The Tenth Annual NC State University
Undergraduate Research Symposium

Abstracts are listed in alphabetical order by the last name of the corresponding author.

Student Author(s):	Banks, Jonathan B.
Department(s):	Psychology
Research Mentor(s):	Kitty Klein/Psychology
Title of Presentation:	The Relationship between Attitude Accessibility and Emotion Complexity (oral presentation)

The purpose of this experiment was to explore the idea that there might be differences in the attitude accessibility of a concept as a function of the emotional complexity associated with its memory. We operationalized affective accessibility as the speed with which a participant could indicate whether a concept was liked or disliked (Fazio 1994). Very short response times suggest that the evaluation of a concept is simultaneous with it's recognition; longer response times suggest that the concept's evaluation must be constructed following it's recognition.
            To measure emotional complexity, participants rated the extent to which they felt each of 10 emotions when thinking about each concept (Hansen& Hansen). Thirty-five undergraduate participants completed a working memory task, an attitude accessibility task, and an emotion tagging task. In the Attitude Accessibility task participants stated whether they liked or disliked an item. Attending women's sport's, Getting eight hours of sleep each night, and Dining at local restaurants are some of the one hundred and thirty items that were presented on this task.
            In the Emotion Tagging task participants were presented with a list of eight college experiences which were also included in the attitude accessibility task, one at a time. These experiences were: College sports, Taking exams, Dating, Getting drunk, Challenging class, Dorm life, Missing class, and Being alone. Participants rated each experience on ten different emotions. These emotions were:Frustrated, Guility, Angry, Embarressed, Surprised, Anxious, Self-Conscious, Disgusted, Happy, and Confident. The emotions were rated on a scale from one to ten, with one being "not at all" and ten being "extremely".
            In the first analysis, we used the 8 concepts a the units of analysis. Response times were related to the summed emotional intensity ratings, r(6)=.55, p<.09. The longer it took to decide whether or not one liked or disliked the concept the more intense the emotions associated with the concept. The second analysis was a canonical correlation to determine whether there was a relationship for the eight stimuli between the range of emotion ratings and response times. Longer response times were associated with greater emotion ratings, Canonical R (64,127.62)=.87.p<.03. Alough the data supported the hypothesis that emotional complexity is linked to slower evaluative accessibility, how emotional complexity should be defined is problematic. While there was no relationship between total intensity ratings and accessibility, using a range measure did allow us to predict evaluation speed.

Student Author(s):	Banwo, Adedayo A.
Department(s):	Communication
Research Mentor(s):	Robert Entman/Communication
Title of Presentation:	Racial Hierarchy in Television Broadcasts of Professional Football (oral presentation)

Professional football (NFL) is the largest and most economically successful sports entity in America. The question answered with this research is not, "is there a racial hierarchy which exists in America?" but rather "does the racial hierarchy pervade popular forms of media and entertainment, most notably professional football?"
            The research was conducted through a content analysis of television broadcasts and articles from popular sports magazines. The content analysis aimed to identify significant differences in media coverage of white and black athletes.  The content analysis coded for negative/positive type comments during the television broadcasts and attributions as well. The magazine articles allowed for the comparison of written texts as well as the images accompanying the articles.
            The differences in coverage became the basis for identifying a racial hierarchy in professional football. The significance of this lies in the fact that, statistically speaking, black and non-white athletes dominate professional football. Analyzing how the media promotes white participation in this sport, to the point where it is perceived as being equal to non-white participation when statistics say otherwise, is a solid communication and Humanities research project.

Student Author(s):	Baxter, Jason E.
Department(s):	Communication Graphic Design
Research Mentor(s):	Robert Entman/Communication Sarah Stein/Communication Tony Brock/Graphic Design
Title of Presentation:	Developing a Language of Kinetic Typography (oral presentation)

As typography moves from its traditional two-dimensional form into the four-dimensional domain of time,there is a need for the development of a language suitable for describing works of four-dimensional typography. Established forms of communication arts such as cinema, theatre, and dance offer some suggestions towards the development of such a language that would take into account issues of time, space, motion, and narrative. The goal of this paper is to study theatrical, cinematic, and kinæsthetic vocabularies as models for informing the development of a language suitable for describing four-dimensional typography.

