Category: 12 Fall 2014

Miles Adkisson & Denise Barrett

Personal Space and Helpfulness

People have an invisible bubble that surrounds them to keep people at a safe distance. Although the distance as to which someone feels comfortable varies slightly from person to person. There is a threshold that, once crossed, can make someone very uncomfortable. The present investigation explores how people respond to an invasion of their personal space. Participants were chosen at random and asked for directions on the University of Oregon campus either from a socially acceptable distance or with an invasion of the participant’s personal space. Our findings suggest that an invasion of personal space does not necessarily receive a negative response.

COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication

Doyle Srader

Miles Adkisson & Madison Reed

Power Differentials Between Genders

This study was completed to show how each gender responds to the display of power by resident assistants at a university. An experiment was conducted that included 10 students who lived on campus. An original hypothesis stated that female students would respond positively when asked to complete a task, whereas male students would respond positively when ordered to complete a task. After conducting the study, data confirmed the hypothesis for females but wasn’t supported for males.

COMM 413, Advanced Interpersonal Communication

Doyle Srader

Alek Angeli

Using Olympic athlete ages to assess when peak performance is most attainable

The purpose of this data analysis was to determine whether there is a relationship between age and peak performance for summer male Olympic athletes within the sport of track and field. Much of the analysis focuses on a relation between Olympic athlete age and medals obtained. An analysis of individual Olympic athlete birthdates, Olympic record book keeping, and research articles involving peak performance and human development of emerging adulthood were observed in an attempt to associate age with peak performance. From the research it appears that individual peak performance is most attainable during mid- to later twenties.

MATH 315

Tim Bergquist

Alek Angeli

The Affects of Arch Structure on Lower Extremity Injuries

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of high and low foot arch structures on lower leg extremity injuries and running mechanics. Much of the research focuses on how differences in arch structure can influence distribution of impact forces in undesired areas of the lower extremities. An analysis of research articles involving arch structure, foot strike patterns, and ranges of motion were observed in an attempt to associate injury patterns with arch structure. From the research it appears that individuals with either high or low arches experience some form of susceptibility to a lower extremity injury.

EXSC 407, Biomechanics of Musculoskeletal Injury

Heike McNeil

Denise Barrett & Hayley Leno

Stress and Break-ups

Stress after a break up will occur in almost any circumstance. This study was conducted to measure stress after a break up based on frequency of interaction. The hypothesis was higher stress level would be positively correlated to more interaction. A survey was given to people at NCU and U of O, which asked to report on their stress level after a break up. The results showed almost no difference in the stress based on interaction but showed a significant difference in stress levels based on gender. The results showed proximity does not have a factor in stress level after a break up.

COMM 413, Advanced Interpersonal Communication

Doyle Srader

Denise Barrett, Patricia Martinez & Jacob Wathen

Does Gender Influence Bystander’s Willingness to Help?

The more people who witness someone needing help, the less likely they are to offer assistance. This is known as the bystander effect which is due to the diffusion of responsibility. Passersby assume someone else will offer assistance. In the United States, females are often viewed as more helpless than males and receive more assistance. Based on this assumption an observational study was done to see if a female would receive more assistance than a male who posed as a homeless panhandler for one hour.

PSY 350, Research Methods

Nani Skaggs

Carly Bigby

Child Development

The goal of this paper was to gather information to examine 2 separate children. In this case study there are 2 different girls who are sisters with a 3 year age difference. This paper is going to examine cognitive, social, psychological, moral and physical development of both the developing adolescence. This paper will also make recommendations to help the 2 participants reach or maintain a normal healthy development stage. Data was collected using a series of methods including: Personal Interviews both with Pam( 16 years old & Beth( 13 years old) parents, siblings and 3 different people who observe these girls in there everyday life. In these observations that were conducted they were both at home and observing both girls play volleyball

EDUC 330-370

Brian Kaelin

Sabrina Biggers

Autism: Detection and Cognitive Differences

Autism is a developmental disability characterized by social and cognitive impairments. Symptoms of Autism include but are not limited to challenges in communication, difficulty in focusing on stimuli, and repetitive behavior. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is measured on a scale from highly functioning to low functioning. Current research in the diagnosis and screening of Autism has found that tools used to measure Autism are effective. Further, research has found cognitive variation between individuals with ASD and non-ASD individuals. Research on Autism provides insight on the best practices needed for early detection and success of individuals with ASD.

