industry

Moderators

Mark Harvey

Speakers

Allison Fawcett

Sponsors

Virginia Derryberry

Monday December 2, 2013 10:30am - 1:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Scholarship Deck

URSL: Scholarship Deck:Art, Oral

10:35am PST

Graphic Organizers in a Third Grade Classroom

Students in a third grade class participate in a unit on the use of graphic organizers during prewriting. This presentation reveals how students performed as a whole and individually. Video clips showing student engagement and deepening student understanding will be shared as well.

Moderators

Dr. Nancy Ruppert

Speakers

Charles Keller

Sponsors

Nancy Ruppert

Monday December 2, 2013 10:35am - 10:55am PST
221 Highsmith Union

Education, Oral

10:40am PST

Halogen Headlights: The Effect of Humidity in Western North Carolina

Moderators

Dr. Robert Yearout

Speakers

Amy Francis

Sponsors

Robert Yearout

Monday December 2, 2013 10:40am - 10:55am PST
230 Owen Hall

Management: Research & Quality Control, Oral

10:40am PST

Data Remanence: Magnetic Ghosts

Data remanence is data retained after formating or hard drive failure. The purpose of this project is to show the amount of data retained on magnetic hard drives after a format of the device from industry standard operating systems (Windows 7/ Linux/ OS X) or formatting utilities (DBAN/Secure Erase). What is the most secure data deletion method? How can industry professionals protect their company and their customers’ private data? Which method will cost their company the least? For the recovery of the data I used Kali Linux, formerly BackTrack Linux, a free and readily available linux distribution, with its built in methods of digital forensic analysis.

Moderators

Susan Reiser

Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean of Natural Sciences at UNC Asheville, SENCER Center of Innovation South Co-Director

Speakers

David Conway

Sponsors

Computer Science Faculty

Monday December 2, 2013 10:40am - 11:00am PST
217 Rhoades Robinson Hall

Computer Science, Oral

10:40am PST

Rethinking Pre-modern figures: Prince Henry ‘the Navigator’ as a Nationalist Sentiment

Prince Henry ‘the Navigator’ of Portugal is famed for beginning the Age of Exploration. While never traveling further down the African coast than Morocco, the voyages he funded and directed led to expansive discovery of the West African coast. Like many other Pre-modern figures, few records of Henry’s life exist. The possible political motivations of these sources and their lack of historical, ethical standards bring their accuracy into question. The uncertainty of these sources allowed for their manipulation by nationalist identity builders. This study focused on analyzing the Pre-modern sources to discover how these themes reemerge in the twentieth century Estado Novo regime. The Estado Novo took part in a deliberate reshaping of national consciousness using the discoveries as its foundation. By analyzing the particular use of Henry by the Estado Novo in their national program and myth, simultaneously reveals and shrouds his historical significance. The importance of the discoveries to Portugalidade (what it means to be Portuguese) make the centrality of a figure like Prince Henry to national identity uniquely significant.

Moderators

Paula Withrow

Speakers

Samuel A. Fontaine

Sponsors

JD Grande

Maggie Wasielewski

Sponsors

Rob Bowen

Monday December 2, 2013 10:45am - 11:05am PST
038 Karpen Hall

Drama, Oral

10:45am PST

Is Gender significant in Major Choice at UNC Asheville? An Application of Human Capital Theory

One theory used in explaining the gender gap in wages is human capital theory. The human capital approach treats expenditures in education and training as an investment with returns over time. This theory suggests that there are larger monetary gains for men. The gain for men is generated by the division of labor within the family. Because of the differences in benefits for further education in conjunction with the anticipation of intermittent workforce participation young rational women may choose majors with lower rates technological change, known in this paper as low-tech majors. This paper tests human capital theory using a data set of students at UNC Asheville. The methodological approach to this paper is a logistic regression, otherwise known as a logit model. Results suggest that there is evidence to support human capital theory.

Moderators

Chris Bell

Speakers

Seth Tousey

Sponsors

Pamela Nickless

Steve Patch

Monday December 2, 2013 10:45am - 11:05am PST
016 Karpen Hall

Economics, Oral

10:45am PST

Black Panthers

In this presentation, we will discuss and demonstrate our collaboration, between EDUC 220 and HIST 301 students on the creation of a chapter for a digital textbook in US Women’s History. Our chapter, entitled Black Panthers, explores the topic of the radical, militant, political group, the Black Panther Party, and the role of women within that group from a variety of mediums and technologies. We utilized primary and secondary resources, video clips, music samples, and interactive, educational activities to be able to tell a broader and more accessible story of the influence of the Black Panthers and the interesting rise of Elaine Brown as its first female leader. Some of the materials we used are Elaine Brown’s autobiography, A Taste of Power: A Black Woman’s Story, samples of her music, multiple websites and books about the Civil Rights Movement, including, How Long? How Long? by Belinda Robnett for the historical content portion of our project. We also utilized educational resources to better learn how to communicate the information in a manner conducive to the educational level of our intended audience, such as CivilRightsteaching.org, the documentary “Eyes on the Prize” produced by PBS, critical thinking activities and lesson plan guidelines. Combining conventional academic sources with digital tools allows students to experience a fuller engagement with these topics in US Women’s History in addition to developing pre-service teachers, pedagogical content knowledge. Our presentation will include a rationale for the chapter, an historical overview that provides context, a central historical question that guided the research and creation of the project, and NC State Standards for 8th grade social studies. The audience will also be guided through several aspects of the digital chapter and provide a forum for questions.

Moderators

Trey Adcock

Speakers

Susanne Sitton

Sarah Strain

Sponsors

Sarah Judson

Monday December 2, 2013 10:45am - 11:05am PST
246 Zageir Hall

Education, Oral | History, Oral

10:45am PST

Determining the Presence of the Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) and Differentiators of Occupied vs. Unoccupied Habitats in Bent Creek, Buncombe County, North Carolina

The Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) is a large aquatic salamander found in cool, clean, highly oxygenated rivers and streams within the eastern United States. Hellbender populations have been steeply declining over the past century and are a protected species in most states where they are found, including North Carolina where they are listed as a species of special concern. North Carolina contains approximately 3000 waterways that could potentially support hellbender populations. It is vital to survey these waterways to better understand the distribution of the Eastern Hellbender and what environmental factors enable these systems to support threatened hellbender populations. During May, June and July of 2013, the entirety of Bent Creek was surveyed, beginning at the mouth (the French Broad River) and concluding at the Lake Powhatan dam. Four adult Eastern Hellbenders were found, with two captures and two tactile encounters/escapes. In October 2013, three occupied sites and three unoccupied sites were examined, determining the number of cover rocks, the temperature, dissolved oxygen and dominant substrates at each site. While temperature and dissolved oxygen did not vary significantly, occupied stream sections had significantly coarser substrates and a much higher occurrence of cover rocks than unoccupied sections. This data indicated that commonly used surveying techniques relying on cover rocks and substrate composition are likely the most effective means of selecting survey sites in large aquatic systems. Future research might examine whether the Eastern Hellbender population at Bent Creek is or has the potential to become a viable breeding population, if the stream conditions are amenable to larval recruitment, and whether breeding could be encouraged with the use of habitat improvement and artificial nesting rocks.

