Category: Fall 2012

Charlene Able

Reducing Recidivism

The post-prison recidivism rate averages about 67% in the United States. With the prison population increasing and the funds decreasing, it is important to find a way to lead our criminals towards a path in life to become a productive part of society. The aim of this literature review is to show that rehabilitating our prison population through education, faith-based programs, and job skill training will reduce re-entry into the prison systems.

PSY 499, Senior Capstone

Nani Skaggs

A201

9 – 9:30 AM

Josh Alvarado & Emily Svendsen-McLean

How Much Debt are You in Due to College?

We are going to collect data on the amount of debt that college students have accumulated thus far while in school. In order to be part of our study, the person must be at least a sophomore, Junior, Senior, or graduate student. This will give us a more accurate number since these students have been in college for at least 3 or more years and will be forced to pay this money back very soon. This is a very important topic for most college students, especially in an election year where higher education and the affordability is a big issue amongst the candidates. It will be a situation many of us will be facing as the economy looks to rebound. 

MATH 315

Tim Bergquist

Banquet Room

1 – 3 PM

Camille Anguiano

Postural Stability Post Sport Concussion

This review paper examines different ways to test and measure postural stability that can be helpful to sports medicine clinicians, athletic trainers, and coaches as they are making return to play decisions following a sport concussion. Six articles were searched on EBSCO Host. This review concluded that measuring postural stability and neuropsychological post concussion symptoms of athletes is a very effective measurement designed to aid sports clinicians in return to play decisions. Postural stability tests were found to be extremely important because they measure the center of force in neutral position, any deviation away from neutral position results in a sway. 

EXSC 407, Senior Capstone

Heike McNeil

L203

1 – 1:30 PM

Tim Bergquist

The Role of Mission Landing in the White Settlement of the Willamette Valley: The Search for Sources

Mission Landing is located on the Willamette River about one mile west of the town of St. Paul in Marion County in the state of Oregon. This paper traces the initial search for sources and findings regarding the role of the landing in the white settlement of the Willamette Valley. The political, economic, religious, social, and cultural impacts will be investigated along with family ties to the area.

HIST 499, Senior Capstone

Ron Palmer

P103

10 – 10:20 AM

Shawna Bradley

Oregon Native American Tribes History and Culture

This presentation will include my teacher work sample binder for my minor placement in a 4th grade classroom The unit I designed and planned was for 33 fourth graders I had three weeks to teach them about Oregon Native American Tribes through a variety of in-depth hands on project based learning activities

EDUC 437

Vivian Moen

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Andrea Brandt, Janel Campbell, Valerie Durbin, Mikayla Gattie, Chris Longi & Emily Merkin

Comics as Literature

Students will be presenting a panel discussion of various subjects that were discussed in our Special Topics class this term. Historical significance of Comics, Underground Comics, Villains, Superman as a metaphor for Moses, the graphic novel “Marked which is based on the Gospel of Mark, and other topics.

ENG 407

James Gill

A201

2 – 3 PM

Jackie Brooks

Prevention of Recurring ACL Injuries: Rehabilitation Strategies

Athletes that have undergone anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction are at risk of re-injury. This presentation discusses the risk factors and recommendations for safe return to sport for athletes after ACLR. Information supporting use of objective, measurable criteria that focuses on resolution of neuromuscular deficits that are know and modifiable risk factors, in addition to time from surgery guidelines, must be implemented to decrease re-injury rates.

EXSC 407, Senior Capstone

Heike McNeil

L203

1:30 – 2 PM

Travis Brown, Samuel Eymann & Allyssa Mittleider

Correlation Between Stress and Illness

Stress and illness are two social factors that affect everyone’s daily life. In our study we looked at how these two correlate with one another by constructing a questionnaire with specific questions relating to stress and illness. It is expected that the questionnaire will reveal information that each participant, who has been sick within a the month prior to taking the questionnaire, will have written about or marked events as “stressful” that they have experienced with the month prior as well. The answer will correspond with each other in such a way that it exemplifies the illness leading to stress.

PSY 350

Nani Skaggs

Banquet Room

1 – 3 PM

Alyxe Bruns, Jordan Myers & Calvin Philpott

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed in 2002 to protect investors from fraudulent accounting activities by corporations. This act was passed in the wake of many high profile corporate scandals, like Enron and WorldCom, and drastically changed the role of an accountant. This presentation will provide an analysis of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the reform that it caused in the accounting field.

ACTG 499, Senior Capstone

Frank Paliotta

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Krista Bryson, Erik Carrazco, Brianne Lagumina & Johnny Mager

The Halo Effect: The World in Here vs The World Out There

The halo effect is also known as the “What is Beautiful must be Good” effect is an important cognitive bias in understanding people’s perceptions based on individuals’ perceived level of attractiveness. The study of the halo effect can help explain why certain people (highly attractive people) get different opportunities over others. Individual perceived as more attractive are assumed to have positive qualities such as being trustworthy, rich, helpful, kind, and secure. In our study, we are going to see if NCU students have different perceptions of the level attractiveness then what others off our campus have towards pictures of attractive individuals.

COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Khala Carpenter

The Personality’s Eye on Emotion: How Personality Affects Emotion Recognition

This study is designed to explore the relationship between personality and one’s ability to recognize emotions based of facial expressions. Participants take a personality test and are then asked to judge people’s emotions. Then they are asked how they made their judgments: based on their thoughts, feelings, or emotions. 

PSY 350

Nani Skaggs

Banquet Room

1 – 3 PM

Erik Carrazco, Matthew Dixon, Brianne Lagumina & Chase Pearson

The Correlation Between Religious Faith and the Need for Closure

This purpose of this study was to find the correlation between an individual’s religious faith and their need for closure. A person’s need for closure directly corresponds to their need to reduce uncertainty. People are looking for answers to their questions, which then helps them reduce their uncertainty giving them a sense of satisfaction. This is backed by the most updated research from our text Close Encounters by Guerrero, et, and other database websites. Our hypothesis states people with a high level of religious faith will be more likely to have a lower need for closure in relationships. Upon completion of this study and final data compilation you will find that our study will lean considerably towards our hypothesis.

COMM 413, Advanced Interpersonal Communication

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Katie Collins

Glenohumeral Instability and Dislocations in Athletes

Athletes are at a high risk of encountering glenohumeral instability and dislocations due to overuse or traumatic collisions. Six peer reviewed articles were researched in order to better understand the classification, etiology, and treatment options of glenohumeral instability. The results implied that initial management should include a non-operative rehabilitation program. However, if this is unsuccessful within 6 months, then surgical treatment should be considered. Also, it was found that depending on the activity level and requirements of the athlete, surgery may be the better initial option for treating glenohumeral instability and dislocations so that the athlete can quickly return their sport.

EXSC 407, Senior Capstone

Heike McNeil

L203

2 – 2:30 PM

Kelsey Combs

Contributing Factors in Rotator Cuff Injuries

Rotator cuff injuries (RTC) are common among athletes, particularly athletes that are involved in sports that require overhead exercises. The purpose of this review was to look at different factors and see how they influence one’s risk for an RTC injury. The review includes materials gathered from six different studies and discusses the influence of muscle flexibility, fatigue, range of motion, and overuse on rotator cuff injuries. It was concluded that there are a multitude of factors that influence the risk for injury; this results in an imbalance in the strength of the RTC muscles, increasing one’s risk for injury and re-injury.

EXSC 407, Senior Capstone

Heike McNeil

L203

2 – 2:30 PM

Tara Cook

Minor Placement Work Sample

In this Minor Placement Work Sample you will find five different sections; planning for instructions, establishing classroom climate, planned learning activities, evaluating student progress, exhibiting professional behavior, and resources. Within each of these sections you will find examples of my growth as a teacher and the examples of learned skills and reflections. You will also find examples of the lessons that I have taught and the solutions to problems I had faced through the course of my teaching experience. 

EDUC 437

Vivian Moen

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Matthew Dixon, Mark Hamilton & Ryan Vermilyea

Expectancy Violations and Gaining Compliance

We tested whether violating someone’s expectations would lead them to more or less be willing to sign a petition.

COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Valerie Durbin

Marie Antoinette: Innocent Victim of the French Revolution

My goal is to show how propaganda mixed with failing economics, and royalists hatred towards Marie’s Austrian heritage created a false version of the Queen used to unite the French people and bring about the Revolution, thus creating a victim out of Marie.

HIST 499, Senior Capstone

Steve Goetz

P103

9 – 9:30 AM

Elyssa Emel

Minor Work Sample—Solar System

In this unit, students will be learning about the objects in our solar system: the Sun, the terrestrial planets, the gas giants, the asteroid belt, and the Kuiper belt. They will learn facts about each of the planets, like how big they are and their composition, and record them in the science notebooks they will make. Students will be learning about the order of the planets from the Sun out to the Kuiper belt. They will also be learning about the importance of gravity to keep the planets orbiting around the Sun.

EDUC 437

Vivian Moen

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Tyler Fox & Jordan Miller

The Winning Edge

For our project, we will determine whether the turnover to shot ratio can determine the outcome of a game. We will obtain our data from the GoBeacons website. We will be using both the men’s and the women’s game stats from all the years available for our data. For each individual game we will determine the number of shots and divide it by the number of turnovers. After obtaining this number, we will constructs a histogram that will show the shape of the distribution. After determining the mean, standard deviation, and median we will conduct a hypothesis test to determine if a certain shot to turnover ratio determines a win. 