PSY 499, Senior Capstone

Nani Skaggs

Vladyslav Boloban

Arsenal FC: The Years under Arsène Wenger

The purpose of this project is to analyze the performance of the English soccer team Arsenal FC under the management of Arsène Wenger over the last 20 years. The analysis of the performance is based on goals scored/allowed, games won/lost/tied, and trophies won. Based on the analysis it can be said that the team was successful, but in the last few years its performance has declined.

MATH 315

Tim Bergquist

Vladyslav Boloban

Inversion Ankle Sprain Injuries

The purpose of this paper is to review several studies on the inversion ankle sprain injuries in order to understand what happens during an ankle sprain. The studies that are reviewed are focused on the injury assessment, predictive /causing factors, kinematics of the ankle injury, and long term outcomes. It’s concluded that inversion ankle sprains are much more complicated than they seem. Some people are more prone to ankle injuries due to their foot structure. The amount of the damage to the ligaments varies depending on the injury, the symptoms of which can last for long periods of time.

EXSC 407, Biomechanics of Musculoskeletal Injury

Heike McNeil

Joshua Bramlett, Kyle Freske, Patrick Fritter, Hannah Roddy, Rebekah Rossberg & Hunter Tyler

Mythology Projects

Students in the Mythology class have discovered that many myths, even when they come from varying places and time periods, ask similar questions, such as: Why do human beings exist? How were we, and the world, created? What is our purpose here? What is the cause of suffering? Why is there death, and how should we think about it and live in the face of it? Does fate or free will dictate most events? What does it mean to lead a “good” life? What does it mean to be “happy”? In our presentation, we will synthesize, together, many of the ways various myths have attempted to answer these questions, and we will also put Christianity in conversation with what we have studied in order to analyze how several mythologies anticipate Christ.

ENG 450

Lanta Davis

Tianna Bushman & Candace Rodgers

Affectionate Communication

Affection exchange theory (Floyd 2001) makes explicit links between expressed affection and survival. This study examines the link between affectionate communication and life threatening experiences. Sixty-three adults completed questionnaires about their expressions of affection towards loved ones. Of these sixty-three, thirty-five had experienced some sort of life threatening event and twenty eight had not. Results revealed that those who had experienced a life threatening event were more affectionate towards their loved ones. However, the difference was not significant. Further research to support the link between expressions of affection and human viability is necessary.

COMM 413, Advanced Interpersonal Communication

Doyle Srader

Tianna Bushman & Candace Rodgers

Perceived Empathy through Eye Contact

Witkin (1990), as cited in Cline’s The Science and Sanity of Listening (2013), noted that while the process of listening itself is a cognitive function, the perception of listening can be attributed to behavioral attributes. What happens when the cognitive function and the behavioral function do not line up with each other? A person may be portraying one emotion to the audience though the emotions he or she is actually experiencing may be entirely different. Perceived emotion and the emotion being experienced are separate entities, though they do feed off of each other (Cline, 2013).

COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication

Doyle Srader

Noah Cabalona & Edward Fryrear

Nonverbals of T.V. Courtroom Verdicts

This poster shows our predictions on how the t.v. courtroom cases verdict would be based on nonverbal cues displayed. Our assumptions will be based on deception cues learned from the book Nonverbal Behavior in Interpersonal Communications by Virginia P. Richmond. 

COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication

Doyle Srader

Erik Carrazco

Believing you can win, even before you play: A Generic Description of Pre-Game Pep-Talks given by a former athlete

The moments before any athletic match, a coach has one final opportunity to motivate his/her team to victory. A coach or an assigned speaker may use this last chance and deliver a pre-game pep-talk to make a possible underdog feel like they have the upper hand. This presentation will look to describe what exactly a pre-game pep-talk needs in order to be effective. Also the presentation will focus on pep-talks given by former athletes.

