Conference

on Student

Research &

Creativity March 19, 2011

Artist: Elizabeth Rothera

Title: Endless Moments

Date: 2011

Medium: Acrylic on canvas

Dimensions: 27.75”x 36.5”

Roanoke College Presents

RC Conference on Student

Research & Creativity March 19, 2011

Session 1: Oral Presentations 9:15-10:15 | Kime, President‘s Dining Room, & Patterson

Session 2: Oral Presentations 10:30-11:30 | Kime, President‘s Dining Room, & Patterson

Poster Presentations & Lunch 11:45-12:45 | 1st & 2nd floor hallways, Pickle, & Garret Be sure to eat some lunch before the keynote at 1:00

(The Commons will be serving brunch)

Keynote Address: Dr. Hilary Gettman

“Women of Walmart: Pay Less. Live Worse” 1:00-2:15 | Ballroom

Session 3: Gender & Women’s Studies Winners

& Oral Presentations 2:30-3:30 | President‘s Dining Room & Kime

Session 4: Oral Presentations 3:45-4:45 | Kime

Keynote Address

Women of Walmart: Pay Less. Live Worse.

Hilary J. Gettman, J.D., Ph.D. 1:00-2:15 p.m. Wortmann Ballroom

Dr. Hilary Gettman will explore the causes and consequences of the class action lawsuit against Walmart. Her talk will highlight the research findings on propensity to negotiate, the gender pay gap, sexual harassment, and discrimination. Dr. Gettman is a graduate of Harvard Law School and received her Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from the University of Maryland. She is an Assistant Professor of Manage-ment at Stonehill College and an Executive Fellow at the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Gettman practiced securities law in the private sector for over five years before deciding to change careers and move in the direction of organizational psychology and leadership development. Dr. Gettman has extensive train-ing and both consulting and academic/research experience in managerial/leadership assessment and development, executive coaching, motivation, and behavior change. Outside of her work with leadership development and coaching, Dr. Gettman is a mem-ber of the D.C. and New York Bar Associations and is an active member of many profes-sional organizations, including the Academy of Management and the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Dr. Gettman‘s most recent publications include: Gettman, H. J. & Gelfand, M. (2007). When the customer shouldn't be king: Antecedents

and consequences of sexual harassment by clients and customers. Journal of Ap-plied Psychology, 92, 757-770.

Small, D. A., Gelfand, M., Babcock, L., & Gettman, H. J. (2007). Who goes to the bargaining table? The influence of gender and framing on the initiation of negotiation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 600–613.

thought of. I turned an obstacle into an adaptation with new problems to solve, with new techniques and methods. My new attitude showed me alternative creative options and allowed me find ways to cuts costs and how to make an affordable print-shop that can fit within a home or garage. There are techniques and materials that allow you to create compositions that are intri-cate and layered and are easier for the average person to afford; whether it is using a burnisher versus a press, or a vertical acid bath versus horizontal. There are ways in which you can create etchings and lino prints all within 10 foot of space if that‘s all you could allow for a print station. In the end there are processes that are cheaper but also create issues that force an artist to think outside of the box, which in turn allows for some interesting pieces to be created. Project Context: Inde-pendent Study

Session 1 (9:15-10:15) - Patterson

9:15 | Jessica E. Pease (Dr. Katherine O'Neill) Microinvertebrate Assessment in Loblolly Pine Plantations Managed for Biofuels Efficient and sustainable management of nutrients within intercropped systems requires study of the effects of stand man-agement practices and species composition impacting nutrient availability. Monitoring these responses is complicated by the fact that standard chemical and physical assays provide only a snapshot of soil conditions, and may not adequately indicate soil biological activity. Soil microbial and microinvertebrate assemblages experience the entire range of environ-mental conditions over time and may be particularly responsive indicators for forest soil management practices due to their close association with soil decomposition and nutrient cycles. Samples were collected from switchgrass, pine, and intercropped pine-switchgrass treatments on an experimental research plantation in July and October, 2010. Microinvertebrates were extracted using a modified Berlese funnel and classified to morphotaxa using a photographic key developed during a previous study (O‘Neill et al., 2010). Indicator Species Analysis was then used to determine the morphotaxa of microinvertebrates that were significant indicators of each treatment. Future monitoring efforts may then be designed to establish long-term trends in soil quality using bioindicators that are both sensi-tive to management and cost-effective to analyze. Project Context: Research Assistant

9:35 | Nomin Baasandavaa (Dr. Alice Kassens) The Effect of Air Pollution Exposure on US Health This paper estimates effects of health due to air pollution with reference to socio economic position using health production function. The economic models in this study include time series analyses at aggregate level over 28 years from 1980 in the United States. Analyzing the estimated model, this study finds that pollution variables have negative effect on mortality and morbidity. The results show that increase in carbon dioxide cause 0.2%, 0.23%, 0.19% higher mortality, lung bronchus, and kidney cancer incidents respectively. In addition, results illustrated that there is a negative correlation between health status and nitrous oxide. This study indicates that air pollution creates negative effect on human health in context of United States. Project Context: Class assignment

9:55 | Nicholas Ryan Wright (Dr. Alice Kassens) Determinants of Renewable Energy Much public policy debate in recent years has focused on reducing our nation‘s carbon footprint. Recent presidential ad-ministrations have stated that they are committed to reducing the United States contribution to climate change. Measures aimed at doing so often revolve around promoting sustainable and renewable forms of energy production. This paper will attempt to identify and measure the determinants of renewable energy consumption for the purpose of informing policy applications. In doing so it will identify how policy might be able to most effectively promote renewable energy growth and if this policy would have a significant enough effect to be considered an important aspect of an emission reducing plan. Through an analysis of neoclassical market theory determinants that allow us to look at bother the demand and supply side of the market interaction are chosen. The specific determinants that will likely prove significant are the price of renewable energy substitutes for electric generating utilities--the raw material inputs such as coal, natural gas and petroleum products--and the price of consumer substitutes for electricity generation--heating oil and natural gas. Also likely to have an impact

Oral Presentations

Session 1 (9:15-10:15) - Kime

9:15 | Nicole I Donohue (Dr. Edward Whitson) Personality, Ink Blots, Hidden Figures, and Health Practices The areas of field dependence/independence and personality have each been exhaustively studied individually, however the relationship between the two is largely unexamined. This study examines the correlation between level of field depend-ence/independence and personality type, specifically hysterical and obsessive personality types. It is predicted that those with a hysterical personality type, because of the global nature of their personality would have a more field dependent cog-nitive style, whereas those with an obsessive personality, because of their highly focused nature, would have a more field independent cognitive style. To test field dependence/independence, both the typical Group Embedded Figures Test and an adaptation of the Rorschach Ink Blots will be used. Personality type will be measured with the Lazare-Klerman Trait Scale. These will then be analyzed to determine if there is a correlation between the two. If a correlation is found it could lead not only to further research on the aforementioned relationship, but also to theoretically being able to adapt one‘s cognitive style by adjusting the way the one looks at and thinks about the world. Project Context: Independent Study

9:35 | Lizzie M. Proctor (Dr. David Nichols) Synesthesia: A Play on the Senses Synesthesia is the phenomenon in which one sense evokes a response in a different sense. Several studies have been con-ducted that show a relationship in synesthesia with memory and creativity. It is postulated that the famous painter, Wassily Kandinsky, who focused his paintings heavily in color had synesthesia. In the study Synesthesia: A play on the Senses, I am interested in the relationship, specifically the correlation, between synesthesic tendencies of college students with their performance on memory and creativity tasks. The participants will answer several questions provided in a packet to them during each study. First, a questionnaire containing questions relating to the topics of non-synesthetic tendencies, synes-thetic tendencies, memory, and creativity issues. Then, the participants will follow a series of power point slides in which they will have to associate an item on the screen with a particular color. This task will be presented two times. For the mem-ory task, semantic memory and memory tested by the Von Restorff effect will be used. Semantic memory tests if a relation-ship is established between the items to be remembered and memory under the Von Restorff effect tests if a relationship is established between items to be remembered with a specific color. The creativity task measures how many different alter-nate uses can be named for a common object. Differences in answers provide a clue into how creative the participant is. Since research has provided evidence in the past with the relationship between synesthesia and memory and creativity, my hypothesis is that there will be a positive correlation between synesthetic tendencies and creavitiy, and synesthetic tenden-cies as well as memory. Project Context: Independent Study

