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Celebration Of Learning 2017: Full Program, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois

Celebration of Learning

Full program of the 2017 Celebration of Learning at Augustana College

An Evaluation Of Gridded Temperature Products And Their Effectiveness In Modeling Small Scale Ambient Temperature, Barrie Chileen

Celebration of Learning

The use of gridded temperature products is becoming increasingly prevalent in ecological research due to their accessibility, low cost, and spatial and temporal coverage. While a few studies have compared gridded products against each other and against weather station data, little research exists that attempts to verify the accuracy of these gridded products on finer spatial scales in field settings. In this study, we use two networks of temperature sensors to evaluate the effectiveness of these widely used gridded products in modeling ambient temperatures and compare tradeoffs between spatial and temporal resolution of gridded products.

We deployed 65 temperature sensors …

Impact Of Social Contact On Predator-Induced Fear Responses In Young Male Chicks, Jessica Czarnecki, Kristina Humphreys, Danielle Hurmis Ms., Colin Kalmes, Lauren Pasetes, Megan Steinhoff, Steven Todorov, Shara Stough

Celebration of Learning

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is thought to involve unusually strong associative memories between the intense fear felt during a traumatic experience and other environmental cues present at the time of the trauma. Our study uses an animal model to investigate social contact, one of the factors that can impact fear responses, to learn more about possible risk factors or interventions that may be relevant to humans who may experience PTSD. Freezing, or the cessation of movement, is a common fear response observed in laboratory animals in the presence of a perceived threat. We tested whether or not the degree of …

Summer Precipitation Occurrence Effect On Two Passerine Species In Thule, Greenland, Sara E. Baugh

Celebration of Learning

Climate change is occurring at a faster rate in the Arctic than the rest of the globe, causing temperature rises at twice the rate of the global average and increased summer precipitation in the form of rain. These precipitation events are predicted to affect migratory bird species that breed throughout the Arctic. Increased occurrence of heavy rainstorms indirectly affect bird populations by impacting distribution and abundance of food supply, and directly by increasing mortality rates of juveniles. Studies conducted on bird species throughout the low Arctic regions; have shown that it is not the total precipitation of a breeding season …

Migrating Behavior Search’S User Interface From Swing To Javafx, An Nguyen Dang

Celebration of Learning

Agent-based models (ABMs) is a genre of computer modeling that simulates actions and interactions between individual entities (agents). ABM is widely used to simulate behavior in many fields, including biology, ecology, chemistry, physics, economics, and social science. NetLogo is a well-known agent-based programming language that provides a powerful platform to build and examine ABMs. However, to fully analyze a model one must run the model many times with different parameters, which can be a very daunting task. Therefore, Dr. Forrest Stonedahl developed BehaviorSearch, a software tool to help with automating the exploration of ABMs. The software interfaces with the NetLogo …

A Spatial Relationship Between Stream Slope Stability And Water Quality Within An Urban Watershed In Rock Island, Il, Joseph Teresi

Celebration of Learning

The consistently observed phenomenon of highly altered streams and degraded water quality draining urban areas across the U.S is described as the urban stream syndrome. Rock Island, Illinois, contains a population of nearly 39,000 people, and houses industrial and logistical businesses amidst a city of aging infrastructure. Streams occupy ravines that have incised into the Quaternary loess plateau, flowing south towards the Rock River and north or west towards the Mississippi River. In an attempt to understand better the severity of Rock Island’s urban stream syndrome, this project analyzed stream slopes within the Rock Island watershed to categorize their level …

Racial Stereotypes: History And Consequences, Paul Olsen

Celebration of Learning

Several years ago I asked an Augustana student whom I knew very well to describe his college experience. He was an excellent student, a respected athlete elected captain of the track team, a 3-time All-American and conference champion in track, and he was also a starter on the winning basketball team. He is also African American. His answer: “it was often uncomfortable.” This from a student who experienced LOTS of success!

My words today are partially motivated by his response. They are also driven by the increased racial unrest that has characterized our country the last few years and by …

Investigating Trust And Trust Recovery In Human-Robot Interactions, Abigail L. Thomson

Celebration of Learning

As artificial intelligence and robotics continue to advance and be used in increasingly different functions and situations, it is important to look at how these new technologies will be used. An important factor in how a new resource will be used is how much it is trusted. This experiment was conducted to examine people’s trust in a robotic assistant when completing a task, how mistakes affect this trust, and if the levels of trust exhibited with a robot assistant were significantly different than if the assistant were human. The task was to watch a computer simulation of the three-cup monte …

Where Do Women Stand?: Attitudes Towards Female Political Participation In India And The Us, Grace A. Carlson

Celebration of Learning

This project aimed to study attitudes towards gender inequalities in politics, both in the United States and India. Using original survey research and World Values Survey data, American and Indian attitudes towards women in politics were analyzed and compared. Ultimately, the project found that respondents in both countries still hold distinctly unequal views on women in the political sphere.

