2018 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 26th annual Meeting of Minds conference, which took place on May 11, 2018 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 225 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, Robert Stewart and Beth Dawson at Oakland University, Andre Louis at UM-Flint, as well as to Gabriella Scarlatta, Mike Lachance, and Caleb Siefert at UM-Dearborn, who managed the conference registration process, planning, and logistics.
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.
– Susan Gedert, Meeting of Minds Coordinator
College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters, UM-Dearborn
Language, Culture, and Communication Papers
“As deep as it gets:” Afrofuturism in Clipping.’s “The Deep” (PDF)
Student Author: Kaley Barnhill
Faculty Sponsor: Rebekah Farrugia
Affiliation: Department of Communication and Journalism; Oakland University
Veronica Franco: The feminist voice of a Courtesan (PDF)
Student Author: Elissa Gonzalez
Faculty Sponsor: Gabriella Scarlatta
Affiliation: Department of Language, Culture, and Communication; University of Michigan-Dearborn
Christine de Pizan (PDF)
Student Author: Melissa M. Levesque
Faculty Sponsor: Gabriella Scarlatta
Affiliation: Department of Language, Culture, and Communication; University of Michigan-Dearborn
Writing Anxiety among Peer Tutors and Tutees: Causes, Effects, and Possible Solutions (PDF)
Student Author: Gabriella M. Oudsema
Faculty Sponsor: Margaret Willard-Traub
Affiliation: Department of Language, Culture, and Communication; University of Michigan-Dearborn
El Panamericanismo de la persecución: Examining the Struggles of Oppressed Populations and Minorities in Latin America and the Caribbean Through the Lens of Literature Since the 19th Century (PDF)
Student Author: Joseph Pham
Faculty Sponsor: Cecilia Saenz-Roby
Affiliation: Department of Modern Languages and Literatures; Oakland University
Literature, Philosophy, and the Arts Papers
The Devolution of Human Evolution: How Modern Technology Selectively Damages the Human Being (PDF)
Student Author: Heidi (Youmna) Gabr
Faculty Sponsor: David Skrbina
Affiliation: Department of Literature, Philosophy, and the Arts; University of Michigan-Dearborn
Kindness as a Crowning Moral Virtue (PDF)
Student Author: Hanan A. Nasser
Faculty Sponsor: Elias Baumgarten
Affiliation: Department of Literature, Philosophy, and the Arts; University of Michigan-Dearborn
Decadent Dreamscape: A Daring Illustration to A Midsummer Night's Dream (PDF)
Student Author: Emily Podwoiski
Faculty Sponsor: Caitlin Finlayson
Affiliation: Department of Literature, Philosophy, and the Arts; University of Michigan-Dearborn
Applying Two Electric Fields to a Neuron Below Threshold Generates Repeated Action Potentials (PDF)
Student Author: Katlynn J. Emaus
Faculty Sponsor: Bradley J. Roth
Affiliation: Department of Physics; Oakland University
Blood Vessel Function is Impacted by Sex Hormones and the Presence of Perivascular Adipose Tissue (PDF)
Student Author: Alana Koepf
Faculty Co-author: Amy Banes-Berceli
Faculty Sponsor: Amy Banes-Berceli
Affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences; Oakland University
Freshwater Macroinvertebrate Biodiversity and Water Column Productivity Responses to Disturbance (PDF)
Student Author: Morgan Morin
Faculty Sponsor: Linda Schweitzer
Affiliation: Department of Chemistry; Oakland University
Mechanical Bidomain Model Applied to the Problem of Torsion of a Cylinder (PDF)
Student Author: Tyler Nardone
Faculty Co-author: Bradley J. Roth
Faculty Sponsor: Bradley J. Roth
Affiliation: Department of Physics; Oakland University
Can Hearing About Posttraumatic Growth Increase Self-Reported Growth? (PDF)
Student Authors: Lauren Harrison and Alex Orille
Faculty Sponsor: Kanako Taku
Affiliation: Department of Psychology; Oakland University
The Desire to Foster Personal Growth in First- and Second-Generation Immigrants: A U.S. Military Sample (PDF)
