Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Slam Poetry In Suburban Schools, Madelyn Taylor, Christopher Crowe

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Since the birth of hip-hop culture as youth culture in the 1970s, exploration of hip-hop influenced pedagogies in formal schooling has grown increasingly popular (Hill, 2009). By centering classrooms on elements of hip-hop arts such as spoken word, graffiti culture, and hip-hop music, educational research has seen notable improvements in student attendance and critical engagement with literature and popular media (Petchauer, 2009). Most studies of hip-hop pedagogies have examined the qualitative benefits of teaching critical hip-hop literacies in urban public schools, but since the popularization of performance poetry on social media platforms, there is a growing use of slam poetry …

Developing And Utilizing The Vsfp Database: Atalanta And Girls’ Adventure Fiction, Isaac Robertson, Leslee Thorne-Murphy

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The original purpose of my project was two-fold: 1) to expand the Victorian Short Fiction Project, a peer-reviewed database compiled from Victorian periodical fiction housed in Brigham Young University’s special collections library; and 2) to utilize this database in order to perform a literary study of nineteenth-century colonial fiction. In accordance with growing scholarly interest in digital tools as a means of conducting literary scholarship, I wanted to promote BYU’s own digital and print resources in order to discover important trends in Victorian literature. With the help of Dr. Leslee Thorne-Murphy, who has worked tirelessly over the past decade to …

Acoustic Phonetic Analysis Of Tol, Micah Wood, Dr. Chris Rogers

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Tol is one of the languages belonging to the language family referred to as Jicaquean in the linguistic literature. It has roughly 200 speakers remaining in a single community in northern Honduras, called Montaña de la Flor. Some relatively recent grammatical descriptions of the language provide useful but incomplete information on the grammatical principles of Tol (Holt, 1999; Dennis, 1992; Dennis & Dennis, 1983), and they contradict each other. The need for a correct understanding of Tol is increased by the fact that Tol is an endangered language. Additionally, it is currently a language isolate and is not similar to …

The Sophie Mentored Research Project: Red Vienna Sourcebook And The Critically Annotated Collected Works Of Elisa Von Der Recke, Rob Mcfarland, Michelle S. James

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Without funding there would be no Sophie project, which is why the first item in this report on the Sophie activities during 2017 must be an expression of our gratitude to both the ORCA office and to the College of Humanities, on behalf of the faculty members involved, and particularly, on behalf of the many students whose lives have been enriched in numerous ways by their Sophie work. We are aware of the many projects vying for your attention and funding, and are particularly grateful for the support you have given this project over the years. Your grants have enriched …

Religion, Mental Health, And The Latter-Day Saints: A Review Of The Literature (1995-2017), Adrienne Rogers, Daniel K. Judd

Journal of Undergraduate Research

There are over 4,000 religions in the world today. One of the core functions of religion is to help individuals find meaning and purpose in life. Several researchers have found that this religious function impacts psychological well-being, often for the better. This relationship between religious belief, practice, affiliation, and mental health has been an ongoing conversation that has generated controversy and debate.

Our research focuses specifically on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how this religion affects the mental health of its members. Several studies have shown positive outcomes regarding Latter-day Saint membership and mental health. Also, …

The Economics Behind The Construction Of The General Relief Society Building, Kiersten Robertson, Mary Jane Woodger

Journal of Undergraduate Research

A building designated specifically for the use of the women of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was first proposed in 1893, shortly after the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple. In response, the First Presidency offered a lot just east of the Salt Lake Temple for this purpose. Fundraising began in 1900 and continued for years to earn a required $20,000 amount. However, to the great disappointment of the Relief Society, the First Presidency decided that a Presiding Bishop’s building was to be built on the lot instead, with the Relief Society given offices in it.

