Digital Commons Network^™

N, N-Dimethyltryptamine And Biological Reductive Accounts For Religious And Spiritual Experiences, Shaun Smith

2014-2016 Graduate

There is unquestionably a plethora of details and mysteries regarding the mind and the body. However, with the advent of psychopharmacology (the study of how psychedelics inform or alter brain states), there are more issues at hand. Do psychedelics allow us to access deeper areas of our consciousness? Are we having a spiritual experience under the influence of psychedelics? Dr. Rick Strassman does not want to continue asking these rather conspiratorial-like questions. Instead, Dr. Strassman believes that there is one special, endogenous psychedelic, synthesized within the human physiological framework: N, N-Dymthethyltryptamine. Dr. Strassman concludes that this chemical is produced within …

The Essence Of Discipleship: An Evangelical Perspective, Douglas Taylor

2014-2016 Graduate

Much literature presents discipleship in terms of what one does, but the latter does not define the former - it only shows what discipleship may look like when executed. Christians in general and seminary students in particular struggle to define the essence of Christian discipleship. Much literature exists today describing how one may do discipleship, but what brands something as the very thing it is is not the same as identifying the work it does. This research fills the gap not addressed by the many “how to do discipleship” books by using a hermeneutical-type approach to identify the way people …

Language As A Tool: The Use Of Arabic In Spain Under Islamic Rule, Madeline B. Hauenstein

Young Historians Conference

Beginning in 755 the Islamic rulers of Spain attempted to establish a culture of coexistence between the Jews, Christians and Muslims where the oppositional religions were able to unify for socio-economic benefit. The Arabic language proved to be the most significant factor in creating this unity as it was used to monitor trade, developments in the sciences and the preservation of philosophical developments from Greco-Roman antiquity.

Aristotle's Common Good: A Historical Analysis Of Aristotle's Politics, Connor D. Reising

Young Historians Conference

After studying societal structure in Ancient Athens, Aristotle compiled his research into a comprehensive work on government. Though he focuses on three different types of government and their citizen composition, Aristotle captures the preservation of the "common good" within each. This is the value that government should provide citizens with the ability to live well. Though historians still debate the detailed meaning behind Aristotle's words, this central theme is recognized as his key teaching on societal structure. His ideas stemmed from his home in Greece, but his influence can be seen in societies throughout the rest of world history.

Copernicus’ Role In The Scientific Revolution: Philosophical Merits And Influence On Later Scientists, Jonathan Huston

Young Historians Conference

Nicolaus Copernicus' publication of De Revolutionibus Orbium Coesltium marks the beginning of a revolution in the field of astronomy and physics. Within 150 years, a heliocentric system became almost universally accepted in the scientific community. Copernicus’ model was significant not because it of its scientific merit, but because of its ideological appeal to scientists during the 16th through 18th century. This paper explores the philosophical foundations of Copernicus' model, and examines his influence in later work of four significant astronomers and physicists, Brahe, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton.

Aristotle's Rhetoric: The Power Of Words And The Continued Relevance Of Persuasion, Claire Floyd-Lapp

Young Historians Conference

A critical work in the field of persuasion—Aristotle essentially established the discipline—Rhetoric offers historians a framework by which to study the subject’s history. In his text, Aristotle argues what successful rhetoric entails, for what purposes rhetoric should be used, and what effective rhetoricians do. Aristotle’s Rhetoric speaks to the power of words and has remained relevant since its publication. Rhetoric offers writers and speakers a foundation from which to build their arguments. Although the perceived importance of persuasion has faded since Aristotle’s time, we still use words, and many scholars encourage the reclamation of rhetoric.

Upholding The Monroe Doctrine: American Foreign Policy In The 1954 Guatemalan Coup D'Etat, Nadjalisse C. Reynolds-Lallement

Young Historians Conference

During the Cold War era, the US developed resentment toward the democratically elected government of Guatemala due to fears of Soviet influence in Latin America and liberal reforms orchestrated by President Arbenz that limited the interference of large American corporations in the Guatemalan economy. In keeping with a long history of imperialistic foreign policy, this distrust resulted in the Eisenhower administration and the CIA conspiring to overthrow the Arbenz administration and setting up a new Guatemalan government designed to be more sympathetic to American interests.