9:55 | Hailey Brooke Doss (Professor Elizabeth Heil) Printmaking: A Comparison of Two Worlds Printmaking: a Comparison of Two Worlds An artist that work in the field of printmaking will be exposed to many styles, techniques, equipment, and teaching meth-ods. I studied abroad in England last semester at the University of Central Lancashire and discovered a school that had a larger and better equipped facility. I also learned processes that covered the whole spectrum of printmaking including; silk screen, etching, hard ground, soft ground, dry-point, linocut, lithography, monotype, carborundum, intaglio, collagraph, chine collé, and stone litho. During the four months I was in England I was able to combine various techniques in all the methods of printmaking and thus producing more innovative and mature works of art. Upon my return to Roanoke College I enrolled in a printmaking class and found myself missing the equipment and the sup-plies I had available at the University of Central Lancashire. This new problem: ―How do I continue making prints with differ-ent equipment and materials?‖ My solutions included using combinations of methods to achieve the compositions I wanted. For instance, instead of more traditional presses I use a burnisher for my lino cuts and work in matrixes in order to achieve larger pieces. This matrix I work within has allowed me to think of more complex ideas I would not have originally

Session 2 (10:30-11:30) - Kime

10:30 | Brent E. Cox (Dr. Alice Kassens) Single-occupancy patient rooms: Administrator awareness of outcomes of implementation Evidence-based design (EBD) is the process of basing decisions about the built environment on credible research to achieve the best possible outcomes (The Center for Health Design, 2008). When following an EBD process, the resultant design should contribute to demonstrated improvements in the organization‘s clinical outcomes, economic performance, productivity, customer satisfaction, or cultural measures. The EBD process creates a direct, measurable link between the design of the physical environment and an organization's patient safety and quality improvement agenda (Clinic Design, 2008). Replacing multi-occupancy patient rooms with single-occupancy patient rooms is one way to achieve desired EBD improvements. Through qualitative interviews, this study investigates administrators‘ awareness and perceived outcomes of private room implementation. Project Context: Honors Project

10:50 | Sara M. Caudle (Dr. Alice Kassens) Are healthier college students the most productive? Obesity poses a threat to one‘s productivity. Past research conducted on adults and children concluded that one‘s health affects their productivity. If obesity affects adults and children negatively, obesity should be detrimental to the productivity of college students, too. My study investigates the behavior and lifestyle choices students at Roanoke College make in their daily lives through a voluntary online survey. This study is distinctive because it focuses on college students, the group who has been exempt from past studies. Productivity measures for academic performance of students are their grade point aver-age, the number of classes they are enrolled in, their major, and how many hours they invest in their school work. I use exer-cising, drinking, smoking, obesity, work, sports, and fraternity or sorority involvement as my productivity measures that influ-ence the choices students make. Using the student‘s height and weight, I calculate their Body Mass Index (BMI) to deter-mine their level of health. I analyze all of the variables to build a correlation amongst the choices young adults make and their productivity. Project Context: Honors Project

11:10 | S. Jane Slusher, Brent Cox, Devan Logwood, Megan Rhodes, & Tiffany Schlotthober Blue Ridge Urgent Care After assessing a need for an after hours clinic in the Blacksburg area, we have created and outlined the business plan for Blue Ridge Urgent Care. Our plan assess basic market research into the current economic status of the Blacksburg area as well as the profitability of the health care industry. Additionally, our recommendations include a Human Resources plan, a Marketing plan, an Operations plan as well as financial forecasting for the next five years. With the entirety of this project, it would feasible to take Blue Ridge Urgent Care and make it into a profitable business within the Blacksburg area. Project Context: Policy Project

Session 2 (10:30-11:30) - Patterson

10:30 | Sarah E. Ahlbrand (Dr. Steven Powers) Conservation genetics of Etheostoma Cinereum (Percidae) with emphasis on a newly rediscovered population in the Elk River, Tennessee Etheostoma cinereum (Percidae: subgenus Allohistium), or the Ashy Darter, is a freshwater fish that dwells in low-silt, slow-moving areas of rivers in the Cumberland, Duck, and Tennessee River drainages located in the southeastern part of the country. Urbanization, dam construction, and other human influences have resulted in population decline, extirpation of populations in some historical areas, and isolation of populations from one another. In this study, phylogenetic analysis was conducted on both partial and complete cytochrome b sequence data (n = 40), indicating genetic diversity amongst the populations inhabiting the three drainages. Based on the conclusions reached in the limited amounts of previous studies, data support the existence of three distinct management units (MU) of E. cinereum that represent the three drainages. The existence of these management units should be taken into consideration as conservation efforts are made, including the possibility of reintroducing the species into different habitats. Project Context: Summer Scholars

are very visible and media hyped energy statistics such as motor gasoline prices which would sway peoples preferences. Many of the variables were found not to be significant, with only the price of coal showing both significance and magnitude. The paper is being further refined through the introduction of dynamic time series variable lags into the econometric model. Project Context: Honors Project

Session 1 (9:15-10:15) - President's Dining Room

9:15 | Cynthia G. Bryant (Dr. Julie Lyon) Women Leaders in the Roanoke Valley: Challenges and Opportunities The objective of this project was to explore the careers of female leaders in business throughout the Roanoke Valley in southwestern Virginia. Fifteen women in upper levels of their organizations were interviewed about their career paths, lead-ership styles, and obstacles to career success. Several themes emerged from the qualitative coding of their responses. Im-plications for women interested in becoming top leaders in organizations will be discussed. Project Context: Independent Study

9:35 | Anne M Whitesell (Dr. Heath Brown) Online Mobilization and Maintenance: A Study of Women‘s Interest Groups New communications technology, including social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter, has fundamentally altered the way in which individuals organize and mobilize themselves according to common interests. While social net-working for the purposes of political mobilization is a relatively recent phenomenon, interest groups have been using the Internet to mobilize and maintain their organizations since the 1990s. Women‘s organizations, which represent a diverse constituency, are just one subset of interest groups that have moved some of their functions to an online forum. These or-ganizations, roughly divided into the three ―waves‖ of feminism, include groups such as the American Association of Univer-sity Women to CODEPINK, a women‘s organization advocating for peace. This research analyzes the strategies employed by interest groups through their organizational websites. It specifically studies the websites of approximately 50 women‘s inter-est groups, looking for differences among interest groups representing different waves of feminism and the affects of an interest group‘s internal characteristics on their approach to the Internet. This research fills an important gap in the study of interest groups politics, which has only begun to explore the role of the Internet in group formation, maintenance, and mem-ber mobilization. Project Context: Honors Project