Student Author(s):	Bouldin, Elizabeth J.
Department(s):	Foreign Languages and Literatures
Research Mentor(s):	Jorge Marí/Foreign Languages and Literatures
Title of Presentation:	A Mountainous Quest: The Symbolic Value of Nature in San Manuel Bueno, Martir (oral presentation)

Early 20^th-century Spanish author Miguel de Unamuno wrote extensively on the question of reason versus faith. His novel San Manuel Bueno, Martir epitomizes this struggle, in which there is no resolution. Highly metaphorical, San Manuel Bueno, Martir employs the symbols of a mountain and a lake to explore the many facets of the conflict between reason and faith. These symbols open up the problem, allowing for a fuller exploration. Paradoxically, the mountain and the lake also represent the boundaries of mortal limitations, which ultimately prevent humanity from ever knowing the true answer to this significant
question.

This study examined the role of mitigating circumstances in capital trials. Preliminary investigations have revealed that a distinction may be drawn among mitigators; specifically that two categories of mitigators may exist.  The first of these two, compensatory, may be viewed as evidence regarding the defendant's character, or evidence capable of elevating the defendant's character such as being a church deacon or a loving husband.  Alternatively, exculpatory mitigators are proposed to be circumstances that bear on the crime itself and may reduce culpability for the crime.  Furthermore, exculpatory mitigators may be divided into two categories, high exculpatory and low exculpatory, on the basis of perceived control.  High exculpatory mitigators are those over which the defendant had a great deal of control, such as committing the crime while high on cocaine. Conversely, low exculpatory mitigators are those in which the defendant had little or no control, as in the case ofa mentally retarded defendant.
            Building on prior research, we sought to determine whether or not these distinctions do exist among mitigators.  In order to test our hypothesis, questionnaires were distributed among one hundred twenty-seven students from introductory psychology courses.  This questionnaire consisted of an authoritarian attitude index, questions regarding crime control, and an evidence questionnaire.  The evidence questionnaire presented twenty-four different mitigators and asked participants to respond to seven questions regarding the characteristics of that particular evidence.  Prior to analyzing the data, each of the twenty-four mitigating circumstances was placed into one of the three proposed mitigator categories: compensatory, high exculpatory, and low exculpatory.  Mean scores for the three types of proposed mitigators were computed using the seven characteristics regarding the crime. Analysis of the patterns of mean scores supports the proposed three categories of mitigators.

Student Author(s):	Coffey, Leslie G.
Department(s):	English Graphic Design
Research Mentor(s):	Steven B. Katz/English
Title of Presentation:	A Rebellion of Words: The Language of the Growing Consciousness of a Young Girl (oral presentation)

Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" is a page long story of a girl waging a silent and subtle battle against a world of absolutes, where men dominate and women are subservient creatures who are not permitted to deviate from their assigned societal roles. However, the battle is not evident in the content of this very short story, a narrative of a girl remembering her mother nagging her about what to do and how to act. Rather the battle is only evident in the style in which it is written. A close examination of the language of this brief story reveals the girl beginning to challenge in small but important ways the words she has been taught by disfiguring words and using their opposites. I will show that while her vocabulary may be restricted by the limited number of words she knows, an analysis of those words reveals subtle changes in the language that reflect how she is beginning to feel about her mother's social image of an ideal woman, and her increasing rebellion against that image.

