Virtual Research Fair
Thank you for joining us for the Luther College of Arts & Sciences Research Fair.
Through this event, we have the opportunity to showcase the outstanding academic work and experiential learning opportunities of our students. For many students presenting today, their research project serves as the capstone experience for their academic major requiring them to apply skills they have developed throughout their time at Midland. For others, their projects involve putting academic knowledge into practice by going out into the community for enhanced experiences and reflection. We are incredibly proud of the work they have done and hope you enjoy learning from our students as you explore the Research Fair projects!
Dr. Megan Nielsen
Dean, Luther College of Arts & Sciences
COMMUNICATION STUDIES
The purpose of this study is to explore Black History Month activities at Midland. Given the social climate of these past few years, I seek to better understand through interviews and surveys how Midland students understand activities.
Research indicates that attendance in class has declined due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but there is a distinct lack of research on why this occurred. This study utilizes an interview process to get insights on why students skip class in order to understand how COVID-19 affected attendance for college students. The central hypothesis is that COVID and online classes reduced attendance through a combination of lack of proper socialization and negative health impacts.
This study explores the black Adidas company and how racism and quietness have affected the whole company. Through a case study analysis, this study seeks to show how diversity issues within the company were kept quiet from everyone. Demonstrating the effect diversity can have on a company’s financial system and hiring process.
Second Place: Primary Data-Explanatory Research
The general purpose of this research is to gather information to see what messages were memorable in the college decision process of students who now attend Midland University. This is important because it gives more insight and feedback into what Midland does well that brings students into Warrior Nation. Five current Midland students, who visited more than two colleges, will be asked to participate in an in-person interview where several questions will be asked, answered, and recorded. Findings from this study will be used in a qualitative analysis of memorable messages in the college decision process. The central hypothesis for this study is that the personal connection and efforts from coaches, directors, and other Midland staff would be one of the biggest factors that students remembered from their college recruitment experience and ultimately helped them decide on Midland.
Educational institutions can foster and expand gender discriminations and biases early on that continue to historically negatively affect women as they continue into higher education. Students of different genders, races, socio-economic standings, and in varying years and cultures, were surveyed to examine their experiences on campus with gender biases. I am hypothesizing that gender discrimination is prevalent on many campuses in the classroom and in everyday occurrences, and data will be analyzed fully and situationally compared to create my findings.
The purpose of this study is to apply social identity theory within political organizations. By performing a rhetorical criticism of the 2016 and 2020 democratic and republican party platforms, this study demonstrates the crucial connections between political organizations and social identity with the goal of figuring out how they are intertwined.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
This research project works to better understand the experiences that student-athletes have with injuries and subsequent surgeries. One hundred current or former student-athletes were surveyed. They were asked about their experiences, as well as their perception of the potential long-term health risks and whether it’s worth it to play.
Previous research has been conducted about the positive and negative impact of social media on a variety of things, including its role on social skills over time. This study focused on the potential impact on college students by surveying Midland University students. The importance of the research presents itself as the use of social media is actively hindering the ability for individuals to effectively communicate in person as the digital world continues to advance.
This research project looks at college-aged students who have been diagnosed with ADHD or have ADHD tendencies and if they commit more crimes than other college-aged students. It also looks at the demographics of who is more likely to be diagnosed and medicated for ADHD. This study is important in order to better understand the stigma that people with ADHD are more inclined to commit crimes and that they cause issues within society. This research also looks at the personality traits of those who commit crimes and those who are diagnosed with ADHD.
First Place: Primary Data-Explanatory Research
Finding a balance between athletics and academics for student-athletes has long been a struggle. For many athletes, succeeding in sports and succeeding in school are mutually exclusive. To examine this sentiment, 106 consenting participants were surveyed and the results were analyzed to answer the question of the effect athletic involvement has on academic performance.
Given the prevalence of social media, cyberbullying is something many people have either direct or indirect experience with. Thus, it is important to realize the potential negative impacts that it has on a person’s life. One hundred Midland University students took a survey to help better understand how prevalent this is and what impacts it has had. This research is important not only because it provides an opportunity to understand those negative effects, but also to understand what resources might be needed or even preventative efforts that could exist to prevent cyberbullying in the first place.