9:55 | Hayleigh E Phillips (Dr. Tom Carter) Edward R. Murrow: The Importance of Linguistics in Journalism Edward Murrow‘s ―See it Now‖ was an inspirational set of broadcasts that served as an example of honest journalism. Be-cause of his interactions with Joseph McCarthy, it is clear that he equated honesty with prestige in his career. During his career, Murrow reported from the front lines of WWII. He also did stories on common household activities and on celebri-ties. He established himself as a journalist who could be trusted. Murrow‘s broadcasts during the McCarthy Era helped expose the hysteria behind the ―Red Scare‖. His career and reputation survived because of Murrow‘s linguistic talent, the repetition of phrases, and the trust Murrow had established with the American public. Through the broadcasts of ―See it Now‖ and literature about Murrow‘s career during and after the ―Red Scare‖, Murrow emerges as a role model for journalists today. Trust was a key element in establishing Murrow‘s reputation with the public as a credible journalist. This trust was created through Murrow‘s style of reporting and key phrases he used during broad-casts. A study focusing on these broadcasts would be beneficial because it would establish a stronger connection between the study of linguistics and journalism. In a twenty page paper, I will develop an argument using highlights from Murrow‘s career supporting the point that if journalists develop a strong linguistic foundation, reporting will become similar to Mur-row‘s honest and affective approach. Project Context: Independent Study

meaning of the play you picked but you have to figure out how to represent that meaning on the stage. What should I have on my set? What should my actors be wearing? How should my actors be acting? These are the questions a director must figure out with many painstaking mistakes and struggles along the way. My independent study brought me into directing a show called Shotgun by Romulus Linney. What I tried to show the audi-ence with this piece was the struggle of family and the crumbling of a man as he watched his parents find happiness with each other while his wife is leaving him for his best friend. How does a man deal with this struggle, sitting in a house he bought and in front of the room he built for his children? This man, John, seems perfectly fine with the path life has taken him on but as the play progresses we discover the true pain and frustrations he is dealing with. He is being torn apart while everyone else around him seems to not care about the pieces. To put this play on I had to audition and cast it, work with the costume and set designers, and stage it with audience mem-ber sitting on three sides of the stage, a three-quarter round. The main struggle was how to bring everything into agree-ment, the acting, the set, the costumes, and the blocking. I had to figure out how best to show the destruction of this indi-vidual while delivering my message of the results of love and the pain of an absent father. For three months I worked on this production, with one month of actual rehearsals. Even with all that time I never felt like I had a finished product. Sure, I felt satisfied and I feel that I put together a nice show but in the end, you always have to wonder if the audience understood you. Did they follow along and grab hold of what you were trying to say or did they just think it was a nice show? I can only be left with hope that I truly accomplished something and the pain of my job is never knowing for certain if I did or not. Pro-ject Context: Independent Study

Session 3 (2:30-3:30) - President‘s Dining Room

Winners of the Gender & Women‘s Studies Paper Contest

Ceremony: Presentation of the Gender & Women‘s Studies Winners

Lindsey Van Leir (on behalf of FEMMES) (1st Prize: Service Project) Females Excelling More in Math, Engineering, and Science (FEMMES)

Females Excelling More in Math Engineering and Science (FEMMES) is a student organization at Roanoke College interested in providing exciting, hands-on experiences for girls in 4th- 6th grades from the Roanoke/Salem area in the fields of math, engineering, and science. Our goal is to get young women involved in these fields where women are often greatly under-represented. FEMMES at Roanoke College will be having our first Capstone Event on March 26, 2011. The event is free to all participants and will take place from 9am-3pm.. By using female volunteers and faculty members, we hope to demonstrate that women can and do excel in these fields. Each faculty volunteer directs a hands-on activity that shows something inter-esting and fun about her area of expertise. Student volunteers lead groups to the activities and act as mentors for the day to our program's participants. For more information please see http://clubs.roanoke.edu/femmes or find us on Facebook via ―Femmes at Roanoke‖.

Molly Howser (1st Prize: Long Paper) ―What sways the female shopper?‖ Advertising and the Female Consumer 1955-65 & 1975-85

Ashley Honig (1st Prize: Creative Work ) Series of Untitled Paintings

Josephine Debrah (Honorable Mentions: Long Paper & Creative Work) Lasting Marks: Examining the Issues and Controversy Behind Female Circumcision

Creative: Esmeralda‘s Destiny (Children‘s Story)

Jenna Cullins (Honorable Mention: Short Paper) Why Psychological Oppression is the Worst Type of Oppression

10:50 | Laura E. Kellam, Dr. Alton Dooley, Jr., & Vince Schneider (Dr. DorothyBelle Poli, & Dr. Katherine O'Neill)

Nearly Complete Balaenula Skull from the Late Pliocene Bear Bluff Formation of Lake Waccamaw State Park, North Carolina A nearly complete Balaenula skull was found ventral side up in the Bear Bluff formation in Lake Waccamaw State Park, North Carolina, in May of 2008. It is the only published specimen from the eastern United States, and the youngest known Balaenula published dating back 2.75 Ma. The ventral tips of the postglenoid processes, supraorbital processes of the frontals, zygomatic processes, the anterior portion of the nasals, and the vomer are the only major missing pieces of the skull. Both periotics and tympanic bullas were preserved, one set in place and the others recovered. This paper documents a collaborative effort with the Virginia Museum of Natural History to determine whether this specimen represents a new spe-cies. There are currently no extant whales of this size, and this specimen would help to close the phylogenic gap of where we lost this mysticete (family of whales). Project Context: Independent Study

11:10 | Rachel Naylor (Dr. Chris Lassiter) The effect of 4-hydroxyandrostenedione, an aromatase inhibitor, on heart size in zebrafish (Danio rerio) Aromatase inhibitors (AI) block estradiol (E2) from being made; this lack of E2 has an effect on the body. Zebrafish embryos treated with AI, specifically 4-hydroxyandrostenedione, developed cardiac edemas and became listless. The embryos were also treated with E2, a cotreatment of the AI and E2 and a control solution to see their effects on heart development. Using in situ hybridization to stain for cardiac myosin light chain-2 (cmlc2) in the heart, the length, width, and area of each embry-onic heart was measured. AI had a significant effect on the length, width, and area of the heart when compared against the other treatments; this significance is possibly due to atrophy of the heart muscle and blood vessel collapse. Future studies done will measure the percent fractional shortening as well as additional in situ hybridizations to see if a difference is seen in heart size if the myocardial sac is punctured. Project Context: Senior Thesis

Session 2 (10:30-11:30) - President's Dining Room

10:30 | Jenna M Jones (Professor Jeanne Fishwick) Vampires across the Ages: The Analysis of Depiction and Popularity across the Centuries In my independent study with Professor Jeanne Fishwick, we are reading vampire fiction literature throughout the ages. Thus far we have read Bram Stoker‘s Dracula, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro‘s Hotel Transylvania, and Joseph Sheridan le Fanu‘s Carmilla. We intend to read one more novels. In addition to reading these novels, thus far we have watched the first epi-sode of the first season of a seventy‘s TV show Dark Shadows. Along with reading these works, short stories will be written which mimics certain chosen elements of the aforementioned readings. Our central research question is how these novels relate to the mindset of the time periods in which they were written. We anticipate a correlation between the era published, and the mindset of the public, which influences the works. Project Context: Independent Study

10:50 | Samantha J. Wittig (Professor Jeanne Fishwick) The Novel Writing Adventure: The Process of Writing a Manuscript My honors project is a novel length creative writing endevour. I have 230 pages of a science fiction/fantasy story with a goal of apporximately 400 pages at the completion. My over all aim for the semester is to complete, edit and revise the manu-script, and then work towards publication. Project Context: Honors Project

11:10 | Jordan Henderson (Dr. Lisa Warren) Directing: A Challenge Directing: what does it require? It seems so simple, find a script, put a few actors on the stage and let them have at it. What I learned through my directing experience, however, is that art does not create itself so easily. Directing requires that you put in exorbitant amounts of time and mental energy. You not only have to try and figure out the

PAT in sporophytes. Data collected from the liverwort, Riccia fluitans, suggests that simple diffusion is utilized for the trans-port of auxin into the cell. The hornworts, Phaeoceros laevis and Anthoceros agrestis, and the moss, Rhizomnium sp., dis-played facilitated diffusion as their method of influx. All four species displayed facilitated diffusion as the method of auxin efflux. Moreover, the more complex Rhizomnium showed sensitivity to the influx inhibitor 1-naphthoxyacetic acid and the efflux inhibitor 1-N-naphthylphthalamic acid. Both chemicals are known to be effective inhibitors on protein carriers in vas-cular plants so sensitivity to these would indicate similar proteins structure in the moss. Data presented in this paper re-veals critical insights into understanding the evolution of physiological processes, in addition to that of body plan regulation and development. Project Context: Independent Study

