DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

Historical Papers

Anglemyer, Ethan and Hiley, Shauna. THE DISCOVERY OF OXYGEN: A TALE OF THREE CHEMISTS.

Oxygen was actually discovered simultaneously by three different chemists. Carl Wilhelm Scheele and Joseph Priestly independently discovered an unknown gas in the early 1770’s. However, their continued adamant belief in Phlogiston theory kept them from realizing the impact of their findings. The third chemist, Antoine Lavoisier, is the least credited with the discovery of oxygen. In the mid 1770’s he coined the name oxygen for this unknown gas after repeating published experiments by Priestly. Each chemist’s story is connected to the others’ and the implications of their discovery were and still are valuable to science.
Faculty Sponsor:

Borgstadt, Kari and Hiley, Shauna. INVENTOR, PHILANTHROPIST, AND SCOUNDREL: THE MANY FACES OF BENJAMIN THOMPSON.

Benjamin Thompson led quite an interesting life and played several different roles. Thompson was American-born, but managed to ascend the ranks of the British Army. He is referred to as a scoundrel and a womanizer for his questionable deeds, even being accused of spying. Thompson was, however, a great philanthropist as well as a social reformer and scientist. His research on convection currents and determining the insulating properties of several substances led to many practical applications such as a new design for the fireplace, special clothing, and improved oil lamps and candles. His innovations are still important and widely used.
Faculty Sponsor:

Gordon, Alyse and Hiley, Shauna. RUTHERFORD'S IMPACT ON CHEMISTRY.

Ernest Rutherford’s major impact on chemistry today was his collaborative work with Niels Bohr and creating the Bohr-Rutherford model of the atom. Using “The Gold Foil Experiment,” Rutherford proposed that there was a small, centralized nucleus which held the protons and had a positive charge and the electrons surrounded the nucleus. Rutherford also worked with H.G. Moseley and directly hit high-energy cathode ray particles against the atoms of numerous elements. They showed that elements display a group of light emission lines that can be used to characterize the internal electron structure and identify the elements.
Faculty Sponsor:

Quaney, Adelaide; Hiley, Shauna. CARBON: SHAPING UP.

In 1996, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to chemists Robert Curl, Harold Kroto, and Richard Smalley for the collaborative discovery of a new arrangement of carbon atoms. The new form typically involved sixty pure carbon atoms arranged in a spherical manner, similar to the geometric pattern on a soccer ball. Curl, Kroto, and Smalley named this discovery fullerenes (or Buckminster-fullerenes), after the famous architect, Buckminster Fuller, whose architectural structures resemble that of the newly found arrangement of carbon atoms. This discovery has opened many doors to new topics and branches of organic chemistry.
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION STUDIES AND THEATRE

Empirical Projects

Wyble, David. THE BATTLE FOR POWER: WAITER VS. CUSTOMER.

The Battle for Power: Waiter vs. Customer\r\n\r\nI believe such factors as environment, proxemics, and physical appearance, along with the waiter and customer’s power to change these variables, determines whether or not customers have a favorable experience. \r\nThere are some aspects of physical appearance, proxemics, and environment that you can change such as the way one is dressed, the talking distance between the two parties, and the cleanliness of the table setting. On the contrary, how are servers and customers affected by such factors that they have no power of changing? Just because there are unfavorable influences such as an uncomfortable temperature inside the restaurant or a server is not considered physically attractive doesn’t mean someone has the power to change anything. In this paper I will cover the server’s and customer’s ability or inability to change physical appearance, proxemics, environment, and the affect it has on the satisfaction of the visit. \r\n\r\n\r\n
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DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE MATH AND PHYSICS

Empirical Projects

Allen, Julie. TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS AND STATISTICAL MODELS.

I will be looking at fatal car crashes in 2006 and using statistical models to interpret the data. I will consider several statistical models and interpret the data.
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Eckdahl, Patricia. ELECTORAL COLLEGE REFORM.