Moderators

Dr. David Gillette

Speakers

Sponsors

Brent Skidmore

Robert Tynes

Monday December 2, 2013 10:50am - 11:10am PST
237 Owen Hall

Art Studio, Oral

Swiss-ARMy Microcomputer

Utilizing powerful, cheap and diminutive hardware from the Chinese market offers the opportunity to create affordable microcomputers with potentially unlimited configurations. A lack of OS support and development is the only thing holding these devices back. Utilizing a Tronsmart T428 as the base hardware, I have patched kernels for Debian GNU/Linux to run on the device allowing server type functions such as web hosting, FTP host, audio/video streaming and more. Ubuntu Linux has also been loaded to facilitate device use as a portable, wearable or fixed desktop PC. Lastly, a modified Android OS is supported for media consumption and gaming. Choosing which OS to use is simply a matter of inserting the appropriate micro SD card and booting the device.

Moderators

Susan Reiser

Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean of Natural Sciences at UNC Asheville, SENCER Center of Innovation South Co-Director

Speakers

Jonathan Stanley

Sponsors

Computer Science Faculty

Monday December 2, 2013 11:00am - 11:20am PST
217 Rhoades Robinson Hall

Computer Science, Oral

11:00am PST

Unionizing the Jim Crow South: The Brother of Timber Workers and the Industrial Workers of the World

The Brotherhood of Timber Workers (BTW) was an interracial labor organization in the Deep South 1910-1916. The BTW had a complex racial and gender dynamic, it’s members were black, white, Mexican, Italian, male, female, and Native American. The BTW grew out of earlier populist and socialist organizing in the area and presented a major challenge to the power structure of the area. The diverse membership of the BTW contests some of the social stereotypes of the Jim Crow South. Furthermore, the affiliation of the BTW with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) demonstrates the radical economic analysis of the union membership. The timber companies of the region banded together and waged a bitter struggle against the BTW marked by lockouts, espionage, assassination attempts, and a shooting incident that left four dead and dozens wounded. This paper evaluates the BTW’s affiliation with the IWW. This paper demonstrates that the leadership of the BTW was in communication with and influenced by the IWW virtually from inception. Some scholars have argued that this affiliation led to the downfall of the BTW. This paper shows that the demise of the BTW was due to the external pressures placed upon it by the timber companies and not because of an IWW inspired ideological division among its members.

Moderators

Paula Withrow

Speakers

David Marquis

Sponsors

Sarah Judson

Monday December 2, 2013 11:00am - 11:20am PST
117 New Hall

History, Oral

11:00am PST

Moderators

Trey Adcock

Speakers

Speakers

Jonathan Simms

Sponsors

Jeff Wilcox

Monday December 2, 2013 11:05am - 11:30am PST
125 Rhoades Robinson Hall

Environmental Studies, Oral

11:10am PST

The Boston Red Sox Career Win Percentages

Moderators

Dr. Robert Yearout

Speakers

Joe Grady

Sponsors

Robert Yearout

Monday December 2, 2013 11:10am - 11:25am PST
230 Owen Hall

Management: Research & Quality Control, Oral

11:10am PST

Telling Gestures: Exploring Body Language Through Ceramics

In the exhibition Telling Gestures, the artist uses ceramic sculptures to explore the silent communication behind body language. The artist builds figures full of life and expression, using body language to communicate emotion, and inspire the viewer to invent their own narrative. The surface texture of the figures is created by pulling and scraping the clay and is inspired by Lucian Freud’s textural application of paint. The large figures are disassembled and reconstructed during the firing process using a technique similar to that of contemporary sculptors Andrea Keys Connel and Beth Cavener Stichter. Using terra-cotta clay, the artist has created figures of various scales. Some of which are cropped in ways that direct the view to a specific feature of the body. The variety of whole and sectioned figures within the exhibition invites the viewer to compare and contrast different kinds of body language and to have a more observant eye about this kind of communication.

Moderators

Eric Tomberlin

Speakers

Marla George

Sponsors

Sponsors

Surain Subramaniam

Monday December 2, 2013 11:20am - 11:40am PST
202 Zeis Hall

Interdisciplinary Studies: International Studies Concentration, Oral

Moderators

Robert Yearout

Speakers

Alexandria Stewart

Monday December 2, 2013 11:40am - 11:55am PST
230 Owen Hall

Management: Research & Quality Control, Oral

11:50am PST

The Human Instrument

Biometric sensors offer people the ability to interact with computer systems without requiring the user to make any physical contact with a device. In recent years, the commercial availability of sophisticated bio-sensor devices has fueled a trend to bring these capabilities to the retail market. Microsoft spearheaded this movement when they released the XBox Kinect, a motion and audio sensing device in 2010. It became the worlds fastest selling consumer electronic device. Microsoft continuously updates their development kit with software enhancements and developers have yet to discover the full capabilities of the Kinect's hardware features. There is no doubt that touch free user interfaces will become standard in the future, but there is a question of how long it will take. The Kinect proves that the hardware is already available and affordable, so it is now up to the software developers to take advantage of the new technology. My goal for this project is to research the inter-process communications required for 3rd party computer programs to be controlled by the Kinect. What tools are available to software developers to utilize this new technology across software platforms?

Moderators

Mark Harvey

Speakers

David Sweet

Sponsors

Susan Reiser

Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean of Natural Sciences at UNC Asheville, SENCER Center of Innovation South Co-Director

Monday December 2, 2013 11:50am - 12:10pm PST
417 Mountain View Room: Wilma Sherrill Center

URSL: Computer Science, Oral

11:55am PST

Personal Best Times for One Mile

Moderators

Dr. Robert Yearout

Speakers

Cynthia Vargas

Sponsors

Robert Yearout

Monday December 2, 2013 11:55am - 12:10pm PST
230 Owen Hall

Management: Research & Quality Control, Oral

12:00pm PST

EdTPA and Impact on Student Learning

EdTPA is a trial program for measuring a student teacher’s impact on student learning. In this study, the program was used to measure impact on student learning over the course of a one-week-long “Yarn bombing” unit in a high school Art, 3d Sculpture class. The unit was designed by the student teacher to reach certain learning objectives and demonstrate a range of growth in student learning. During the unit students worked in groups to learn about installation sculpture and contemporary street art. Then they combined the two mediums in the style of specific artists to “yarn bomb” locations of their choosing throughout the school. The learning objectives of the unit include: 21st century collaboration skills, language and vocabulary use, creativity and planning, reflection skills, understanding of cultural impact, and technical proficiency through the creation of a final product. The study uses a focus group of three students from the class of 16, and tracks their progress over 3 days of the unit in relation to the progress of the class as a whole. Each student’s learning is measured through the use of multiple assessments before, during, and after the unit and the assessments are designed to be both formative and summative to measure each objective. The findings of the study are discussed through the use of student work artifacts, sample assessments, video samples, and through narrative explanation. All work together to assess the final impact of the student teacher upon student learning throughout the unit.