4:05 | Stephanie I. Vogel (Dr. DorothyBelle Poli & Dr. Alton Dooley, Jr.) Effects of fire on Lycopodium: A good witch or bad witch? Upon examining paleobotanic records, the role of lycopods is not well understood. During the Carboniferous period, lyco-pods were present in high oxygen atmosphere and were surrounded by electrical storms and fire. These plants stood 100 feet tall and produced numerous spores. Today's lycopods have been used for pyrotechnics since Victorian times; therefore, if lycopods spores today are flammable then could extinct lycopod spores have contributed to Carboniferous fires. This work examines the role of fire on modern lycopods as a way to begin to examine natural history. Three different life stages were examined: young, mature and old. Different burn patterns were observed across life stages suggesting different methods of spore protection during development. This work is the beginning of understanding if lycopods contributed to fire ecology. Project Context: Independent Study

4:25 | Brandi L. Neifert (Dr. Alton C. Dooley, Jr. & Dr. DorothyBelle Poli)

A comparison of tooth breakage rates in Miocene carcharhinid sharks from the Carmel Church Quarry, Caroline County, VA. Excavation of marine sediments of the middle Miocene Calvert Formation at the Carmel Church Quarry has resulted in the collection of thousands of shark and ray teeth. Genera of teeth commonly found include Hemipristis, Carcharhinus, and Galeocerdo, among others. Unlike most large collections of shark teeth, the Carmel Church specimens were all collected in situ from a single bed with a maximum thickness of less than 1 m. While the majority of teeth from Carmel Church represent clearly reworked specimens, a substantial portion show no evidence of reworking and provide a sample that may represent the local population of sharks over a relatively short period of time. Multiple shark taxa with similar tooth morphologies and body sizes may have coexisted through niche partitioning. This could have been achieved through behavioral variations such as temporal segregation (diurnal or nocturnal habits, or seasonal movements) or through variations in dietary prefer-ences. In order to test for evidence of variation in dietary preferences, tooth breakage frequency and height-thickness ratios were examined in three shark genera that are broadly similar to each other in size and tooth morphology – Hemipristis, Galeocerdo and Carcharhinus. Preliminary results show Carcharhinus with a low frequency of breakage at the apex of the tooth. Further results pending. Project Context: Personal project

Session 3 (2:30-3:30) - Kime

2:30 | Natalie R Horvath (Dr. Adam Childers) Should I Stay or Should I Go: An Optimal Solution to the Ride and Tie Problem In this presentation, we will discuss an optimal solution to the Ride and Tie problem in the context of both a mathematical and a statistical formulation. Ride and Tie is a distance race that involves two people and one horse. The race begins with one team member on foot and the other on the horse. At some point, before the finish line, the first team member ties the horse to a tree and runs to the finish line. The second team member runs until they arrive at the horse and then ride to the finish. The objective of the race is to get both participants to the finish line as quickly as possible. A natural question that arises is where is the optimal location to tie the horse? We present a mathematical formulation of the question when the rider has the option to tie the horse anywhere along the course. Next, we move on to the more realistic case when there are only a limited number of trees to which the horse can be tied. In this formulation, we describe an algorithm for deciding if the first rider should tie the horse to a given tree or continue riding. Project Context: Independent Study

2:50 | Giovanni Forte (Dr. Alice Kassens) The Tiger Woods‘ Effect: The Impact of Tiger Woods on Golf Participation and Sales An interesting topic little discussed in the sports economic literature is whether not superstar player induce participation or sales in their respective sport. I examine the possible impact golfer Tiger Woods performance in the Majors has on the par-ticipation in golf around the country and on the sale of golf equipment. I found that there is no statistical significance be-tween the Tiger‘s performance and the participation in golf and the sales of golf equipment. I did however find a possible relationship when the regression of rounds has sales as an independent variable, but the results may be biased due to omitted variable bias. Project Context: Class assignment

3:10 | Tyler A. Rinko (Dr. Alice Kassens) The European Debt Crisis‘ influence on U.S. Real Exchange Rates and Real Interest Rates Like most countries, the United States trades goods and services with various nations. When the value of one country‘s cur-rency falls, it can affect trade, making exports cheaper and increasing the price of imports. The European Debt Crisis has resulted in the devaluing of the euro due to a few European Union countries‘ severe debt. The economic literature suggests that real exchange rates are primarily influenced by inflation, interest rates, current account deficits, government debt, CPI, GDP, and the value of a currency based on its trade weighted index. Real interest rates are said to be affected by GDP, gov-ernment debt, CPI, consumption, inflation, and net federal government savings. I will look deeper into the European Debt Crisis and see how it has affected the above factors. Additionally, I will analyze the influence of the crisis on the price of oil, since oil is a major commodity to the United States and its price influences consumer confidence and aggregate demand. Finally, I will compare the exchange rate of the United States with that of the euro to see if the European Debt Crisis has had any influence on it. I predict that the crisis will have a negative impact on real exchange rates in the United States. The moti-vation for this paper is that as the U.S. attempts to reduce its own debt, policy makers could look to Europe for lessons and suggestions. Project Context: Independent Study

Session 4 (3:45-4:45) - Kime

3:45 | Bryan T. Piatkowski & Geoff A. Bader (Dr. DorothyBelle Poli) Examining Polar Auxin Transport Evolution in Bryophyte Gametophytes Auxin, otherwise known as Indole-3-Acetic acid, is considered the most ancient plant hormone. The hormone is directly in-volved in developmental processes including apical dominance, stem elongation, root initiation, fruit development, inhibi-tion of abscission, and certain tropisms. Vascular plants are able to transport this hormone via phloem tissue while both vascular and non-vascular plants are able to transport auxin unidirectionally through cells, known as polar auxin transport (PAT). The first plants to colonize land, the bryophyte clade, is intermediate between chlorophyta and vascular plants mak-ing it quite optimal to use when studying the evolution of key physiological processes present in this monophyletic king-dom. Bryophytes have also been shown to exhibit similar auxin-controlled responses as more complex vascular plants. The results of our experiments suggest that bryophyte gametophytes could possibly contain proteins similar to those used in

Poster Session (11:45-12:45) - Pickle (1st Floor)

3. INQ 250 Class (Dr. DorothyBelle Poli) Understanding INQ 250: How do living things evolve? through creative processes Understanding how evolution works is a multifaceted task based on comprehending difficult grounding scientific knowledge and then applying it to everyday tasks. Dr. Poli's INQ 250 course "How do living organisms evolve?" has created newspaper articles to explore Darwin's life and discoveries and cartoons to make biology's central dogma easier to grasp. Project Con-text: Class assignment

4. Matthew J Corbicz (Dr. DorothyBelle Poli) Understanding limestone fines' water retention: Applications for reclamation Rock quarries create multiple sizes of rock during the quarrying process. Boxley Corporation has limestone fines that are not suitable for the addition to soils for strict pH purposes. Therefore, trying to use these fines for additional reclamation purposes requires understanding the properties of the rock and the fines individually. This study examined the water reten-tion properties of limestone fines to determine if fines only held water due to quantity. The results show that as little as 500 g will retain hydration for four weeks. Therefore limestone fines could be used as a potential water barrier prior to soil and plant additions to a reclamation site. Project Context: Independent Study

5. William M. Bader (Dr. DorothyBelle Poli) Using Boxley Fines as an Exfoliate in Traditional Botanical Based Soaps Botanical soap use is popular among U.S. citizens. Exfoliate properties of soap have been manufactured by major soap companies to help with skin appearance on extremities. Common material used for exfoliates is walnut shells and fish scales; this study is experimenting on using limestone fines from Boxley Corporation. Limestone is less abrasive than wal-nut shells so quality of skin texture may be less damaged than traditional methods. Different botanical recipes will be ex-plored using the same limestone fines. Individuals will be surveyed through questionnaires and trends will be used during the development of prototypes. Project Context: Independent Study

