Since 2010, political protests and revolts have erupted in more than a dozen Arab nations, and one of the American media’s most significant impacts on the demonstrations came from a medium that is, perhaps, least expected.

Rap, a music genre rooted in the United States, became an outlet for people to express frustration and discontent with their governments during the Arab Spring. This summer, Samantha Cantrall ’14 participated in an undergraduate research opportunity at Augsburg College, and she identified the influence of music on contemporary politics.

“This relatively new and almost exclusively Western genre appeared in some of the most unexpected places of the world,” Cantrall explained. “In the midst of these protests, music was clearly prevalent.”

Cantrall for 10 weeks conducted research through a grant from the Augsburg College (URGO).

URGO researchers are mentored by Augsburg professors who assist students with their proposals, research methods, data analysis, and final reports.

As an Augsburg Concert Band member and a communication studies major from Tomahawk, Wisc., Cantrall coupled knowledge from her degree program with her interest in music. Her research focused on rap music in the uprisings of Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and Yemen.

Cantrall’s adviser, Robert Stacke, is the chair of the Augsburg music department and a scholar who has studied revolutionary music in countries that include Haiti, Nicaragua, and Northern Ireland, which makes him the near-perfect adviser for this project. When most countries undergo political upheaval, “the revolutionaries have music that demonstrates or expresses their desire for change,” Stacke said.

As a mentor, Stacke introduced Cantrall to leading scholars in the field of ethnomusicology: the study of music in a sociocultural context. Cantrall’s research chronicles the history of the Arab Spring through the hip-hop art form and succeeds in “capturing a musical idiom in words,” Stacke said. While Cantrall’s summer research is complete, she plans to investigate whether rap can sustain its popularity during peaceful times in Arab nations. She is applying for an additional URGO grant for the upcoming academic year and will work toward publishing her findings in a scholarly journal.

Cantrall has analyzed news reports and has conducted interviews with members of Augsburg’s diverse student body. “Interviews take this research further than just synthesizing other written material. URGO is more than just a term paper; it’s true research and a contribution to the body of knowledge,” Stacke said.

Cantrall asked her peers to recount their first-hand experiences in Arab nations during times of protest. “In a personal interview, a student from Yemen claimed that chanting and drumming gave people something to do in the square while they waited to be heard,” Cantrall said.

Music gave the protesters a sense of unity, a collective voice, and an outlet to express their dissent, Cantrall said. “Although non-violent, there’s a great amount of energy found in the lyrics of these protest songs,” she said. “The energy could have been used [instead] to wield guns and bombs.”

In addition to speaking with fellow students, Cantrall interviewed journalist David Peisner of SPIN magazine. He published the article “Inside Tunisia’s Hip-Hop Revolution” in August 2011. In order to write the article, Peisner visited Tunisia and spoke with the rapper El General, a musician who Cantrall featured during a post-research presentation. Peisner helped Cantrall understand why the Arab rap protest music movement became popular within multiple nations. According to Peisner, music became a reflective element of the uprisings because it expressed exactly what the protesters had been fighting for: freedom of speech.

Cantrall became interested in rap music, in part, after hearing Dessa—a renowned rapper, singer, and writer—speak at the held at Augsburg in March 2012. Dessa discussed some of the social and moral dimensions of hip-hop as a force for peace with the power unite communities in the presentation “.” The Nobel Peace Prize Forum is a learning experience that brings together Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, civic leaders, scholars, students, and other citizens with the mission of inspiring and engaging people to become full participants in peacemaking efforts around the world.

And, as Cantrall discerned through research, “Rap has served as an alternative dissenting voice to oppose the violent fighting…it is the music of struggle, attitude, and simplicity.”

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Learn about the Augsburg College , held July 25-26. On-campus research is an opportunity for Cantrall—and other Augsburg undergraduate students—to develop research, analytic and problem-solving skills that are critical in graduate school, in professional study, and in the workplace.

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Augsburg College’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) provides summer research grants for students interested in professional study. Students further classroom learning with critical thinking and thoughtful analysis through faculty-led research that complements their degree programs.