Moderators

Barbara Jaslow

Speakers

Tara Lancaster

Sponsors

Nancy Ruppert

Monday December 2, 2013 12:00pm - 12:20pm PST
221 Highsmith Union

Education, Oral

A Bioinformatics Analysis of Enzymes Participating in a Mixed Acid Fermentation Pathway as Observed in Brachybacterium faecium

Brachybacterium faecium is a Gram-positive facultative anaerobe. The strain described in this report is free-living, non-motile, and models the type species of this genus. It is also known for its variable growth cycle. We employed the Integrated Microbial Genomes toolkit to manually annotate the features of a five genes. We found that our enzymes function in the fermentation cycle of Brachybacterium faecium.

Moderators

Dr. Betsy Wilson

Speakers

Eric Barber

Brandy Blakeley

Kayla Brank

Ellie Hoover

Jordan Paris

Sponsors

Betsy Wilson

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Biology, Poster

12:30pm PST

Analysis of Ga13 Mutants to Determine Critical Regions for Signal Transduction

Moderators

Dr. Ted Meigs

Speakers

Alicia Tagliatela

Sponsors

Ted Meigs

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Biology, Poster

12:30pm PST

Bio-informatics Analysis of Multiple Genes in Brachybacteria faecium in Pyridine Nucleotide Formation

Manual gene annotation was performed for the following genes in Brachybacteria faecium: Quinolinate Synthetase A, NAD Synthase, L-Aspartate Oxidase, Quinolinate Phosphoribosyltransferase, and Nicotinate Nucleotide Adenyltransferase. These genes, which are involved in the pathway for pyridine nucleotide formation, were examined manually to verify the enzymatic functions ascribed to them by automated methods. The methods used included: Basic Information, Sequence Based Similarity Data, Alternative Open Reading Frames, Structure Based Evidence, Horizontal Gene Transfers, Enzymatic Function Modules.

Moderators

Dr. Betsy Wilson

Speakers

Brittany Ford

Katie Hasselhoff

Sponsors

Betsy Wilson

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Biology, Poster

12:30pm PST

Detailed bioinformatics analyses of four genes necessary for peptidoglycan synthesis in Brachybacterium faecium

The bacterium Brachybacterium faecium has been a species of interest in genomic studies because of its phylogenetic position in the Actinobacterial family Dermabacteraceae. Its complete genome was sequenced and automatically annotated in 2009, but a more investigative manual annotation is needed to affirm its accuracy. Our study manually annotated four genes that code for enzymes within the biosynthesis pathway of peptidoglycan, a structural polymer in bacterial cell walls. Our data were compared to those of the automated annotations. We used bioinformatics to investigate sequence data, phylogenetic relationships, enzymatic functions, and potential horizontal gene transfers of these four genes within this pathway.

Moderators

Dr. Betsy Wilson

Speakers

Laurin Buckner

Branden Lassen

Kerry Shepherd

Julie Tierney

Sponsors

Betsy Wilson

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Biology, Poster

12:30pm PST

Detailed Bioinformatics Analysis of the Histidine Biosynthesis Genes in Brachybacterium faecium

We manually annotated the genes from histidine biosynthesis in Brachybacterium faecium using a variety of tools including HMM logo, histidine biosynthesis in the MetaCyc pathway, histidine metabolism in the KEGG pathway and the phylogenic tree. The purpose of the manual annotation is important because 35% of automatic annotations are wrong (C. Kerfeld, personal communication). Five genes, that all have different functions in the pathway, were examined in the histidine biosynthesis pathway all yielding similar results. After analysis of each of the five genes, using a variety of tools, we found our genes to be in the same KEGG pathway and MetaCyc pathway. After further analysis of our genes, we did not find any horizontal gene transfer. The automatic annotation was confirmed after analysis of the manual annotation for each gene was completed.

Moderators

Dr. Betsy Wilson

Speakers

Robert Castro

Gwendolyn Hageman

Sam Harwell

Christina Johnson

Andrew Watson

Sponsors

Betsy Wilson

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Biology, Poster

12:30pm PST

Detailed Bioinformatics of Genes Encoding Enzymes Involved in Biosynthesis of Arginine and Proline in Brachybacterium Faecium

Gene encoding enzymes that function in the biosynthesis of arginine and proline were manually annotated. Bioinformatics tools including BLAST, KEGG, MetaCyc, T-Coffee, Weblogo, and CDD were used to examine gene products predicted by annotation to be enzymes 1.2.1.88, 2.1.3.3, 2.72.11, 3.5.1.2.The enzyme commission (ec) numbers 1.2.1.88(L-Glutamyl P); 2.1.3.3 (ornithine carbamoyltransferase); 2.7.2.11(Glutamate-5-kinase); 3.5.1.2 (Glutaminase) and their enzymatic function were analyzed. These gene products function as enzymes in the arginine and proline metabolic pathway of Brachybacterium faecium.

Moderators

Dr. Betsy Wilson

Speakers

Laura Ellis

Dylan Farnham

Andrea Langefeld

Rebekah Shover

Sponsors

Betsy Wilson

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Biology, Poster

12:30pm PST

Manual Annotation of Brachybacterium faecium Genes Utilized in Uridine Monophosphate

While automatic annotation provides rapid analysis of genes within a sequenced genome, manual annotation results in more accurate analysis. The following proteins are the product of the manually annotated genes from Brachybacterium faecium: orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (E.C. 2.4.2.10), orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase (E.C. 4.1.1.23), dihydroorotase (E.C. 3.5.2.3), aspartate carbamoyltransferase (E.C. 2.1.3.2), and carbamoyl phosphate synthase large and small subunits (E.C. 6.3.5.5). Manual annotation of these genes, using tools from the Annotation Collaboration Toolkit, such as BLAST, T-Coffee, and WebLogo, confirmed the validity of the automatically annotated roles of these genes encoding enzymes that function in the uridine monophosphate (UMP) synthesis pathway.

Moderators

Dr. Betsy Wilson

Speakers

Sarah Coulton

Alina Iliadis

Natrieifia Miller

Matthew Russell

Corey Seithel

Kelsey Wines

Sponsors

Betsy Wilson

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Biology, Poster

12:30pm PST

Manual Annotation of Brachybacterium faecium Genes whose products inactivate reactive forms of oxygen

In order to compensate for errors or inaccuracy in automated annotations, we have manually annotated three genes in Brachybacterium faecium. The three genes that we annotated encode superoxide dismutase and catalase.

