2009 MOM Journal
The Meeting of Minds Journal of Undergraduate Research is specifically designed to offer undergraduate students the opportunity to experience the manuscript submission and review process.
Students who participate in the Meeting of Minds conference are invited to submit a written version of their presentation to the Journal Review Board for publication in the volume which corresponds to the presentation year. The initial volume published in 1998 incorporated submitted papers from the inception of the conference through the past year (i.e., 1993-1998).
This journal gathers selected works presented at the 17th annual Meeting of Minds conference, which took place on May 15, 2009 on the campus of the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
This lively undergraduate forum showcased the research projects of students from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, the University of Michigan-Flint, and Oakland University. The projects captured here — an impressive array representing a wide range of disciplines and methods and topics — are the products of close collaboration between the students and their dedicated faculty mentors. Some projects were traditional academic ones, and some were creative presentations that are hard to capture in the pages of a journal but enriched the live conference with performance and the use of multi-media.
Over 400 participants took part in the conference as both presenters and audience members. Presentations were grouped into themed sessions combining multiple disciplinary perspectives on related topics. This was an opportunity for students to see how different disciplines define and explore problems in uniquely productive ways, and to generate some speculation and communication across disciplinary boundaries. We know this was gratifying for students, because the post-presentation comments were thoughtful and provocative, and because so many of the presenters went on to refine their project reports for publication.
Like the Meeting of Minds conference, this journal celebrates student research—from the inception of a project to the articulation of the findings for a larger audience, applying fresh rhetorical conventions and new insights gained in the aftermath of the conference. Research and creative projects carried out under the direction of a faculty member arguably represent the ideal culmination of an undergraduate education. The student not only synthesizes and displays the knowledge and skills gained over years of work in an academic field, but begins to think with her own mind and speak in her own voice, participating in the creation of new knowledge and new modes of expression. These projects mark the intellectual transition to the world of graduate study and the professions for which most of our students are bound. We thus warmly thank the faculty mentors on each campus for shepherding this process as well as the Meeting of Minds Coordinators and support staff at the participating campuses. Special thanks are due to my colleagues, Kathleen Moore and Laura Schovan at Oakland University, John Callewaert and Andre Louis at UM-Flint, as well as to Sue Gedert, Mary Beth Michell, and Sharie Beard at UM-Dearborn, who managed the conference registration process, planning, and logistics. Sue Gedert was also responsible for the editorial and technical production of the journal.
We invite you to sample the work presented in the following pages. These papers are a window into an exciting undergraduate encounter with the rewards and demands of academic research and with the fruits of intellectual and creative inquiry. We hope you enjoy the results of our students’ efforts.
– Jonathan Smith, Associate Dean
College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters, UM-Dearborn
Rubens and The Adoration (PDF)
Wihad Al-Tawil
Faculty Sponsor: Shelley Perlove
Department of Literature, Philosophy, and the Arts, University of Michigan-Dearborn
A Mélange of Morals and Movements: The Anticlerical Paul Gauguin (PDF)
Natalie Mandziuk
Faculty Sponsor: Tamara Machmut-Jhashi
Department of Art and Art History, Oakland University
This Photograph is My Proof: Duane Michals and the Art of Deception (PDF)
Monica Koby
Faculty Sponsor: Claude Baillargeon
Department of Art and Art History, Oakland University
Krzysztof Wodiczko’s Projection at the Hirshhorn (PDF)
Jessica Bond
Faculty Sponsor: Claude Baillargeon
Department of Art and Art History, Oakland University
Robert Smithson: Unearthing the Modern Museum (PDF)
Suzanne G. Iannucci
Faculty Sponsor: Tamara Machmut-Jhashi
Department of Art and Art History, Oakland University
The Power of Observation: Naturalist Remnants in Émile Zola’s Photographic Portraits (PDF)
Natalie Mandziuk
Faculty Sponsor: Claude Baillargeon
Department of Art and Art History, Oakland University