This year, students’ topics include how individuals use tattoos to reflect self identity; studies of the motion of Daphnia magna, a water flea; the influence of rap music in the Arab Spring revolutions; and the expression of gender nonconforming identities, among others.

Augsburg’s research program is designed to help students achieve their educational goals, which range from attending graduate school to publishing work in academic journals, and from developing a mentor relationship to gaining extensive knowledge in their discipline.

Most URGO students devote 40 hours per week to the projects for 10 weeks, and half-time URGO students conduct 200 hours of research between May 21 and July 27. Each student works with an Augsburg faculty mentor to complete research that culminates in a final paper and their URGO Summer Research Conference presentation.

“The students have prepared interesting and academically sophisticated 15-minute presentations in which they’ll present their research methods and findings,” said Colin Irvine, URGO summer research coordinator. “The conference is open to the public, and we encourage everyone to support the students by attending a session or, if pressed for time, just one presentation.”

URGO students also participate each spring in Zyzzogeton, the annual celebration of the creativity and scholarship of Augsburg College undergraduate students.

Some students also conduct research through the academic department in which they are majoring. Others conduct summer research through the , a 10-week original research program meant to help prepare students for graduate school.

URGO Summer Research Conference

Wednesday, July 25

Kennedy Center Room 305

9 a.m. to 4:40 p.m.

Thursday, July 26

Sverdrup Hall Room 206

9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

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Sorum did research on the bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria that affects about 80 percent of cystic fibrosis patients by the age of 18. The bacteria is difficult to treat because it forms a biofilm in the lungs that protects it against antibiotics and white blood cells. He harvested secretions from a non-cystic fibrosis lung model and applied them to the bacteria to test whether the lung secretions would inhibit the formation of the biofilm.

For Sorum, simply attending the conference and presenting his research alongside students from U.S. and Canadian universities and colleges was rewarding. “The biggest thing for me was seeing that going to a small liberal arts college, you can be competitive with large research universities. Just being able to share my results was enough for me as a scientist, but it was definitely a surprise to win.”

The AAAS 2012 poster competition was open to students actively working toward an undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral degree. Posters were judged on content, and presenters were judged on their ability to present their findings to an audience. As a winner, Alex will receive a cash award, a framed certificate, and a one-year subscription to Science. Additionally, he will be recognized in an upcoming issue of Science as well as on the AAAS website. Alex’s trip to present at AAAS 2012 was funded by Augsburg’s Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) office.

in an URGO research project series YouTube video produced by Augsburg photojournalist Stephen Geffre.

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Anthony was one of 700 applicants who were selected to present his research at the Capitol. Mathematics professor John Zobitz, who was Anthony’s research adviser, said that the council chose projects that represented good examples of undergraduate research and also highlighted government support.

Anthony’s project, which was funded through the Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) program at Augsburg, involved modeling carbon uptake of a forest in Colorado. He used wavelets (a math function) to understand the relationship between carbon uptake and environmental variables like air temperature.

While at the Capitol, Anthony and Zobitz met with Senators Franken and Klobuchar and with Congressman Ellison. “Congressman Ellison had a background in statistics so we had a really good conversation about my research,” Anthony says. Later in the day, he presented his poster to a large crowd of Washington staffers and other guests.

Zobitz was very pleased with Anthony’s presentation and with all of the people who were interested in hearing about his work. “He represented himself, Augsburg, and the research really well.”

Anthony says conducting research and presenting in Washington helped him solidify his future plans. “Before I did the work I didn’t know what I wanted to do after college. Now I know I really want to go to graduate school, and this is really preparing me for that.”

This summer, Anthony will conduct research at Virginia Tech through the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduate program. Next year he’ll begin applying to graduate programs in mathematical biology.

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The office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) provides summer research grants for students interested in graduate or professional study. The program encourages undergraduate students to conduct research because it displays an understanding of current questions in a field, the ability to collaborate with others, and the persistence necessary to meet the demands of graduate study.

Students are involved in research activities 40 hours per week for nine weeks. They also participate in weekly research roundtable discussions, submit weekly progress reports to the URGO office, and are required to present their findings at Augsburg’s year-end Zyzzogeton festival.

