Senior Showcase 2017

Influences of Math Anxiety on Undergraduate Students by Jordan Stiede and Brendan McCoy

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of sex, major, and school on undergraduate students’ levels of math anxiety and math performance.…

Androgen metabolite measurement in droppings from adult male Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) by Colleen Elzinga

This study was undertaken to validate the use of noninvasive techniques for measuring androgen hormone metabolites in the Eastern Bluebird (Sialia…

The Attorney Generals’ Role in a Polarized Society: How the Office has Evolved and What it Needs to Survive by Nicole Zeman

The Judiciary Act of 1879 established the role of the United States Attorney General (AG). The AG is the head attorney for the country, appointed by…

Neutral lipid metabolism of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis during periods of starvation by Konner Feldhus

The rotifer Brachionus plicatilis is a halophilic invertebrate often used for research and feeding young fish. One concern in this work is to provide…

Slamming: The Roots, Function, and Future of Slam Poetry in Patricia Smith's Performances by Elizabeth Abitz

The declining readership of poetry has caused concern amongst scholars, leading them to ask questions: is poetry too difficult or too elitist? These…

David Hume and Adam Smith: Comparing Mentor and Mentee Publications by Jordan Braband

Both Hume and Smith are influential philosophers and economists, and wrote some of the most important historical works in the beginnings of the study…

Ghost Folklore at Ripon College by Rebekha Crockett

Ghost folklore has existed in most cultures throughout history. While many would consider the days of ghouls and superstitions to be long gone, it…

The Influence of Task Complexity on Performance and Arousal by Tessa Dillenbeck and Josh Plummer

The effects of task difficulty and task type on physiological arousal levels and task performance were examined by testing participants’ physiological…

Go With the Flow: Classifying the Asymptotic Behaviors of Semidiscrete Curve-Shortening Flows by Mitchell Eithun

A semidiscrete curve-shortening flow continuously deforms a polygon in the direction of an inward normal until it shrinks to a point. We are…

A Woman's Place According to the Second First Lady by Elizabeth Erdmann

This paper explores the views of Abigail Adams, wife of second President of the United States John Adams. Adams has been called an early feminist…

Václav Havel on Human Conscience by Zachary Mattson

Václav Havel is one the main European dissidents and political leaders that helped bring the change from the old style communist regimes to capitalist…

The Man Behind the Persona: Bill Cosby was Never 'America's Dad' by Madeline VandenHouten

Billl Cosby's allegations caused one of the most catastrophic identity crises in American history. Between October 16, 2014 and December 30, 2015,…

Subverting the Male Gaze: Empowering Women through Art by Ally Wilber

This essay analyzes the harmful effects of the male gaze in art and advertising throughout history, and highlights contemporary feminist artists who…

Iliotibial Band Syndrome: A Friction Syndrome or a Compression Syndrome? by Stephanie Peterson

For a long time, Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS), a common injury seen in athletes of all different backgrounds, was believed to be due to friction…

"We Are a Circle": Interpellation and Liminality in Neopagan Witchcraft Rituals

Circle Sanctuary, as an Ideological State Apparatus (ISA), interpellates Neopagan practitioners into ideologies such as interconnectedness through…