Complaints about the current Electoral College system for selecting the United States President surface frequently, especially on those occasions when the majority of electoral votes go to a ticket which did not receive the majority of individual, or popular, votes. Other perceived disadvantages of the current system include too much influence going to small states and the apparent futility of voting in a state that has a large majority in one political party or the other. This project examines some of the possible outcomes of several reform proposals.
Faculty Sponsor:

Gould, Geoffrey T. KITTENS AND KULETTE: A LOOK AT FIXED PAYOUT AND PARIMUTUEL GAMES.

I will be looking about the basic differences in parimutuel and fixed payout gambling through simplified versions of real-life games. This project will focus on the calculation of expected values and the adjustment of payouts to increase or decrease the house advantage.
Faculty Sponsor:

Klein, Chad. MODELING AIRCRAFT LIFT WITH BERNOULLI, OR NOT.

This project is meant to show that the lifting force acting on an airplane generated by the Bernoulli effect is not complete. Other lifting forces must be considered to obtain the force required for an airplane to fly. This is contrary to the way most flight schools and airports explain lift to new students, which is almost always limited to the Bernoulli effect.
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Larson, Cindy D. & Ward, J. Shane. SWITCHBAC: A NEW TWIST ON MINI-BACCARAT.

I am using a mathematical model to calculate the house hold and payout odds on a new table game for a supervisor at Ameristar Casino.
Faculty Sponsor:

Maag, Shaina. INVESTMENT STRATEGIES.

Most young adults do not understand the dramatic effects of starting to invest at a young age. With this project, I will explore different investing strategies at different ages. Real-life situations involving investments will be modeled and analyzed.
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Mazurkewycz, Caley. MULTIPLE MODELS OF MISSOURI'S DEER POPULATION.

Hunting deer is a popular activity in Missouri, with the harvest increasing each year. What is the approximate deer population of Missouri? Here we use past statistics and information about growth rate, highway deaths, and hunter harvest as a percentage of permits sold to approximate today's deer population.
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Sager, Megan. THE “PERFECT” GOLF SWING.

Many are interested in the ultimate golf swing. In this presentation, we consider the perfect golf swing as modeled by the double pendulum.
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Schmutzler, Brock J.. THE BEST TEXAS HOLDEM’ STRATEGY.

I use mathematical probability to prove that many amateurs misplay starting hands, specifically medium to low pocket pairs and suited connectors, and do not even realize they are doing so. Also, I determine the conditions needed for play of these hands to be profitable.
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Shipers, Rebecca. INVESTIGATING THE MATHEMATICS WITHIN A CARD TRICK.

This is a model of a card trick and how it can be expanded to make the trick more interesting. There is a specific formula that can be used so it can be done with any number of cards. The trick can also be modified to apply to specialty decks of cards.
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Slater, Zach. CREATING THE ULTIMATE BASEBALL TEAM.

The purpose of this project is to determine the best baseball players of the 20th century in a mathematical way. I will start by taking all of the players that have made the all-century all-star team as voted on by baseball fans, and then use a weighted point system that will determine the best player at each position.
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DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Analytical Papers and Analyses

Jones, Michelle. HOW ATTITUDES DIFFER ABOUT RESTORATIVE JUSTICE BETWEEN STAKEHOLDER GROUPS?.

Restorative Justice is a new way at looking at the criminal justice system. It offers more for the victims, community, and the offenders. Restorative Justice brings about change in society by focusing on the victim, offender, and the community. It focuses on repairing the harm done to the victim and giving the offender an opportunity to take responsibility for what they have done wrong and make amends. This research project examines how stakeholder groups attitudes vary amongst restorative justice and community involvement within the criminal justice field.
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McBride, Linda L.. THE ELDERLY DRIVER: MOTORIST OR MENACE?.

This project investigates the impact of the elderly driver through state accident statistics and personal interviews. The literature review suggests elderly drivers are dangerous on the road; however, personal interviews conducted with senior citizens with an average age of 75 and 55 years of driving experience report only 1 accident in their lifetime. With baby boomers reaching the age of retirement and social security, it is predicted there will be 23 million drivers over the age of 65 on the roads in 15-20 years. This is certainly an issue that needs further study.
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Empirical Projects

Beard, Reshawn. AN IN DEPTH EXAMINATION BETWEEN CHILDHOOD POVERTY AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY.