Griswold V. Connecticut: A Study Of Resistance To Sexual Revolution In Connecticut, 1961, Natalie Pearson

Young Historians Conference

In 1965, the last remaining anticontraceptive law in the United States was made unconstitutional in Griswold v. Connecticut. Despite widespread acceptance of the use of contraceptives, Connecticut legislatures put up incredible resistance to the sexual revolution of the 1960s and subsequent demand that the statute--outlawing individual use of contraceptives--be removed. This paper asserts Connecticut's foundation as a haven for Protestant values as the reason for this determined resistance to the acceptance of contraceptives.

Deconstructing The Digital Divide: Critical Media Literacy Implementation In The Classroom, Evelyn C. Obamos

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

In this presentation I explore the complexity of the digital divide and propose to use the framework of critical praxis put forth by Paolo Freire in the Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970). Using Freire we are able to build on existing research on the digital divide, contextualize the multi-dimensional issue of the divide, and respond to the social, cultural, and political issues within and beyond the classroom environment.

A Critical Analysis Of Media Images Depicting The New Athletic Body Ideal And One Woman’S Experience With Them, Kelsey Mischke

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The idea body type for women in the United States now requires not only a thin physique, but visible muscle definition and fitness, as well. This athletic body type must still poses feminine qualities such as large breasts, a small frame, and curves. This new level of perfection has been created by advertisements, fitness magazines, and internet memes. However, this ideal body type is still computer generated, created from parts of multiple women, and largely unobtainable. Since its emergence, little research has critically assessed these images and their effects of women’s self-evaluations. A feminist perspective will used to determine what …

History Of Women And Alternative Medicine, Megan Eineke

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Alternative medicine has been used all over the world for centuries. From meditation to hydrotherapy, both men and women practice these modalities. Alternative medicine is an important part of the history of medicine and women have played a crucial role in traditional medical and other healing-related careers. This research project examines health activism among feminists and how that has played a role in what alternative medicine has become today. Information gathered from journals, articles, books, and biographies will be used to create a timeline to share how and when specific events and women influenced the reemergence of alternative medicine and …

Walt Disney And The Propaganda Complex: Government Funded Animation And Hollywood Complicity During Wwii, Amanda Cunningham

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Walt Disney’s work as an animator during World War II had a measurable impact on culture and in the development of government produced messages. It is important to examine this understudied area of Disney’s life and his studio’s efforts to produce wartime training and propaganda films during WWII. Government agencies, including the U.S. Treasury, contracted Disney to produce 32 animated shorts between 1941 and 1945 (Gabler, 2007).

Employing a semiotic approach of cinema, this study focuses on the cartoons The New Spirit (1942), Der Fuehrer’s Face (1943) and Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi (1943). While American wartime …

Acceptability Of Sexting In Same-Sex Relationships, Carly Shadid, Katherine M. Hertlein, Sarah M. Steelman

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

For individuals who identify as part of the LGB community, the Internet can be seen as a tool to take control of their lives, may promote self-esteem, and foster a sense of belonging. The purpose of the study was to learn about sexting practices on college campuses. It builds on the existing body of knowledge by attending specifically to sexting rather than the previous literature about engagement in sexual behavior online (see, for example, Daneback, Cooper, & Månsson, 2005). Findings indicated that sexting is viewed as more acceptable in same sex relationships as compared to heterosexual relationships.