Gendered Masquerade: The Genderless Other in Claude Cahun’s Untitled c.1920 (PDF)
Kaitlyn McCaulley
Faculty Sponsor: Claude Baillargeon
Department of Art and Art History, Oakland University
Behavioral and Health Sciences and Human Resource Development Papers
Identifying potential barriers to obtain preventive screenings for women with disabilities in Genesee County, Michigan (PDF)
Linda Jackson
Faculty Co-Author and Sponsor: Rie Suzuki
Department of Health Sciences and Administration, University of Michigan-Flint
Sorting Out the Bad Apples: Public Schools and the Code of the Street on Season 4 ofThe Wire (PDF)
Shavon, Lynn and Bryan – Students
Faculty Sponsor: Paul Draus
Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Michigan-Dearborn
Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, Ryan Correctional Facility
Predictors of Depression within the Caregivers of Dementia Patients (PDF)
Melissa G. Sneed
Faculty Co-Authors and Sponsors: Nancy H. Wrobel and Robert W. Hymes
Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Michigan-Dearborn
Workplace Bullying: An Economic Cancer in the American Workplace (PDF)
Bradley Atkins
Faculty Sponsor: Judy Jacobs
Department of Human Resource Development, Oakland University
Get the Fluoride Out: An Understated Toxic Threat (PDF)
Ben Modzgvreschvili
Faculty Sponsor: Brian McKenna
Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Michigan-Dearborn
Lifestyles of the Poor and Forgotten: Delray, Detroit’s Ghost Town (PDF)
Sarah Hoerl and Chelsea Liddy
Faculty Sponsor: James Gruber
Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Michigan-Dearborn
Reviewing Three Decades Worth of Statistical Advancements in Industrial-Organizational Psychological Research (PDF)
Nicholas Wrobel
Faculty Sponsor: Kanako Taku
Department of Psychology, Oakland University
Post High School Career Aspirations versus Current Employment and Pursuit of Related Education: A Gender Comparison (PDF)
Thomas Duda
Faculty Sponsor: Darryl Douglas
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan-Flint
Posttraumatic Growth and Perceived Directness of a Traumatic Event in American and Japanese University Students (PDF)
Melanie S. Phillips
Faculty Co-Author and Sponsor: Kanako Taku
Department of Psychology, Oakland University
Examining Level of Optimism with Nation Differences and Posttraumatic Growth (PDF)
Katherine A. Lewitzke
Faculty Co-Author and Sponsor: Kanako Taku
Department of Psychology, Oakland University
Social Sciences and Communication Papers
Clear Channel Normalization: The Political Economy of Contemporary Radio (PDF)
Kaitlin Jones
Faculty Sponsor: Kellie D. Hay
Department of Communication and Journalism, Oakland University
Political Thought in Colonial America (PDF)
Joshua Arsenault
Faculty Sponsor: Michael Rosano
Department of Social Sciences, University of Michigan-Dearborn
Pilgrimage, Penitence and Revolution: The Dichotomy of Roman Catholicism in the United Farm Workers Movement in the 1960s (PDF)
Amy H. Skarb
Faculty Sponsor: Daniel J. Clark
Department of History, Oakland University
Berkeley’s Attack of Locke’s Representationalism (PDF)
Benjamin Strickland
Faculty Sponsor: L. Nathan Oaklander
Department of Philosophy, University of Michigan-Flint
On Personal Identity: Why You’re Not Who You Think You Are (PDF)
Drew Matzke
Faculty Sponsor: Kathleen Wider
Department of Literature, Philosophy, and the Arts, University of Michigan-Dearborn
Modern Languages and Literatures Papers
“Away with Him”: The Masculine Olivia in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (PDF)
Stephanie Mantey
Faculty Sponsor: Maureen Thum
Department of English, University of Michigan-Flint
“Then you get on the plane and head West, you just go West, that is how everybody has done it …”: The Travel Topos in Post-Unification German Literature (PDF)
Regina Weiss
Faculty Sponsor: Barbara Mabee
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Oakland University
Berlin as the Locus of Transition and Transformation in Post-Unification German Literature (PDF)
Marianne Bolz
Faculty Sponsor: Barbara Mabee
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Oakland University
One Invisible Hand (PDF)
Christopher Bright
Faculty Sponsor: Seigo Nakao
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Oakland University
Inherent Meaning from Homer, to Benoît, to Chaucer (PDF)
Alexandra Anastasopoulos
Faculty Sponsor: Gabriella Eschrich
Department of Language, Culture, and Communication, University of Michigan-Dearborn
Cold Suns by Christian Ganachaud: An Introduction and Translation (PDF)
Colleen Britton
Faculty Sponsor: Dikka Berven
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Oakland University
Capturing Reality Trough Art: Claude’s Failure as an Impressionist Artist (PDF)
Jelena Jovic
Faculty Sponsor: Maureen Thum