Moderators

Dr. Betsy Wilson

Speakers

Shaun Barnett

Hector Melgar

Betsy Wilson

Sarah Worley

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Biology, Poster

12:30pm PST

Manual Annotation of Five Gene Products in the Histidine Biosynthesis Pathway of Brachybacterium faecium

Brachybacterium faecium is a species in the order of Dermabacteraceae within the actinobacterial suborder Micrococcineae. The genome was recently automatically annotated and 3198 genes were identified. Automatic annotations are incorrect 35% of the time making manual annotation an important process in accurately mapping a genome. Specifically, this project manually annotated five gene products of the histidine pathway of Brachybacterium faecium. The histidine pathway is an integral amino acid cascade that provides the initiation products for purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis. To manually annotate the gene products, we employed the IMG ACT-annotation collaboration toolkit program. This site provides an interface for tools such as NCBI-BLAST, WebLogo, and T-COFFE to elucidate information regarding our gene products. The observed level of highly conserved regions in each of our gene products indicate successful and accurate gene annotation.

Moderators

Dr. Betsy Wilson

Speakers

Candace Little

Mead Lyons

Emily Saxe

Bryan Shipman

Vanessa Vinson

Sponsors

Betsy Wilson

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Biology, Poster

12:30pm PST

Manual Annotation of the Mixed Acid Fermentation Pathway Genes in Brachybacterium faecium

Actinobacteria makes up for the largest phyla in bacteria and can be found in a range of environments but are most commonly found in soil communities.1 Actinobacteria Brachybacterium faecium is primarily an aerobic bacterium that cycles from rod to coccus for the duration of growth.2 In anaerobic conditions, B. faecium can generate ATP via mixed acid fermentation pathways. Five genes were manually annotated from this pathway to identify and increase understanding of the conservation of genes in this pathway among other bacteria. The nature of the proteins encoded by the selected genes was revealed by querying various protein databases. It was found that the genes code for enzymes that catalyze various steps in a mixed acid fermentation pathway that begins with glucose and eventually yields succinate, 2-oxoglutarate, acetate, ethanol, CO2, H2, and R-lactate.

Moderators

Dr. Betsy Wilson

Speakers

Clay Chandler

Jessica Goodwin

Ryan McLaughlin

Alicia Tagliatela

Megan Whitley

Sponsors

Betsy Wilson

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Biology, Poster

12:30pm PST

Mapping Sites in Gα12 for Activation Independent Binding to the TPR Region of Protein Phosphatase 5

Moderators

Dr. Ted Meigs

Speakers

Matthew Russell

Sponsors

Ted Meigs

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Biology, Poster

12:30pm PST

Computational Cracking of Carbon Carbon bonds within plant biomass Undergraduate Research Symposium Abstract

Experimentation in the field of clean energy is presently extremely important within the international community. The premise of this experiment is concentrates on the theory of using plant biomass as a source of hydrogen for hydrogen fuel, which is much more efficient than the sources of energy commonly used today, and more specifically the breaking of carbon carbon bonds within molecules. Alternative forms of energy are sorely needed, for uses of fossil fuels are inefficient, costly, and highly damaging to the environment. In order to properly determine the methods to use in order to tap into this source of energy we must first approach it mathematically. Computational chemistry methods use mathematical theory rather than physical experimentation methods. Computational work implements the use of software programs and equations in order to make detailed analysis of reactions without actually having to do the reactions. This approach allows for researchers to learn favorable molecules and surfaces to use efficiently. The goal here is to learn more about how to break carbon-carbon bonds within the plant tissue, this is determined using programs performing mathematical functions. These programs such as crystal maker, which is a program used to make three dimensional models of molecules and surfaces, will show the optimal energies and molecular shapes for the reactions to occur. The efficiency of using Rhodium among other surfaces to break the carbon-carbon bonds within ethanol and other larger molecules will be tested for this research.

Moderators

Dr. Sally Wasileski

Speakers

Alex C. Corley

Sponsors

Sally Wasileski

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Chemistry, Poster

12:30pm PST

Quantitative Analysis of Minerals in Vitamins and Fortified Cereal Centered on Child Nutrition from Before Birth to Preteen Years

Minerals such as calcium, iron and zinc are important to child development, but labels on most vitamin supplements and fortified foods marketed to children report recommended daily intake (RDI) for adults. For children, the window between mineral deficiency and overdose is small, and in some cases (i.e., zinc) the child tolerable upper intake is less than the adult RDI. A thorough understanding of the mineral content in vitamins and fortified foods marketed for child nutrition will enable a better understanding of their potential combined toxicity to children. In this project, different varieties of common prenatal and children's vitamins and fortified “o”-shaped oat cereal were analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy and compared to the nutrition label. Results showed that iron, calcium, and zinc content in both vitamins and fortified cereals were inconsistent with labeling. Full details of the iron, calcium, and zinc content in vitamins and cereals will be presented.

Moderators

Dr. Sally Wasileski

Speakers

Timothy Brown

Bethany Cook

Richard Thompson

Sponsors

Sally Wasileski

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Chemistry, Poster

12:30pm PST

Study of the effects of chemical etchants on the quality of silver nanowires grown on periodically poled lithium niobate

Silver nanowires may be useful as substrates for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and as interconnects in integrated circuits. Ferroelectric lithography is used to prepare such wires on periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystals, but imperfections in the crystal surfaces cause unwanted interstitial silver deposition and irregularities in the wires. In this work, several chemical treatments were used in an attempt to etch the z-face of PPLN crystals to an atomically smooth state. HF/HNO3 preferentially etched the poled domains creating an uneven surface. KOH caused irregular pitting of the surface. However, as shown through scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, aqua regia was found to etch the PPLN surface evenly and laterally, repairing preexisting surface flaws as well as those caused by KOH treatment, improving the quality and size of wires prepared, and reducing interstitial silver deposition. For ideal results, aqua regia treatment may complement physical polishing methods.

Moderators

Dr. James Perkins

Dr. Jason Schmeltzer

Speakers

Jade C. Snow

Sponsors

Sponsors

Susan Reiser

Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean of Natural Sciences at UNC Asheville, SENCER Center of Innovation South Co-Director

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

New Media, Poster

12:30pm PST

Analysis on Potential Multirefringent Properties Calcite.