Resonances Of 25,26f Atomic Nuclei, Matthew Tuttle-Timm

Celebration of Learning

The structure of very unstable atomic nuclides are still not completely understood. The unstable atomic nuclides in this study emit a neutron, which requires determining the energy of decay to better understand the structure. The energy of decay may be calculated from the energy and momentum of the remaining charged fragment and neutron. From the calculated decay energy, information about an isotope’s nuclear structure can be found. At the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory experiment, a ²⁷Ne ion beam hit a liquid deuterium target that resulted in many produced atomic nuclides. One of the isotopes produced was unstable ²⁶F, …

Microspora Competition For Sunlight, Christina Sauer

Celebration of Learning

The focus of this project was to study the primary production of the filamentous green algae, Microspora, and its potential to inhibit its own photosynthesis as well as the potential for rooted aquatic plants to inhibit its photosynthesis. The spatial distribution of Microspora could be explained by this competition between organisms. To test this, I set up buoys in areas of rooted aquatic plants, Microspora mats, and direct sunlight. The buoys held Biological Oxygen Demand bottles in which Microspora was held in-situ for net primary production measurements. Net primary production was defined as the difference between the final and …

Elemental Contamination Of An Ancient Copper Mine In Killarney, Ireland, Courtney Chouinard

Celebration of Learning

Ross Island Copper Mine, located in Killarney National Park, Killarney, Ireland, is known for archeological artifacts of copper from the Bronze Age. Copper production surged in the late 1700s and into the mid-1800s. The mine included both open pits (e.g. Blue Hole) and underground excavations (e.g. Western Mine). Copper veins were found in the Mississippian-aged limestone bedrock along with chalcopyrite and tennantite ore. In 1912, tourism had become the main source of income in the area, and the mines and the land surrounding them were remediated and became a part of the national park. Mine shafts were filled in, waste …

Emergency Room Overuse And Medicaid Population: Creating A Toolkit To Decrease Er Misuse By Family Resources Clients, Nicole Johanne Morrissey Ms.

Celebration of Learning

One of the biggest issues facing healthcare in the United States is excessive spending on ER visits. This issue costs the United States healthcare field about $38 billion a year to treat patients who might not necessarily need the immediate attention. The Medicaid population is one of the highest users of the ER and the most common reasons are behavioral issues and no other place to go. Family Resources, a non-profit organization in Davenport, IA, works to connect families with healthcare facilities in the area based on each family’s needs. Much of their clientele uses Medicaid and struggles with ER. …

Nutrient Variations Of Six Surface Water Bodies In Mchenry County, Il, Jacob Piske

Celebration of Learning

This research analyzes water quality from several ponds in McHenry County, Illinois, with a goal of developing a understanding of pollution sources and temporal variations in concentrations of nitrate, potassium, phosphorus, chlorine, and sodium. Over the past 25 years, the population of McHenry County has grown rapidly, with residential developments expanding into former farmlands. Yet, the county remains heavily agricultural, with roughly 60% of the surface area used for agricultural purposes. Concentrations of NO3-, P+, K+, Cl-, and Na+ were analyzed from six sites: two in subdivisions, two in farmland, and two near major highways. Data were collected once a …

The Road To Hell Is Paved With Bad Public Pensions: An Analysis Of Illinois' Public Pension System, Trevor J. Rogers

Celebration of Learning

This project seeks to deeply analyze the public pension system of the State of Illinois and explains how its mismanagement has created an economic mess for Illinois.

Riding In Circles: Horse(Wo)Manship In The American Saddlebred Community, Brianna Meyer

Celebration of Learning

Not many people know about the very small yet very dynamic sect of intense sport culture of the American Saddlebred show horse. Even those who do could always learn more, since, like any subculture, it constantly evolves and changes through time. This paper outlines the historical changes since the advent of Saddlebred showing with a focus on female involvement and feminist revolution. Gender has been an important but relatively unseen factor within the community itself—female participants today do not know the history of female involvement. But based on an emergence of women professionals and amateurs in the past 50 years, …