Browse the 2018 Conference Presentations Collections
Representations of Grief in Mrs. Dalloway04/27/2018Critics have made an effort to highlight trauma recovery in Virginia Woolf's “Mrs. Dalloway”, but little to no effort has been made to highlight grief recovery in this narrative. After a loss, grief is the healing process that helps the pain of the loss decrease over time. Trauma is the emotional response to a terrible event in life. Grief and trauma can occur together and be interconnected, but they are not the same thing. In approaching the reading of “Mrs. Dalloway” as a modernist narrative, I rely on the theories of feminism and trauma to show how grief can be viewed in the same light as trauma. Mrs. Dalloway's social and cultural milieu presents no opportunities for the characters to mourn or grieve their losses or "come out" about their sexuality. All of the characters in one way or another are affected by death, mourning and grief in “Mrs. Dalloway.” |
Refining Realism and Diluting Duality: Considerations of Quality, Value, and Technology present in Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"04/27/2018In his novel, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", Robert Pirsig considers philosophical questions associated with Quality and Value from the perspective of maintaining the proper tuning and performance of a motorcycle for not only proper function of the cycle itself, but also from that of the cyclist being fully in tune with understanding the underlying forms of the mechanical systems and processes working together to propel the union of cycle and cyclist forward. Not only through time and space but toward enlightened understanding and quality of being. The purpose of this presentation is to highlight Robert Pirsig's discussions on quality and value, including the ideas of "value rigidity" and "stuckness", relating them to technological advancements and anxieties. Bringing the discussion to close with a brief reflection about today's smart-everything-technologies and how to apply "Zen" ideas toward maintaining them forward. |
Psychological Manifestations of Microbial Infections: A Case for the Inclusion of Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) and Chronic Lyme Disease04/27/2018Some acute microbial infections can have long-lasting symptoms. Byproducts of the infection can cross the bloodbrain- barrier causing psychological manifestations. Depending on the original diagnosis, these manifestations can either be treated as such, misdiagnosed as another disorder with similar symptoms, or completely disregarded. Two well-known and widely accepted infections known to cause mental status changes are Toxoplasmosis and Syphilis. Two lesser known and not very widely accepted disorders that are said to cause altered mental statuses are Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) and Lyme disease. My goal in this presentation is to uncover the similarities and differences between these four diseases and explain why two are accepted by the CDC and healthcare workers as causing mental status changes, while the other two are ignored. To accomplish this goal, I will present evidence in the form of primary scientific literature searches, interviews with healthcare professionals on both sides of the issue, and visual representations. |
Proboscis Architecture of Hybrid Limenitis Butterflies: A Post-zygotic reproductive / Isolating Mechanism and an Example of Haldane’s Rule04/27/2018Reproductive isolating mechanisms evolve to reduce the sharing of alleles among groups where reproduction does not result in offspring, or results in offspring with lower fitness. Occasionally, individuals from genetically different populations mate and produce hybrid offspring. Post-zygotic reproductive isolating mechanisms affect the hybrid individual and can be intrinsic (developmental problem) or extrinsic (individual is incompatible with its environment). The viceroy (Limenitis archippus) and red spotted purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) are two closely related species of butterfly native to North America that are capable of hybridizing. This study looks at the proboscis morphology of Limenitis archippus and Limenitis arthemis astyanax, as well as their hybrid “rubidus” form. Proboscis architecture relates to its function, and each structure has an impact on fluid uptake abilities (nutrient acquisition), making its architecture fundamental to the individuals fitness. We hypothesize that hybrid butterflies might have proboscises with reduced functionality, impairing feeding ability, thus acting as a post-zygotic reproductive isolating mechanism. To test this, we measured eleven structures on each proboscis and compared measurements among species groups. Recorded measurements supported the hypothesis that hybrid Limenitis butterflies might have reduced proboscis functionality, which would hinder fluid uptake, and ultimately reduce hybrid fitness. |
Partners in Crime or a Better Half?: A Comparison of the Friend and Assistant Relationships with Victor Frankenstein in "Frankenstein" and Film04/27/2018Within Mary Shelley's novel, "Frankenstein", the friend character of Henry Clerval plays an important role in influencing Victor Frankenstein. Many film adaptations disregard this role of the friend, especially the 1931 version which situates Frankenstein between a relatively indifferent assistant and a false friend. The 2015 film, "Victor Frankenstein", seeks to revitalize the importance of the role that relationships played on Victor within the novel. Despite this attempt, the nature of the friendship between Igor and Victor in the film is not equal the one shown in the novel due to the inequality of the friendship portrayed in the movie. My work shows that while this move towards enforcing the importance of relationships on Victor's choices is improved in "Victor Frankenstein", it still does not give due diligence to the importance of friendship which can be seen with Henry Clerval in the novel. |
Parental Opinions of Combination Treatment of Medication and Interactive Metronome with Children with ADHD04/27/2018This research study was conducted to further the research in the treatment options for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. While past research has shown that stimulant medication alone is sufficient to treat the symptoms of ADHD; there has been a push for a combination of medication and therapy as the most effective treatment option. Using parents who have children with ADHD and parents who do not have children with ADHD, the study will gather the opinions of parents about whether or not they would be interested in having their child to receive combination therapy and their reasoning behind that. The study also gauged the parents' awareness and reservations about the treatment option. |
Panel: Communication Research in Society04/27/2018In this panel, students will present their communication research in society projects, which identify and describe selected communication concepts and show their relevance in current events. The panel chair will provide a short introduction and context of the projects. By describing key communication theories and linking them to current news events, students will demonstrate the relevance of their academic training in their civic lives post-graduation. |
Ohio, Newspapers, Political Cartoons, and Voting Records: How All of These Relate in the Election of 191204/27/2018Using Ohio newspaper political cartoons to create an analysis on how the media has an effect on the voting population. The players from the 1912 presidential election came from the two major political parties, Republican and Democrats, along with the Progressive "Bull Moose" party. Due to the dependency of the newspaper media, as the medium was one of cheapest and accessible to the most amount of people. By looking at historically right and left leaning news sources it is possible to observe the biases of each side because there is always a specific narrative portrayed in political cartoons for each presidential candidate. A cartoonist can present their own opinions of a candidate which would cause them to exaggerate certain characteristics to sway the public perception of an individual candidate. Therefore, by putting all factor together it can be shown that there is a correlation between newspaper cartoons and voting records. |