Nonlinear optical media, so called because the polarization of the material responds nonlinearly to an applied electric field, give rise to several phenomena that allow for the manipulation of the frequency of light. These materials are commonly found in lasers to cost efficiently generate green light from a red laser through a special case of frequency manipulation known as second harmonic generation, which doubles the frequency of light and requires a condition known as phase matching. Phase matching is achieved through the use of a birefringent crystal which exhibits the optical property that occurs when the medium is optically anisotropic such that an incident beam of light double refracts, or bends into two separate beams. An example of a birefringent material is CaCO3, or calcite, which produces two images and is a naturally occurring mineral known for its double refraction. Birefringence is utilized in the design of many optical devices such as types of waveplates or the Lyot filter. Multiple refraction, or multirefringence, has been predicted in some exotic metamaterials where light is bent in multiple separate directions. A calcite sample has been acquired that clearly produces multiple images. The mechanism by which these images are produced is studied to determine whether it is demonstrating multirefringence or any unusual manifestation of birefringence. If this calcite sample demonstrates multirefringence, then that would mean that multirefringence can occur naturally and may have uses in frequency manipulation.

Moderators

Dr. James Perkins

Speakers

Vincent Caminiti

Sponsors

James Perkins

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Physics, Poster

12:30pm PST

Epitaxial Growth of Graphene on Silicon Carbide Wafers Using Carbon Dioxide Laser Stimulation: Progress Report

This presentation will serve as a progress report regarding the ongoing research project of stimulating the growth of graphene using carbon dioxide laser ablation of silicon carbide wafers. Thus far, we have focused on the gas pressure, the proportions of the three gases (helium, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide), the optical cavity setup, and the current density of the ionized gases within the laser system. These parameters are essential to the achievement of our goals and had to be dialed in precisely through theoretical research and experimentation. We have now successfully restored and optimized the laser, allowing for various power levels to be obtained and used for ablation. This report will focus on the theory behind laser optimization, the processes leading to this accomplishment, as well as the proceedings of the overall project.

Moderators

Dr. Charles Bennett

Speakers

Wren Ammons Gregory

Robert Morris

Ashlyn Rickard

Sponsors

Charles Bennett

Monday December 2, 2013 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Wilma Sherrill Center - Concourse

Physics, Poster

12:40pm PST

“Wild Thing Creations”: Assessing Student Learning in an Art Classroom

I focused on student learning in a first grade classroom that came to art once a week. Their unit plan was about drawing a new perspective and adding character details. First we read together the book, “Where The Wild Things Are,” by Maurice Sendak. We drew a step-by-step “Wild Thing” head to learn about how to add texture and draw character details. Then at the end of that lesson, they drew a head of their own creature. The next day, I taught them through an interactive lecture what a profile is. They spent the rest of the day drawing the same monster but the side view of it. The students enjoyed coloring in their two monster views to complete the assignment and show that it is the same creature.

Moderators

Dr. Nancy Ruppert

Speakers

Katherine Brackney

Sponsors

Nancy Ruppert

Monday December 2, 2013 12:40pm - 1:00pm PST
221 Highsmith Union

Education, Oral

12:50pm PST

S.E.E.D (Students Excited for Environmental Development)

We have many underutilized gardens on campus. Our mission is to help the community gardens grow together by getting students excited for what gardens can offer.

Moderators

Dr. Scott Walters

Speakers

Jane Barnett-Lawrence

Sarah Heisner

Grace King

Bronwyn Pellatt

Eleanor Thompson

Sponsors

Scott Walters

Monday December 2, 2013 12:50pm - 1:10pm PST
033 Karpen Hall

Drama, Oral

1:00pm PST

Convulsive Beauty: The Female Body as a Site for Fragmentation in the Surrealist Photography of Claude Cahun and Man Ray

This paper explores the Surrealist art movement in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s where an eclectic group of individuals promoted chance encounters, dream narratives, and automatic writing. These characteristics were then consolidated by Andre Breton, known as the father of Surrealism, into a single concept referred to as convulsive beauty. Surrealist photographers Claude Cahun and Man Ray communicate this concept through their photographic techniques such as double exposure, avant-garde stage lighting, and photomontage. In doing so, their primary subject—the female body—becomes a site for fragmentation where the viewer’s perceptions of reality are challenged by the uncanny depictions of women. The photographs represent alternate images of women, but more importantly, the photographer’s own understanding of beauty is conveyed in their very distinct photographs. Cahun is a lesbian who takes self-portraits, while Man Ray had numerous lovers and muses he used as his models. By comparing the inherent subjectivity and fleetingness of convulsive beauty to the photographer’s photographic techniques, the image of woman is recreated and redefined according to Cahun and Man Ray.

Moderators

Cynthia Canejo

Speakers

Sponsors

Speakers

Kyle Carruthers

Chance Cooper

Ellen Moles

Dalton Nickerson

Sponsors

Scott Walters

Monday December 2, 2013 1:30pm - 1:50pm PST
033 Karpen Hall

Drama, Oral

1:40pm PST

Beardsley’s Bodies: Androgynous, Hyper-Sexualized, and Grotesque

During the tumultuous 1890s, a time in England characterized by great social change, illustrator Aubrey Beardsley became one of the most prolific and notorious artists of his generation. Although only artistically productive for five years leading up to his untimely death, Beardsley managed to defy conventions and create uproar with his scandalous representations of the human form, particularly those that defied traditional gender roles, such as the androgyne, the hermaphrodite, or the hyper-sexualized. Beardsley was in essence creating grotesque impressions of his figures as he combined recognizable features to produce an unrecognizable configuration of gender. Despite Beardsley’s numerous artistic inspirations and influences, his highly distinctive and original style was manipulated to promote the progression of equality during the late Victorian era, namely the women’s rights movement.

Moderators

Cynthia Canejo

Speakers

Dr. Cynthia Canejo

Rebecca Richardson

Monday December 2, 2013 1:40pm - 2:00pm PST
237 Owen Hall

Art History, Oral

1:40pm PST

EdTPA in the Elementary Spanish Classroom

Students in a 5th grade class participate in a unit on the Geography of Latin America. The following presentation provides an overview of how students performed on this particular unit. In addition, video pertaining to student engagement and deepening student understanding will be shared.

Moderators

Barbara Jaslow

Speakers

Rachel Grandis

Sponsors

Nancy Ruppert

Monday December 2, 2013 1:40pm - 2:00pm PST
221 Highsmith Union

Education, Oral

1:40pm PST

Women in World War II

The purpose of this chapter is to shed light on the role U.S. women played during one of the most monumental wars of our countries history, World War II. This is extremely important to incorporate into our textbook because the topic of the sacrifices and contributions made by the women in World War II may otherwise be overlooked in traditional textbooks used today. When wars are mentioned, we want to discourage the immediately evoked images of strictly courageous men who fight and die for their country and encourage thoughts and appreciation for the roles of women as well as men. One should not forget the often underestimated force men left behind; the wives, mothers, sisters and daughters. Many of those women found themselves in need of stepping into the work force for the first time in their lives to support their families, as the men in their lives had previously done, and take entirely new jobs foreign to them. Others suddenly became the new head of the family and the new breadwinner in chief. This chapter will focus on the influential women who started revolutionary movements during World War II that heavily impacted the U.S throughout the 1930's up to today. It was these women who stepped up to fill the gaping holes in the armed forces and industrial work force who proved that it is indeed the hard times that make one stronger when they plucked up the strength and courage to keep family and industry going strong; all in the face of living in constant fear of never seeing their loved ones again.