Student Author(s):	Ehrlich, Elizabeth E.
Department(s):	Communication
Research Mentor(s):	T.L. Taylor/Communication  Steve Wiley/Communication
Title of Presentation:	Pagan Ritual and Community in Virtual Spaces (oral presentation)

For Pagans who feel themselves in a free speech world where societal pressures seem to rip through the mask of religious tolerance and attempts to either convert them or damn them, the computer has become a staple magical tool, finding itself on the altar beside the candles, the incense, and the wand.  Like other religions who now find their homes in Cyberspace, Paganism is alive and well in the virtual realm providing education and information on Paganism, community building, and sacred space for religious ritual.  This presentation discusses the juxtaposition between Earth-centered religions and modern technology that has produced a friendly online environment accessible via the personal computer.  Although some followers are firm in their opposition of such modern technology, many Pagans are finding community and ritual in Cyberspace, seemingly opposing their beliefs in and worship of the Earth and Nature.  The presentation will examine the reasons Pagans have for allowing the computer and Cyberspace to take such a strong presence in their lives, as well as the act of Pagan ritual in virtual worlds and the communities that are formed there.

Student Author(s):	Ferrarini, Shawna G.
Department(s):	Communication
Research Mentor(s):	William J. Jordan/Communication  Jessica Katz Jameson/Communication
Title of Presentation:	Conflict Management in Corporations: What's Working, What's Not and Why? (oral presentation)

This study examines modern conflict management practices in corporations by looking at types of conflicts and methods used for conflict resolution.  The study concludes with an analysis of the effectiveness of the methods based upon standards developed by experts in conflict management.
            In order to examine conflict in corporations, the following sources were used: The Executive Way: Conflict Management in Corporations (1995) by Calvin Morrill, which examines conflict from an executive management perspective of thirteen corporations; Alternative Dispute Resolution: The Halliburton Experience, a piece written by William L.Bedman, Halliburton/Brown & Root Assistant General Counsel for Human Resources for a presentation before the American Bar Assoc.Section of Dispute Resolution in April 2000; Information gained through an interview with Cindy Lindsey, HR Representative at Progress Energy Service Company, discussing conflict management in that corporation; Knowledge as Work: Conflicts in the Management of Knowledge Workers by Harry Scarbrough analyzing "the emergence and management of knowledge worker groups," using a conflict-based analysis of the Microsoft Corporation as an example. Finally, the paper evaluates the effectiveness of these methods by comparing them to those being reccommended by many experts in the field of conflict (Ury, Constantino and Merchant, Jameson).

Student Author(s):	Harrison, Kevin Sasser, Nathan Ehrlich, Elizabeth Miller, Stu
Department(s):	Economics/Philosophy and Religion English/Philosophy and Religion Communication Industrial Engineering
Research Mentor(s):	John Carroll/Philosophy and Religion
Title of Presentation:	A Dialogue in Time Travel (oral presentation)

We have created a philosophical dialogue in the tradition of Plato, Berkeley, and contemporary authors like John Perry, which addresses the logical possibility of time travel. Discussing time travel entails an examination of relevant issues such as identity over time, free will, and, most importantly, backwards causation. In the dialogue, we attempt to show that the philosophical arguments against the logical possibility of backwards discontinuous time travel are unsound.
            The dialogue begins with a quick survey of some of the logical puzzles as they are treated in sci-fi time travel movies--the medium through which many people first encounter time travel.  Many sci-fi time travel movies include blatant contradictions, such as events that both do and do not occur. Others do not appear illogical, at least at first glance.  We move on to look at what makes object X, existing at time  t₁, numerically identical to (i.e., the very same object as) object Y, existing at time t_2..  In addition, some lively discussion arises around the idea of backwards causation.  The problem at issue is, can some state at time t₁ be affected by an event occurring at a later time,  t₂?  By following these lines of thought, we run into dilemmas concerning fatalism and free will in a world where backwards causation exists.  Finally, we come to the grandfather paradox and the bilking argument, which deal with the prospects of changing the past.  Our objectives are to provide a dialogue that will aid students in understanding some of the philosophical issues prompted by the possibility of time travel.