A Summer In Moscow, Ellie Vance, Thomas K. Edlund

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My summer in Moscow was amazing, but not what I expected it to be. Rather, it was filled with unexpected but wonderful surprises and changes along the way. The original plan was to secure an internship in a Moscow archive in order to learn more about how archive systems functioned and along the way, gather information about taxation and property records. Unfortunately, upon arrival in Moscow, internship coordinators working in conjunction with the BYU Moscow Internship program were unable to secure an archival internship for me. They insisted that due to feelings of ill will between the United States of …

Improving High School Students’ Workforce Literacy Through Collaborative, Online Alternative Reality Games, Jon Balzotti

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project analyzed student engagement in a high school setting using digital learning environments based on a semi-realistic workplace simulation. The research team explored the challenges of high school student engagement in both traditional and digital learning environments. Data from student surveys suggest that traditional role-play in the classroom can be as effective as digital simulations in engaging student learners. While previous scholarship has focused on the advantages ARGs offer technical fields, very few have created short-term, adaptable simulations that take full advantage of the available technologies that people use regularly (texting, email, interviews through video clips, etc.) to explore …

2017 Archaeological Excavation – Ataruz, Jordan, Aaron Schade

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In January 2017 I received a MEG totaling $20,000 to conduct a multi-faceted project associated with the excavations at Khirbat Ataruz in Jordan, including capturing images of ancient artefacts and inscriptions using Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI). I am happy to report that the project was a success, and that we were able to include and train 6 BYU undergraduate students to participate in the excavations, two of which were trained and assisted in our imaging work.

Impact Of Lexical Bundles On Chinese L2 Learners’ Oral Proficiency, Corey Ketring, Rachel Yu Liu

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study examined the efficacy of formulaic language in improving the fluency of Chinese in second-language learners. Formulaic language refers to a group of words that is cognitively stored as one linguistic unit, rather than being analyzed by each indepdent part (Simon, 1974). For instance, if one were to witnessing something shocking exclaim, “oh my goodness!”, you are exhibiting formulaic language. Because we do not use typical rules of grammar to analyze formulaic language, it is likely that we can process it much more quickly (Wray, 2002). Wray et al also suggests that it is an important part of developing …

Nahida Ruth Lazarus’ “Das Jüdische Weib”, Kate Menlove, Dr. Michelle James

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My ORCA project centered on the book Das jüdische Weib, written by Nahida Ruth Lazarus in 1896. This book explores the contributions that Jewish women have made to the world and celebrates their strength and culture. While Lazarus was researching and studying to write this book, she fell in love with the culture and religion of Judaism. She is one of the very unique cases of people converting to Judaism from Christianity at that time.

Russian For Professional Purposes Russ 399r Academic Internship, Tyler Larsen, Jennifer Bown

Journal of Undergraduate Research

“Russian for Professional Purposes” was a project to design a curriculum that would teach students a way to independently specialize their Russian. The course directed students to choose a professional field and then do activities. Activities built vocabulary and confidence in communicating about and for the profession. During the span of the ORCA project, we developed the new curriculum, piloted it, and implemented it as the BYU course Russian 399R Academic Internship. The course developed helped me personally, as I piloted it, develop skills and talents in life long language learning and implementation.

“The Evolution We Believe In … Is Not Darwin’S”: Evolution, Science, And Latter-Day Saint Education, 1875-1911, Ian Mclaughlin, Dr. Rachel Cope

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My project was designed to answer one question and ended up answering several others. The original question was: Why has so little been written on Latter-day Saint responses to evolution prior to 1909? Darwin’s Origin of Species was published way back in 1859, a full fifty years prior. Surely somebody had said something important during that time, but if so, the secondary literature passed over it in almost total silence. Although my project has undergone several shifts in emphasis since I began it, resulting in two distinct papers, both already presented, one slated for publication in the near future, this …

Prejudice Against Religion In Japan -And Its Influence On Proselytism Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints-, Shawna M. Lawlor, Dainan Skeem

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Despite missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints sharing the Gospel in Japan since 1901, its membership reaches only a little over 128,000, which is approximately one in every 1000 people living in Japan. There have been numerous theories concerning the relatively slow progress of the Church there. However, as I analyzed interviews of Japanese converts, I noticed a common theme in each of their stories; each convert had mentioned that before their conversion to the Gospel, they viewed religion to be something strange and suspicious. Having been born and raised in Japan, I agree that this …

German Immigrants In Church Records In The State Of Kentucky, Deborah Mocke, Roger P. Minert, Phd