Moderators

Trey Adcock

Speakers

Larissa Bastian

Madelynn Berton

Sponsors

Sarah Judson

Monday December 2, 2013 1:40pm - 2:00pm PST
246 Zageir Hall

Education, Oral | History, Oral

1:40pm PST

Survey to Evaluate Student Awareness of Local Gardens in Asheville, NC

UNC Asheville is home to several campus gardens and is surrounded by local community gardens, yet seemingly few students know about these gardens, where they are or how to become involved. For this project, over 500 anonymous surveys were distributed to students in UNCA classrooms as a means of gauging UNCA student awareness of on and off campus gardens and to determine the most common barriers for student involvement in local gardens. The focus classes were humanities courses of all levels and general introductory classes across several departments. Students were asked to list the local gardens that they were aware of. While about half of surveyed students were aware of gardens near their school or home, and a majority stated that they were interested or able to participate in a garden, only a third of them knew how to get involved with a local garden. Nearly half of the surveyed students said that they could contribute 1-2 hours per week to a community garden, but not knowing how to get involved and personal time constraints were the top two barriers for student participation. A schedule of garden workdays, contact information for a garden coordinator and access to tools were the top three needs that students identified in order to participate in a local garden. Students were also asked how close a garden would need to be in order for them to participate noting an average of ten miles as an acceptable distance. The results of this survey will inform future outreach strategies of UNCA’s campus gardens and be used to plan a garden and food skill-building workshop series for students.

Moderators

Ron Scheinman

Speakers

Emma K. Hutchens

Sponsors

Kevin Moorhead

Leah Mathews

Monday December 2, 2013 1:40pm - 2:00pm PST
016 Karpen Hall

Local Foods: Interdisciplinary Studies, Oral

1:40pm PST

It's not the same for Girls

Two headhunters, on the verge of closing a major client, have their deal sabotaged. They must figure out who is behind it all the while their friendship begins to unravel.

Moderators

Dr. Anne Slatton

Speakers

Gabriel Rosenberg

Sponsors

Anne Slatton

Monday December 2, 2013 1:40pm - 2:00pm PST
012 Karpen Hall

Mass Communication: Film, Oral

1:40pm PST

Erotic moan or painful groan: top-down influence on emotional responses to sounds

The present study tests the effects of top-down processing, in particular the influence of contextual knowledge, on the emotional interpretation of sounds. 18 sounds from the International Affective Digitized Sounds (six pleasant, six unpleasant, and six neutral) are played in three different framing-label conditions: the positive condition displays an emotionally positive label preceding each sound, the negative condition displays an emotionally unpleasant label, and the neutral condition displays numeric labels. Subjects are randomly assigned to one of the three framing-label conditions and, after being presented each label-sound pair, provide their ratings of each sound’s valence and arousal on a Likert-like scale. Skin conductance and facial muscle activity are recorded in order to measure emotional responses to each label-sound pair. The current study will determine the impact of top-down processing on emotional reactions by measuring whether subjects exhibit physiological responses typically evoked by pleasant stimuli (e.g., increased zygomatic activity) in the positive label condition, and responses typically evoked by unpleasant stimuli (e.g., increased corrugator activity) in the negative label condition, both regardless of sound valence. Alternatively, subjects’ reactions may be influenced by particular combinations of both label and sound valences.

Moderators

Dr. Michael Neelon

Speakers

Kadie Blackman

Ashley Hunt

Sponsors

Michael Neelon

Monday December 2, 2013 1:40pm - 2:00pm PST
230 Carmichael Hall

Psychology, Oral

1:40pm PST

John Milton, Agent of Chaos: A Justification of Divine Disorder in Paradise Lost

John Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost, expands upon the Genesis narrative which describes Adam, Eve and the Fall of Man. Though modern literature categorizes Paradise Lost as fiction and the Bible as Christian mythology, to John Milton scripture was a living non-fiction text which served as the theological foundation of his writing. In writing his epic poem, Milton aimed to compose a full account of Christian cosmogony and the felix culpa, or fortunate Fall of Man; and in doing so the author/theologian creates a symbol of chaos unlike any in literature. The vernacular implications of “chaos” contain evil or neutral connotations, as the word is commonly associated with malevolent or meaningless states of utter confusion. Paradise Lost undoubtedly contains imagery which leads some critics to argue that Milton’s chaos is a realm of profane nothingness or ominous evil. However, when one examines these descriptions from a religious studies lens, the antithesis between chaos’s function and its representation becomes clear. The following study applies such scholarly religious theories on sacred disorder to Paradise Lost, thereby revealing the spiritual meaning of chaos in Milton’s literary cosmology. Though ostensibly opposed to that which is sacred and good, both physical and psychological chaos prove vital to Milton’s representation of theodicy, the Fall and salvation. By analyzing the religious role of disorder in Paradise Lost, this study demonstrates that chaos can be simultaneously different from the sacred experience, while still offering moral and spiritual orientation for fallen creatures.

Moderators

Dr. Rodger Payne

Speakers

Haley Denhart

Sponsors

Rodger Payne

Monday December 2, 2013 1:40pm - 2:00pm PST
137 Zageir Hall

Religious Studies, Oral

1:50pm PST

Dining Services Disconnect

We seek to address the disconnect between Dining Services and students that hampers the communication of information and constructive feedback between the two.

Moderators

Dr. Scott Walters

Speakers

Andrew Allen

Alexandra van Dorsten

Savannah Purdy

Charlie White

Sponsors

Scott Walters

Monday December 2, 2013 1:50pm - 2:10pm PST
033 Karpen Hall

Drama, Oral

2:00pm PST

Street Critique: The Viewer’s Phenomenal Experience of Art in the Street

Street art is a part of a community atmosphere and influences the way that individuals experience a specific space. Artists appropriate public space as a canvas to create works that are frequently unauthorized or even illegal. These artists reclaim community space to share art as well as underrepresented opinions and subcultures that may not be expressed in our mainstream media-saturated culture. Street artists contribute to a larger discourse of social commentary and critique through their artistic practices. Renowned street artist Shepard Fairey and art collectives such as the Street Museum of Art, New York City, have significantly changed how and where we view art. Using the theoretical lens of phenomenology and site-responsive art, this paper investigates the ways that perception and environment inform the viewer’s experience. Additionally, the paper explores how street artists alter museum practices by selectively denying and integrating museum and gallery traditions like display tactics and didactic labels.