Wednesday, July 22, 10:30-12:00

Kennedy 303

10:30 Randy Krug ’10 (Biology): A Novel Method for Stimulating Growth in Algal Systems. [Gyberg, Chemistry]

11:00 Jessica Fanaselle ’10 (English, Religion) & Taylor Norman ’10 (English): Digitizing Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac: Recreating an Undergraduate Research Experience. [Irvine, English]

11:30 Ruthann Dohner ’11 (Biology) & Therese Miller ’10 (Biology): Wound Healing in Asthma: The Role of Major Basic Protein. [Bankers-Fulbright, Biology]

Kennedy 305

10:30 Colin Stanhill ’11 (English, Film): Anton Wilson, Thomas Pynchon and the Problem of Perspective in Postmodern Fiction. [Cowgill, English]

11:00 Eric Howe ’10 (Computer Science, Mathematics): Modeling Heat-Shrinkable Films. [Belik, Mathematics]

11:30 Jim Kleason ’11 (Computer Science, Business Administration) & Melissa Robertson ’10 (Mathematics): Activity of Parietal and Prefrontal Neurons during Spatial Categorization. [Crowe, Biology]

Oren Gateway Center 100

10:30 Jessica Hilk ’11 (Health & Physical Education): Plyometrics: A study of their effects on the Augsburg Volleyball Team. [Clapp, Health & Phy. Ed]

11:00 Ruth Senum ’10 (Elementary Education): Statistical Literacy within the K-8 Curriculum. [Stevens, Education]

11:30 Nick Blixt ’10 (Biology) & Breann Woelfel ’10 (Biology): Monitoring Stream Health Using DNA Barcodes of Environmentally Sensitive Aquatic Insects: A Study of Rice Creek. [Butkowski, Biology]

Oren Gateway Center 201

10:30 Adam Williams ’09 (Psychology): The Effects of Vocabulary on Attractiveness. [Matz, Psychology]

11:00 Dustin Dorsey ’10 (Biology) & Arianna Lofrano ’11 (Biology): Microsatellite Analysis of Host-Parasite Interactions: The Case of Abutilon theophrasti and Cuscuta pentagona. [Botanga & Capman, Biology]

11: 30 Allison Nelson ’11 (Chemistry): Adventures in Green Chemistry: A Green Pathway to Benzoic Acids. [Olmsted, Chemistry]

1:00-2:30 Concurrent Afternoon Presentations

Kennedy 303

1:00 Aybike Bakan ’11 (Biology) & Jens Olsen ’10 (Biology): Effects of Major Basic Protein on Calu-3 Epithelial Monolayers: Implications for Asthma. [Bankers-Fulbright, Biology]

1:30 Anna Boyle ’10 (Political Science): Analyzing Two Minnesota Governors and the Use of Executive Power in Policymaking; Wendell Anderson in 1971 and Tim Pawlenty in 2009. [Hesser, Sociology]

2:00 Juventino Meza-Rodriguez ’11 (Peace & Justice Studies, Sociology): Augsburg College: Its Immigrant Sensibility, Jane Addams, & Civic Engagement– a History, the Present, our Future. [Pribbenow]

Kennedy 305

1:00 Sam Smith ’11 (International Relations): Synthetic Worlds, Synthetic Selves? Identity Construction in World of Warcraft. [Vela-McConnell, Sociology]

1:30 Emily Merhar ’09 (Studio Art): Contemporary Ceramic Dishware with Terra Sigillata: Influenced by Cedar Avenue. [Tom, Art]

2:00 John Singleton ’10 (Mathematics, Physics) & Ben Hoffman ’10 (Mathematics, Physics): Numerical Optimization of Organic Solar Cell Efficiencies. [Belik, Mathematics]

Oren Gateway Center 100

1:00 Nick Hudson ’12 (Physics): Image Processing and the Tools of Tomorrow. [Stottrup, Physics]

1:30 Andy Myers ’10 (Music Performance): Stories: Excerpts from the Lives of Marv Dahlgren and Elliot Fine. [Stacke, Music]

2:00 Shane Wyborny ’10 (Biology): Algae Cultivation for Biodiesel Production Using Solar Power & Artificial Light. [Feng, Chemistry]

Thursday, July 23, 11:00-12:00

Oren Gateway Center 201

11:00 MacKenzie Shiell ’10 (Psychology): The Relation Between Received Prosocial Behavior and Anxious-Depressed and Withdrawn-Depressed Affect in Kindergarteners. [Ralston, Psychology]

11:30 Betsy Norell ’10 (Music Therapy): The Effects of Music on Immune System Indicators. [Taylor, Music Therapy]

The post URGO Summer Research Oral Presentations appeared first on News and Media.