Student Author(s):	Jones, Lindsay D.
Department(s):	English Biology
Research Mentor(s):	Jorge Mari/Foreign Languages and Literatures
Title of Presentation:	Femininity: A Casualty of Hispanic Literary War (oral presentation)

It has long been evident in Anglo-Saxon culture that female literary characters have had to fight against repression and eclipse by their male counterparts.  What of other cultures?  How is femininity treated in the literary works of non-English societies?  This presentation deals with the suppression and eventual elimination of feminine characters in two Hispanic literary works.  In both the short story “La intrusa,” by Jorge Luis Borges, and the drama La Casa de Bernarda Alba, by Federico Garcia Lorca, the suppression of female characteristics is embodied in the subservience and eventual death of the female character.  The presentation attempts to define femininity by the attribution of certain characteristics to the female sex in general and the female characters in particular, and then illustrates how these characteristics are hidden or denied in the two works concerned.

Student Author(s):	Kellogg, Ryan P.
Department(s):	Multidisciplinary Studies Chemical Engineering
Research Mentor(s):	J. Oliver Williams/Political Science and Public Administration
Title of Presentation:	Elusive Dragon: A Survey of Chinese Students and Scholars Studying in the United States (oral presentation)

The past 25 years has seen China transform itself from a closed society  to one at the forefront of the global stage. This is perhaps no better seen than through the expansion of educational exchange between China and the United States in the past two decades. Once an opportunity for only a few, government-selected scholars in the early 1980s, the number of students from the People’s Republic of China attending US universities has grown to over 50,000. Despite being the best represented group of international students in the US, there is very little information available about this elusive population. This research attempts to better characterize this community through an online survey that explores  Chinese  students’ opinions on relevant current events in China, while also examining their personal background and motivations for studying in the US. The 1,200 survey participants were randomly selected from 15 different universities situated throughout the country and were contacted via direct email or through listservs provided by Chinese student and scholar associations. Participants were asked to answer multiple choice questions that explores their opinions on current cultural, economic, and political issues;  to detail their plans for the future; and to  provide basic demographic information. The main thrust of this research is to investigate the role the respondent’s background and future plans have  played in shaping the opinions reflected in their survey responses. A secondary goal is to explore the  respondent’s view of US foreign policy in regard to China and to examine  what they see as inconsistencies. The  study hopes to provide a better understanding of the Chinese student community.

Student Author(s):	Lindsay, Adam
Department(s):	Foreign Languages and Literatures
Research Mentor(s):	Jordi Mari/Foreign Languages and Literatures
Title of Presentation:	El Grito del Cine (oral presentation)

"El grito del cine": As western society keeps broadening its textual learning from what used to be primarily print concepts to a more "high-tech" society--one that constantly bombards viewers with visual messages--visual media plays an increasingly crucial role in societal education.  Bienvenido, Mr. Marshall (Spain 1952) and Three Amigos (USA 1986) constitute two compelling case studies of how cinema is embodied with the power to create and perpetuate both illusion and cultural identity.  I will look at how cinema, specifically mainstream Hollywood, has become a major component of the collective imaginary in such countries as Spain and Mexico.  I will also examine the impact that the much anticipated arrival of the Marshall Plan had on Post-War Spanish culture and will reflect on the meta-cinematic play of character representations that take place in Three Amigos.  By careful analysis of specific sequences of these two films I hope to contribute deeper understanding of the mechanisms by which cinema may produce ideological messages.

Student Author(s):	Mabe, Frances Jane
Department(s):	Mediated Communication
Research Mentor(s):	Robert M. Entman/Communication
Title of Presentation:	Race and Gender Representation:  Situations in Prime-Time Television (oral presentation)

Media images are factors in defining, as well as reflecting cultural and social norms.  Studies have suggested that stereotypes perpetuated in both news and entertainment media images can negatively affect an individual's perceptions of "other" groups, while positive representations have the potential to facilitate racial comity.  Therefore, differences in racial and gender representation may potentially contribute to segregation, proliferate racial and gender hierarchy, and hinder understanding by perpetuating stereotypes.  The presence of Black characters in prime-time television is limited to dramatic programming and virtually absent in situation comedies on the ABC, CBS, and NBC networks.  Situation comedies targeted towards Black audiences on the UPN and WB networks have been repeatedly criticized for portraying negative stereotypes.  A content analysis of prime-time television examining visual and auditory elements of character representation was conducted.  Data analysis compared representations of Black and White characters on situation comedies targeted towards a Black audience (UPN and WB networks), with images on sitcoms aiming for a more heterogeneous audience (ABC/CBS/NBC).   Data analysis then compared representations of Black and White characters within the respective genre (situation comedy or drama).  Three episodes each of ten situation comedies and five dramas were chosen for coding, based on the most recent Nielsen ratings.