Moderators

Cynthia Canejo

Speakers

Dr. Cynthia Canejo

N. Rainbow Sipe

Monday December 2, 2013 2:00pm - 2:20pm PST
237 Owen Hall

Art History, Oral

2:00pm PST

EdTPA-Learning Sequence of Events in third grade

Students in a third grade class participate in a unit on sequencing events. The following presentation provides an overview of how students performed on this particular unit. In addition, video pertaining to student engagement and deepening student understanding will be shared.

Moderators

Barbara Jaslow

Speakers

Tabitha Gouge

Sponsors

Nancy Ruppert

Monday December 2, 2013 2:00pm - 2:20pm PST
221 Highsmith Union

Education, Oral

2:00pm PST

The Sexual Revolution: A Digital Textbook

In this project, we have combined history and education to create a digital textbook chapter to teach about the Sexual Revolution on an 8th grade level. Sexuality has a long history of cultural significance in the world, whether it is in the name of spirituality or if it is hidden and looked down upon. The Sexual Revolution, a milestone of cultural sexuality in the United States, is important because it is still relevant. Contributing to history such as the birth control movement and abortion, these are issues of women's health that are still being debated to this day. In this chapter we will discuss not only the Sexual Revolution, but the lead up and relevance in modern society. We will explore the way women's freedoms were both expanded and denied through this time period and how this impacted both modern culture and the time period we are exploring. Through our investigation we will be discussing how changing in sexual technology effect women in the United States. We will look into how individuals and groups of women impacted the movement to better the sexual situation for their gender. The citizen plays a significant role in societal change and that will be evident through the examination of this time period. In this project we have examined the history of the Sexual Revolution and how it affected the women involved and how it lead to their empowerment or disenfranchisement, or perhaps, in some ways, both.

Moderators

Trey Adcock

Speakers

Speakers

Shane Clark

Christopher Kiser

Sponsors

Michael Neelon

Monday December 2, 2013 2:00pm - 2:20pm PST
230 Carmichael Hall

Psychology, Oral

2:00pm PST

The Occupy Wall Street Movement: A Civil Religious Expression

The air of revolution is upon us. The Occupy Wall Street Movement has organized in protest to the blatant economic and environmental injustices occurring as a direct result of corporate greed and corruption at the highest levels of government. This movement has mobilized to fight for a truer democracy. Societal ills such as the prison industrial complex, the military industrial complex, corporate greed, banking bail outs and austerity measures, poor healthcare, declining education, systemic racism, environmental unsustainability, and a long list of human rights violations are resulting from a system that does not operate in accordance to America’s highest ideals. In 1967 Robert Bellah published an essay entitled: Civil Religion in America. In this profoundly influential essay, Bellah argued that alongside the traditional religious institutions within the U.S. there exists a religiosity that permeates throughout the political and secular dimensions of this nation. His goal was not only to inform the American people of the existence of civil religion and how it functions, but also provide us an understanding of its importance and instill within us the desire to strive for the fulfillment of this nation’s highest ideals rather than complacently worship America for how it is. My undergraduate research project sets out to explore Robert Bellah’s methodology and approach in regards to civil religion and what he sought to achieve with his works. This will lay the foundation for an observation and civil religious discourse of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. I will look at what the Occupy movement’s philosophy and methodology is and draw possible connections to Bellah’s work to convey how the Occupy movement is not only a current manifestation of civil religion, but a necessary one.

Moderators

Dr. Rodger Payne

Speakers

Gunnar Goode

Rodger Payne

Monday December 2, 2013 2:00pm - 2:20pm PST
137 Zageir Hall

Religious Studies, Oral

2:20pm PST

Surfaces In Flux: Aerial View Landscapes Using Experimental Pouring Techniques and New Mixed Media

The approach to painting in Surfaces In Flux is to create images that are based on aerial view landscape, using collaged mixed media and experimental pouring techniques. In Surfaces in Flux, the artist experiments with discovering a balance between chaos vs. control as well as between the factual vs. the imaginative. Scientific, accurate aerial photography and the more imaginative aspects of historical mapmaking have influenced this process of discovery. Layers of the painting are developed through a process similar to that of Action painters in the 50’s and 60’s but also through the process of collage and careful buildup of some surface areas.

Moderators

Brent Skidmore

Speakers

Joy Hof

Sponsors

Virginia Derryberry

Monday December 2, 2013 2:20pm - 2:40pm PST
237 Owen Hall

Art Studio, Oral

2:20pm PST

Title IX Chapter of the Digital Textbook Project

In this presentation, we will discuss and demonstrate our collaboration, between EDUC 220 and HIST 301 students on the creation of chapter for a digital textbook in US Women’s History. Our chapter, entitled, Title IX, explores the topic of landmark legislation that bans sex discrimination in schools from a variety of mediums and technologies. We utilized PB Works (Wiki) to be able to tell a broader and more accessible story of women’s acceptance and equality into colleges, universities and sports. Some of the materials we used are the UNCA Library’s online databases, the World Wide Web, books, scholarly journal articles, and YouTube. Combining conventional academic sources with digital tools allows students to experience a fuller engagement with these topics in US Women’s History in addition to developing preservice teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. Our presentation will include a rationale for the chapter, a historical overview that provides context, a central historical question that guided the research and creation of the project, and NC State Standards for 8th grade social studies. The audience will also be guided through several aspects of the digital chapter and provided a forum for questions.

Moderators

Trey Adcock

Speakers

Marla Bailey

Emily Banner

Michael C. Bartlett

Sponsors

Sarah Judson

Monday December 2, 2013 2:20pm - 2:40pm PST
246 Zageir Hall

Education, Oral | History, Oral

2:20pm PST

Local Food Availability in the City of Asheville

Is fresh local food equally available in low and high income areas in the City of Asheville? This study seeks to answer this question by examining local food availability across low, moderate, middle, and high income census tracts in the City of Asheville. Census data and data collected at food retailers was analyzed. Census tracts were surveyed for food retailer availability. These food retailers were surveyed for availability of fresh local food. Results reveal that a fewer number of food retailers exist in low and moderate income census tracts than in middle and high income census tracts. Within food retailers across census tracts, there does not appear to be a great variation in the amount or type of fresh local food offered. However, local food appears to be advertised differently depending on the census tract’s level of income and the type of food retailer. Findings indicate a positive correlation between level of income and local food availability.