6. Jessica N Branning (Dr. DorothyBelle Poli) Examining polar auxin transport in the moss gametophyte of Dicranium scoparium Polar auxin transport is a process understood most in higher plants. Understanding where a physiological mechanism evolved requires examining the same process across the entire plant kingdom. Poli et al. (2003) examined polar auxin transport across the bryophyte sporophytes and learned that hornworts exhibit simple diffusion, liverworts exhibit facili-tated diffusion, and mosses show active transport. However, examining polar auxin transport using traditional agar block methods has been limited in gametophytes. This study examines the moss Dicranium scoparium. From Bader et al. it is ex-pected that this moss should show facilitated diffusion. Project Context: Independent Study

7. Sydney M. Webb & Kendra Boyd (Dr. Marilee Ramesh) Characterization of Class II Transposons within Coprinopsis cinerea An analysis of the Coprinopsis cinerea genome has identified three families of DNA transposons (Class II repetitive ele-ments). While both Class I and Class II repetitive elements were found in the C. cinerea genome, Class II elements appear to occur at a much lower frequency. Bioinformatics techniques were used to analyze and characterize three main families of Class II elements within C. cinerea. The C. cinerea genome assembly and annotation was searched with 150 pFAM domains specific for eukaryotic transposons, identifying three families of elements. One family, the En/Spm family, contains 12 trans-posons ranging in size of 4044 to 3468 bp. This family is closely related to the CACTA superfamily in plants, although it does not appear to contain the conserved terminal regions seen in the plant elements. To further characterize the En/Spm trans-posons, the exon and intron lengths were assessed. The upstream and downstream regions were analyzed to identify and characterize each element‘s Terminal Inverted Repeat (TIR) region. Potential TIR repeats of 3-6 bp sequences have been identified on the upstream and downstream regions. A similar approach is being taken to analyze the other two families of Class II elements (hAT and mariner) in the C. cinerea genome and preliminary data will be presented. Project Context: URAP

Gallery & Poster Presentations Poster Session (11:45-12:45) - 1st Floor Atrium

1. Elizabeth M. Rothera (Professor Kate Shortridge) Identity The decision to paint a series of miniature abstract paintings was made after recalling the enjoyment I had painting on a small scale during intermediate painting class as well as the challenges that I faced when painting abstractly. The theme on which my work focuses is identity, particularly because I am finishing up my senior year of college and in turn I am con-stantly reflecting on the changes from my past as well as the curiosity I have about what my future will bring. Each of these miniature paintings has a deep personal connection to my life and journey of self-identity. Some individual pieces, how-ever, were created merely as experimentations of my language as a painter. When deciding which aspects of my personal history to capture in these works, I focused on a few significant moments and memories from my life that I have constantly revisited in the present and over the years as I‘ve grown up. ―They possess a wonderful feeling of the fragility of a moment-- the fragility of our lives‖ (Weinberg). This quote, (in reference to a series of ―small‖ paintings by Alex Katz), is very applicable to my paintings as they all capture a unique moment in my life, each of which is very delicate to capture and can be lost in a single brush stroke. During the process of developing a piece, I always keep a particular experience in mind that I am work-ing to convey to the viewer - so much so that certain brushstrokes and shapes can move the painting either forward or away from what I‘d like the viewer to understand. Since these paintings are so delicate, the wrong brushstroke can easily take the painting in the wrong direction, similar to what Katz said about the fragility of our lives. The large painting that I completed was meant to encompass several aspects of my small paintings and in turn tie them all together. This piece contains vari-ous layers of imagery that are prevalent upon viewing the depth of the painting. In contrast to the small paintings covering past experience of my life, this large painting was very much a form of documentation in the present. The piece acted as a record for capturing the emotions I felt through various significant experiences and relationships I developed at the time of working on this piece. Overall, in terms of technical issues and language I feel that the large piece was difficult to transition to after painting on such a small scale; but with many layers and experimenting I developed an understanding of the lan-guage of the piece and I am extremely satisfied with the way that encompasses the rest of my work from the semester.

2. Diane M. Vankevich (Professor Kate Shortridge) March of the Sea The afternoon rays of the surprisingly bright winter light gleam on the painting that rests on my easel. The pale yellow on the walls comforts my tired eyes as the notes from the cassette player weave ribbons of music through my ears. As I take a deep breath, the enticing fragrance of oil paint and turpentine brings inspiration to my thoughts. My art studio in the art building is draped with pictures from magazines, torn at the edges. My favorite, a black and white photograph of George Harrison, dangles from a single thumbtack. Oil paint is smeared in the creases of my folded charcoal drawings that lay by my feet. The colors on my palette swirl together, making a composition of itself. The warmth of the ra-diator soothes my rosy cheeks, frozen from the sea breeze outside of my studio. I select a brush from my collection and dip it in linseed oil that is splattered on my pallet. I steady my brush between my fingers and stroke the canvas with its bristles. The paint is applied smoothly. The creaminess of the white gives the painting an impasto touch. My emotions fuel my painting. All of the feelings, built up from the day, give me the energy I need to paint this picture. This picture will say the things that I cannot speak myself. The melody continues to surround me. This room is lined with enor-mous windows that reveal the waves crashing on the bay. It fills up with music and the smell of turpentine. This is my com-fort, my home that I have created. The energy from the atmosphere is reflected in my solid brush strokes. Without even thinking, I have transformed the canvas into a sea. There are waves and sea grass and fish and emotion as deep as the ocean. I have created this ocean, a place to submerge my sorrows and become new again. Project Context: Independent Study

can be equipped with an electric motor. This proposal is broken into four different phases with each phase accompanied by a specific agenda. The estimated date of completion and revealing of the vehicle is Alumni Weekend 2015. Project Context: Independent Study

12. Alexander Roy & Lea Lupkin (Dr. Jon Cawley) Power Shift Power Shift is a national youth climate conference. The purpose was to give the youth a platform to express their opinions and concerns about the climate crisis. The conference included workshops, panel discussions, and speakers focusing on addressing climate change and building a strong youth movement around clean energy and environmental justice. The weekend long event ended with a rally an lobby day at congress. Students and climate activists met with senators and rep-resentatives to discuss creating green jobs, lower the nation‘s carbon footprint, and a move away from coal and cleaner sources of energy. The goal was to push congress to pass ―bold, comprehensive, and just national climate legislation.‖ The first was held in 2007 at the University of Maryland, which had 6000 participants, and the second in 2009 in Washing-ton, DC, which had 12000 participants. Representation came from all fifty states, all Canadian provinces, and thirteen other nations. The movement was founded by college students from the country, one of which was a student of Roanoke College at the time. Since then there has been two national and eleven regional Power Shifts. A third national Power Shift will be taking place in April of 2011. Project Context: National Youth Confrence

13. Daniel J. Waters, Charles M. Leonard, Eric M. Lefevers, Brett A. Lawrence, Justin T. Morgan, Jessica E. Pease, Wesley C. Sturdivant, & Charles T. Utterback (Dr. Jon Cawley)

The Creation of a Research and Teaching Apple Orchard on Elizabeth Campus Roanoke College has always strived for hands-on student learning experiences and strengthening bonds between the Col-lege and the surrounding Community. To visually teach historical facts through the living example of an apple orchard, we propose the planting of 14 historical apple varieties in either a small orchard or as lined street/landscaping trees on Eliza-beth Campus. These trees will be planted and grafted with the historically significant apple varieties. They will be planted in a design and fashion coinciding with the intentions of the Environmental Studies Program, as well as the landscape de-signer, and grounds crew here at Roanoke College. This small orchard will be a living historical expression of the area‘s hor-ticultural heritage as well as promote orchards as a cultural and teaching resource by using techniques to protect and propagate these traditional apple trees. The layout of the orchard will be drawn up and each tree will be planted by the Roanoke College students in the Environmental Studies Program. These trees will then be tagged, grafted and used as a continuing learning tool. This proposal, the background research and acquisition of the historical trees/varieties of interest, is being conducted by the Roanoke College Environmental Special Topics class as a proposal and grant building tool. Soil and water sampling of the intended site is also included in our curriculum. Project Context: Group Class Assignment

