Student Academic Conference 2022 Presentations

Previous studies have shown that fictional crime dramas tend to utilize the ideal victim stereotype by disproportionately portraying White female victims (i.e., Parrott & Parrott, 2015). However, research findings are mixed with regard to the ideal offender being stereotypically portrayed as a minority male. The current content analysis will explore these stereotypes over a 22-year period as depicted in the television crime drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU), by observing the pattern of differences in crime details, demographics, and trial outcomes in randomly selected episodes from seasons 1 and 23. Specifically, we will observe and code variables such as crime type, weapon use, various offender and victim demographic characteristics, trial outcomes, and sentencing terms using a modified coding scheme based on one created by Parrott and Parrott (2015). We expect to detect greater diversity in the race and gender of perpetrators and victims in season 23 compared to season 1. The current content analysis will extend earlier work in this area that has produced contrasting results in the past.

This review examines the topic of early Australian filmmaking and the rise in popularity of the horror genre with it. Discussed in this review are articles “Australian Cinema's Dark Sun: The Boom in Australian Horror Film Production,” written by Mark David Ryan, “Outward-Looking Australian Cinema” by Ben Goldsmith, and “The ‘Other’ in Film: Exclusions of Aboriginal Identity from Australian Cinema,” written by Suneeti Rekhari. These articles discuss the beginnings of filmmaking in Australia throughout the mid to late 1900’s. The writings have a focus on the emergence of the horror genre within Australian filmmaking as well as the genre’s boom in popularity in more recent decades. Many of these horror films are the first creations by their directors, and many of the films broke new ground regarding the world of Australian filmmaking. Australian horror films focus on a wide variety of subjects and themes, from the ‘ozploitation’ of the continent and its wildlife to the vast plains and the desolate locations between. What this study focuses on is how horror films were structural in the emergence of Aboriginal Australian cinema.

The focus of this research is to design a point-of-sale stand-alone application. It is a common computer system in businesses that improves their daily basis operations by helping them to manage sales, track inventory and sometimes boost revenues with the customer gift cards. The features vary on the size of the business and the preference needed. 

For this research I decided to focus more on the software than the system as a whole. This means that the design and development were strictly the only priorities rather than a complete point-of-sale system which includes the hardware part. The project was successful and included all the features that needed to be implemented because I used the incremental development process. The idea of backtracking algorithm was figuratively very important during the development stages because I would go back to previous steps at any time whenever a problem would rise in future implementations. The programming language I used was C#, and I first designed the user interface. At this stage, there was no need to spend much time because I had already sketched the design by hand and I also used Figma, a designing platform. After, the user interface’s implementation, I decided to use mockaroo to generate mock SQL data for sales and customers. For checking the sales history, I created an analytical sales report form. A login system was created for data security for different types of users. The outcome of this project is crucial to businesses wanting to improve their day-to-day operations

Abstract: Individuals who convey language through an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device face several barriers. Some barriers include limited face-to-face communication and fixed vocabulary, the speaking partner dominating the conversation (Harrison-Harris, 2018), being passive communicators, and rarely initiating conversation(Kent-Walsh, 2010). These barriers increase drastically when the individual’s primary language is not English. An estimated 95% of Speech-Language Pathologists interact and provide services to individuals whose primary language is not English (Soto & Yu, 2014). However, there are no foundations or standards when providing therapy to bilingual children who have speech-language disorders (Monceaux-Visser, 2021). Most frequently, the service provided is in the socially dominant language. Limiting intervention and AAC utterances to the socially dominant language diminishes the individual’s connection to their culture, especially if their frequent communicative partners do not speak English (Soto & Yu, 2014). Additionally, there is a gap in literature, exposing the lack of resources and practices regarding this area. This exposed gap aligns with the rapid growth of technology in the last twenty-five years. The purpose of this review was to examine the relationship between language acquisition and AAC use in children who are bilingual.
 

Aboriginal Identity in the Films of Rachel Perkins
This project focuses on the concept of Aboriginality within Australian national cinema. The primary texts analyzed in the study include the following: Jasper Jones, an adaptation of the same 2009 novel. This film was directed by an indigenous filmmaker, Rachel Perkins. The story follows a young boy as he tries to solve the murder of a young girl and prove the town Aboriginal outcast innocent. The second film is the 2001 musical, One Night the Moon. Also directed by Rachel Perkins, this film follows the story of a young white girl who goes missing in the Australian outback and explores the discourse between the Indigenous people and white settlers. The third text is the 2009 comedy, Bran Nue Dae, a story about a young boy who runs away from his Catholic boarding school to return home to Aboriginal Australia. Through analyses of these films, this project demonstrates the prejudice against Aboriginal identity in Australia and how Aboriginal filmmakers have responded to that history. By focusing on the works of Rachel Perkins, the project also clarifies how a woman director has participated in the project of mapping the progress that has been made by Aboriginal filmmakers in defining what counts as Australian national cinema.

Spare, limited elements constitute the work of Agnes Martin (1912-2004). Active in New York and later New Mexico, her extensive oeuvre of square paintings exemplifies her long-held commitment to the grid and to the stripe. Martin is often referred to as a Minimalist, while she herself viewed her work as Abstract-Expressionist, a movement known for its effusive mark-making.