Abstract The correlation between poverty and juvenile delinquency involves a complex relationship between poverty demographics and delinquency rates. Using secondary data, I investigate the how poverty and extreme poverty rates may be used to help predict delinquency rates among certain races. The findings support my hypothesis that individual and family poverty levels does impact the rates of delinquency and types of delinquent acts. Although there is a relationship shown through my analysis, more in depth research needs to be completed using different strategies including time spent in poverty, level of poverty and the role poverty has on shaping the individual life of the juvenile.
Faculty Sponsor:

Funk, Jeremy. A MISSOURI COMMUNITY’S UNDERSTANDING OF TERRORISM AND PREPAREDNESS.

The terrorist events of September 11, 2001 have shown us that terrorism can strike anywhere in the world at any time. The Missouri Department of Public Safety website describes homeland security as…” the responsibility of every citizen in our nation and state. We need an informed and prepared citizenry to help us do our jobs.” By sending out 150 surveys within the community of Saint Joseph, Missouri this researcher will see how the citizens feel about terrorism in general and what they know their national, state, and local governments are doing to prepare for an incident.
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Otto, Zeth. HOW MUCH TIME IS SPENT ON ETHICS AND THE PREVENTION OF POLICE MISCONDUCT IN BASIC POLICE ACADEMIES?.

For the beginning of policing there has been police misconduct. It has been found that an officer with good ethics is less likely to be involved with police misconduct. The objective of this study is to see how many hours of ethics training is conduct in basic police academies compared to the rest of the training. A survey was completed by academy instructors to see how many hours of ethics training is received at basic police academies in the four state region of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. Police officers were also interviewed to see how many hours of ethics training was conduct when they were in their basic police academy. The officers also provided additional information regarding experiences in ethics training and with police misconduct. The interviews with the police officers and survey of academy instructors help illustrate both perspectives of the ethics instruction.
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Tonn, James. GUN LAWS OR GUN PROGRAMS, WHICH IS MORE EFFECTIVE AT REDUCING VIOLENT CRIME?.

Gun laws and gun programs are put into place to help reduce violent crimes. This paper discusses gun law and gun program data both before and after their inception to help decide which is more effective at reducing violent crimes.
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VanSickle, Kim. MORTGAGE FRAUD EPIDIMIC: CAN REAL ESTATE AGENTS HELP?.

*Mortgage fraud has become one of the fastest growing financial crimes in the history of the United States. *The dramatic increase of mortgage-related Suspicious Activity Reports have increased the awareness & attention to mortgage fraud. *The MO Dept of Ins, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration (DIFP) is reviewing ways to educate lenders, brokers, REALTORS, appraisers and consumers to recognize mortgage fraud and deter crime. *Research was conducted to find if real estate professionals felt education would be a significant defense against mortgage fraud.
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Wiederholt, Amber. DO FEDERAL SENTENCING GUIDELINES DETER CRIME?.

Federal sentencing guidelines were enacted to deter crime rates in connection with alleviating prison populations. The purpose of this study was to figure out if federal sentencing guidelines are effective in deterring crime, or if crime is still rising. This study focuses on crime arrest rates through years: 1975, 1980,1985,1990,1995,2000, and 2005, to determine crime rates throughout the years. I looked at the distinguishing changes in arrest rates for drug offenders over the years from 1975 through 2005,differentiating between male and female drug offender criminal arrest rates. The overall purpose was to determine if federal sentencing guidelines help deter crime, which was why they were initially enacted.
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Literature Reviews

Swoyer,Stephanie. ALTERNATIVE SENTENCING FOR LOW RISK JUVENILES.

Abstract This paper examines the dangers of placing adjudicated youth in a correctional setting and evaluates alternatives to incarceration, such as diversion programs, victim offender mediation, and juvenile probation. Research is conducted through previously published academic journals and surveys conducted on collegiate students throughout the Missouri Western State University campus. Ultimately, this paper identifies the best alternative for incarceration of youth and describes the benefits of doing so.
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DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND JOURNALISM

Empirical Projects

Bozarth, Teresa. SINGLE SOURCING - WHAT IS IT AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS?.