Student Author(s):	Mackey, Kristin S.
Department(s):	Business Management International Studies
Research Mentor(s):	Jorge Marí/Foregin Languages and Literature
Title of Presentation:	A "Revolting" Nicaraguan Marriage (oral presentation)

One of the more popular themes in modern women’s poetry portrays the problems women face in what is a male dominated society.  In her poem, “Urgent Message to My Mother,” Daisy Zamora implements this theme, specifically highlighting the injustices a traditional marriage brings to a woman.  Zamora conveys a disdain for conventional unions, which suppress a woman from having her own personal identity.  Therefore, she uses a sarcastic tone throughout the poem to mock the tradition and declare her intentions to avoid it.  I contend that Zamora's political sentiments in conjunction with her involvement in Nicaragua's socio-political conflict at the time she wrote the poem provide an additional dimension to the analysis of the text by allowing her to integrate the rebellion against marriage within the larger context of the political struggle against the Somoza dynasty.

Student Author(s):	Mahoney, Kelly M.
Department(s):	Foreign Languages and Literatures
Research Mentor(s):	Jorge Marí / Foreign Languages and Literatures
Title of Presentation:	Textual Gaps (oral presentation)

That which is withheld in literature can often be more important than what is presented to the reader. In the stories “The Night Face Up,” by Julio Cortázar, and “Our Father Who Art in Heaven,” by Leandro Urbina this counterintuitive idea is clearly demonstrated through a very deliberate absence of information that obliges the reader to interact with the presented information on a more intense level. Cortzar’s surrealist techniques and Urbina’s political predicament of living during Pinochet’s dictatorship invoke a concise and discreet presentation of their short stories, thereby placing more importance on what must be read in between the lines.

Student Author(s):	Stack, Hayden A.
Department(s):	Foreign Languages and Literatures Textile Engineering, Chemistry, and Science
Research Mentor(s):	Jordi Marí/Foreign Languages and Literatures
Title of Presentation:	"Otherness" and Circularity in the Existence of the Immigrant

Many Hollywood films portray the immigrant as one who leaves his or her homeland to enter a foreign land and attain a better life. Representations of immigrants in two films of Hispanic origin,  El norte and Cartas de Alou, however, stand in contrast to this romanticized Hollywood image. These films portray the poor immigrant as a placeless person who becomes the “other” when he or she crosses the border and faces discrimination and exploitation. The life that an immigrant leads in a foreign land is, therefore, more of a circular existence than the idyllic good life. Both El norte and Cartas de Alou examine the association within the immigrant’s mind between moving northward and improving one’s lot in life. In the end, the lives of the main characters expose the fallacy of this myth, yet it is so ingrained within their minds that it persists even after they are exposed to the harsh reality of life in the north. Each of these films emphasizes the societal role of immigrant as the “other,” meaning that their identity is established in opposition to the qualities of the majority of the population. For this reason, the decision to become an immigrant is also a choice to remain on the fringes of a foreign society, subsisting on what the majority relegates to its “other.”

