The annual Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC) Student Research Exhibition will be held Tuesday, April 23 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in Room 1400 of the Columbus Learning Center.
The research teams, comprised of 22 students and nine faculty mentors, will showcase their work in a poster session and informal discussions with attendees.
Each student-faculty team received a $1,000 grant from the Office of Student Research, said Dr. Julie Goodspeed-Chadwick who directs the program which is now in its third year.
“These innovative research projects have important impacts on various target populations and communities. Completing the work has been an excellent opportunity for students to integrate their academic knowledge with professional research,” explained Goodspeed-Chadwick, who is an associate professor of English at IUPUC. “Intensive research adds to the overall academic experience for our students and elevates the quality of learning throughout the region.”
To earn a grant for the 2012-13 academic year, students submitted detailed project proposals, passed a rigorous vetting process by a review committee, and then completed their projects with direction and guidance from a faculty mentor.
Descriptions of the funded projects, along with the names of the student researchers, their majors, and their hometowns follow.
Feeding Tube Properties and Fluid Viscosity: Effects on the Accuracy of Gastric Residual Volume. Recent studies suggest assessing residual volumes in tube-fed patients may not provide clinically important information about the patient’s tolerance of tube feedings. The assessment should not, therefore, be routinely performed in nursing practice. These in vitro studies will establish if there is a difference in residual volume assessment if different types of feeding tubes are used when the fluid viscosity varies. Faculty mentor: Dr. Rebecca Bartlett Ellis, clinical assistant professor of nursing. Students: Morgan Abel | Nursing (North Vernon); Ashley Baker | Nursing (Columbus); Emily Bare | Nursing (Greensburg); Romy Clarkson | Nursing (Seymour); Kristian Dixon | Nursing (Seymour); Penny Dorsett | Nursing (Greensburg); Lauren Earl | Nursing (North Vernon); Samantha Hicks | Nursing (Columbus); Amie Jarosz | Nursing (Columbus); Sandra Poore | Nursing (Columbus); Rebecca Williams | Nursing (Saint Paul).
Factors Affecting Young College Consumers’ Online Purchase Intention on Social Media Web sites. This study attempts to investigate factors that influence online purchase intention among young college consumers in the social media Web sites. The technology acceptance model and theory of reasoned action will be employed to develop the conceptual framework. Three factors, namely perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and subjective norm will be tested. Faculty mentor: Dr. Jungkook Lee, assistant professor of marketing. Student: Kyleigh Arnold | Business (Columbus).
The Effects of False Feedback and Self-Perception on Working Memory. Short-term memory measures are used to assess cognitive functioning in developmental, clinical, and educational areas of psychology. Some feedback is usually provided during assessments, but what if the feedback improves or impairs one's subsequent short-term memory performance? Does perception of performance on a previous memory test unduly influence performance on subsequent assessments? This project investigated the role of feedback (positive, negative, or none) and self-perception in relation to repeated short-term memory performance. Faculty mentor: Dr. Thomas Redick, assistant professor of psychology. Student: Rodney Burton | Science (Columbus).
Exploring Gender Representation in Traditional and Nontraditional Fairy Tales. Due to gender conventions present in society today, stereotypes about gender have an influence on the social and emotional development of children. Particularly in education, the underrepresentation of female characters influences young readers of children’s literature. Given the widely accepted stereotypical views portrayed in traditional fairy tales, this research examines the impact of traditional versus nontraditional fairy tales (i.e., those representing a more empowered sense of the female character) on how children spontaneously represent gender. Faculty mentor: Dr. Allison Howland, assistant professor of special education. Student: Mike Fry | Education (Greensburg).
The Mayflies (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) of the Serengeti in Tazania. Mayflies are particularly sensitive to pollution in water and are used worldwide as biological indicators of environmental quality. The level of basic knowledge varies greatly from region to region, including which genera and species occur. Relatively little is known about African mayflies. Based on our research, 49 genera from 11 families are now known from Tanzania, several of which represent new country records, including one genus new to science. One additional new species has been discovered. Faculty mentor: Dr. Luke Jacobus, assistant professor of biology. Student: Ashley Garlick | Science (Seymour).
The Price of Valuing Money on Well-Being. This project investigated how different types of personal goals influence individual well-being over time. A longitudinal data set spanning six years was examined. Findings indicate individuals who valued extrinsic goals such as money over intrinsic goals such as relationships or competence experienced lower well-being over time. This project was presented at the 2013 national conference Society for Personality and Social Psychology. Faculty mentor: Dr. Kimdy Le, assistant professor of psychology. Student: Rhianna Grumeretz | Science (Indianapolis).
Nurses’ Attitudes and Education Surrounding Patient Education. This study examined nurse attitudes toward patient education and described the educational preparation of nurses in communicating with educating their patients, including the resources used in the educational process and organizational facilitators or barriers that exist in providing patient education. The results will help to inform education and clinical practice in efforts to provide comprehensive education to both nurses and patients in preparing for discharge from the hospital. Faculty mentor: Dr. Rebecca Bartlett Ellis, clinical assistant professor of nursing.. Students: Susan Humpf | Nursing (Columbus); Heather Lambrecht | Nursing (Seymour).
The Impact of Resilience and Character Strengths Training Upon Female Offenders. This study tested if an intervention to boost resiliency and emphasize positive character traits could help female inmates at the Madison Correctional Facility. Through a series of lessons, inmates were taught how to use their existing inner-strengths to bounce back from life’s challenges. The intervention was based on existing resilience programs and aimed to lower depression, anxiety, and stress, while strengthening self-concept and ultimately reducing re-arrest rates after parole. This project will be presented at the Midwestern Psychological Association in Chicago in May. Faculty mentor: Dr. Joan Poulsen, assistant professor of psychology. Student: Joann Mitchell | Science (Columbus).
Action Research in Practice: Critical Literary in a First Grade Classroom through Multimodal Texts. This research investigated the cognitive and social processes and products of first grade students as they engaged in a critical literacy unit that made use of multimodal texts. The unit invited students to look critically at the ways in which family-oriented advertisements include or exclude people representing a variety of races, abilities, family types, and genders. Students also examined how color, images, music, and other non-linguistic modalities were used to enhance the impact of the advertisements on their intended audiences. Faculty mentor: Dr. Jennifer Conner-Zachocki, assistant professor of language education. Student: Danielle Nickerson | Education (Columbus).
All Things Have a Beginning. This project investigated the methods individuals used to initiate romantic relationships, specifically how communicator styles and extroversion impact the method (i.e., face-to-face, texting, social media sites) of initiation in romantic relationships. The results indicated that a friendly communication style was the only style that predicted the method of romantic relationship initiation. This project was presented at the Central States Communication Association Undergraduate Honors Conference. Faculty mentor: Dr. Anna Carmon, assistant professor of communications studies. Student: Taylor Yarling | Liberal Arts (Shelbyville).
Parents, friends, family members, colleagues, and members of the public are invited to attend. Light refreshments will be served.
For more information, contact Dr. Julie Goodspeed-Chadwick at 812.348.7270 or juligood@iupuc.edu.