Within the field of technical communication, single sourcing has been an emerging technology for at least the last decade and has created a paradigm shift in the field of technical communication. My poster presents the research I conducted on this technology as well as my findings. My sources for this research are articles found in the publications of Technical Communication and Intercomm and are written by professionals within the field. I am including a clear definition of single sourcing, a few key terms, illustrations showing the differences between traditional and single sourced documentation, as well as an explanation of the specific elements that are driving the need for this technology. In addition, it will also address the future implications this will have on the professionals in the field of technical communication.
Faculty Sponsor:

Kelly, Jacob. SCIENTIFIC RHETORIC: CREATIVE SCIENTIFIC WRITING AND ITS VALUE TO THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.

The purpose of scientific writing is to discover and inform. To meet these two criteria scientific writing must follow certain conventions, which include, using the language of the community, having authoritative voice, and using metaphors to aid in the understanding of the text. The use of creativity in scientific writing has spawned debate in the community, because the informative value of these papers is not widely accepted. Two non-traditional scientific articles have been examined in this research. According to the research they are not just entertainment for the scientific community, they are creative scientific writing.
Faculty Sponsor:

Modlin, Melanie. GRANT WRITING FOR THE NOVICE.

“Grant Writing for the Novice” explains the concepts and terminology required to write a successful grant. It describes in great detail the necessary steps the grant writer must take in order to ensure a winning grant. To better understand the difficult task of grant writing, the essay analyzes and evaluates a successful grant, submitted by Missouri Western’s own Dr. Jane Frick, titled “2008 MO Prairie Lands Writing Project.”
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Rainsbarger, Ashley. THE PERSONALITY OF TEXT.

My research is a continuation of other research that is meant to discover the persona of typeface, i.e., the personality of font. Visual Rhetoric is how an image communicates with its reader. If this is true then it’s important to remember a couple issues: First of all it’s important to know what traits are associated with what fonts. Is Times New Roman associated with seriousness or playfulness? Once this idea has been thought out we must then decide what fonts are expected to be seen where. Would people relate to Bradley Hand ITC font on a fancy restaurant menu better than Cotillion? One researcher in particular, Eva R. Brumberger, did a study on the rhetoric of typography specifically dealing with persona of typeface. In order to gain a better understanding of the above questions and slightly further Brumbergers research on the persona of typeface, I have conducted a small survey similar to the one in Brumbergers research paper. The survey revealed that people do associate specific fonts with specific characteristics and that these fonts are expected to be seen in particular genres of writing.
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Simmons, Joyce. WOMEN AND MEN'S COMMUNICATION STYLES IN BUSINESS, TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC FIELDS.

In 1993 and 1994 the Center for Policy Alternatives performed national studies of the workplace on women and men in scientific and technical professions. Three areas were looked at, women’s: • working environment, • relationships between work/personal lives, • interpersonal communication styles. Results: When entering employment females show communication differences between male counterparts. With years of experience communication styles become more androgynous. A 2008 study being performed on students at Missouri Western covers the same areas. Specifically are androgynous communication styles being acquired after years of employment, through the environment in which they mature and/or at home through parental influence?
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Smith, Alyssa. UNE ETUDE DES PUBLICITÉS FRANÇAISES ET AMÉRICAINES.

The purpose of this study was to examine the similarities and differences in regards to magazine advertisements for women’s perfume in France and the U.S. The study includes discussion about print advertising, analysis of the two cultures (in an effort to understand how culture is reflected in advertisements), and subsequent findings after examining about 70 advertisements. The researcher observed advertising appeals, colors used, subjects shown, decency, text, etc. Findings indicate that approaches used in both countries are relatively similar. In addition, they indicate that certain cultural aspects can be linked to what is seen in the ads, while others cannot.
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Literature Reviews

Baker, Darice L.. GENDER ISSUES IN ELECTRONIC MAIL COMMUNICATIONS.