COMM 499, Senior Capstone

Doyle Srader

Erik Carrazco & Nick Peloquin

Correlation between Self-Esteem and Eye Contact

We selected NCU students to administer our exam. We sat down with each individual and ask them to select three of their best features. When they answer, we will affirm them through a prewritten script. We will video each interview, we will time how long they held eye contact for, how long they don’t maintain eye contact, and also how many times they break eye contact. This process will happen with each of the three features that they chose. After each interview we will ask the interviewee to complete a Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale test.

COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication

Doyle Srader

Omar Castellanos

Tech Director of Christmas Concert

I will be demonstrating the role of a Technical Director in the NCU’s Christmas Concert. Talking about the planning and procedures a tech director has to do for a major concert. I will also show the steps of setup and how to run the soundboard off an iPad.

MUS 499, Senior Capstone

Karen DeYoung

Haley Cochell & Chelsea Taylor

Student Priorities: Physical, Educational, Social and the Factors that Influence Them

As of 11/10/2014 we have planned how we will be conducting the survey, where we will be conducting the survey, and to whom we will conduct the survey. We have figured out the factors that we will consider when processing the data. We will process our data by comparison between our factors and then demographics. Finally, we will begin surveying students on the 19th of November and completing this stage by November 26th.

MATH 315

Tim Bergquist

Bethany Craig, Wendie Green, Taylor Lind, Brandon McGinnis, Amber Osbourn & Hannah Roddy

WWI Study Abroad

We began a WWI remembrance tour near the point of the German invasion in Ypres, Belgium. Travelling southwest into France we visited pivotal battle sites surrounding Amiens, Perronne, Soisson, Reims, and Verdun. We also had the chance to visit Paris, where we toured Versailles. We ended the trip with a visit to the American Cemetery and memorial at Omaha beach in Normandy. The destruction and devastation of that war is a stark contrast to the beauty of the country and the amazing Gothic architecture that has survived over these many years.

GLST 295, Study Abroad

Jaime Tryon

Chloe Davis & Jessica Harwood

Religion and Modesty

Jessica and I will be studying modesty tendencies and how it relates to an individuals religion. We will walk around NCU and U of O campuses asking females to fill out a short survey to gauge what degree people hold religious affiliation. Then we will give these females a set of outfits to select from that vary in modesty. From these two variables we will try to see if how religous someone depicts them self to be correlates with how modestly they dress.

COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication

Doyle Srader

Alyssa Dorr

Meniscus Injury, Repair & Rehabilitation

The results of a literature review that addresses the anatomy and etiology of meniscus injury is presented. The variability between different repair and rehabilitation methods of a torn meniscus are addressed. Different outcomes from meniscus repair, partial meniscectomy, and physical therapy were evaluated in attempt to find the best results in terms of recovery time and longterm knee function. The literature researched concluded that meniscus repair with accelerated rehabilitation provided the best overall results; this treatment was found to allow for positive long-term functionality in a recovery timespan based on the individual. Protective mechanisms after meniscal repair evidenced little benefit compared to duration of immobility.

EXSC 407, Biomechanics of Musculoskeletal Injury

Heike McNeil

Kyle Freske

Vengeance is Mine: A Full-Length Historical Screenplay

The Border War between Kansas and Missouri is one of the darkest (and least reported) chapters in American history, with the Federal Government willfully oppressing its own people. Exploring this history in dramatic form, “Vengeance is Mine” is a full-length screenplay that remains faithful to the history and theology of 1860’s Missouri.

IDS 499, Senior Capstone

Mick Bollenbaugh

Jessa Fricke, Nathanael Gepford & Colleen Walsh

Adolescent Development

We have studied adolescent development in 5 domains; cognitive, social/emotional, identity, moral and physical. In our presentation we will inform the audience about each of the three subjects in one of the 5 domains. The goal will be to compare and contrast the subjects while articulating our findings. Through research and observation we have found that boys are still behind girl in social and emotional development but have caught up in cognitive, identity and physical development.