Moderators

Ron Scheinman

Speakers

Leslie Pierce

Sponsors

Lyndi Hewitt

Monday December 2, 2013 2:20pm - 2:40pm PST
016 Karpen Hall

Local Foods: Sociology, Oral

2:20pm PST

Testing the Effects of Age on Cognition and Creativity

The abilities to enhance neural responses for relevant stimuli and to suppress responses to irrelevant stimuli are necessary for effective attention. The present study explores the relationship between executive functions and creativity, which may not be positively correlated. The study further investigates whether, as individuals age, potential declines in executive function may not necessarily lead to declines in creative functioning. College-aged participants will complete two components of this study: 1) an initial series of paper tests measuring creativity and executive functions such as selective attention and 2) a working memory task during which EEG is recorded. The data collected will then be compared to a dataset of similar measures previously collected from older participants. Changes in amplitudes and latencies of visual event-related potential waveform peaks recorded from posterior sites, as well as changes in EEG bandwidths recorded from frontal and posterior areas, will be used to assess attentional performance across age groups. These results will further be compared to behavioral measures across younger and older participants in order to measure how the relationship between creativity and executive function changes as one ages.

Moderators

Dr. Michael Neelon

Speakers

Tim Murphy

Olivia Wells

Sponsors

Michael Neelon

Monday December 2, 2013 2:20pm - 2:40pm PST
230 Carmichael Hall

Psychology, Oral

2:20pm PST

The Exploration of Angelic Understandings within Christianity and The New Age

Many contemporary religions involve communication with those of another dimension or of a metaphysical nature. In Christianity this involves not only The Trinity but also beings known as angels. They have been present in art and scripture throughout the centuries portraying a gradual progression of understanding from beings with very little distinguishing characteristics to beings existing within a hierarchy and with specific names, such as the archangels Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael. However, what is truly fascinating about angels is the significance they have within the Christian tradition and what that can tell religious scholars about Christian spirituality in terms of previous scholarship performed. In the 1990s, significant scholarship projected a movement occurring within the post-war generation that presented a division in that many were considering more independent, explorative, spiritual movements known as “New Age” spirituality while others were being drawn toward conservative Christian groups. However, it seems that the presence of angels within Christianity presents a very similar interaction to involvement with angels in the “New Age” traditions, which seems to imply that those who are falling and have fallen into the conservative Christian category are also encountering a free spiritual expression. In other words, the central argument comes to the following: through the comparison of interactions with angels within Christianity and “The New Age,” it seems that contrary to scholarship performed earlier, despite the presence of dogma and specific teachings, freer forms of spirituality are not only occurring within “The New Age” but also within more institutional forms such as Christianity.

Moderators

Dr. Rodger Payne

Speakers

Rebecca Gordon

Sponsors

Katherine Zubko

Monday December 2, 2013 2:20pm - 2:40pm PST
137 Zageir Hall

Religious Studies, Oral

2:40pm PST

Affect Regulation: The Relationship between Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and Risk-Taking Behaviors

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) may be a growing problem in society, especially among adolescents and young adults. In addition to resulting from difficulties in affect regulation, NSSI may also be a form of social regulation. Our previous study found that 60% of undergraduate participants engaged in one or more forms of self-harm at one point or another in their lives. Due to finding such a high prevalence of NSSI among undergraduates, the present study is designed to determine if NSSI is a gateway behavior to more dangerous regulatory behaviors. We plan to administer a battery of surveys to participants, the results of which should inform if NSSI leads to further high-risk behavior. Looking at the initial results from pilot testing, there appears to be a positive relationship between engaging in NSSI and risky behaviors, including both potential and present suicidal thoughts and behaviors. We speculate on why this relationship might be and also how the results of this study can help raise awareness about the potential dangers of maladaptive emotion regulation techniques.

Moderators

Dr. Patrick Foo

Speakers

Elizabeth Jagoe

Tim Murphy

Sponsors

Patrick Foo

Monday December 2, 2013 2:40pm - 3:00pm PST
230 Carmichael Hall

Psychology, Oral

2:45pm PST

United Textile Workers Digital Textbook Chapter

In this presentation, we will discuss and demonstrate our collaboration, between EDUC 220 and HIST 301 students on the creation of chapter for a digital textbook in US Women’s History. Our chapter, entitled, United Textile Workers explores the topic of women who worked in Textile Mills organizing to improve working conditions from a variety of mediums and technologies. We utilized academic journals and databases, web-based resources, books, and other relevant materials to tell a broader and more accessible story of labor organizing and struggle. Some of the materials we used are text, images, audio, and video from Docsouth, Project Muse, Jstor. Combining conventional academic sources with digital tools allows students to experience fuller engagement with topics in US Women’s History, and develop preservice teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. Our presentation will include a rational for the chapter, a historical overview that provides context, a central historical question that guided the research and creation of the project, and NC State Standards for 8th grade social studies. The audience will also be guided through several aspects of the digital chapter and provided a forum for questions.

Moderators

Trey Adcock

Speakers

Moderators

Trey Adcock

Speakers

Speakers

Speakers

Speakers

Cynthia LeGrande Kelly

Weston Morris

Sponsors

Sarah Jusdon

Monday December 2, 2013 4:25pm - 4:45pm PST
246 Zageir Hall

Education, Oral | History, Oral

4:25pm PST

A Glimpse of Gold

Log line: A college freshman embarks on her first year of college away from home and discovers that a shady but handsome piece of her past has followed her to school.

Moderators

Dr. Anne Slatton

Speakers

Carolyn Milliman

Sponsors

Anne Slatton

Monday December 2, 2013 4:25pm - 4:45pm PST
012 Karpen Hall

Mass Communication: Screenwritting, Oral

4:25pm PST

Finding Religion: Liminality in Japanese Popular Culture

Recent surveys estimate between 70 and 80 percent of the Japanese population as having no religious affiliation. Even seemingly religious activities, such as Buddhist funerals, Shinto weddings, and Christmas celebrations are practiced regardless of religious background and are often devoid of any deeply religious sentiment. There are even some accounts of Shinto priests who do not prescribe to the Shinto faith, but rather hold the position through inheritance and family obligation. This brings me to the question I seek to address; if religious experiences are not provided by strictly “religious” activities, where can they be acquired? British anthropologist Victor Turner writes at length about the religious experience of liminality, the process of being subjected to trials and tribulations to gain new power and standing in society. Looking specifically at this description of a liminality, I argue that seemingly “secular” locations can be described in the same manner and language as the liminal religious experience. This type of expression can be found frequently in Japanese media and popular culture, including films, novels, television shows, and manga comic books. Novels such as Haruki Murakami's After Dark or Ryogo Narita's popular television show Durarara!! paint downtown Tokyo in almost a magical manner, creating the environment for both the characters within the story and the consumers watching the story to have their own religious experiences. Studio Ghibli's touching tale Only Yesterday tells the story of a young woman's trip to the countryside after growing up in Tokyo and her transformation as she goes through the process of liminality. These examples, among others, show the way in which the stories seen in Japanese popular culture both narrate the liminal religious experience to its viewers, and can in itself be considering a religious experience.

Moderators