My research consists of looking at Gender Issues within the Context of Electronic Mail Communications in the Workforce and other electronic mail servers. My findings are as follows: Although, men and women tend to gravitate towards same sex communication, they also accumulate opposing gender speech patterns over time. We cannot assume the gender of the author is male or female by the way they are communicating in the electronic message, unless The social cues that are based on gender may point toward male or female author, such as using the signature of the sender into the email.
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Dubach, Christina. ISO 9000 AND SAS 70.

I will be exploring how the standards and practices of ISO 9000 can be integrated into the standards and practices of the SAS 70 auditing standards. I will be creating a “how to” manual that outlines the various components that need to be considered when creating documentation for a SAS 70 audit.
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Koehler, Teddy. TECHNIQUES IN TECHNICAL WRITING: WEB VERSUS PRINT.

As the Web becomes a more prominent resource for research, education, and documentation, it is changing the face of technical communication. As technical writers, it is important for us to understand how we must evolve with the emergence of the Web. We must learn how to adjust style, organization, and layout between print and online documents in order to convey as much information to our audience without losing them in the process. People are becoming less patient, and information is expected on-demand, so we must be willing to adjust to the demands of society in order to be successful communicators.
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McIntosh, Ashley. HOW THE AUDIENCE OF WEB PAGES/SITES AFFECTS THE LAYOUT OF THE WEB PAGE/SITE.

For this paper, I am looking for the visual rhetoric of web pages or sites so I can analyze how the audience changes the layout purpose and needs of a web site. I have written about the ways the audience influences how a layout is made and what web sites are based off of by what their audience is. I have taken two different toy companies web sites and, between the two, I will analyze their differences and how each compares and contrasts against one another with how they are built based on their audiences.
Faculty Sponsor:

Rathburn, Sarah. VISUAL RHETORIC AND THE AFFECT ON THE AUDIENCE.

There are certain design aspects that everyone should follow. The way a printed document is laid out has a disticnt affect on the reader. The colors and fonts can invoke thoguhts and ideas in the audience. Charles Kostelnick looked at the advances in simple charts over the years. It was noted that there was more comprehension of the data depending on the lay out.
Faculty Sponsor:

Strasser, Kathryn. FIVE CHARACTERISTICS FOR USABLE DESIGN: USER’S GUIDES FOR THE NOVICE SOFTWARE USER.

This paper examines current conversation that is going on in the Technical Communication community concerning specific features of usable design and how these features are efficiently applied for different audiences. I explore the findings of Katherine T. Durack from an article titled "Patterns for Success: A Lesson in Usable Design from U.S. Patent Records," Eric P. Kumpf's "Visual Metadiscourse: Designing the Considerate Text," Chauncey E. Wilson's "Usability and User Experience Design: The Next Decade," and Jan V. White's “Building Blocks of Functional Design." I combined from these sources five main points of usable design to discuss how the For Dummies series and the Visual Quickstart series employ these design features for the novice software user. I expand on and discuss the design features of visuals, placement and size of visuals, captions, white space and chunking, and consistency.
Faculty Sponsor:

Thompson, Jennifer. THE DIFFERENCE IN THE CREATION OF PRINT AND ONLINE DOCUMENTATION.

For technical communicators the ability to create documentation in both print and online mediums is very important in today’s technically savvy society. This project examines the differences between the creation of the two mediums. The research investigated was based on articles published by Technical Communication and Technical Communication Quarterly. Throughout this investigation, I have found that important elements such as available space, differences in writing styles, and linear versus nonlinear within documentation affect the way technical communicators must perform their writing tasks. If technical communicators wish to provide readable documentation, they will need to adjust their writing style while creating the two different types of documentation.
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Waddell, Rachael. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ETHICS UNDER FIRE.

Intellectual property (IP) laws have always had two main goals: protect the inventor/author’s rights and let the public use the invention/product. Since the world is quickly becoming globalized, it is not hard for Americans to benefit from creations made around the world. However, it’s also not hard for pirates and counterfeiters to benefit financially from another’s hard work. Without regard to IP laws and product quality, pirates/counterfeiters will copy and mass produce almost anything and can, collectively, make more money than legal sellers. With this type of theft becoming more common, will IP ethics and laws be destroyed?
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Webb, Warren. THE METHODOLGY OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION IN TODAYS CLASSROOM.

