2020 Pioneer Scholars

Carroll University recognizes the 2020 pioneer scholars and their mentors for their academic and scholarly achievements.

Zombie Oklahoma: A Classic Reimagined

Oklahoma! is a musical created by composer Richard Rogers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The story is based off of the play Green Grow the Lilacs written in 1931 by Lynn Riggs. The musical opened on Broadway in 1943 and had revivals in 1979, 2002 and 2019. It follows Oklahoma farmgirl Laurey Williams who lives with her Aunt Eller, cowboy Curly McClain and farmhand Jud Fry who fight each other for Laury’s affection.

Zombie Oklahoma will then be a parody reimagining of Rogers’ and Hammerstein’s classic musical that reworks issues found in the plot structure using a novel and humorous plot device: the undead. The original Oklahoma! lacks a key inciting incident that kicks off the events, as well as a definitive climax and significant action required for present day audience members. Additionally, modern media has an infatuation with zombies as a plot device. Therefore, adding zombies to Oklahoma! Is a logical solution to most of the problems with its plot. For this project, we will have a standard musical theatre writing team consisting of a composer, lyricist and librettist. I will be acting as the composer which is the one who writes the musical notes. The end of the project will result in a completed, well developed and performable musical that pays homage to Rogers’ and Hammersteins’s original, but also addresses the key issues with the plot and some rather dated content.

North Lake Water Quality, Water Level, and Wave Propagation Study

Wisconsin lakes are some of the best sources of recreational activity in the summer months. These lakes also provide structure and stability to the ecosystem around them. Given the immense popularity of these lakes, it is important to maintain the safety, structure, and longevity of them. North Lake, located in Merton, Wisconsin, is one of many popular lakes found in the Oconomowoc lake chain. In recent years, boat use has become much more powerful as well as popular on these lakes. Boats are now used to support more active and aggressive forms of water-based recreation, with some being designed to produce larger wakes for support of water-based sports. There is recent concern from the residents, the Southeastern Wisconsin Planning Commission (SEWRPC), and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources that the resulting waves and wakes are disrupting the shorelines, lakebeds, and damaging lake ecology.

This project aims to assist the North Lake district understand if lake conditions are impacted by human-induced wave action through ground-level and aerial mapping, data analysis, strategic visualization, and quantitative chemical measurements. Differentiation between naturally propagated waves and human induced waves will be determined with aerial drone usage. The possible effects of the human induced waves on water quality, nearshore lake ecology, and lakebed and shoreline dynamics will be examined with quantitative chemical measurements and collected qualitative information.

Near-shore water clarity, turbidity, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen concentrations, and core sampling will be done both in situ and with aerial drone usage. I will be responsible in taking and analyzing all forms of chemical measurements for the duration of this project. Quantification of contents in the water samples using ion chromatography (IC) will be done in the laboratory for comparison between normal ranges of each constituent. Particle size distribution (PSD) and organic carbon analysis of the sediment cores will be done and recorded as well.

I will be trained by Professor Mortenson in using the aerial drone for various measurements and imagery. My partner, Jenna Bales, will be primarily responsible in gathering data and imagery with use of the aerial drone and utilizing the Geographic Information Systems software with data analysis. Near shore wave propagation and wave heights will be measured using aerial sonic sensors. Other significant information collected with the aerial drone includes aerial thermal imaging, radiometric measurements, near-infrared/multispectral maps, and aerial imagery. Combining all this information, the North Lake district will be able to judge if the concerns regarding human-induced wave action are legitimate. If human-induced wave action is demonstrated to be an issue in lake management, concepts that can reduce and prevent damage can be evaluated and an action plan may be suggested.

Comparison of Performance Across Two Mental Rotation Procedures: How the Method of Stimulus Presentation and Task Irrelevant Stimuli Influence Response Time and Accuracy.