EDUC 330

Brian Kaelin

LeeAnn Fudge & Adelayde Hoskins

The Effects of Appearance and Facial Expression on Task Compliance

The purpose of our study was to analyze how dress and facial expression influences the task compliance of strangers. In order to complete our study, we went around University of Oregon, approaching strangers and asking them to take a picture of us. We compared how both casual and formal wear, and smile and no smile influenced strangers’ compliance to our request. Results of our study indicated that as a whole, formal wear resulted in strongest compliance.

COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication

Doyle Srader

Kristin Fulbright

Lady Beacs – Northwest Christian University Women’s Soccer

She will be comparing and contrasting statistics from the past three seasons of the NCU women’s soccer team to determine whether the team is making a positive progression throughout the seasons or if they are backtracking. Some top categories she will be looking at are goals scored, shots and shots on goal, goals against, wins, ties and loses per season and games (minutes) played. She will also be looking at each season’s percentages, such as goals against and shots and shots on goal percentages. These will be key elements to determining whether the seasons have progressed positively or negatively.

MATH 315

Tim Bergquist

Kristin Fulbright, Kaitlyn Moore & Emily Svendsen-McLean

Perceived Stress of Student-Athletes and Non-Athletes

Stress is experienced by everyone, especially college students. Research suggests that student-athletes may experience stress uniquely than their non-athlete peers. Student-athletes have the additional stress of competing, preventing injuries, disappointment, pressure from coaches and time management. The present study compared stress in student-athletes to non-athletes. It was expected that student-athletes would experience more stress than non-athlete students and that student-athletes would have additional stress because of their sport.

PSY 350, Research Methods

Nani Skaggs

Wendie Green

Fear and Memory in the Context of Trauma

Our brains and bodies are designed to remember the things that happen to us, yet some traumatic memories are buried in our subconscious and beg to be released. Combat trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are significantly linked through unique combinations of fear conditioning and memory encoding. Forgetting the trauma, intrusive thoughts, and rumination often disrupt the lives of those diagnosed with PTSD. The common denominator in these phenomena appears to be the initial fear experienced during the moment of trauma. Understanding this link between fear and memory can give insight into helping PTSD patients experience more complete recovery from trauma.

PSY 499, Senior Capstone

Nani Skaggs

Gio Guzman, Ian Hawkford & Remi White

super bowl

Before the research began we brainstormed a few different research topics. The ideas consisted of how much revenue the University of Oregon football team brings to the state of Oregon, whether home-field advantage is actually a factor or not, and finally the topic we settled on, whether or not the NFL team with the best regular season record wins the Super Bowl or not. We all decided on this particular topic because the data, for the most part is easy to get ahold of via nfl.com. Whereas gathering numbers for the profit gained by the state from the U of O football team would be difficult and way below the surface.

MATH 315

Tim Bergquist

Emily Helt

Case Study of a Six-Year-Old Girl

This case study presents the data and analysis of a six-year-old girl. The participant’s development was researched over the period of approximately one month in the following five domains: cognitive, physical, social, identity, and moral. The data was obtained through interviews with the participant and her mother, observations of the researcher, and academic data. The study found that the participant was experiencing healthy, age appropriate development in all five domains, though the physical domain had the most cause for concern of the five.

EDUC 330

Brian Kaelin

Marina Irish

Ethics in Accounting: Satyam

In the accounting discipline, accountants are often required to make ethical judgments which have material effects on their company. If decision-makers act unethically when creating financial documents, their actions can negatively affect the company’s image and success, its employees, and the company’s shareholders. This project addresses the actions of decisionmakers associated with Satyam Computer Services Limited. The Satyam scandal amounted to a billion dollar fraud which later earned it the nickname, India’s Enron. This is constructed as an interdisciplinary project, combining the perspectives of both Accounting and Ethics, and fulfills one of the honors requirement for PHL 210.

PHL 210, Ethics

Mick Bollenbaugh

Linsey Johnson

Comparing Religious Strengths of Athletes and Non-Athletes at a Christian University

College students face many daily stressors, and student-athletes add more pressure and stress on themselves through sports. In past studies collegiate athletes reported higher degrees of religiosity and religious faith compared to non-athletes at public universities (Storch, Roberti, Bravata, & Storch, 2004). The present study looks at the religious strengths, the level of religiosity, the perceived stress, and the coping process of athletes and non-athletes at a private Christian university.