Gilded Age Visual Media As The Impetus For Social Change: Jacob Riis’S Reform Photography And The Antecedents Of Documentary Film, Denitsa Yotova

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

This study examines the birth and evolution of the social documentary genre in visual media. It suggests that a mixture of ideology, technology, and social awareness are necessary for a successful social reform. It finds that despite the limitations of technology during the nineteenth century, social documentaries were produced long before they were part of the genres of photography and film. By focusing on the work of Danish photographer Jacob Riis and tracing the emergence of film, this study demonstrates a connection between documentary film and Riis’s social documentary photography and public slide exhibitions. The study concludes that in order …

The Rhetoric Of Gay Christians: Matthew Vines And Reverend Nancy Wilson As Exemplars, Josu Miller

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

In the United States, there is a perception that the gay rights debate situates Christians against gay rights advocates. According to this perception, Christians oppose gay rights, because the Bible condemns homosexuality as a sin, and those who support gay rights do so using purely secular arguments. This perception of the gay rights debate is flawed and overly simplistic, because simply not all Christians oppose gay rights. In fact, there are multiple interpretations of biblical texts that support homosexuality and have caused a gay rights debate within the church that is as complex and intricate as gay rights debate outside …

Long May She Reign: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Gender Expectations In Disney’S Tangled And Disney/Pixar’S Brave, Caitlin J. Saladino

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

This project addresses messages about gender expectations in Disney princess narratives. The two films included in my project are Tangled (2010) and Brave (2012), which feature the most recently inducted princesses to the marketed Disney Princess line (Rapunzel and Merida, respectively). Using genre as an organizing principle, I argue that Rapunzel and Merida are different from the past Disney princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, etc.) because their narratives reflect new ideas about gender expectations in modern society. The central tension appearing in both films is the opposition between the image of woman as traditional, domestic, and dependent and woman …

Luther's Existential Imago Dei, The Deprivation Thesis, And Sanctity Of Life, Tyler M. John

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

On Ryan Peterson’s reading of Martin Luther, the imago Dei (iD) is a human’s capacity to experience God. Traditionally, Christians have understood the iD to be a property that a) qualitatively separates all human beings from all non-human animals and b) gives humans a greater moral worth than non-human animals. If Peterson’s Luther is right, humans made in the iD and no other material created things have the capacity to experience God, and this capacity makes them worth more, morally, than non-human animals.

I defend this conception of the distinctness of humans by demonstrating the following: For any human being …

Working Memory In Musicians Versus Non-Musicians: A Differential Study Using The N-Back Task, Kara Nonnemacher

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The current study investigates whether long-term musical training and practice are associated with greater working memory abilities. Other studies have shown that musicians have cognitive advantages over non-musicians, including working memory. Forty-six college-aged participants were given an auditory-spatial n-back test. The n-back test requires participants to determine whether or not each auditory and spatial stimulus in a sequence matches the stimulus n stimuli ago. In this study, n=2. Participants were classified as either a musician or non-musician based on their years of musical training. Comparing n-back scores between musicians and non-musicians showed no significant findings. Since …

The Effect Of Music Familiarity On Students’ Reading Comprehension Performance, Heidi J. Johnson, Ben B. Holdredge, William T. Mckinley

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The current study examined 85 university students’ performance in a reading comprehension task under three conditions: silence, familiar, or unfamiliar music. The results indicated that the students in the familiar music condition performed significantly worse than those in the silent conditions, as well as those in the unfamiliar music condition.

A Qualitative Study Of Pastors' Kids At Cedarville University: A Pilot Study, Ruth L. Markham, Monica H. Arslain, Eric C. Skowronski

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Children of pastors (PK’s) are commonly stereotyped in one of two different ways: either they are seen as the model child, or as the prodigal (Barna Group, 2013). The model child is perceived as sheltered and naïve, with expectations placed on them to follow in their parents’ footsteps of faith and practice. The rebel is perhaps the more common stereotype, where children of pastors are seen as having negative feelings toward their father’s position, and wanting to make their own mark on the world and find their own faith journey. The purpose of this study was to determine if either …

2014 Symposium Overview, Cedarville University

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Click the "Download" button in the top right corner to view the abstract booklet.