URGO—the office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity—provides summer research grants for students interested in graduate or professional study. The program encourages undergraduate students to conduct research by requiring an understanding of current questions in a field, the ability to collaborate with others, and the persistence necessary to meet the demands of graduate study.

Students are involved in research activities 40 hours per week for nine weeks. They also participate in weekly research roundtable discussions, submit weekly progress reports to the URGO office, and are required to present their findings at Augsburg’s year-end Zyzzogeton festival. The 2009 URGO summer research abstracts are listed below.

Aybike Bakan with Jennifer Bankers-Fulbright (Dr. B.)

Biology

Dr. B has previously demonstrated that toxins from a human white blood cell, the eosinophil, stimulates the release of a major pro-inflammatory chemical, interleukin-6, from human lung surface (epithelial) cells. However, the human lung epithelial cells used in the previous experiments were from a tumor cell line. Although tumor cells are useful for preliminary testing, they may not accurately reflect what happens in a normal, non-tumor cell or tissue. Thus, the research question being asked by this project is: When normal human lung epithelial cells are treated with eosinophil toxins, is IL-6 specifically released?

Nick Blixt with Ralph Butkowski

Biology

The primary goal of this project is to improve and optimize the methods that we use to analyze aquatic insects’ DNA. Previous URGO work demonstrated the ability to analyze aquatic insects’ DNA for species identification using a recently-introduced process called “DNA barcoding.” While barcoding worked well for the caddisfly taxa, it was marginally successful for other insect families. This indicates a need to optimize the barcoding process. This project will focus on several key steps in the barcoding process, especially in DNA isolation and the PCR amplification of the isolated DNA.

Anna Boyle with Garry Hesser

Political Science

The research will focus on one of, or a combination of, the following topics: (1) a general interpretation of the legislative history project for the purpose of informing and orienting my peers who are interested in public policy in Minnesota; (2) a focused historical analysis of a particular policy issue that promises to be increasingly significant in the near future, such as public transportation, health care, or anti-poverty strategies; (3) A political analysis of how and whether the critical policy and legislative process issues of the 1970’s overlap with/are related to the critical policy issues and political processes of today.

RuthAnn Dohner with Jennifer Bankers-Fulbright

Biology

Asthmatics frequently have more (or more severe) “colds” than non-asthmatics, yet the reason for this is not clear. One hypothesis suggests that the inflammatory cells found in asthma patients’ lungs cause damage to the epithelium (lining) of the lung, making it easier for cold viruses to gain a foothold. A second, non-exclusionary hypothesis states that cold viruses infect patients with and without asthma with the same frequency, but that the epithelial damage caused by the cold virus in asthmatics is longer lasting than in non-asthmatics. Epithelial repair inhibition caused by inflammatory cells and/or their secreted mediators present in asthmatics’ lungs likely causes such phenomena. This research is designed to test the second hypothesis. When normal human lung epithelial cells are damaged (as by a cold virus), do proteins secreted by asthma-related inflammatory cells slow the healing process?

Dustin Dorsey with Chris Botanga

Biology

Professor Bill Capman (Augsburg College) recently observed that two different populations of Abutilon theophrasti (Velvetleaf) show two very distinct classes of interactions with Cuscuta pentagona (Field Dodder, a parasitic plant). One class is highly resistant to the parasite (resistant interaction) while the other class is highly susceptible (susceptible interaction). We hypothesize that these interactions are under genetic control, and we hope to investigate this by using different DNA fingerprinting approaches in an effort to identify molecular markers that are associated with host resistance or susceptibility phenotypes.

Katie Edelen by Dave Hanson

Chemistry

We will be exploring the degradation scheme or oxidative mechanism of isoprene and its role in ozone formation.