PSY 499, Senior Capstone

Nani Skaggs

Emily Kaelin

Bone Fractures in Boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Bone fractures are a significant health problem for boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Not only are DMD patients at risk for bone fractures, but fractures can be more detrimental to quality of life in DMD patients than in healthy individuals. The purpose of this review was to examine the relationship between DMD and fracture risks and mechanisms. Eight studies were reviewed, each focusing on physiological and biomechanical factors that predispose individuals with DMD for bone fractures. The studies concluded that muscle weakness and reduced bone mineral density are major contributing factors toward bone fractures in individuals with DMD.

EXSC 407, Biomechanics of Musculoskeletal Injury

Heike McNeil

John Kennedy, Dave Lovan & Nicholas Sammut

Bible Reading Habits of Faculty, Staff, and Students at NCU

Reading the bible is an essential part of the Christian life, weather one pastors a church, or pastors a home, regardless if one is an undergraduate, a graduate, a faculty or a staff member: the bible delivers the guidance a Christian needs. In a 2014 study conducted by the American Bible Institute, a sample of 2,036 showed 53% read their bible 3-4 times per year. Of that 53% the twenty nine percent who reported to read at least 45 minutes per sitting were non-Christian adults. We look at the demographic at NCU to determine how often those affiliated with a Christian liberal arts University are reading the Bible.

MATH 315

Tim Bergquist

Taylor Kraal

Achilles Tendon Injury

The purpose of this review was to look at the biomechanics and pathology related to Achilles tendonitis and to explore the treatment options necessary for recovery. Eight studies were examined to examine the causes of injury and proper treatment of the Achilles tendon. After carefully reviewing each of the experimental parameters, it was concluded that pool rehabilitation, insoles, physiotherapy, and eccentric calf exercises were effective forms of treatment. Although all were proven effective, it appeared that eccentric exercises showed a greater reduction in pain while increasing strength over other forms of treatment.

EXSC 407, Biomechanics of Musculoskeletal Injury

Heike McNeil

Danae Laufer

Effects of Backpack Carriage in Children and Adolescents

Back pain in adolescents is a growing concern for medical professionals and parents. During this period of accelerated growth and development of skeletal and soft tissue, additional loading of the spine puts children at risk for injury or deformities. Many studies have been reviewed which focus on a combination of weight, position, and distribution of the load, time spent carrying, and physical characteristics of the carrier. All studies examined found that backpack weight physically impacted children. However, even though there are negative effects of backpack carriage in adolescents, it has not yet been linked to serious injury or spinal deformities.

EXSC 407, Biomechanics of Musculoskeletal Injury

Heike McNeil

Peter Lentz, Travos Pacos & Harley Turner

The Reality of Fantasy Football

We decided to write out our procedure on how we were going to conduct our experiment on comparing the scores from the random National Football League teams to the Fantasy Football score from the four impact players of each of the ten random NFL teams. The next step was to proceed with collecting our data from finding the information from www.NFL.com. Lastly, we gathered up the necessary information to send to our professor and begin to paste our data and information to our poster board to present it on ACE Day to see if our scores correlated or not.

MATH 315

Tim Bergquist

Taylor Lind

Why the West has Won

My presentation is on the debate of why the west has been able to show dominance over the rest of the world since its true formation. I will specifically look at the two top arguments which are cultural based reasons, or geographical determination. While both seem to play a role, there is an argument for how much impact each has had.

HIST 499, Senior Capstone

Steve Goetz

Kaeli Massetto & Taylor Medley

The Tale of Two Adolescents

Throughout a period of time, we observed two adolescent children in five developmental areas. These areas were cognitive, social, identity, physical, and moral development. One student is a 16 year old boy and the other is a 14 year old girl. We found that they are both are developing as expected for their age and gender. However, we also noticed that the two acted and behaved very differently compared to one another. 

EDUC 330

Brian Kaelin