Student Author(s):	Taylor, Megan S.
Department(s):	Sociology  Anthropology
Research Mentor(s):	Randall J. Thomson/Sociology and Anthropology
Title of Presentation:	Out of the Kitchen?: A Longitudinal Analysis of Attitudes Toward Women in the Workplace (oral presentation)

A dramatic shift in attitudes about women working outside of the home has followed the development of the feminist movement.  The current literature suggests that variables such as sex, race, education, and age influence attitudes about women's employment.  Marital status, mother's educational attainment, and number of children also play a major role in shaping those attitudes.  In general, the findings have suggested that the greater the family commitment, the less likely the attitudes toward women working outside of the home will be favorable.  Previous empirical research on this topic, however, has tended to treat these relationships as if they were static, localized, or unaffected by the larger economic context.  Futhermore, most of this research was conducted in the 1970s or 1980s.  This paper addresses these shortcomings by investigating the relationships among these variables with national level (GSS) data at two economically different points in time, 1993 and 1998.  Tentative results suggest that the economic climate has a substantial impact on the relationships among these variables and should be considered when interpreting the findings of studies on attitudes towards women in the workplace.

Student Author(s):	Ulichny, Jennifer L.
Department(s):	Applied Sociology English
Research Mentor(s):	Steven B. Katz/English
Title of Presentation:	The Nancy Drew Series as Time Machine: Style Analysis, Feminist Theory, and Sociological Trends (oral presentation)

The Nancy Drew series spans 70 years and has had a major impact on the shaping of gender roles and the developmental culture of young adult females.  This presentation will analyze parallel introductions and escape/action scenes from years of great historical upheaval; I will start with the first novel in 1930 and proceed through 1952, 1966, 1979, 1982, and finally a 2001 edition.  I will examine the structure and word choice and demonstrate that while the content of the Nancy Drew series has changed with the times, the construction of the text maintains traditional gender ideologies.

Student Author(s):	Whitaker, Seth W.
Department(s):	Political Science and Public Administration
Research Mentor(s):	Andrew J. Taylor/Political Science and Public Administration J. Oliver Williams/Political Science and Public Administration
Title of Presentation:	The Rise of the Republican Party in the North Carolina General Assembly, 1894-2000 (oral presentation)

For the first nine decades of the twentieth century, lawmaking in the North Carolina General Assembly was a one-party affair.  Only very recently have Republicans been even moderately successful in challenging Democratic control of legislative politics in the state.  Two questions are presented:  How were Democrats able to establish legislative dominance, and then maintain their power for such a long period?   How did Republicans manage to rise from obscurity to viability in legislative politics?
        My analysis begins with an investigation of the role of social forces such as race, sectionalism, immigration, and urbanization in North Carolina legislative politics, undertaking examination of politics at other levels within the state and across the South as appropriate.  I then investigate the historical role of the reapportionment revolution and of majority-minority districts in changing the rules of the electoral game for legislative races and their contribution to the development of two-party politics.  This is an issue of current interest with redistricting taking place this legislative session.  I also consider the impact of watershed election years on the ebb and flow of Republican fortunes in the General Assembly, both at the ballot box and in the legislative chambers themselves. The investigation concludes with a discussion of what the growth of two-party legislative politics means for the future of the Assembly, and how it has helped, or hindered, the legislative process.

Student Author(s):	Wiedmer, Paul
Department(s):	Foreign Languages and Literatures
Research Mentor(s):	Jorge Mari/Foreign Languages and Literatures
Title of Presentation:	The Other Ones (oral presentation)

Underlying all immigration there is a strong motivation to leave one's home and country because of adverse circumstances, the selection of a destination often based on myth and stereotype, confrontation with "otherness" upon arrival at the destination, and finally the interaction between the immigrant and society, which causes perceptual changes for both the immigrant and the society in which he/she finds him/herself.
        It is precisely this concept of "otherness" which allows inhuman practices towards immigrants to persist.  Every society defines itself by comparison to other societies, other ethnic groups, most often to the detriment of the groups that are used for this comparison.  This is why a society can treat immigrants in the horrible way it does, because they are "not really like us".
 I have chosen to use the films EL NORTE and LETTERS FROM ALOU to demonstrate how the concept of "otherness" can lead a society to treat people who they perceive as being unlike themselves in a manner that is utterly degrading and inhuman.

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Physical and Mathematical Sciences abstracts