MATH 315

Tim Bergquist

Banquet Room

1 – 3 PM

Eric Fromm, Sharie Krouse & Jacob Smyth

Detecting Deception

This is a study to determine if deception cues affect the outcome in a courtroom setting. For the court case selection, we use Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown.

COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Calvin Green

Mechanics and Resulting Injury of the Golf Swing

Golf is a sport that is gaining worldwide popularity thanks to the play and stardom of players like Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Bubba Watson. With recent advances in technology, instructors and researchers have been able to analyze the mechanics of the swing and the muscles used. This review will look at the muscles being used during the swing, how injuries could be sustained due to the mechanics of the golf swing, and an effective treatment plan for the injury prone golfer. 

EXSC 407, Senior Capstone

Heike McNeil

L203

3 – 3:30 PM

Karlie Griffith-Solinger

Does Analytical Thinking Promote Disbelief in Science?

Current research in the cognitive science of religion has implied that analytical thinking promotes disbelief in God. In a study conducted by Gervais and Norenzayan (2012), participants were primed to think analytically through a sentence construction task, and then they were asked to rate their belief in God. Drawing from Justin Barrett’s suggestions for future research, the present study primed participants to think analytically using the same sentence construction task, but then asked participants to rate their beliefs in science. It was predicted that those in the analytical condition would express a greater disbelief in science than the control condition. 

PSY 499, Senior Capstone

Nani Skaggs

A201

9:30 – 10 AM

Jessica Jeffreys

Great Recovery Methods for Incomplete Spinal Injuries

Incomplete spinal cord injuries have a lengthy and unique process of recovery for every patient. Understanding the options of gait recovery for those who have an incomplete SCA will better the chances of a successful gait. Six studies were used from EBSCOHost to understand the physical therapy options to regain gait strength.

EXSC 407, Senior Capstone

Heike McNeil

L203

3:30 – 4 PM

Brittany Hanania, Kori Kapihe & Stephanie Roland

Financial Regulation in the Business World

This discussion is on the implications of accurate and regulated financial records, as they relate to the areas of taxation and auditing. A summary will be given of the history of American financial regulations and their governing bodies. Analysis of key areas in financial regulations will be compared to international regulations on financial record-keeping. Tax and auditing regulations currently in America will also be analyzed to provide an understanding of the reliability that implementation of such regulation brought about. It is expected that these analyses will support the argument that standardized regulation ensures financial accuracy in the business world.

ACTG 499, Senior Capstone

Frank Paliotta

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Emily Kaelin, Susan Leip, Johnny Mager, Rebekah Rossberg, & Ryan Vermilyea

Speakin’ Beacons Showcase

NCU’s Speech and Debate Team will showcase speeches and oral interpretation pieces prepared for the Fall 2012 slate of tournaments, including formative speaking, after dinner speaking, prose interpretation, and poetry interpretation.

COMM 321/421, Forensics 

Doyle Srader

Ross Evans Chapel

9 – 10 AM

Kalyssa Koontz

Discovering Cambodia: Decolonization, the Khmer Rouge, and the Effects on Human Trafficking Today

After going to Cambodia this last summer with NCU missions, I was challenged to make Cambodian history known to the West where it is rarely talked about. This presentation seeks to examine the recent history of Cambodia from the formation of the French Protectorate to the end of the terrible reign of the Khmer Rouge and how this historical cycle of decolonization has lead to the sex trafficking trade in Cambodia today. By examining key primary and secondary sources, this paper will briefly explain the recent history of Cambodia and finally, it will assess the current facts on sex-trafficking in Cambodia and how Cambodia found herself in her current situation with this social injustice.

HIST 499, Senior Capstone

Steve Goetz

P103

9:30 – 10 AM

Kalyssa Koontz

The Rise of Islam and the Islamic Empires

This work sample was taught in my minor placement at Harrisburg Middle School. The unit includes 11 lessons in which students were engaged in many group learning activities and projects as well as different teaching strategies that address different learning styles. This unit was taught to a 7th grade social studies class that first learned of Islam as a religion, then they learned of Islamic empires and their achievements.

EDUC 437

Vivian Moen

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Susan Leip

Mass Media and Politics

Throughout the years, journalism and politics have coexisted in America. Print and broadcast journalism both influenced political thought in their time. Print journalism brought awareness to the court packing legislation during the administration of Franklin Roosevelt. Broadcast journalism revealed the truth of McCarthyism to the American public. Today, the internet media has assumed the job of influencing politics, as shown through the recent protests of the SOPA and PIPA legislation. By looking back on how mass media influenced political opinion in the past, we can find examples of what the future of mass media and politics will look like.

COMM 499, Senior Capstone

Doyle Srader

A201

1 – 1:30 PM