An excavation of extensive fact finding through technical articles, in class learning, and literature reviews reveal ther modern day technical classroom. Todays College classrooms require a fresh approach to the field of technical communication. While the field is fighting for relevance, its important to examine and determine proper teaching methods to produce superior students. The teaching of fundamental principles must remain the main core component for technical communication teachers. Proper grammar, documentation analysis, and organizational skills must be at the forefront. Followed by design elements, advanced techniques, and localization.
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DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT SOCIAL WORK AND SOCIOLOGY

Empirical Projects

Campbell, Jesse. CRISIS AND CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT HOTLINE.

This study compares the effects of crisis: in the form of natural disasters; wars; and terrorist attacks; in the United States on the number of reports received by the child abuse and neglect hotline in the state of Kansas. Included in the study there is a comparison of the number of reports assigned for maltreatment or child in need of care. This comparison will better define what variables are being affected. This study was completed through secondary data analysis of the information available on www.srskansas.org that outlines the number of cases per year. There was an in-depth literature review preformed showing other related studies. Finally after analysis the data showed that there was not enough of a change in number of reports to be significant.
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Hengstenberg, Haley. CASE MANAGEMENT AND JOB SATISFACTION WITH SOCIAL SERVICE WORKERS.

Social Service Workers at the Division of Senior and Disability Services work with clients 60 years or older or clients 18-59 years old that have a disability. Workers used to provide case management to their clients that would usually require building a close and trusting relationship with the clients. Then, in 2005, the Division underwent a redesign and they no longer provide case management services. The purpose of this study is to explore if the lack of case management conducted by social service workers at the Division of Senior and Disability Services affects their job satisfaction. To conduct the study, voluntary surveys were distributed to social service workers at the Division of Senior and Disability Services in Saint Joseph, Missouri. The survey consisted of questions about their satisfaction with their job and their feelings about the process of working with their clients and will show the affects that client-worker relationships have on job satisfaction.
Faculty Sponsor:

Palmer, Katie. SELF-ESTEEM IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

This project focused on the self-esteem levels of several 4th grade students as they participated in 4 weeks of group sessions. The group sessions provided many activities to educate the students on such topics as self-esteem, self-empowerment, and self-control. The purpose of the study was to determine if these types of groups could have an effect on the self-esteem levels of the students.
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Riggle, Kayce. RETAINING FOSTER HOMES IN NORTHWEST MISSOURI.

Retention of foster homes in Northwest Missouri is declining at a faster pace than the decline of children in foster care. Past research considered that larger populated areas could retain more foster homes because of easier accessibility to needed services. Thus, smaller populated areas, with fewer resources, are less likely to retain foster homes. This research looks at the availability of resources in counties with a population of 20,000 or less compared to counties with a population of 70,000 or more.
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Stuart, Brandi. MONEY MATTERS EVALUATION.

At Green Hills Community Action Agency in Livingston County, I evaluated a program from the Building Strong Families series called Money Matters. This study involved a control group of other clients who did not attend the workshop and an experimental group who attended the workshop. To help evaluate the workshop, both groups were given a pretest before the class and a posttest approximately two weeks after the class. In this research, I hope to prove that the Money Matters class is an effective workshop to teach budgeting skills to low-income families.
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DEPARTMENT OF NURSING

Empirical Projects

Jensen, Megan,SN; Courtney Luke,SN; Jennifer Ronssee, SN; Deb Ellis,MSN,NP-C. IMPROVING HEALTH SEEKING BEHAVIORS IN YOUNG MALE ATHLETES WITH CHEST PAIN.