Jessica Fanaselle with Colin Irvine

English

I will investigate the digitization of research materials generally in order to understand why and how this process is done. Along with Dr. Irvine, and the Academic Liaison for Computing in the Humanities Division and Fine Arts Division, Scott Krenz, I will create three versions of Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac with annotations linking to relevant secondary sources and the Leopold Papers (these will be decided and sorted primarily by Colin Irvine and another student researcher, Taylor Norman). The goal of this project is to discover which method is most conducive to undergraduate research and exploration.

Jessica Hilk with Anthony Clapp

Health and Physical Education

Will lower leg plyometric exercises increase vertical jumping ability in Division III collegiate volleyball players?

Benjamin Hoffman with Pavel Belik

Mathematics and Physics

Organic photovoltaic (solar) cells (as opposed to inorganic cells, such as those composed of crystalline silicon) have become an important research area due to their potential low manufacturing cost, and their flexibility and ease of manipulation. They currently suffer from low power conversion efficiency, i.e. the output of electric energy is still relatively small when compared to the input solar energy. We propose to study, implement, and perhaps extend the methods currently available in literature on the subject of optimizing this conversion efficiency from a mathematical modeling and computer simulation point of view. In particular, we intend to study, reproduce, and hopefully extend the results from a recent (2008) paper by University of Michigan researchers, “Photocurrent Generation in Nanostructured Organic Solar Cells,” in which several structurally different morphologies of the materials in question are studied using numerical simulations and compared based on their solar-to-electric conversion efficiencies.

Eric Howe with Pavel Belik

Computer Science and Math

In this research we propose to extend Dr. Belik’s work in the area of modeling the behavior of heat-shrinkable thin films after they have undergone a heat treatment. The student researcher(s) will work off a recently published paper by the mentor. On the most basic level, there will be the analysis and improvement of the numerical methods and optimization of their implementation in order to allow for larger-scale computations. Next, efforts will be made in extending the model from isotropic, homogenous materials (those that exhibit identical behavior in all material directions) to anisotropic ones, some of which have been used by 3M researchers (who originally motivated this research). Finally, we’ll try extending the model to films that are composed of several layers of different materials. In all of these directions, we would like to secure the collaboration of 3M in order to validate the modeling results not only qualitatively (which has already been done), but also quantitatively.

Nick Hudson with Ben Stottrup

Physics

Two research questions will be investigated: (1) how can worm micelles be formed using similar micelle construction methods?; (2) After I have found a technique for correctly forming worm micelles, I will move on to how this micelle changes and reacts when two changes are introduced. The first of these changes is to add and increase the cholesterol within the lipid structure. The second change is to increase and decrease the pressure on the worm micelle.

James Kleason with David Crowe

Biology and Computer Science

How does the electrical activity of cells in the brain encode spatial relationships? We will focus on the activity of cells in the posterior parietal cortex.

Randall Krug with Arlin Gyberg

Biology and Chemistry

How can various stressors increase algae oil content? This is of important interest for biodiesel production via algae oil. This research will expand on previous studies, in which nutrient variations and growth inhibitors were found to be successful oil biosynthesis triggers. Successful studies will be confirmed and other potential stressors will be investigated. At this point, wild MN algae have been used and again will be primarily employed for this study. Other strains may be studied, if time permits.

Arianna Lofrano with William Capman

Biology

We will investigate the genetic basis of an apparent case of resistance to parasitic plants (dodder, Cuscuta pentagona) observed in certain individuals of the common agricultural weed (velvetleaf, Abutilon theophrasti). First, we wish to determine whether previously observed resistance to dodder exhibited by some individuals of velvetleaf is inheritable. Second, if initial studies indicate inheritable resistance, we wish to determine the genetic nature of the trait. Third, we wish to begin a search for genetic markers that correlate with resistance to dodder in velvetleaf plants.