This paper analyzes the mature work of Martin’s New Mexico years, considering it within her larger oeuvre and broader artistic movements of the time. It contextualizes her use of the grid and the stripe as quintessentially 20th-century devices in dialogue with other leading artists and movements. Considered within this framework is the tension between her work’s designation as Minimalist with her own view of it as Abstract-Expressionist. Martin’s enduring cultural legacies – her desert association, her status as a female icon – will be further considered in placing Martin within the larger canon of American art.

This project is an exploration of African cinema through a case study of Wakaliwood. It is a closer look at contemporary Ugandan filmmaking. The project is motivated by an interest in how Wakaliwood filmmakers are able to make extremely low-budget actions movies. For primary sources, the project analyzes Who Killed Captain Alex (2010), Bad Black (2016), and Crazy World(2019). These films have been some of the most popular, putting Wakaliwood within the context of global image flow over the last 9 years. For theoretical and historical contexts, the study relies on concepts of national cinema, African cinema, Nollywood, and digital as the new popular in African Cinema. Wakaliwood has received little critical scholarship and this project delves into its common themes and, more specifically, how it integrates alternative media into the narratives. 

Abstract

As one of the largest creditors in the world, the People’s Republic of China and its subsidiaries extend over $1.5 trillion dollars in credit to other nations (Horn, Reinhard, and Trebesch, 2020). China’s position as a lender to emerging economies aligns with the country’s ambition to revive the ancient Silk Route as the Belt and Route Initiative (BRI). Loans originating from China to developing nations have notably surpassed that of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. This research investigates the efficacy of Chinese loans by examining recipient countries' key economic indicators as well as the debt sustainability of these indebted nations.

The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine students' cognitive, normative, and behavioral beliefs or perceived preferences regarding online learning versus face-to-face. The researchers hope to gain insight into the numerous factors that play into students' decision-making. This information will be worthwhile in helping instructors create formats to meet students' preferred learning modalities. This project aims to supply feedback to understand the educational landscape, current environment, and how instructional delivery affects student beliefs and perceptions. 

This exploratory study aims to identify the forces that drive students' enrollment in distinct delivery methods of courses in an ever-evolving educational experience. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed many students and instructors into the world of online learning, mostly without preparation. 

 Once identified, these driving forces may help us better understand what leads a student to take a course in one form versus another. What, if any, are the differences between students who prefer online versus face-to-face learning. The research plan is to conduct an electronic survey tool created using Qualtrics. The survey will be distributed via email within the small to moderate-sized midwestern university and potentially shared through the snowball method to increase the participant pool.

The rights of women have always lagged behind the rights of men in American History. Although the women’s suffrage movement was taking off, only six states had passed suffrage amendments at the beginning of the 20th century. Societal roles for women have undergone changes throughout history. This presentation will examine how female roles in society went from stay at home housewives to working women due to the impact of various laws. Key figures in women’s suffrage history will also be illuminated since they are often left out of the historical narrative.
 
The presentation analyzes the evolution of American women’s rights from the 20th century to the present. Primary and secondary sources were used to examine laws that impact women’s rights and how the laws directly impacted American women’s roles and lives day-to-day.

The purpose of this study was to optimize a technique using a flame atomic absorption spectrometer for determining the concentration of various metals in 55 soil and 6 water samples. It is important to identify and quantify the amount of metal in soil and water samples because some metals are toxic. This study obtained baseline data for 10 different metals in soil and water samples at the MSUM Regional Science Center and found all metals in the samples to be either within or below normal ranges for the area. These results will be reported and compared to United States Geological Survey data from the region. Method optimization will be discussed as well as suggestions for improvement of the method.

Telemedicine’s underutilization ended when the COVID-19 pandemic caused people to isolate and kept them from seeking healthcare services at their local hospitals and clinics. With the aid of the CARES Act of March 2020, healthcare providers quickly implemented telemedicine services to meet the various needs of their patients. During the pandemic, healthcare systems saw a significant increase in telemedicine visits. Essential industries turned to healthcare providers for assistance in keeping their workers healthy and to maintain production in the country’s critical infrastructure. Telemedicine services could quickly address health concerns and help address these industry needs and combat workforce shortages. As quickly as telemedicine services grew, and people have started to move closer to a pre-pandemic lifestyle, telemedicine service utilization waned. An in-depth literature review followed by a fishbone diagram and SWOT analysis occurred to examine the potential factors related to telemedicine utilization. To promote telemedicine utilization, application of Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation theory supports recommendations for the benefits of telemedicine and building on opportunities brought out by the COVID-19 pandemic. Implication for practice could include establishing virtual clinics for industries plagued with workforce shortages.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was described by Lai et al. (2014, p. 1) as a “set of heterogeneous neurodevelopmental conditions, characterized by early-onset difficulties in social communication and unusually restricted, repetitive behaviors and interests.” Autism is a life-long diagnosis that is often common within families. While there is no definite cause, possible causes may include genetic differences, differences in brain development, or exposure to harmful chemicals within the environment (ASHA, nd.). Research has found that teenagers who are diagnosed with ASD are interested in having close, intimate relationships with others, including friendships, sexual relationships, and marriage (Mogavero et al., 2020). The diagnosis of ASD creates unique challenges for individuals who are pursuing these types of relationships, specifically in the areas of unwritten social norms, boundaries, consent, and online dating.