In our society, people have many different opinions on how they feel about the adoption process and fostering children. My research focuses on people’s thoughts and ideas about adoption, including whether they personally would be willing to adopt and if there are specific criteria they would prefer if adopting. How this connects with different demographics is also examined.
This project focuses on Midland University students and their opinions on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their lives as college students. This research strives to understand how students coped with the transition from in-person classes to online classes, as well as their perceptions on whether Midland University did a good job of helping students be successful doing online learning. It also strives to understand how athletes handled the new safety protocols and if they felt they still had the satisfaction of a great athletic season. This research also included how students adapted to conversing with peers in person after having to communicate electronically for an extended period of time.
Historically, religious teachings have played a huge role in how people think and vote politically. This study takes factors like demographics into consideration and attempts to link voting practices with religious affiliation and level of religiosity. One hundred participants took part in the study conducted at Midland University and gave their opinions and experience with the relationship between religion and politics.
Mandatory vaccination is a very hot topic in the world today. Schools and workplaces already require a multitude of vaccinations and understanding how college students feel about them is important. One hundred Midland University students took part in an anonymous survey. The questions on this survey focused on the role of different demographics in relation to experiences with vaccination, as well as general feelings toward mandatory vaccination. This research is significant within the current tumultuous climate around vaccination, understanding the perception of mandatory vaccination is crucial moving forward.
Abortion regulations are becoming more prominent and controversial in our country. Due to the growing amount of abortion policies in the United States currently, this research project was done to get a more in-depth look into the perception of abortion. Based on an electronic survey of the general population, this study looks closely at the demographics of a person, specifically gender, race, and social class, to better understand how these impact a person’s perception of abortion.
This research paper aims to examine the effects of different punishment methods on a child’s development and perceptions about the punishment in their later lives. I will be focusing on the physical aspect of child punishment, specifically spanking. Coming from another country, I have realized that ideas about physical punishment are different across cultures. The goal of the study is to better understand how prevalent spanking is in the U.S., especially within different racial/ethnic groups. Apart from the prevalence, I also want to examine how it affected their life while growing up and now that they are adults.
HISTORY
We are going to travel back in time to one of the most murderous moments in American history. The Red Summer began in early 1919, during which white supremacist terrorism and racial riots took place in more than three dozen cities across the United States. By using the power of analyzing newspapers, we are allowed to understand how readers from different regions of the country might react to these specific events, how newspapers can shape their opinions, and why this is significant.
The events in the summer of 1919 sparked a pattern of hate and prejudice in the United States. From these events, a new awakening arose in the civil rights movement that helped pave the way for racial equality in America. In this project, I will use both primary and secondary newspaper sources to showcase how the events of the Red Summer changed America forever.
I wanted to look in-depth into the event of the Birmingham explosions to get a better understanding of the occurring events before and after the explosion. The event had a lot of media coverage in the papers for both sides, whether they be for the African American community, or for the community of the KKK. I will be writing a paper using multiple newspaper sources and beliefs to answer the prompt and help show more detail over the event of the explosion in Birmingham. I will show how both sides of the event explained what happened and how individuals on either side were affected by the explosion and the coverage of the media.
During the height of the Jim Crow era and racial segregation, there was a thriving segregated black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma. African Americans had taken advantage of a system used to oppress them and instead built a Utopia for their oppressed peoples. Years of progress and hope were burned to dust in a single night by a mob of jealous whites. For decades, the true horror of what occurred in Tulsa was misreported and hidden from America.
First Place: Inquiry & Evidence-Based Research
The Great Depression left America in ruins for a decade and left a lasting impact on those that experienced the hardship first-hand. Many Americans were left unemployed and often went to bed hungry, alone, or in crippling debt, all hoping that tomorrow would be the start of better times. Some areas experienced different levels of hardship than others in the U.S., but for an area like the Midwest, the ‘Great Depression’ experience of rural and urban population centers like Minneapolis, Chicago, Sioux Falls, S.D., and Fremont, Neb. was often worse compared to other regions in the United States. Through the analysis and review of personal memoirs, newspapers, books, national archives, and personal letters, the Midwestern experience of the Great Depression is illuminated as a climactic event that severely crippled the populations of rural and urban families throughout major cities in the heartland of America.