14. Daniel J. Waters (Dr. Rachel Collins) Do invasive species facilitate other invasive species? Invasive species are the plague of the 21st century. Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) is an invasive species that use allelo-pathic effects to create favorable soil conditions and it starts to invade a forest after a disturbance. These conditions help garlic mustard to invade the forest floor. Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven) is another invasive species. Tree of Heaven will invade a new area by becoming colonial and through allelopahtic effects by slightly poisoning the surrounding soil making it uninhabitable for native species. Liriodendron tulipifera (yellow poplar) is a native tree species that is considered to be a early succession tree species and grows rapidly after a disturbance. Yellow Poplar is one of the first native species to inter-act with garlic mustard. I am studying whether the allelopathic effects of garlic mustard will help other invasive species to invade. My hypothesis is that tree of heaven will more likely germinate and grow larger in pots of garlic mustard than yellow poplar will be able to. To date I have cold-moist stratified garlic mustard seeds and planted them in the Roanoke College Greenhouse. After the garlic mustard is well established, I will plant tree of heaven and yellow poplar seedlings in the pots of the garlic mustard. If tree of heaven shows a significantly higher growth than the Yellow Poplar, then garlic mustard help other invasive species invade. If tree of heaven shows a significantly lower growth than the yellow poplar, then garlic mus-tard does not help other invasive species invade. If tree of heaven shows to be benefitted from the garlic mustard, then the

8. Kendrick Chittock, Austin Mowles, Keith McHugh, & Garrett Schaperjahn (Dr. Jon Cawley)

Biochar-Based Soil Composition for Application in Urban The Amazonian rainforest has provided us with a ‗living soil‘ called terra preta. This soil contains biochar and mycorrhizae that combine to mediate nutrients in the soil. This soil can expand through the growth of this mycorrihzae, providing nutri-ents for the surrounding flora. Although we cannot bring this original terra preta to our local soils, we can import this con-cept to form a soil mixture for tree wells in our own cities healthy enough to grow large trees for many years. Soil with an effective biochar ratio can invigorate our urban forestry programs. This will promote the health and longevity of urban street trees improving tree canopy function in modern cities. An effective soil mixture can create/approximate a terra preta: this project compares several variations of char-based soil compositions for use in municipal tree wells.

9. Ivan A. Zuidhoek (Dr. Jon Cawley) The Moorish Garden as a Memetic Permaculture System The traditional Moorish garden is a geometrically enclosed sacred space, surrounded by a wall and containing a small foun-tain or water feature. It contains raised beds and Mediterranean food plants such as citrus, fig, and olive trees, vegetables, as well as medicinal and cooking herbs. The Moorish garden can be traced from Babylonian origins through Muslim culture, to the Christian cloister garden and the British kitchen garden. This study investigates how the Moorish gardens represent a memetically evolved permaculture, which presumably emerged as adaptation to progressive Middle Eastern climate change. We examine how the Moorish gardens are structured to deliver a sustainable output of food and nutrients over ex-tremely long time spans without exhausting the soil, as well as how it withstands the surrounding drought and/or increased temperature fluctuations. We propose that the traditional Moorish garden can provide a successful and time tested (2000 year old) permaculture model and specific strategies which could be applied to modern green building, architecture and local agriculture in adaptation to present day climate change. Project Context: Personal project

10. Tucker S. Prisley (Dr. Jon Cawley) The Book of Days This poster project documents the photographing of selected specimens from a historic (3000 specimen) rock and mineral collection, for teaching and public education purposes. These photographs will be included in a published book detailing Appalachian geologic history and important discoveries in the field. They will also be used as teaching materials for the Appalachian Rocks and Waters class in Fall 2011 at Roanoke College. The photography made use of a Canon 20D digital camera with an 18-55mm lens. The evolution of an appropriate photog-raphy stage setup and procedure for photography of the specimens took considerable time, effort, and many iterations. Over time the procedure for balancing the color represented in the photographs evolved to produce publication-grade re-sults. A procedure was developed using a custom white balance metered to a background of near absolute black and an object of near absolute white. The exposure used varies by individual specimen but the baseline of acceptable brightness and sharpness has improved over the length of the project. The addition of balanced spectrum light fixtures has improved the colors and accuracy of the custom white balance procedure. Accurate representation of the important characteristic attributes of the specimens is the highest priority in this project. Each specimen is photographed to show the characteristic color, surface texture, and reflectivity of the specimen. The pro-ject in general exceeds archival quality photography and tends towards high quality individual shots intended for presenta-tion and publication acceptable to the standards of the public as well as scientists in the field. Project Context: Independent Study

11. Lyndsey M Jones (Dr. Jon Cawley) RC Electric Electric and alternative transportation has become mainstream throughout the world in the past decade. In order for Roa-noke College to be ahead of other educational institutions, it is vital that Roanoke develop an alternative energy vehicle. This proposal describes in detail the process by which the environmental students, along with the RC Electric organization, will go about obtaining and retrofitting a vehicle, which will later be turned over to the school for use. Keeping in mind Roa-noke College's "Classic for Tomorrow" mantra, the environmental programs has located a 1939 Pontiac Silver Streak, which

what factors are associated with these descriptions (e.g., immediacy, classroom methods and management). We hypothe-size that our participants will have a more positive view of their professors and that teaching style, immediacy and class-room management will predict professor descriptions. Project Context: Research Assistant

19. Alicia L. Clem (Dr. Edward Whitson) Changes in Students‘ Perceptions of Creativeness Following a Creative Thinking Skills- Training Course The study was conducted with 14 Roanoke College students who were enrolled in Dr. Ed Whitson‘s creative thinking and problem solving course. During the course the students learned and practiced different creative thinking strategies. Ques-tionnaires on personality characteristics and creativity were given the first and last day of the class. The investigator con-ducted an extensive literature review to find studies that coincide with our research on the teaching of creative thinking and problem solving at the college level. Currently the 14 students are being contacted and asked to complete additional ques-tionnaires and respond to focused questions from the investigator to determine current attitudes and perceptions about creative thinking, and how they may have used skills presented during their course. From this study we hope that students are able to be more creative and better problem solvers as a result of the course. Project Context: Research Practicum

20. Chava Z. Urecki, Kiel L. VanNess, Brooks K. Hoover, Michael J. Bankert (Dr. Christopher T. Buchholz & Dr. Gordon Marsh)

The complexity of melancholy: Music preference and the perception of music. Our basic hedonic drive suggests that we should always seek pleasure and avoid pain. However, a closer look at our prefer-ences for music, film, or literature reveals that this is not always the case. For instance, some of us prefer films that don‘t have a fairy tale happy ending, where the characters are complex and blur the lines between hero and villain. Sometimes we actually seek out stimuli that create negative emotional states (e.g., fear, sadness, rage). This is, arguably, also the case with music preferences—many of us like music that can provoke more complex emotional states. In this study, we had partici-pants listen to two short piano compositions. These were created to be similar other than in key. In one version, the piece was played in a major key, and in the other, the piece was played in a minor key. We have known for some time that most individuals (primarily in western societies) perceive music played in a major key as brighter or happier and music played in a minor key as being more somber or sad. Participants in our study rated the minor piece as significantly more sad in mood. Interestingly, the results also indicated that participants preferred the major over the minor composition. This seems to re-flect popular music trends; most popular music is upbeat and happy. We then created groups based on a median split: those that are high in happy music preference and those that are low in happy music preference. We found a significant preference for the major piece amongst those who prefer happy music. However, interestingly, those that had a low prefer-ence for happy music did not have a significant difference in their likability ratings. In other words, these individuals like songs played in a minor and major key equally. Why do some individuals only like happy music, while others prefer both happy and sad music? Arguably, we all seek out stimuli (music, film, literature, et cetera) that are interesting, but what makes one song interesting and another boring? We argue that one important factor is the level of complexity a given stimu-lus possesses. Music, for instance, varies greatly in the level of complexity of lyrics, melody, structure, and rhythm. However, there are individual differences in how complex we wish our stimuli to be, and this may be determined, in part, by variability in cognitive ability. So, we asked the question, is there a relationship between those who prefer complex music and the emotional complexity of that music? We found that participants that like happy music also tend to like music that is simpler in nature and individuals who prefer more complex music tend to like both happy and sad music. Project Context: Research Assistant