In standard Mental Rotation tasks participants are asked to view two stimuli (usually computer generated images of Tetris-like shapes consisting of 7-10 cubes) and to decide if the two objects are the same (i.e., identical objects rotated from one another) or different (i.e, mirrored opposites see) as quickly as possible. As the degree of rotation increases between the two shapes (e.g., 50° vs. 150 °) response times and the number of errors committed increase. The original MR task, pioneered by Shepard and Metzler (1971), has been cited nearly 6,800 times and has provided a procedure to investigate a wide range of cognitive psychology principles and phenomena. For example, subsequent research has revealed that men typically outperform women on MR tasks (Vandenburg & Kuse, 1978) and that MR is present as young as 6 months of age (Mohring & Frick, 2013). However, more recent research has challenged this idea (Toth & Campbell, 2019). Other research has demonstrated that MR ability influences and predicts math performance and gender differences on the Math Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-M) (Casey, Nuttal, & Pezaris, 1997) as well math performance prediction across cross-cultural samples showing a male advantage (Peters, Lehmann, Takahira, Takeuchi, & Jordan, 2006). Mental rotation has also been able to predict surgical performance of dental students, residents, and practicing surgeons and shows performing well on MR tasks correlated with high performance during surgical simulation procedures (Wanzel, Hamstra, Caminiti, Anastakis, Grober, & Reznic, 2003). Despite this wide field of mental rotation research, to our knowledge, there has not been a MR study that forces participants to combine multiple sensory modalities in a MR task (e.g., touch and sight). As part of our Research Seminar class from last fall we assisted Dr. Wolf in designing and implementing a new apparatus and procedure to test MR with a new combination of tactile/visual of mental rotation. In our new combined procedure, participants viewed a 3-D printed sample shape while feeling (and not seeing) another 3-D printed shape that was either identical to the sample shape or a mirrored opposite. The results helped to validate our new apparatus and procedure and demonstrated that participants were able to mentally rotate 3-D printed objects despite being presented to different senses (touch and sight). As with standard MR research as the angle of rotation increased, the time to assess the object and make a correct decision also increased. The proposed project has two goals. The first goal is to directly compare MR performance in our newly validated task against performance on a standard MR task using nearly identical objects and conditions. The second goal is to investigate how task irrelevant stimulus dimensions (e.g.,stimulus size, color, shape, writing on the shapes) influence performance on each of the procedures. To achieve these goals we our project will consist of two separate procedures (a computer-based version and a tactile/visual version). We plan to manipulate at least two other variables related to task irrelevant stimuli both versions of the procedure (see explanation in Application Point 4). This project will require us to build an additional combined visual/tactile MR apparatus, design and print new 3-D MR shapes, program a computer-based version of the stand MR task, and design images of the 3-D shapes for use with the computer-based program. Each version of the study will have the same two conditions (described in Application Point 4) and require at least 35 participants per condition for a minimum total of 140 participants. We plan to recruit from Carroll University.

The Good Neighbor Policy, Pan-Americanism, and the Golden Gate International Exposition: Latin America at San Francisco’s 1939-1940 World’s Fair

The “Pageant of the Pacific,” was the theme of the 1939-1940 San Francisco World’s Fair, known as the Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE). This world’s fair was meant to, as the theme implies, celebrate the different cultures of the Pacific. Many states and foreign nations attended the fair, creating and manning their own exhibits within the show. Among these foreign nations were the Latin American nations of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, and Peru. At this time, the US practiced the “Good Neighbor” Policy towards Latin American countries, a policy that aimed to encourage the spread of Latin and Northern American cultures, ideas, and information across national borders. It also led to the idea of Pan-Americanism. This movement hoped to create, facilitate, and spread culture, knowledge, and cooperation amongst the nations of the Americas. I intend to explore participation and representation of Latin American nations and people at the fair, in California media, and by the nations themselves. My research will examine the ways various participants and planners used the fair to encourage the ideas of Pan-Americanism and the Good Neighbor policy. These actors included fair officials, representatives of Latin American nations, local Pan American and Good Neighbor groups, and Bay Area residents. To do this, I will examine primary sources from the San Francisco Chapter of the Pan American Society documents, meeting minutes and happenings of the Oakland ‘Good Neighbor’ organization, and newspapers, such as the Oakland Tribune, Hispano-America, and El Mensajero. The last two aforementioned sources are Hispanic publications; they will allow me to use my education as a Spanish minor as I read and analyze them for use as primary sources in my research. I plan to look at Latin America-based newspapers such as La Prensa, based in Argentina, and El Tiempo, based in Colombia, that are available on microfilm in the UW Madison Library, UIC Library, and through Interlibrary Loan. I also plan to look at physical primary and secondary sources Dr. Markwyn already owns, such as the souvenir pamphlets that the nations wrote about their own exhibits, how the fair practiced. This research will focus primarily on documents from the Pan American Society, San Francisco Chapter, and Latino and Anglo-American newspapers from the Bay Area. A few questions that guide the project will be: how were Latin American nations represented in newspapers, books, and correspondence in mainstream media and society both before and after the induction of the Good Neighbor Policy and the Pan American Union (PAU)? What efforts did various Good Neighbor and Pan-American groups put forth to be involved in the fair? Similarly, how was the relationship represented between Latin America and California at the fair? Finally, how did local supporters of the Good Neighbor Policy and Pan-Americanism use the GGIE to shape the representation of Latin America for Bay Area residents (through newspapers, books, etc.) and fair visitors (through the exhibits and souvenir pamphlets)?