By studying instances of racial violence and their representation in the media, such as the Elaine Massacre of 1919, it becomes clear how different groups viewed such travesties by comparing newspapers from differing regions and sources. These can also be cross-examined with factual evidence of such events, including interviews and testimonies of parties involved with these specific kinds of instances of violence. Through the analysis of events of racial violence and the relation of the implications of these occurrences to communities similar to Buxton, Iowa, and gradually shifting attitudes towards segregation in the following decades, it becomes clear that integration slowly but steadily became a focus of the majority over many years. With the relation of different concepts of racial violence, communities such as Buxton, and slowly changing attitudes towards segregation, instances of violence increased the tension that spurred greater demand for action in the coming years.
Booker T. Washington was a prominent African American leader following the civil war which gave African Americans more rights. His strategy for uplift within the African American community was different than other leaders at the time. Because of this, he was able to gain the respect of many.
The Brown vs. Board of Education policy was a significant factor not only in the desegregation of schools, but also in racial norms. The policy enacted in Topeka, Kansas was successful in proving that racial segregation in schools is a violation of the 14th Amendment. The ruling of Brown vs. the Board of Education made segregation within schools officially illegal and maintained the progress of the civil rights movement.
When African Americans packed up their bags to leave the oppression of the sharecropping south and start a new life where jobs were plentiful, the United States was not ready for this progression. Events like the Red Summer of 1919 and the destruction of Black Wall Street in 1921 struck fear into black communities around the country. These events showcased that even though African Americans were legally United States citizens granted by the Fourteenth Amendment, they do not have the right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
The news coverage led to many young African Americans joining in on this movement. The way that the case and trial were handled and how it was talked about in the news was not right and people wanted justice for this boy. His murder sparked an upsurge in activism that became known as the Civil Rights Movement.
This project covers the impact Nebraska had on World War II along with the experiences of Nebraskans during that time. Primary documents such as local newspaper coverage from the time regarding wartime events, as well as the home front, will illustrate Nebraskans’ experiences during the war. My project will look at stories discussing soldiers, ranging from their actions and emotions, to the sacrifices those at home had to make.
Do you like to travel? How often do you travel across lines or even country borders? Now, what if there were laws forbidding you to travel to a different state? Think about how you would react. Would you want the freedom to write about it or would you want the freedom to ride along and silently protest?
Second Place: Inquiry & Evidence-Based Research
Understanding the events of Red Summer is vital to understanding how civil rights have impacted America. Throughout the project, I will analyze newspaper coverage over Red Summer and dive into specific events and the impact on African Americans’ fight for equality. The project will also cover a number of sources including maps, newspapers, and interviews to help the reader better understand the events, and terror of Red Summer.
This project takes an in-depth look at the Red Summer of 1919. This project in particular takes a deeper look into the incidents as a whole across the country, with an emphasis on how geography influenced these events. One of the main aspects of this project was finding out more about the surrounding areas these events occurred in.
The 14th Amendment states “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” My project is going to talk about what our country would truly be like if our government and citizens lived up to this amendment. I will give examples of how people were deprived of their life, liberty, and property and will share some of the negative effects that not living up to the standard of this amendment has caused.
During the time when there were fights for civil rights, there were many things published that put different images and perspectives into people’s heads. One of the main ways of publishing events or problems in the world were newspaper articles. Newspapers at this time were very biased because of the different beliefs of people on the subject of African American rights and equality. This caused many newspaper companies to publish articles bashing African Americans and making them always sound like the bad guy, causing them to get into trouble. Another good source made after this time was the book “Buxton: A Black Utopia”. These articles and the problems they caused, along with the book, are going to be presented throughout this writing.
An analysis of the importance behind the landmark Supreme Court Case Brown vs. Board and its coverage in newspapers, as well as other sources. Then make crucial connections through different perspectives and regions throughout the United States.