Department of English, University of Michigan-Flint
L’Assommoir: The Symbolism of Emile Zola (PDF)
Beth Chapman
Faculty Sponsor: Gabriella Eschrich
Department of Language, Culture, and Communication, University of Michigan-Dearborn
Predetermined by Nature: Darwinian Elements in Gerhart Hauptmann’s Vor Sonnenaufgang (PDF)
Andrew Stonehouse
Faculty Sponsor: Christopher Clason
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Oakland University
The Influence and Control of the Catholic Church (PDF)
Leigh Hilbert
Faculty Sponsor: Aldona Pobutsky
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Oakland University
Gender Roles and Love in Latin America (PDF)
Vita Pace
Faculty Sponsor: Aldona Pobutsky
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Oakland University
Becoming Woman: Femininity Transferred (PDF)
Colleen Britton
Faculty Sponsor: Jennifer Law-Sullivan
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Oakland University
Computer Science, Engineering and Physics Papers
Effect of Mesh Size on CFD Analysis of Erosion in Elbow Geometry (PDF)
Preshit Tambey and Michael Lengyel, Jr.
Faculty Co-Author and Sponsor: Quamrul H. Mazumder
Department of Computer Science, Engineering and Physics, University of Michigan-Flint
CFD Comparison of Erosive Wear in Elbows Due to Particulate Gas-solid Flow (PDF)
Chen Guang Li
Faculty Co-Author and Sponsor: Quamrul H. Mazumder
Department of Computer Science, Engineering and Physics, University of Michigan-Flint
How Cyber-anthropology Relates to MMORPGs and Metaverses (PDF)
Tim Elliot
Faculty Sponsor: Michael Farmer
Department of Computer Science, Engineering and Physics, University of Michigan-Flint
Copyright:
- Copyright for the materials within these pages belongs to these institutions jointly.
- Questions regarding the copyright should be addressed to the campus representatives listed below.
- Copyright 2009, University of Michigan Board of Regents and Oakland University Board of Trustees
| University of Michigan Board of Regents | Oakland University Board of Trustees |
|---|---|
| Julia Donovan Darlow Laurence B. Deitch Denise Ilitch Olivia P. Maynard Andrea Fischer Newman Andrew C. Richner S. Martin Taylor Katherine E. White Mary Sue Coleman (ex officio) | Henry Baskin
|
The University of Michigan-Dearborn Executive Officers
Daniel Little, Chancellor
Catherine Davy, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Edward Bagale, Vice Chancellor for Government Affairs
Thomas Baird, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement
Robert Behrens, Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs
Stanley E. Henderson, Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Student Life
The University of Michigan-Flint Executive Officers
Ruth Person, Chancellor
Vahid Lotfi, Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Christine Waters, Interim Associate Provost and Dean of Graduate Programs
David Barthelmes, Vice Chancellor for Administration
Mary Jo Sekelsky, Vice Chancellor for Student Services and Enrollment Management
Oakland University Executive Officers
Gary D. Russi, President
Virinder K. Moudgil, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
John W. Beaghan, Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer to the Board of Trustees
Rochelle A. Black, Vice President for Government Relations
Susan Davies Goepp, Vice President for University Relations and Executive Director, Oaklan University Foundation
Mary L. Otto, Vice President for Outreach
Mary Beth Snyder, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
Victor A. Zambardi, Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel and Secretary to the Board of Trustees
Meeting of Minds Campus Representatives
| UM-Dearborn | UM-Flint | Oakland University |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Smith Susan Gedert 313-593-5490 | John Callewaert Andre Louis 810-762-3383 | Robert Stewart Laura Schovan 248-370-2140 |
The University of Michigan and Oakland University, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employers, comply with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action, including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The universities are committed to a policy of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, height, weight or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions. Inquiries or complaints may be addressed to the University of Michigan Senior Director for Institutional Equity and Title IX/Section 504/ADA Coordinator, Office for Institutional Equity, 2072 Administrative Services Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1432, 734-763-0235, TTY 734-647-1388 or Oakland University’s Director of Diversity and Compliance, 203 Wilson Hall, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan 48309-4401, 248-370-3496.