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to assist in the furthering of German genealogical research, by making German Protestant church records in America more accessible to people with German ancestry. In the 2000 U.S. Census, nearly one in six people reported their ancestry as German. “42.8 million people (15 percent of the population) considered themselves to be of German (or part-German) ancestry,” making Germans the largest ancestral group in America. 1 Since the eighteenth century about seven million Germans immigrated to North America. The most challenging task in Germanic family history in the United States is the identification of the …

America's Hope, Cassie Prettyman, Paul Adams

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Being able to come up with this project, plan it, execute it, and have a gallery show was one of the most fulfilling experiences in my artistic career. There were definitely some challenges along the way but I have learned so much that I will now be able to apply for the rest of my life, especially in the professional atmosphere. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to be mentored and to learn from one of my professors in a one on one situation and it was incredibly valuable to have that experience. This project was not …

City Of Nothing: Architectural Simulation & Las Vegas, Rachel Playstead, Daniel Everett

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In my proposal, I wrote that the purpose of this project was to construct my final BFA show, in which I would display a large-scale installation exploring the uncanny through architectural simulation with Las Vegas as a case study. I was interested in how reality and imitations of that reality were becoming integrated and even indistinguishable. I proposed that I would take a trip to Las Vegas, photograph and try to understand the architecture there, and then make a replication of a roadside motel. While the final product changed drastically from what I initially proposed it to be, the things …

American College Dance Association Northwest Regional Festival: Presentation Of “That Time”, Rachel Kearl, Whitney Ellis, Graham Brown

Journal of Undergraduate Research

March 24-25th, 2018, Graham Brown’s choreographic work “That Time,” an excerpt from his professional evening-length work Sonder, was set on a group of BYU students and presented at the American College Dance Association Northwest Regional Festival (ACDA). American College Dance Association exists to foster creative potential, to promote excellence and diversity in choreography and/or performance of dance.

A New Turkish Voice: Culture, Politics, And Expression In The Cello Works Of Ahmed Adnan Saygun, Max Olivier, Luke Howard

Journal of Undergraduate Research

A few years ago, I happened upon a little-known recording of the cello concerto of 20th-century Turkish composer Ahmed Adnan Saygun (1907-1991), and I immediately knew that I had discovered a gem. From the opening bars, Saygun drew me into his unique soundworld and captured my attention. Since then, my interest in this unduly unknown composer deepened, culminating in this grant-funded project. Saygun is especially interesting as an area of study because of his direct and enduring connections to reform politics and his role in the creation of a new Turkish national identity. His music also provides a rich case …

Media Music Composition And Production, Shane Myers, Aaron Merrill

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project is a collection of four pieces of original music that will be used for professional demo purposes. It represents some of my best compositional and songwriting work and shows that I have the capacity to compose music in a broad variety of genres suitable for placement in film, television, or other media. The genres included in this project are indie rock, jazz, electronic hybrid, and orchestral. The recording of these pieces involved the collaboration of many different students: those who helped me run the recording sessions and the musicians that played the pieces.

Perception Of Speech And Song In Religious Music: A Neurological Approach, Dagan Pielstick, Francesca Lawson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The relationship between speech and song has been an area of interest in evolutionary biology and neuroscience over the past two decades. Some evolutionary biologists have hypothesized that music and language descended from a protolanguage in early human communication (Brown 2000). At the same time, developments in technology have made it possible to analyze the activation of different parts of the brain, allowing us to see traces of this evolutionary history in the neural pathways of the brain (Patel 2008). Recent studies on language-music relationships both support and contradict the theory of a common protolanguage base for music and language …

Native Byu: Remembering Living Histories, Maren Loveland, Dr. Michael Taylor

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In collaboration with BYU’s recently founded Native American Alumni Association, BYU’s Special Collections, and Diné historian and BYU alumna, Farina King (Northeastern State University), the purpose of this project is to create a permanent physical and digital collection that documents the extensive and diverse history of BYU’s Native American students. Though the scope of this project was indeed quite large, through the ORCA grant, I was able to lay the groundwork for successive generations of student researchers to eventually complete this vital project.

