One of the distinguishing features of COPLAC colleges is their focus on undergraduate research. Small class size, close faculty-student
interactions, and funded research opportunities allow top students to work alongside faculty mentors in significant research projects at
all 26 member institutions. COPLAC now hosts a series of regional UR conferences for students at member campuses, and many of these same
students go on to present their work at the annual meeting of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
Metamorphosis is part of COPLAC’s effort to highlight some of the best recent work in undergraduate research. Each semester, faculty
committees at member campuses select two outstanding projects for inclusion in Metamorphosis. Also, students who have presented at one of COPLAC's regional undergraduate conferences can submit their projects for inclusion.
Guidelines for formatting and submitting papers can be found here.
Please contact the COPLAC office for more information (info@coplac.org or 828/258-7879).
Research papers and posters can be viewed by moving your cursor over the green categories
listed below (View All, Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Professional Programs).
View All is the default view.
The Search bar allows you to search the database by author name, topic, title or key words
within the document.
A Great House? Realtors and Hedonic Analysis
Kyle Pate
Southern Oregon University
Mentor(s): Dr. Dan Rubenson, Ph.D., Professor of Economics
Home buyers consider a complex bundle of attributes and amenities when evaluating a property’s value. Academics have been developing the hedonic pricing method to understand this decision for over twenty years. However, few academics have compared their results to the inclinations of Real Estate professionals with years of direct experience with consumer preferences. This paper utilizes a survey of realtor opinion to color the results of a hedonic analysis of properties sold in Ashland, Oregon. The findings, despite some oddities, suggest neighborhood amenities have significant effect on property value although realtors do not agree on the quality of these amenities.
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An assessment of inclusion practices in a secondary biology classroom via a metaphorical approach to the cell model
Kenna D. Collins
Fort Lewis College
Mentor(s): Dr. Gene Taylor
This paper offers a critique of “inclusion” practices in public, secondary science classrooms.
The term inclusion refers to the practice of placing all students who qualify for special education
into mainstream classrooms. The practice became nationwide policy after the 1994 IDEA
law was passed, which, in part required that all students be taught in the “least restrictive
environment.” This critique is based on one-on-one work with a 16 year old special education
student placed in a mainstream, sophomore level Biology A classroom. The majority of the
study focuses on the modifications and accommodations given to this student on a typical “cell
model” assignment and the student’s success with the assignment.
Overall, the assignment was successful; the student did well on the assessment and seemed
interested in her work. In addition, a comparison with models turned in by mainstream students,
shows that the essence of the assignment had not been lost in adaptation. It was also clear
that providing this level of modification and accommodation on assignments for all qualified
students would be unrealistic. In the final section of the paper, a set of suggestions on educating
intellectually disabled students included in biology classrooms is given. The paper concludes
that inclusion continues to be an uphill battle.
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“Breastfeeding: The Most Controversial Food in America”
Tori Aprili Geter
Southern Oregon University
Mentor(s): Anne Chambers, Ph.D, Professor and Coordinator, Anthropology Program
Despite widespread research indicating that human breast milk is the optimal human
infant food and far superior to synthetic formula feeding, breastfeeding is not widely
accepted, valued or supported in American culture. While public health campaigns
have encouraged some increase in breastfeeding rates over the past four decades,
they still lag far behind professionally recommended rates. What factors of American
culture continue to discourage women from breastfeeding? This article analyzes four
main aspects of American culture that impede the choice to breastfeed: the multibillion
dollar formula industry, the sexualization of the female breast, mixed messaging in
public health breastfeeding promotion campaigns, and the American values of freedom
and independence. I then provide examples of how changes in public policy and shifts
in cultural values can support breastfeeding, thus increasing the breastfeeding rates
across our nation.
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Dam release and monsoon controlled recharge and drawdown of riparian aquifers in the Dolores River, Colorado
Melissa J. Clutter
Fort Lewis College
Mentor(s): Dr. Gary L. Gianniny and Dr. Cynthia Dott
The Dolores River in southwestern Colorado is an impounded mountain stream with
a semi-arid downstream environment. McPhee Dam has impacted the duration and
magnitude of peak discharge events, which in turn has impacted the downstream
environment. Few published studies, however, have quantified groundwater dynamics
in riparian aquifers on dam controlled streams. Three study sites along the Dolores
River, one upstream of the reservoir and two downstream, were analyzed in this study
using a transect of three piezometers at each study site. Piezometers were installed 2-3
m below the surface, and were observed from May to October 2010.
All observed piezometer levels downstream of McPhee Reservoir resembled the dam
release hydrograph; longer duration dam releases created higher groundwater levels
and more gradual drawdown times than shorter duration monsoon precipitation events
of equal magnitude. In addition to these large scale recharge events, daily variations
of 2-5 cm were observed in each well. These well variations are thought to be related
to significant diurnal air temperature fluctuations and associated evapotranspiration.
The measurements obtained from this study provide important information regarding
the effects of dam management on groundwater levels in riparian aquifers, which will
become increasingly critical with anticipated climate change in the region.
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Effects of Caffeine Consumption on Mood and Physiological Responses to a Speech Task in Non-caffeine Deprived Individuals
Ellis Valentiner and Clara Dux
University of Minnesota, Morris
Mentor(s): Jeffrey Ratliff-Crain
This study examined the effects of caffeine on mood and physiological responses to a speech task. We expected anxiety levels would be heightened with the sympathetic nervous system changes from caffeine consumption and that those would be moderated by caffeine-related expectations. Participants were students at a small rural liberal arts public university in Minnesota (male n = 18; female n = 26, Mage = 20.7 years, SD = 3.879 years, age range: 18-40) who each normally consumed at least 100mg of caffeine daily and were not caffeine-deprived on the day of the session. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of four conditions in a 2x2 balanced placebo design in which the presence of caffeine and the participant’s belief of whether or not their beverage contained caffeine were manipulated. Univariate analysis revealed a successful placebo effect and that the speech task was effective in producing an anxious mood response. However, no evidence was found for heightened anxiety levels as a result of differing levels of caffeine consumed during the study. Further analyses revealed an interrelationship among total caffeine consumption, diastolic blood pressure changes and mood responses. Findings suggest that the use of caffeine as a coping strategy may be maladaptive, contradicting one of the most common reasons for caffeine consumption.