21. Jennie Blaney (Dr. Julie Lyon) Women Leaders: Flexible Hours or Advancement Opportunities This study examines the availability of careers providing both flexible hours for women and opportunities for advancement within their field. Results suggest that women with flexible schedules have few opportunities for advancement, while women with little flexibility experience greater opportunities to advance within their field. This suggests that women are forced to choose between having either flexibility or having opportunities for promotion within their career. Project Context: Research Assistant

forest of the US are in higher danger of being invaded faster than expected. Project Context: Research Assistant

15. Kathleen C. Ouyang (Dr. Mark Miller) Academic Freedom and the Elson Controversy at Roanoke College In this project I examined education in the South during a revival of sectional feelings in the early twentieth century. In 1911, Roanoke College faced a controversy of academic freedom surrounding the use of Henry Elson‘s United States History text-book. It began when a local judge disapproved of the book‘s tone toward the South in the Civil War. Eventually confederate organizations and the Roanoke Times set against the college, and President Morehead and the faculty stood together in the name of academic freedom. Eventually Morehead published a statement titled A Problem of Southern Education discussing the wider significance of the Elson controversy and the teaching of history in the South. The purpose of my research is to place the incident in context in order to understand its impact on the college and Roanoke‘s impact on the improvement of educational freedom. I began this project by looking at secondary sources on the subject, mainly histories of the college including Dr. Miller‘s book and William Eisenberg‘s First Hundred Years. Gaines Foster‘s monograph Ghosts of the Confederacy and Fred Arthur Bailey‘s articles have also acted as good references about the confederates' hold on history education at this time. The Roanoke College archives contains valuable information including correspondence from President Morehead and the other players involved and newspaper articles showing the wide coverage of the controversy. The Confederate Veterans Maga-zine also provides articles about the Roanoke College and other incidents of academic freedom. I have been working on a timeline and a dossier of all other events surrounding the confederacy‘s revival in education, and Roanoke‘s role within this time period. Project Context: URAP

16. Amanda N. Newman (Dr. Denise Adkins) Texting Behaviors in Romantic Relationships Recent research studies on ―relationship talk‖ indicate length and level of intimacy within romantic relationships are predic-tors of content and relational messages in couples conversations (Knobloch, Solomon, & Theiss 2006). The current study seeks to extend this work by examining these features in text messaging. The relationship between text messaging and inti-macy in significant other relationships will be examined. Approximately 50 couples will be surveyed in this study; they will be asked questions regarding their current text behaviors and the level of perceived intimacy in their relationship. We hy-pothesize that as the intimacy level in a romantic relationship increases, text messages will contain more emotional compo-nents like emoticons and personal information. Sex, type of relationship, and the length of relationship will also be used as predictors. Project Context: URAP

17. Steven L. Huffman, Jared T. Johnson, Sean R. Sottolano, Robyn T. French, & Lauren O. Marszal (Dr. Denise Adkins)

Internet Usage Correlates of Academic Internet Usage Past research has shown that adolescents use the internet mostly for social and entertainment purposes and that academic sites are the least popular (Bayraktar 2007). It is argued that the Internet is a distraction from more important tasks, such as education (Saville, 2010). The current study sought to replicate and extend these findings in a college population. Fifty Roa-noke College students (n = 25 male) were surveyed on their internet use behaviors (academic, non-academic, social) and achievement-striving, purposefulness, diligence, and efficiency qualities. Findings indicated that as achievement-striving, purposefulness, diligence and efficiency qualities increased, academic internet use increased. Non-academic and social internet use were not significantly related to the behavioral qualities. Implications will be discussed. Project Context: Class assignment

18. Kacy L Dillon & Steven L Huffman (Dr. Denise Adkins) What Predicts Whether College Students Will View Their Professors Positively or Negatively? Past research has indicated that the majority of students surveyed in a larger university setting described their professors in a negative manner (Schmier, 1993, 2001). In the current study, we will replicate and extend this work. Two hundred Roa-noke College students will be surveyed to examine how they describe their professors (positively, negatively, neutrally) and

ment project. The project focuses on the change in the teaching style of the laboratories and incorporates quiz assessments for each experiment along with assessments of student attitudes towards lab. This poster focuses on four semesters of a non-majors course, Chemistry and Crime. The assessment results for the average improvement, student attitudes, experi-ment quizzes, and change from cookbook style protocols to guided inquiry protocols for the Chemistry and Crime laborato-ries will be compared and presented. Generally, the students‘ attitude towards the laboratory improved from the beginning to the end of the semester and the post quiz grades increased compared to the pre quiz grades for each experiment. Project Context: Research Assistant

27. Kayla R. Muncy (Dr. Tim Johann) Cloning the Gene Escherichia coli K-12 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate synthetase The gene5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate synthetase (MTHFS) is a key component of folate metabolism and is a rescue agent in chemotherapy. Folate metabolism is important to DNA and protein synthesis. There is evidence that the E. coli K-12 MTHFS sequence could have been misanotated on past research, so a longer and shorter DNA sequence will be tested for activity. Also, the E. coli K-12 MTHFS protein has not yet been characterized. DNA sequencing confirmed that the MTHFS E.coli K-12 gene was successfully cloned using pet45b plasmids. Further research will be done on induction and characteriz-ing the protein. Project Context: URAP

28. Maura C. Belanger (Dr. Cathy Sarisky) Purine Biosynthesis in Modified E. coli I am working on cloning a gene that will allow E. coli bacteria with a gene deletion to synthesize purines. Purine biosynthe-sis requires two steps, AICAR to FAICAR and FAICAR to IMP. I am focusing on the AICAR to FAICAR step. I am attempting to replace an existing gene in the E. coli genome with an archaeal gene that should perform the same function. We are using a gene from Sulfolobus solfataricus because its sequence is similar to that of a characterized purP gene that converts AICAR to FAICAR. I have designed primers to clone this gene. I am now preparing a plasmid to act as a vector for the gene that I have created. I have cut the plasmid with restriction enzymes so that there is an empty space where the new gene will be put. I will use PCR to copy this gene and then I will use electroporation in order to force the E. coli to take up this new gene. Then we will see if these E. coli can grow on plates without purines, which are essential to growth. If the E. coli with my gene can grow that means that the archaeal gene substitutes for the delete gene‘s role in purine biosynthesis. Project Context: URAP

29. Heather N. Anthony (Dr. Ben Huddle & Dr. Jack Steehler) Guided Inquiry Laboratory Improvement Project: Comparing Two Years of Assessment Data The Roanoke College Chemistry Department is pursuing a laboratory improvement project funded by the National Science Foundation. The project includes a focus on guided inquiry and incorporates assessments of student learning and student attitudes toward lab. Two years of assessment results for the General Chemistry laboratories will be presented and com-pared. Project Context: URAP

30. Jeremy A. Johnson (Dr. Vernon Miller) Synthesis of Bisamine Boron Cations The main purpose of this URAP project is to synthesize, characterize, and purify a variety of bisamine boron cations. These cations are interesting because they include a boron atom coordinated to two amines, resulting in a positive charge on that fragment. Specifically, the long-term goals of the research are to form cations using the diamine 1,4-diazabicyclo[2,2,2]octane (DABCO), dimethylpiperazine (DMP), and N,N,N‘,N‘–tetramethylethylenediamine (TMED). While other students have worked on similar projects, the work is not yet ready for publication in a chemistry journal. This research was undertaken with the hope of finishing up many of the smaller details so that the research may be published. This presentation will give a progress report on the project, focusing on the successes and difficulties encountered. Project Context: URAP

31. Paul L. Vines (Dr. Rama Balasubramanian) Synthesis and Characterization of Nanophase Maghemite Nanophase iron oxides, particularly nanophase maghemite (γ-Fe2O3), have shown promise as catalysts for synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes. To this end, nanophase lepidocrocite was synthesized from ferrous chloride in aqueous

Poster Session (11:45-12:45) - Garret (2nd Floor)