Student Authors: Velinka Marton and Jenna Duronio
Faculty Sponsor: Kanako Taku
Affiliation: Department of Psychology; Oakland University
The Effect of Cancer or Divorce on Family Members’ Posttraumatic Growth: Examining Domain Differences Between the Groups (PDF)
Student Authors: Velinka Marton and Nicholas Elias
Faculty Sponsor: Kanako Taku
Affiliation: Department of Psychology; Oakland University
Do Children Recognize the Impact of Physical and Sedentary Activities on Weight? (PDF)
Student Author: Leena Twal
Faculty Sponsor: Lakshmi Raman
Affiliation: Department of Psychology; Oakland University
The Paradoxical Nature of the Ukrainian Identity (PDF)
Student Authors: Natalia Boyko and Bohdanna Cherstylo
Faculty Sponsor: Donna Voronovich
Affiliation: Department of Art and Art History; Oakland University
Pontiac's Rebellion and British Colonial Policy (PDF)
Student Author: Nora Kent
Faculty Sponsor: Roy HanAshiro
Affiliation: Department of History; University of Michigan-Flint
Factors that Influence College Binge Drinking (PDF)
Student Authors: Aaron Kipfmiller and Kevin Norton
Faculty Sponsor: Antonios Koumpias
Affiliation: Department of Social Sciences; University of Michigan-Dearborn
Liberty, Popular Government, and the Federal Constitution (PDF)
Student Author: Anastasey Manolatos
Faculty Sponsor: Michael J. Rosano
Affiliation: Department of Social Sciences; University of Michigan-Dearborn
Relationship between Liberty, Popular Government, and the Constitution (PDF)
Student Author: Katherine Wheeler
Faculty Sponsor: Michael J. Rosano
Affiliation: Department of Social Sciences; University of Michigan-Dearborn
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 2018, University of Michigan Board of Regents and Oakland University Board of Trustees
University of Michigan Board of Regents:
- Michael J. Behm
- Mark J. Bernstein
- Shauna Ryder Diggs
- Denise Ilitch
- Andrea Fischer Newman
- Andrew C. Richner
- Ron Weiser
- Katherine E. White
- Mark S. Schlissel (ex officio)
Oakland University Board of Trustees:
- Tonya Allen
- Richard L. DeVore
- Marianne Fey
- Ronald E. Robinson
- Mark E. Schlussel
- Robert Schostak
- Melissa Stolicker
- W. David Tull
- Ora Hirsch Pescovitz (ex officio)
The University of Michigan-Dearborn Executive Officers
- Domenico Grasso, Chancellor
- Catherine Davy, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
- Kenneth Kettenbeil, Vice Chancellor for External Relations
- Mallory Simpson, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement
- Jeffrey Evans, Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs
- Ray Metz, Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Student Life
The University of Michigan-Flint Executive Officers
- Susan E. Borrego, Chancellor
- Susan Alcock, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
- Barbara Avery, Vice Chancellor for Campus Inclusion and Student Life
- Michael Hague, Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance
- Kristi Hottenstein, Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management
- Mary Jo Sekelsky, Interim Vice Chancellor for University Advancement
Oakland University Executive Officers
- Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, President
- James P. Lentini, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
- John W. Beaghan, Vice President for Finance and Administration
- Rochelle A. Black, Vice President for Government and Community Relations
- Michael J. Westfall, Vice President for University Advancement
- Glenn McIntosh, Vice President for Student Affairs and Diversity
- John O. Young, Vice President of Communications and Marketing
- 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: Caleb Siefert and Susan Gedert, 313-593-5490
- UM-Flint: Andre Louis, 810-762-3383
- Oakland University: Robert Stewart and Beth Dawson, 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.