Emily Merhar with robert tom

Studio Art

We will explore different terra sigillata colorants on three different clay bodies through multiple cultural dishwater and cutleries. This process will begin with the experimenting of terra sigillata colorants. Terra sigillata can be used to mask the surface of the pot with an inert layer, which effectively separates the pot from the glaze. Terra sigillata can also be used to introduce a reactive layer, which in conjunction with the glaze gives a range of colored textural, often decorative, effects that cannot be achieved by other means. By using three earthen clay bodies, this project will explore how the clay can affect these different ranges of colored textural and decorative effects can vary. The content of the ceramic pieces will be based on three different cultural environments around Augsburg College and Minneapolis: Somali, Hmong, and Hispanic. On site research will be conducted through visiting local stores, restaurants, and volunteer opportunities. Developing cultural competence will help in creating dishware that reflects culturally significant symbols, imagery, colors, shapes, and themes.

Juventino Meza Rodriguez with Paul C. Pribbenow

Sociology and Peace Studies

The project, tentatively entitled “Augsburg College Maps and Papers” will address the historical and contemporary relationship between Augsburg College and the immigrant communities that surround the college campus. The central thesis of the project is that more intentionality about who our neighbors are will provide a foundation for assessing how well we have served their needs in the past and for setting priorities for future engagement.

Therese Miller with Jennifer Bankers-Fulbright

Biology

Asthmatics frequently have more (or more severe) “colds” than non-asthmatics, yet the reason for this is not clear. One hypothesis suggests that the inflammatory cells found in asthma patients’ lungs cause damage to the epithelium (lining) of the lung, making it easier for cold viruses to gain a foothold. A second, non-exclusionary hypothesis states that cold viruses infect patients with and without asthma with the same frequency, but that the epithelial damage caused by the cold virus in asthmatics is longer lasting than in non-asthmatics. Epithelial repair inhibition caused by inflammatory cells and/or their secreted mediators present in asthmatics’ lungs likely causes such phenomena. This research is designed to test the second hypothesis. When normal human lung epithelial cells are damaged (as by a cold virus), do proteins secreted by asthma-related inflammatory cells slow the healing process?

Andrew Myers with Bob Stacke

Music

Marv Dahlgren and Elliot Fine are two Minnesotan percussion legends whose lives, careers, teachings, and experiences have and will continue to benefit the world of percussion. This research seeks to reveal their stories, history, and the teachings of Marv and Elliot in order to preserve their vast knowledge and anecdotes that the percussion world will benefit from.

Allison Nelson with Sandra Olmsted

Chemistry

Is the oxidation procedure from the Summer 2008 URGO “universal?” Particularly, what effect do ring-activating groups have on the rate and yield of the reaction compared to the “standard” toluene? Also, what is the nature of the copper ion species used in the oxidation protocol explored last summer and this spring? Specifically, which ions of Cu+, Cu2+, and Cu3+ is/are present? These are a few of the many questions raised throughout research conducted last summer through URGO. McNair student Adam Horkey is also collaborating.

Besty Norell with Dale Taylor

Music Therapy

Is there a significant difference between the changes in the SIgA (salivary immunoglobulin A) present in a person’s saliva after a music therapy session versus the amount of change in SIgA present in a person’s saliva after a music therapy session that does not involve music? We hypothesize that there is no difference.

Taylor Norman with Colin Irvine

English

The main objective of this project will be to create four similar, but essentially different, experiences of Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac (ASCA) and the works and writing that preceded its publication. I will be responsible for two of these experiences—specifically creating a hypertext version of (ASCA) and a version organized around the “Contents” page of the book using the 3,000+ pages of primary source documents courtesy of the Aldo Leopold Foundation.

Katie Pendo with Dave Hanson

Biology and Chemistry

We propose to observe, over time, the volatile organic compounds that are consumed and produced by green algae used by SarTech for the purpose of biodiesel. A variety of exposure conditions will be explored and mass increase/decrease of the algae cultures will be quantified.

Melissa Robertson with David Crowe

Biology and Computer Science

We will investigate how the electrical activity of cells in the brain encodes spatial relationships. We will focus on the activity of cells in the posterior parietal cortex.