Russian For Professional Purposes: An Experiential And Instruction Based Approach To Advanced Competency Within The Russian Language, David Joseph, Dr. Tony Brown, Dr. Yekaterina Jordan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Originally, this project aimed to increase Russian language fluency in the legal domain by developing an advanced-level course titled “Russian for Professional Purposes.” As progress in course development proceeded, it was moved into conceptualizing the project as a whole and then piloting it with students. This innovative curriculum broke ground in the way of assessing language proficiency within individual professional domains. The project integrated experiential learning with Russian language instruction through domain-specific language modules, e.g., business, law, medicine, journalism, international relations, chemistry, and engineering. An online portfolio was constructed that consisted of exercises designed to measure improvement in each of …

The Pygmalion Project, Sophie Determan, Roger Macfarlane

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The goal of my project was to assist Dr. Roger Macfarlane in developing the online index of the Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts which will be centered at BYU. The OGCMA is an important and widely-used index that identifies 30,000+ artworks spanning from the 1300-1900s. But despite the breadth of the index, there is not a single example of a film mentioned in any entry. This is a serious gap in classical scholarship because no other guide contains significant film references. The scope of my project was to evaluate and contribute scholarly metadata for over forty films …

Pedagogical Compilation Of Arnold Jacob’S Master Classes, Samuel Craven, Steven Call

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The crowning achievement of my ORCA mentorship project was to have it submitted to the BYU School of Music library, where it is now both physically and digitally accessible for anyone to use. This project has been valuable to me in many ways, and I especially appreciate the chance it has given me to work with Dr. Call in a capacity that I would not otherwise have had. Despite some minor problems, I was able to finish the project on time and to my mentor’s and my own high standards. Overall, I consider this opportunity to have been extremely valuable …

Linguistic Integration: A Comparison Of Spanish Speakers In Austria And Germany With Those In The U.S., Nicole Gomez Bravo, Laura Smith

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study examined factors influencing the linguistic and cultural integration of Spanish-speaking immigrants into the local language and culture. Immigration and the integration of recent immigrants is an increasingly polarizing topic worldwide, with many citizens complaining that new immigrants fail to learn the target language of their new home and refuse to integrate into local culture. Consequently, immigrants from some cultures often face discrimination or poor treatment. In the United States, immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America are one such group encountering well-publicized difficulties. Spanish-speaking immigrants are also on the rise in German-speaking countries such as Germany and Austria, …

Orchestral Snare Drum Production, Peter Fullmer, Dr. Matthew Coleman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to disseminate to a wide audience of percussionists the process of building an orchestral snare drum in order to equip them with the knowledge needed to make one themselves. This included highlighting in video the materials, tools, and skills required for the procedure, which would be posted in the public domain for all to view.

The Photo Vision: Modern Cliché-Verre, Jacqueline Camacho, Christiane Ramsey

Journal of Undergraduate Research

On May 24, 2018 I arrived in Reykjavik, Iceland after two day of travel. Our first day composed of exploring the city, learning the history of Iceland, and of course trying to stay awake to adjust to the time change. The next day was when I started to focus on my project of creating cliché-verre inspired images in a modern time. At first it was hard figuring out a way to capture images to create this desired effect. I drew inspiration through the beauty of Iceland. Our first stop was The Golden Circle where I saw the magnificent Bláskógabyggð waterfall. …

Recording Of Marco Borogni’S Vocalise Etudes For Trumpet, Dominik Campora, David Brown

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The experience of preparing, completing, and evaluating the progress of my ORCA project over the past twelve months has helped me grow exponentially as an aspiring orchestral musician. Specifically, preparing the Bordogni etudes has helped me achieve a heightened musical sense of phrasing, analysis, and musicality. Our musical and academic objectives of the project were to provide a reference for future trumpet performance students on vocalise studies (such as these,) and the concept of overall sound production, phrasing, and virtuosity. We were able to record a CD that will be documented and preserved in the trumpet studio for students to …

Celebrating Utah County In Multi-Media Recital With Progressive New Music And Photography, Clark Evans, Steven Ricks

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The primary goal of this project was to better the quality of knowledge and education of a handful of composition students. By working one on one with each of them over an extended time, I would lend them my experience as a string player in order to help each of them feel confident in their understanding of how to write for the instrument. I wanted to enable their creative process without inhibition, but also refine their technical abilities in writing.