Moderated by Dr. Mary Rooks

This script was inspired by the live Shakespearean performances of Macbeth and Othello. In the beginning the narrator sets the scene, introducing the audience to Macbeth and filling in missing contexts to launch the first act scene. In Act one scene one, we see a drunken Macbeth at a pub in Cyprus – a location that is used to tie the worlds of Macbeth and Othello together.  Macbeth is mulling over his troubles and the plot concocted by his wife to kill King Duncan. Meanwhile, Othello enters the pub to break away from his ranks to drink his sorrows away because Iago (his righthand man) has sown the seeds of doubt to get Othello to suspect his wife is having an affair in attempt to deceive him. The two men meet and join in conversation that provokes them both to reveal their troubles to the other. Each man has their own moral and immoral perspectives: Macbeth is able to see what Othello is blind to, and Othello the more moral, is able to talk down Macbeth from the ledge of committing murder. Both men give the other council concerning the climatic point of each their lives. This fated moment shifts the outcome of each man’s life and shines light on events, that otherwise would have ended in calamity and death as it was in the original plays. 

Moderated by Dr. Jim Seelye

The way in which the world has become interconnected through the process known as globalization has become a large focus of research. This project explores one of the means by which globalization occurs, the Sister City International program, which creates partnerships between United States cities and foreign cities. It facilitates various programs, such as student exchange programs as well as, aiding in the promotion of tourism and allowing local cities to branch into a global network. This program has currently not been discussed in relationship to globalization and so this study fills this gap. By analyzing economic reports, evaluating changes in social events (such as tourist attractions and festivals) based on contact made through the program, and the success of programs such as student exchange programs, it reveals the impact that the Sister Cities International project has had on globalization, focusing on its role in global markets and cultural exchange.

Moderated by Dr. Erin Hollenbaugh

For most of human history, we have placed ourselves at the center of the world. This human-centered view is the foundation of the anthropocentric perspective and dictates how we relate to the world around us. This, however, has resulted in historical mismanagement and lack of understanding of our place within the natural world and our ability to disrupt it. The repercussions of this perspective have been severe ecological imbalance and short-sighted solutions because human interests were often the single priority. Instead, a holistic approach is presented to solve these significant environmental issues that utilizes and incorporates an ecocentric perspective shift with regard to nature, connects nature and social issues that is rooted in hierarchy and domination, and exploring new governance structures that encourages more cooperative conservation that links economic action, community well-being, and citizen engagement. Dynamic solutions that consider the multidisciplinary nature of these problems and a bottom-up community healing could reconnect us with nature and each other.

Moderated by Prof. Hagan Whiteleather

I will be defining and discussing free will vs. determinism. I will be providing scientific articles as evidence for determinism that puts free will into question. I will conclude with despite scientific evidence, that doesn’t disprove free will but does put it into question. I will also talk about different views on free will & determinism when it comes to operating society.

Moderated by Prof. Michelle Bagwell

For a project in my Communication Technology and Human Interaction class, I focused on the topic of depression in adolescents. It is a topic that I really feel passionate about because it is something that I deal with in my own life. Research has shown that this is a pervasive topic. Of the large number of teens that have depression, only thirty percent are being treated. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in young people ages 15 to 24 and a teen commits suicide every 100 minutes (Discovery Mood and Anxiety Program, 2019). I have made a PSA video that presents statistics, warning signs, and what we can do to help. I am planning on utilizing social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter as a way of distributing this message to my target audience, and I will discuss the results of this as well during my presentation.

Moderated by Dr. Tanya Hrubik-Vulanovic

Millennials’ unconventional approaches to the business world have revolutionized the workplace. As Generation Z is beginning to enter the workforce with new ideas and expectations, the workplace dynamic heavily influenced by Millennials is beginning to shift. The values first emphasized by Millennials are being redefined by Gen Zs. Many of the events and trends that made Millennials unique have also strongly impacted Gen Zs, and in some cases, even more heavily. This lends common ground to these two generations, but also holds the potential for friction in the workplace. This oral presentation supported by PowerPoint explores the dynamic between Millennials and Gen Z. The future of the business world will be driven by interactions between these two generations. Considering their motivations and expectations provides insight for better understanding and development of best practices for collaboration and reducing generational conflict in the workplace.

Moderated by Dr. Greg Blundell

With the involvement of the United States in World War One and the subsequent military service draft, American Mennonites found themselves in the same dilemma which had chased them from Europe to the Americas. The Mennonite beliefs on non-violence precluded most of them from involvement in war in any sense including non-combatant roles and the nation’s government did not grant them an exception to war-time service. When previous generations of Mennonites faced a similar challenge, the most common response was a large-scale migration to a new land where they could find a reprieve from these pressures. With the American draft in 1917, American Mennonites chose to break the historical pattern and remain in America, weathering the consequences that came from their counter cultural beliefs. Using interviews from the Mennonite men who lived through the war period in America, diaries from the Russian Mennonites, and other sources, this study brings together historical research on the Russian Mennonite migration to the United States as a case study of the historical pattern of Mennonite migrations with the context surrounding the American Mennonites’ choice to stay. The economy, the timing of the draft, the depth of the changes, and the closer ties between the American Mennonites and the American people all help explain how the American Mennonites chose to radically depart from both the cultural expectations around them and their own pattern of behavior. 

Moderated by Dr. Claudia Gomez

This presentation explores the application of artificial intelligence to software engineering. It defines the currently discovered uses that it has in the augmentation of the software engineering process, backed by current research. With these applications, artificial intelligence can not only ease the human work involved but provide extra insight and determine areas where items could be missed. It argues that artificial intelligence has the capability to change the software engineering process, to make it more efficient and reliable, but is not yet to the level to provide these advantages.

Moderated by Dr. Leslie Heaphy

Severe weather changes, including landslides and tornadoes, have wreaked havoc across a huge portion of the United States. This trend is seen widely across the world as well, especially during the hotter climate. The population of Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Brazil, and Colombia are not unfamiliar with Monsoon season disasters, yet there still remains a huge lack of preparedness every year. Numerous floods, heavy rains, landslides, and multiple problems related to these calamities occurred in the week of March 29th, 2021 alone. I believe Artificial intelligence can be a huge help in aiding these countries and prevent loss of life and property by calculating pre-disaster symptoms and responding to post-disaster relief as soon as it strikes. This can be done in multiple ways, such as with use of damage mapping technology, satellites, doppler radars and other AI technologies that many organizations are already working on. AI for Humanitarian Action is one such example. I wish to present my research on this topic through my presentation.