Chest pain is an upcoming issue for young adult male athletes according to previous research studies. Health seeking behaviors have been shown to be minimal without education of the risk factors, signs and symptoms, and outcomes of untreated chest pain. Based on Pender's Health Promotion Model, researchers may increase the likelihood of young adult male athletes seeking medical attention secondary to chest pain. Using Pender's Health Promotion Model, researchers will examine the effects of teaching the risk factors, the signs and symptoms and outcomes of untreated chest pain to young adult male athletes, so to assist engagement in behaviors that will achieve positive health outcomes. Subjects for this study will be a convenience sample of young adult male athletes, 18-25 years of age from a Division II Midwestern University. For this study, a pre-test and post-test analysis was used to identify the effectiveness of the interaction. The results indicated the population did learn, but was not statistically significant. Nursing implications included continued health promotion through education for cardiovascular health and for increasing self-efficacy.
Faculty Sponsor:

(Stark, Dawn)(Sharp, Jennifer)(Beck, Stacie)(Furtado, Kelly)(Voelkel, Nathan). EVALUATING ADOLESCENT INTEREST IN HEALTHCARE FOLLOWING AN EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION.

By 2020, the healthcare industry will experience a severe shortage due to aging baby-boomers, increased numbers of retiring healthcare professionals and advancements in technology. Studies report that early exposure and experience in healthcare enhance high school students’ interest in healthcare professions. Many high school students report misperceptions about healthcare professions. A partnership between AHEC, St. Joseph School District, and Missouri Western State University was developed to address this challenge. The research study was designed to measure whether high school students’ perceptions about healthcare would increase after an educational intervention integrating high school math and science course level expectations (CLEs). Using problem based learning and curriculum integration; units for the CLEs were developed by senior community health nursing students to connect the CLE and a health profession. Each high school student was given a pretest, followed by the educational intervention, and a posttest to evaluate the change in perception. The evidence of the quantitative study reflected an overall t-test significance (p= .000) in support of the hypothesis. Implications for additional research are related to evaluating the long term sustainability of the educational intervention. The framework used to guide this research project was Rogers Diffusion of Innovation Theory and was supported by a grant from the NW MO AHEC.
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DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

Empirical Projects

Arnold, Lois, Guerrero, Andrew, Jackson, Joesey, Quarles, Rickey, Wigton, Tiffany, Wolfe, Shawna. DOES MOOD AFFECT HUMOR APPRECIATION?.

Appreciation of light and dark humor was assessed as a result of induced mood (happy versus sad). Participants in the happy condition viewed the festival scene from Grease while those in the sad condition viewed the scene from Old Yeller where the boy shoots his rabid dog. After viewing the movie clips the participants rated light and dark cartoons as funny or not. The results revealed no main effect for differences in mood induction or interactions between mood and type of humor. There was a main effect for type of humor. Participants rated dark humor as funnier than light humor.
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Boos, Bobbi; Forney, Brandi; Kaneaster, Steven; Mann, Magen; Manville, Samantha; Potter, Talia. WOULD YOU THROW A PERSON ON A BOMB? THE EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL STATE AND GENDER ON MORAL REASONING.

The purpose of this experiment was to examine how emotional states affect decision making about a moral dilemma. Male (n=51) and female (n=81) college students were randomly assigned to four emotional state conditions (control/neutral, disgust, happiness, and sadness/empathy). The students were shown photographs for thirty seconds each and then asked a series of questions regarding their emotional state and how strongly they felt that emotion. The students were then presented with a moral dilemma and asked how they would respond in that situation. Although the results showed that the photos induced the desired emotional states, they did not support the hypothesis that emotional state would affect response to the moral dilemma. However, the analysis did show a significant main effect for gender and a significant sex x question interaction. Males and females were equally reluctant to undertake an action that involved direct harm to a person, but males tended to make more utilitarian decisions on questions involving indirect actions.
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Buczek, Erica. IMPERMANENCE AS A FORM OF BUDDHIST COPING WITH STRESS.

Research has not explored religious coping in Buddhism as it has other religions. Impermanence, an important Buddhist concept, has only been examined qualitatively. The current study gave 550 Buddhists in the United States a quantitative measure of Buddhist coping, which included items dealing with impermanence. Factor analysis revealed 14 types of Buddhist coping, including the idea of impermanence. Reminding oneself of the concept of impermanence predicted outcomes from stress, over and above general religiousness and demographic variables. Individuals who used the idea of impermanence reported better outcomes from the stressful life event. Implications of the study are examined.
Faculty Sponsor:

Ferris, Destiny. BUDDHIST COPING: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BELIEF IN KARMA AND GENERAL OUTCOMES FROM STRESS.