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From Red Redemption to Oregon’s Trails: The Western in Video Games
Thomas J Bulger
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Mentor(s): Carter Jones Meyer, Ph.D, Professor and Convener of History
From Albert Bierstadt’s canvasses to John Ford’s movies, the Western has used various art forms to convey an epic tale of civilizations interacting. The eternal tale of the west has forever been in a cycle of resurrection into new art forms. Interactive digital media, commonly known as video games, is the newest art form in this cycle. This paper creates the first comprehensive historiography for the newest art form in modern society. Creating this essay as a historiography helps to cement their legitimacy while also illuminating the drastic change these western video games have had from their pixilated origins. Video games are following a similar road that other mediums have used, starting with a romanticized version of the west inevitably moving towards revisionist tale.
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Intertextuality and the “Rape” of Miranda: The Tempest and Eastwords
Jacqueline Thomas
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Mentor(s): Dr. Todd Barnes
James E. Portar states, “not infrequently books speak of books. Not infrequently, and perhaps ever always, texts refer to other texts and in fact rely on them for their meaning.” In my paper, I wish to explore intertextuality—how writers draw ceaselessly from the past, highlighting the transience and fragility in their own narrative and how the mere rendering in two stories of analogous setting, characters, and plot, can change meanings inexorably. Specifically, I will analyze Shakespeare’s The Tempest alongside its 21st century counterpart Eastwards by Kalyan Ray. In both texts, there are threads of similarity; in both, Prospero accuses Caliban of raping of his daughter; in both Prospero is white and Caliban is figured as “other”; in both Prospero is the oppressor, though in the first his actions are defended and in the latter they are denounced. Most importantly, both stories come from conflicting viewpoints—a 17th century perspective and a post-colonial perspective—showing the reader the flaws in these works and all works. Tales are told through appropriation: an author uses his or her cultural norms to mold meaning. For this reason I will use intertextuality to critique and analyze both texts. Can there be truth in writing, if words stem from a “single network” or “web of meaning”? Can there be originality? And what does it mean if authors of the present steal and change past author’s tales? Using methods from intertextual, postcolonial and deconstructionist approaches to literature, I will explore these questions and more.
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Just Missing Fermat
Dylan Breitkreutz and Lane Olson
University of Alberta, Augustana Campus
Mentor(s): Ian Blokland, Associate Professor of Physics and Mathematics
This paper will investigate a problem related to Fermat’s Last Theorem (FLT). Now that FLT has been proven, we know that the Diophantine equation an + bn = cn + D cannot have a D value of 0 when n < 2. The question still remains of exactly how small |D| can get. By use of a computer program we have found that there are a large number of solutions to this problem
that have |D| value of one. Some of these solutions inspired the creation of identities that can
generate many more such solutions.
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Phenanthrene Exposure Affects Cardiovascular Function in African Clawed Frog (Xenopus laevis) Embryos (a poster presentation)
Krist Hausken and Kimberly Layman
Keene State College
Mentor(s): Susan Whittemore
Phenanthrene, a tricyclic polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), is generated during the
incomplete combustion of organic materials including oil, gas, garbage, and tobacco
and with the weathering of crude oil. Although phenanthrene is listed on the Center
for Disease Control’s (CDC) Toxic Substance Registry as well the Environmental
Protection Agency’s (EPA) Priority Pollutant List, little is known about its toxicity to
humans or wildlife. Our research lab is investigating the effects of common PAHs, like
phenanthrene, on early development in the African clawed frog, a model organism
for vertebrate cardiac development. Xenopus embryos were exposed to 5 ppm
phenanthrene and heart function was assessed using an inverted dissecting microscope
and Camtasia, a video recording and editing software program. Phenanthrene exposure
caused bradycardia and arrhythmia, effects that were reversible upon depuration.
Future studies will attempt 1) to determine the nature of the arrhythmia (e.g. the
presence of an atrioventricular conduction blockade), 2) to assess for effects on
circulation and erythrocytes, and 3) to determine if the toxic effects of phenanthrene
are dependent on aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) activation.
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Put on a happy face: Estimating the prevalence of negative emotions and its relation to traits of personality
Lindsey Moloney
Univeristy of Maine at Farmington
Mentor(s): Karol Maybury, PhD.
It isn’t difficult to imagine yourself feeling down because of life stressors. However, it is harder to imagine other people experiencing these negative emotions. Research into human behavior explores this phenomenon and looks to explain the tendency to underestimate the extent to which others’ experience negative emotions. The current study examined this tendency, which was originally evidenced by a multi-sample study conducted by Jordan, Monin, Dweck, Lovett, John, and Gross (2011). In addition, the current study examined whether this tendency is correlated with any of the Big Five personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience). It was hypothesized that estimations of others positive emotions would be higher than estimations of negative emotions and that this effect would be especially pronounced in individuals high in neuroticism and extroversion. Participants included 56 undergraduate college students enrolled at a small liberal arts college in the Northeastern United States. Participants completed two questionnaires: an assessment of estimations of positive and negative emotional experience in peers, and a Big Five Personality Inventory. Results indicate support of hypothesis one but hypothesis two was not supported. These findings are discussed in relation to human emotional experience and its impact on overall well being.
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