Expression of kv1.5 Channel and Its Regulatory Subunits in Cultured Human Cells

Voltage gated potassium (Kv) channels play an important role in human health and disease. As I learned in pathophysiology (NRS236), abnormal expression of Kv channels results in injury to the vascular system and can also cause atherosclerosis. In healthy people Kv1.5 channels prevent rapid growth of smooth muscle cells and keep blood vessels open. When someone develops coronary artery disease smooth muscle cells divide at a quick rate and close openings of vessels which may result in occlusion. At the same time endothelial cells switch from producing nitric oxide and begin releasing hydrogen peroxide which can be damaging. The changes in Kv1.5 channel expression is thought to be one of the contributing factors to this event. Therefore, our goal is to look at the regulatory subunits of Kv1.5 channels to see if their expression will affect overall channel function. HEK293 human cells that are transduced with Kv1.5 channels as well as cells transduced with Kv1.5 and one of the regulatory subunits (beta 1.1 or beta 1.2) will be tested. We will look at changes in cell proliferation, morphology and responses to hydrogen peroxide.

The Endeavor of Women in Buddhism and Catholicism for Ordination: A Comparative Analysis

Throughout history, religion has been considered to be a central phenomenon for humanity across all cultures, places, and time due to its indivisible link between ways of life and socio-cultural belief systems; this continues to be the case into the modern day. As religion is interconnected with society, so is religious practice with the individual. However, as in the case of Buddhism and Catholicism, the pathway for an individual to full ordination as a religious authority has been hindered, and at many times, non-existent, for half of humanity. I plan to research and understand the past history and current endeavors of women in their struggle to be fully ordained as nuns in Theravāda and Tibetan Buddhism and compare this to women in Catholicism in their effort to be ordained as priests.

The fundamental infrastructure of Buddhism is itself nuanced, in that while misogynistic texts do exist within the canon and the religion originated in a patriarchal society, it is also true that gender appears to be extraneous when it comes to reaching awakening, which is the final and ultimate goal of Buddhism. By using texts such as Anālayo, The Foundation History of the Nuns’ Order. Germany: Projecktverlag. (2016) and “The Legality of Bhikkhunī Ordination.” Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 20, (2013), as well as Engelmajer, “The Life of Mahāpajāpatī.” In Women Who Changed the World. ABC-CLIO (forthcoming), I seek to understand this nuanced relationship of the principles of Buddhism and gender roles further, as well as the impact both have had on the progression of women’s ordination and spiritual equality. Similarly, I plan to understand the relationship between gender roles and Catholic religious principles. Women cannot become priests, but gender is also irrelevant as a factor in the ultimate goal of reaching heaven. I plan to investigate this pattern using texts such as Gary Macy’s The Hidden History of Women's Ordination Female Clergy in the Medieval West and Mary Deigler’s Incompatible with God's Design: A History of the Women's Ordination Movement in the U.S. Roman Catholic Church.

Once I have an understanding of the relationships between the religious principles, gender roles, and the history of women’s ordination for both Buddhism and Catholicism, I will compare and contrast the arguments for and against the ordination of women, as well as the strategies developed by both respective groups of women to reach their goals for spiritual equality.