Religious coping and the belief in karma have been examined in many groups, except Buddhists. The present study developed a quantitative measure of Buddhist coping presented to 550 Buddhists in the United States. Factor Analysis uncovered 14 types of Buddhist coping, including the belief in karma. Belief in comprehensive karma uniquely predicted outcomes from stress, over and above general religious and demographic variables. Individuals who believed in comprehensive karma reported better outcomes from the stressful event. Implications of the study are investigated.
Faculty Sponsor:

Hickman, Wendy. MEDITATION AS A FORM OF BUDDHIST COPING.

Few studies have examined religious coping in the United States Buddhist population. Though studies have examined the stress-reducing effects of meditation, few have looked at how Buddhists employ such techniques when stressed. The present study created a quantitative measure of Buddhist coping given to 550 western Buddhists. Factor analysis revealed 14 types of Buddhist coping, one factor representing meditation. Meditation predicted general outcomes from stress over and above demographic variables and general spirituality. Individuals who practiced meditation as a way to deal with a stressful event reported better outcomes from that situation. Implications of the study are examined.
Faculty Sponsor:

Hietbrink, Lisa. LOVINGKINDNESS AS A PREDICTOR OF GENERAL OUTCOMES FROM A STRESSFUL EVENT.

Research has not examined religious coping in Buddhists as it has other religions. Qualitative research has found loving-kindness (expressing compassion towards oneself and others) to be a particularly relevant form of Buddhist coping. The current study created a quantitative measure of Buddhist coping, given to 550 Buddhists across the United States. Factor analysis revealed 14 types of Buddhist coping, including lovingkindness. Use of lovingkindness predicted outcomes from stress, over and above general religious and demographic variables. Participants that engaged in lovingkindness to cope with a stressor reported better outcomes from the stressful event. Implications of the study are discussed.
Faculty Sponsor:

McQuinn, Natalie. OUTCOMES OF MINDFULNESS IN BUDDHIST COPING.

There is little research on Buddhist forms of religious coping. Research is reviewed on mindfulness, an important form of Buddhist coping. The current study created a measure of Buddhist coping, given to 550 Buddhist participants across the U.S., along with measures of adjustment to stress. The factor analysis resulted in 14 factors, one of which was mindfulness. Mindfulness predicted general outcomes from a stressful life event, over and above demographic and general religious variables. The more participants reported using mindfulness to cope with a stressor, the better the outcome of that stressful event. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Faculty Sponsor:

Reynolds, Christina. AN EXAMINATION OF JOB SATISFACTION, LIFE SATISFACTION, AND BURNOUT RATES.

This study examined burnout rates, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction rates among child protective service workers (CPS). Previous research has found that workers were simultaneously feeling burned out, yet satisfied with their jobs. One hundred two participants responded to four questionnaires for the study; Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Job Descriptive Index (JDI), Satisfaction of Life Scale (SWLS), and a fourth closed ended questionnaire directly related to their employment. It was hypothesized that the CPS workers would report they were feeling burned-out but were satisfied with their employment. Results indicated that workers reported high levels of emotional exhaustion, 87 of 102 workers. Forty-three workers were satisfied with their jobs overall. Respondents reported overall satisfaction with their employment. They were dissatisfied with the opportunities from promotion and the level of pay received.
Faculty Sponsor:

Riddle, Randy. RIGHT THOUGHT AND RIGHT ACTION: BUDDHIST FORMS OF RELIGIOUS COPING.

Religious coping is rarely empirically examined in the Buddhist population. A few studies have examined morality, an important element of Buddhism, but no studies have created a scale of Buddhist coping. This study created such a measure, and provided it to 550 Buddhists in the US. Factor analysis revealed 14 types of Buddhist coping, including practicing morality (right thought and action). Practicing morality predicted outcomes from stress, better than general religious and demographic variables. Those who reported practicing morality to cope with a stressful event reported better outcomes of that stressor. Implications of the study are addressed.
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