HONORS
The use of prosthetics has continued to grow in recent decades. With new and developing technology, the medical field feels advanced enough to provide patients with the best quality of life through the use of prosthesis.The use of prosthetics have become more prominent in the recent years. We, especially as healthcare providers, should be educated on how to best treat and rehabilitate these individuals to improve their overall quality of life. It is important to note that everybody has a different body and it will be beneficial to use the approach of different therapy styles and techniques to be able to effecitivley help every patient. That leaves the question: What is the best approach, from initial injury to full recovery, that produces the most beneficial impact on the development of muscular strength, endurance, and confidience within individuals who have experienced limb loss due to an injury?
My research investigates the morality of zoological facilities and examines the ethics of keeping wild animals in captivity.
HUMAN SERVICES
The Fremont Family YMCA, the largest in North America, is a place to connect the community and for people to find help in many different aspects of their lives, including youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. My internship focused on the childcare aspect that the YMCA offers, mainly with their school-aged children. I’ve gained insight into all the paperwork, responsibilities, and considerations one must keep in mind when holding leadership positions in childcare settings. I’ve also had the opportunity to interact with the children on an almost daily basis and to implement planned activities and programs.
MATHEMATICS
Born on March 3, 1845, German mathematician Georg Cantor was known for his work with countable and uncountable sets, along with trigonometric series. One of Cantor’s best-known works is the set he discovered and named the Cantor set. Although a version of this set was discovered earlier in 1874 by Henry John Stephen Smith, Cantor defined the version we know today as the Cantor set in a paper in 1883. It consists of removing the middle-third from each segment of a set of numbers infinitely, often [0,1], leaving a set of numbers called the Cantor set. The Cantor set can be constructed geometrically, by following a similar process as described above. It is an iterative process that is considered to be uncountable while approaching zero; this is an essential and distinctive property of the set. The parts removed can be described as a summation. Cantor’s set has many unique and interesting applications and uses. Some of the applications of Cantor’s set can be seen within fractal geometry, detection of coding errors, and topology. The Cantor set can also be viewed as the infinite set of binary numbers which help to detect repetition of codes and thus prevent errors. Within our presentation, we will be giving an overview of this set, along with a deeper description of its impact on topology and detecting coding errors.
SOCIOLOGY
Second Place: Experiential Research
It is very important that we take care of our local community and our environment. Keep Fremont Beautiful is an organization that prides itself on educating our citizens on how to take care of our environment, why it is so important, and what steps we can take to do so. Throughout our project, we have been focusing on reaching the college-age citizens of the community as they had been noted as a difficult population to reach. Through social media posts and a recycling drive, we are hoping to educate others our age on why we should take care of our community.
This semester we were tasked with partnering with an organization within the Fremont
community to create social change. The organization that we partnered with was the Dodge
County Sheriffs Office. The three of us decided that this organization would be good for our project because, we wanted to try to create more equality within the Fremont community with everything that is going on in the world right now.
First Place: Experiential Research
The Friendship Center is a place where the older generation can still be active, learn their rights, and enjoy a warm meal together. As human beings, we need social interaction to survive. Our main goal this semester is to grow the community as well as make it more aware of what the friendship center can offer. We are working with the seniors, as well as the director for the craft show, on a bake sale to bring this awareness.
Thriftology is a local nonprofit that works towards assisting people to meet basic needs. Barb Flores, store manager of Thriftology, has been very thankful and appreciative of the things we do to help out. We enjoy our time with Barb and look forward to helping her set up the new location of Thriftology every Thursday morning. One thing we plan to do to help Barb even more is hosting a clothing drive so we can get some more winter clothes donated to Thriftology, which will help her make more sales and more money.
In this study, the relationship between parental divorce and the immediate and long-term effects on children will be examined according to survey data collected from 103 Midland students. The main points of research within this topic include a focus on the participants’ demographics, educational success, ability to maintain friendships, and the stability of intimate relationships into adulthood. It is important to understand that parental divorce can have a lasting effect on how a person develops and views life. Without understanding this issue from the child’s perspective, there would likely be a lack of knowledge surrounding divorce as a whole.
The Dodge County Humane Society is a place to adopt kittens, adult cats, small dogs, and large dogs. The goal is to spread awareness of the humane society and the needs it has for animals that are waiting for their forever home. We are using campus and different athletic teams to get help with donations for things like food and toys for cats and dogs, and a huge need for gently used towels or new ones.