Natalie Sasseville with Jeremy Myers

Theology and Psychology

We would like to focus our research on the question: “How might Christian Theology inform the relationship between religiosity and anxiety/depression in adolescents and young adults?” Specifically, we are proposing a qualitative research project in practical theology—a branch of Christian theology that both investigates and applies knowledge found in theological investigation of socio-cultural issues and practices. In his book, The Teaching Ministry of Congregations, Richard Osmer, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, defines practical theology as “that branch of Christian theology that seeks to construct action-guiding theories of Christian praxis in particular social contexts.” Our project will thus investigate the relationships between religiosity and anxiety/depression in adolescents and young adults in the context of Post-Modern America. Our theological investigation will involve describing and explaining psychological research findings in order to better understand, develop, and apply new practices in the Christian ministry.

Ruth Senum with Linda Stevens

Education

How does a teacher knowing student development and misconceptions of graph understanding contribute to conducting effective classroom discussions with students about graphs?

Mackenzie Shiell with Peter Ralston

Psychology

Professor Nicki Crick at the University of Minnesota is conducting a longitudinal research project investigating peer aggression and related behavioral and psychological adjustment in 4th grade children around the Minneapolis area. The research team will interview the participants and obtain questionnaires from teachers and parents to understand (among other things) depressed affect among children. Since I am interested in understanding how the parent-child relationship affects childhood depression, I propose four hypotheses that are separate from main research goals: (1) parents who score high on verbal hostility toward their child and use non-reasoning punishment will have children who score higher on depression; (2) parents who score high on parent-child connection and child regulation behaviors will have children who score low on depression; (3) parents who score low child-regulatory behaviors and high on intrusiveness will have children who score high on depression; (4) parents who score high on demanding child conformity and high on parental dignity/achievement will have children who score high on depression. Moreover, based on previous research, we expect gender differences to emerge such that daughters will be more influenced than sons.

John Singleton with Pavel Belik

Mathematics and Physics

Organic photovoltaic (solar) cells (as opposed to inorganic ones such as those based on crystalline silicon) have become an important research area due to their potential low manufacturing cost, flexibility, and ease of manipulation. They currently suffer from low power conversion efficiency, i.e., the output of electric energy is still relatively small when compared to the input solar energy. We propose to study, implement, and perhaps extend the methods currently available in literature on the subject of optimizing this conversion efficiency from a mathematical modeling and computer simulation point of view. In particular, we would like to extend a current 1-dimensional simulation to two dimensions in order to optimize the geometry of a particular interface between two layers of the organic solar cell. This research is motivated by the experimentalists in the area of chemical engineering, who are interested in knowing how to best design such cells.

Sam Smith with James Vela-McConnell

Sociology

This research will ask a variety of questions about the construction of identity in the online role-playing game World of Warcraft (WoW) in order to compare and contrast real-life models of identity construction and self-perception with the models observed in a virtual setting. We will investigate which similarities and differences with real-life presentation of self are observed in the presentation of users’ virtual self. Also, what social factors of WoW (and more generally, the anonymity afforded by online communication) contribute to these perceived similarities or differences? In answering these questions, we hope to build a more detailed idea of what motivates and enthralls WoW players to develop such fully realized online personalities, eventually forming a general response that addresses these questions.

Colin Stanhill with Bob Cowgill

English and Film

What role has the genre of conspiracy fiction played in the development of postmodern literature? The main focus of this research will be on the novels Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed, Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, and Illuminatus! by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. Framing for these novels will be provided by the prototypical works Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius by Jorge Luis Borges and Ubik by Philip K. Dick as well as the later novels Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco and Libra by Don DeLillo.

Adam Williams with David Matz

Psychology

Evolutionary psychologists claim that because men and women have faced different adaptive challenges in the areas of mate selection and reproduction, each has developed unique mate preferences (Buss, 2003). As is the case with other animal species, human beings attempt to showcase their positive attributes in order to attract a mate. Evolutionary psychologists have demonstrated that such displays actually do help to attract potential mates (Anderson, 1994). In the English language, there are some words that are used more frequently (high-frequency words) than others (low frequency words). Lower-frequency words are generally known by people with higher intelligence and could, therefore, be used as a display of intelligence (Miller, 2000). If the greater use of low-frequency words is indicative of intelligence and potential success, then potential mates should prefer those using more low-frequency words. My hypothesis is that someone using lower-frequency words will be considered more attractive than someone who uses higher-frequency words.

