Academic & Social Activities - Spring 2008

36th Annual Southern Regional Honors Council Conference

"Metamorphosis: Honors as Agent of Change"

Birmingham, Alabama

Students and Presentations:

Erica Daly (Political Science) and Lindsey Toole (Music Education): "Classical German and Italian Arias"

Se tu m'ami by G.B. Pergolese di Jesi is an 18th century Italian love song. This romantic piece is usually performed by a mezzo soprano as it demonstrates the soprano's range with quick movement up the scale. Bist du bie mir by J.S. Bach shares the same time period and romantic theme. Bist du bie mir is often performed at weddings due to its spiritual explanation of love. It has a smooth and connected melody which contrasts with the staccato melody by Pergolese.

Nicolas Smoot (Undeclared): "The Twins Paradox"

Special relativity is based on two postulates: First, the restricted principle asserts that all physical laws and phenomena behave according to the same laws, regardless of velocity. Second, the invariance of light asserts that light travels at a fixed speed, regardless of velocity. These two principles appear incompatible at first sight, but do not contradict each other provided that neither space nor time is absolute. It turns out that velocity of one observer relative to another indicates a form of time dilation, which gives way to the Twins Paradox: In theory, one observery can, through accelerating to a high speed, travel into the future of another observer. Contradictions raised by this phenomenon can be resolved through the use of integral techniques to the equations of special and elementary general relativity.

Stephanie Balser (Biology): "Adventure"

The medium is acrylic paint on pre-gessoed canvas. Four animals poke their heads through a hydrangea bush with blue flowers. All four are my pets. On top is Ebon, a three year-old Labrador Retriever. Below him is Charlie, a thirteen year-old Labrador Retriever cross. Below him is Albus, a six year-old Siamese cross. Lastly, below him in Ginny-fur, a five year-old half-feral former street cat. Insects and spiders crawl oer the leaves of the bush. In the bottom two corners, my hands work to complete the final touches.

Mario Muscarella (Biology): "A Method to Compare the Effectiveness of Different Washes on Removal Rates of E. coli from Plant Roots"

Public concerns on vegetable contamination have been rising due to the many recent outbreaks of pathogenic E. coli (E. coli O157:H7) on commercial vegetable crops. Ineffective rinsing has been suggested as a possible explanation for the large increase of recent outbreaks. We hypothesized that pathogenic E. coli has the ability to adhere more tightly to plant surfaces than non-pathogenic strains. In order to provide evidence for this hypothesis, we developed a method to investigate the effectiveness of different washes on pathogenic and non-pathogenic E. coli strains. This method was a successful tool in evaluating our hypothesis; it included various quality control features; the results were clear and easy to interpret' and it provided a method to determine the effectiveness of the wash without damaging the root tissues in the process. We are currently using this method in our investigation into the attachment of pathogenic E. coli to plant roots.

Rachel Caldas (Spanish): "Sadomasochism: Pain for Pleasure"

Traditionally, sexual behavior has been connected with childhood development. In the case of sadomasochism, it is generally viewed as a sort of post traumatic stress disorder associated with childhood sexual abuse. It is often stereotyped as unhealthy and detrimental to the mental and social health of adults. There has, however, been evidence contrary to this stereotype that sadomasochistic behavior is not necessarily a contributing factor in disruptions to adult mental health and social well-being. Here we intend to consider sadomasochism from both psychological and sociological standpoints, as well as how the matter is viewed through the eyes of the law.

Cassie Sulfridge (Psychology): "An Interdisciplinary Look at Self Control"

Self control is a behavioral issue that affects all people, regardless of age, ethnicity, or other differentiating features. A majority of personal problems come from issues with self control. These issues, to name a few, include: weight problems, drug use, sexual activity, motivation, and learning. Self control is defined here as inhibiting an immediate gratification from an automatic, habitual, or innate behavior, urge, emotion, or response, for a future, more valuable reward. Self control issues and ways to cope with them are examined through a nursing, psychological, and sociological lens to discuss how multiple disciplines can work together in helping people.

Jonathan Roberts (Honors Program Director), Josh Coleman (joint enrollment), Monica Kessler, Billy Jean Stalwart, Erica Daly (Political Science): "Incorporation of Class Debates into an Honors Course"

This presentation will discuss how class debates were incorporated into an Honors Introduction to Psychology course. The professor, Jonathan Roberts, will discuss the specific details of the debate format, including the materials handed out to the students and the use of a double elimnation format. The students will discuss their involvement in the debates, how it enriched their Honors experience, and they will also recreate one of the debates they had in class.

Ernesto Ortiz-Ariza (Law and Society): "Kicking Away the Ladder"

Based on the argument exposed in Ha-Joon Chang's work Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective. After their long climb in the developmental ladder the developed nations of today are on top of the world. In power of many essential international institutions they have the opprotunity to give a recipe to the now developing nations on how to develop. Unfortunately, and often greatly overlooked, the recipe is flawed and the dough just will not rise. The catch is, developing nations in a historical perspective are not being honest as of hot they themselves climbed the economic ladder of development and now that these nations have developed, then can only kick away the ladder that they used to achieve their present status. The argument opens eyes to what is happening in today's world and how the developing nations are using the wrong recipe.

Lauren Caines (Nursing) and Jessie Lastocy (Radiology): "A Spring Break Well Spent: Feeling the Beat and Rubbing the Gel on a Medical Missions Trip to Guyana"

Why would anyone choose to spend their Spring Break in a developing country? As nursing and radiology students of AASU, we were given the opportunity to participate in Project DAWN (Donors and Workers Now), a study abroad medical missions trip to Guyana, South America. As we played a crucial role in the health care of the Guyanese people, we were also able to apply what we learned in the classroom by practicing skills for our future professions. Through a PowerPoint presentation, we will give you a firsthand look at our involvement in their health. We will also compare and contrast the American and Guyanese medical systems.

Shante Breitenbach (Psychology): "Comparison of Ratemyprofessors.com and Official Student Evaluations"

Ratemyprofessors.com (RMP) is a website where students rate the quality of their professors. This study compared the university course evaluations and the RMP quality ratings. The RMP quality ratings were significantly correlated with the university course evaluation rathings of overall teaching effectiveness, r(95)=.74, p<.01. Other universities have also compared RMP with student evaluations and have come to similar conclusions. RMP may be a soapbox for students to vent, but the site does contain valid information about students' opinions of educators.