Augustine, Wannabe Philosopher: The Search For Otium Honestum, Allen Griffith Wilson

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

See poster

Migrant Labor In The Arabian Gulf, Sara Hamza

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

See file

History And Analysis Of French Contributions To Space Exploration, Norma C Miselem

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

No abstract provided.

Shakespeare's Madwomen: How Elizabethan Theatre Challenged The Perception Of Mental Afflictions, Hannah Dhue, Dani Snyder, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

I would like to write about the perception of madness in Elizabethan England. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet will serve as my primary text and I will carefully examine Ophelia. However, it is my intent to use other works from the same era, perhaps even more examples from Shakespeare, to support my points.

Currently my research questions are as follows:

How did the theatrical representations of mad characters – particularly young women – in Elizabethan England reflect the perception of mental diseases and disorders at the time? To what extent were those representations serving as political comments? Were they typically in women …

Martin Luther: Vater Einer Allgemeinen Sprache? Martin Luther: Father Of A Common Language?, Annika Ewaldz, Adam Woodis, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Martin Luther is well known for his 95 Theses, in which he rejects the Catholic practice of selling indulgences; but it was his groundbreaking translation of the Bible into German that instigated the standardization of the German language. After his excommunication, Luther was in hiding in the Wartburg Castle, where he translated his Bible into a vernacular and cohesive form of the German language. Many different dialects were spoken throughout Germany at the time making communication between regions difficult. Luther’s translation soon became the most influential Bible in Germany and was disseminated quickly due to the recently invented printing …

Movin' On Up: Sodomy In Service In The White Devil, Kevin Brown, Joanne Diaz, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Renaissance England was marked by change. From the late 15^th century through the early 17^th century, the social atmosphere in England was thrown out of order. The rise of the middle class gave people money who weren’t supposed to have money. This deteriorated the established hierarchies of the time, blurring the lines between classes. Critics of John Webster’s The White Devil (1612) have yet to address these issues in conjunction with the homoerotic tones throughout the play. Webster is using sodomy as a trope to illuminate how mobility in service is a destructive, chaotic force. By exploring these …

A Comparrision Between Formal Medical Spanish Terminology And The Terminology Used By Low-Income Hispanics, Kathryn Rothas, Christina Isabelli, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

It has been observed by Illinois Wesleyan students enrolled in the Medical Spanish course that when translating for patients in a clinical setting one of the two situations can occur: 1) the Spanish-speaking patient will use terminology unrecognizable by the student when describing their conditions or symptoms; or 2) the student translator will use terminology taught in their Medical Spanish course to describe conditions, symptoms and treatment instructions, but the terminology is unrecognizable by the Spanish-speaking patients. This miscommunication between the translator and the patient can lead to lack of treatment adherence or improper diagnosis due to a misinterpretation of …

A New Heroine: Transforming The Public Image Of The Army Nurse During World War Ii, Vivek Vishwanath

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

In the wake of the Great Depression, the United States found itself propelled into a world war of unimaginable proportions. Apart from its major political and economic consequences, the Second World War also considerably altered the role of American women in society. Mobilization brought millions of women into the paid labor force, and many of these women chose to serve as army nurses. With the highest female salaries of the time, it made sense that nursing became an attractive occupation for young women seeking an education and opportunities to travel. WWII ultimately accentuated the heroic characteristics of the army nurse …

The Notebook: An Accidental Alzheimer's Awareness Campaign, Danielle Waldron

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

My paper examines and critiques the portrayal of Alzheimer¹s disease in the popular film, The Notebook. Based off of a Nicholas Sparks novel, The Notebook uses Alzheimer¹s disease as a vehicle to relay a love story, but in doing so, presents a distorted picture of Alzheimer¹s disease to its audience. My paper compares the responsibilities of family caregivers of Alzheimer¹s patients in today¹s world with the unrealistic family caregiver, Noah, depicted on screen. My paper also explores and exposes inconsistencies between the attractive nursing home experience presented on screen and the less than ideal treatment patients experience in long term …