Breann Woelfel with Ralph Butkowski

Biology

Stoneflies are considered to be the most sensitive indicators of environmental disturbance among aquatic insects. During the summer of 2008, URGO participants identified stoneflies in Rice Creek in Anoka County, Minnesota. This observation is especially important because stoneflies had not previously been documented in Rice Creek, and their presence suggests water quality in the creek may have improved, or that stoneflies were missed in past surveys. This project will survey reaches of Rice Creek and two tributaries for stoneflies and other indicator insects including caddisflies and mayflies. We propose to collect and document insect diversity from Rice Creek in stretches that have undergone restoration in 2005, and from two main tributaries, Coldwater Creek and Hardwood Creek. We will determine oxygen levels in the collection areas as a chemical indicator of water quality. Insect from the taxa of indicator species, stoneflies, mayflies, and caddisflies, will be characterized using a newly established method of species identification, called DNA barcoding. Barcoding from Minnesotan streams has not been previously reported, and our results will contribute to new information on the insect database, in addition to generating water quality information.

Shane Wyborny with Vivian Feng and Arlin Gyberg

Biology and Chemistry

How light intensity, color, and distance (which affect the rate of algae growth) are of significant concern for the eventual production of algae as an oil source for biodiesel production. This research will expand upon some initial ideas to determine the optimal conditions for rapid algae growth with respect to intensity, color, and distance. Studies will continue with wild algae although it time permits other strains will be investigated.

The post 2009 URGO Summer Research Abstracts appeared first on News and Media.

URGO — the office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity — provides summer research grants for students interested in graduate or professional study. The program encourages undergraduate students to conduct research by requiring an understanding of current questions in a field, the ability to collaborate with others, and the persistence necessary to meet the demands of graduate study.

Students are involved in research activities 40 hours per week for nine weeks. They also participate in weekly research roundtable discussions, submit weekly progress reports to the URGO office, and are required to present their findings at Augsburg’s year-end Zyzzogeton festival.

Juniors Donnie McCarthy and Jamie Simmons will be playing with dragonfly larvae and poking around in their DNA. With biology professor Ralph Butkowski, the students will collect organisms, extract their DNA, isolate a particular gene, make copies of the gene using PCR, and then find the nucleotide sequence using a gene sequence analyzer machine. The goal of their research is to contribute to the international Barcode of Life Initiative (BOLI).

Stephanie Storlie, a senior majoring in psychology and youth and family ministry is conducting research at the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development with professor Nicki Crick. Storlie will study relational aggression — the behavior featured in popular media sources like Rosalind Wiseman’s book “Queen Bees and Wannabes” and the film “Mean Girls.” Specifically, Storlie be developing a coding system for media to compare sources with the scientific research in this area.

Storlie writes, “This area of research is fairly new, and it will be very exciting to see how the many popular media sources compare to this new research that has been conducted.” She also noted that the Institute of Child Development will open a National Institute on Relation Aggression at the University’s St. Paul campus.

Junior chemistry major Shelly Tippelt is working at Anoka-based SarTec searching for ways to make algae a more economical and efficient source for biodiesel. Tippelt wrote, “I want to learn more about the research process and U.S. fuel problems and solutions.”

And Jason Potts will be helping athletes improve their 40-yard dash. The fifth-year HPE major is testing football players to see if decline (downhill) running has any effect on sprinting speed. Potts is hoping to learn if this type of running is better than running uphill or with resistance and if it might provide a better way to train in the offseason.

The 2008 researchers and their faculty mentors are:

Ashley Gruhlke — Su Doree

Daniel Volz — Sandra Olmsted

Donald McCarthy — Ralph Butkowski

Erick Turcios-Carerra — Brian Corner

Evelyn Tsen — Janet Fried

Jamie Simmons — Ralph Butkowski

Jason Potts — Anthony Clapp

Kellen Chamblee — Ronald Fedie

Matthew Harris — Brian Corner

Meghan Asleson — Yoji Shimizu (U of M)

Michelle Tippelt — Arlin Gyberg

Nathan White — robert tom

Nathaniel Johnson — Benjamin Stottrup

Robert Johnson — Arlin Gyberg

Sergio Romero-Garcia — Benjamin Stottrup

Stephanie Storlie — Nicki Crick

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