22. Megan E. Erdmann (Dr. Rachel Collins) Habitat use by black bear and white-tailed deer around Carvins Cove Black bear, Ursus americanus, and white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, are abundant in the Roanoke Valley. It is important to both forestry personnel and to the public to learn about how these large mammals use different types of habi-tats. We hypothesize that we will find the mammals more frequently in the steep areas near drainages and less often in the flood plain where there are hiking trails, resulting in more people. We will be looking at black bear and white-tailed deer populations at the Carvins Cove Nature Reserve by setting up eight Primos digital cameras. We will be looking at two types of habitats, the flood plain that feeds into the reservoir, and steep, sloping drainages. Each camera will take a picture when it detects motion, allowing us to capture images of black bear and white-tailed deer in these habitats. This work is impor-tant because of the large population of black bear and white-tailed deer in the Roanoke Valley. As people continue to de-velop new land, habitats for native species will shrink. This will lead to more contact between humans and animals. Study-ing habitat use can help us figure out how to live with these animals and avoid this unnecessary contact. Project Context:

23. Ariel L. Firebaugh (Dr. Rachel Collins) Pieris rapae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) oviposition preference and performance on an invasive host plant, Alliaria petiolata (Brassicaceae) We explored a plant/herbivore system in which two coevolved species may have diverged in the introduced range. Pieris rapae (small cabbage white butterfly) and Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) are native to Europe and are widespread throughout the eastern United States. We conducted two experiments to understand whether cabbage whites control garlic mustard populations in North America. First we assessed cabbage white oviposition preferences among four Brassica varie-ties: garlic mustard, mustard greens (Brassica juncea), collard greens, and kale (Brassica oleracea varieties). Females pre-ferred to lay eggs on mustard greens (52% of all eggs; One-Way ANOVA, F= 49.21, P < 0.0001, df = 95). We then tested the ―mother knows best‖ hypothesis: Would females lay eggs on the best food source for their offspring? Larvae fed garlic mus-tard had higher fitness than larvae fed mustard greens. Our results suggest that cabbage whites do not control garlic mus-tard populations in North America. Project Context: Independent Study

24. Caitlin E. Giles & Kirby E. Davis (Dr. Dar Jorgensen) Lactate excretion during exercise in the lobster, Homarus americanus The American lobster, Homarus americanus, is a well-known and commercially-significant decapod, crustacean arthropod. In low oxygen situations, such as exercise, these arthropods produce lactate, a metabolic anaerobic end product. There have been suggestions that lactate may be lost from the hemolymph (crustacean blood) under these conditions, but the excretory site has not been identified. Our experiments are designed to determine if lactate is excreted by lobsters during times of increased metabolic demand and to determine whether the gills are the excretory site. In our experiments, lobsters walked on an underwater treadmill to increase their oxygen demand. Respiratory function was monitored and gill chamber exhalant water was collected and analyzed for lactate. Our experiments show that lobsters do excrete lactate across the gill epithelium at times of higher oxygen demand, particularly after handling or exercise. Project Context: Research Assistant

25. Jonathan C. Perkins & Peter-Philip M. Booth (Dr. Gary Hollis) Novel, highly-fluorinated derivatives of 1,2,3,4-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)cylcopentadiene A method was developed to replace the para fluorine atoms of the pentafluorophenyl substituents of 1,2,3,4-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)cyclopentadiene with fluorinated chains of varying length by the reaction of fluorous alcohols in the presence of excess lithium hydride. The fluorous alcohols 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol and 2,2,3,3,4,4,4-heptafluoro-1-butanol were reacted in excess in a 6:1 equivalence with 1,2,3,4-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)cylcopentadiene. All products were purified using silica gel chromatography and characterized by 1H and 19F NMR spectroscopy. Project Context: URAP

26. Caroline A. Hunter (Dr. Jack Steehler & Dr. Benjamin Huddle) Chemistry and Crime: Laboratory Improvement Assessment The National Science Foundation has funded the Roanoke College Chemistry Department to perform a laboratory improve-

solution at pH‘s varying from 5.5 to 7.0. This lepidocrocite was then transformed into nanophase maghemite by heating at 250OC. Both the lepidocrocite and maghemite samples were primarily characterized using infrared spectroscopy. Analysis of the IR spectra showed peaks associated with lepidocrocite and maghemite as expected. However, compared to purely bulk lepidocrocite and maghemite samples these bands are unique to the nanocrystal versions. Additionally, shifts in the position of these specific bands around 600-550cm-1 in both maghemite and precursor lepidocrocite appear to correlate with the pH of the lepidocrocite synthesis solution. Some samples were also analyzed using SEM, these images confirmed that these samples were indeed nanocrystals of maghemite. Project Context: URAP

32. Nicholas Guendel (Dr. Kelly Anderson & Dr. Matt Fleenor) An Investigation of MgSiO¬3 at High Temperature and Pressure To better understand the Earth‘s mantle MgSiO¬3¬ can be studied using Monte Carlo simulation. Currently, research to de-termine the structure of MgSiO¬3 has revealed a structured liquid with a density that is similar to published work. This was determined by minimizing the energies of simulations with different initial volumes that converged to a similar average vol-ume. Further research will be focused on describing the network through radial density functions and bond angles at differ-ent temperatures and pressures. Project Context: Independent Study

33. John T Balint (Dr. Rama Balasubramanian) Examining Morphologies in Nanocrystals When the grain size of a crystal is reduced, the ratio of the crystal‘s surface area to volume is increased. A crystal‘s struc-tures may also have some molecules swapped out for others in a process known as doping. Both of these factors may cause a change in the properties exhibited by a crystal. Goethite, an iron compound, is one type of crystal whose grain size may be reduced and have other metals substituted into it, such as chromium. By examining the change goethite crystals display when its grain size is reduced to the nano-scale, both for a pure and chromium substituted crystal, a model of how the properties change may be developed. This is an ongoing research endeavor, to be completed at the end of spring 2011. Project Context: Honors Project

34. Anne F. Kyner (Dr. Rama Balasubramanian) Mars-Mossbauer Spectroscopy Analysis The purpose of this research is to analysis data collected by NASA‘s twin rovers Opportunity and Spirit currently operating on planet Mars. In particular, I am involved in the analysis of Mossbauer spectroscopy data from five different geographical landmarks or rocks on Mars; Clovis, Pot of Gold, Adirondack, Berry Bowl, and Hematite Slope most of which are located in Gusev Crater. By fitting the Mossbauer spectral data, the hyperfine field properties corresponding to the different iron phases can be deduced. These in turn will help identify the composition of the rocks. This data will help to answer ques-tions about Martian geography and the rocks themselves such as where did they come from and how did they form? An-swers to these questions will hopefully bring us closer to understanding Martian geology and how it relates to an early cli-mate, the formation of water, and the conditions that can sustain life form. I am currently analyzing the Mossbauer data of iron minerals found on Earth, and I will use my work from this to compare the data fits from actual Martian rock samples. The data show graphs that aid in determining the magnetic field and changes the rock has undergone which lead to deter-mining the composition of the different rocks. This is important in deciphering the iron make up of the rocks and to discov-ering how they were formed. Project Context: Independent Study

35. Casey R. Wojtera (Dr. Tim Johann) Activity Variation from Codon Mutation at Position 123 in 5,10-Methenyltetrahydrofolate Synthetase. The purpose of this research was to determine the importance of certain amino acids in 5,10-Methenyltetrahydrofolate Syn-thetase (MTHFS). Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the amino acid, tyrosine, at position 123 was mutated to alanine in MTHFS. This mutated gene was placed into competent cells, cloned, and grown in a bacterial culture. Isopropyl β-D-1-

thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) was added to the culture so that the cells would synthesize the MTHFS protein containing the mutation. After purification, the activity of the protein was investigated, but showed variable results. Therefore, further ki-netic testing of purified MTHFS will indicate whether the mutation of tyrosine to alanine decreased protein activity. De-creased activity will indicate importance of tyrosine in MTHFS. Project Context: URAP