The Southern Oregon Arts & Research conference invites you to be a part of our 10th anniversary, celebrating our journey through the decade. Visit sou.edu/soar for more information.
This essay and project provides research and arguments about the usage and values of art in our modern society. With there being major cultural shifts over the last decade with all the technological growth, Samuel Schrott talks about the DIY movement seen in the United States over the last decade, and dives into the issues of craft and craftsmanship being forgotten about and taken for granted.
Researchers are beginning to recognize what traditional cultures have long understood—to dance is to learn, but many teachers feel ill-equipped to incorporate movement into their classes. Rural teachers rarely have access to movement curricula, and available online content does not reflect the cultural contexts of rural and Indigenous students. This study describes a teacher in a rural Alaska Native village using Your Classroom Dance Teacher, a movement-based learning tool delivered via video.
This presentation explores the relationships between emotional intelligence and intimacy. With emotional intelligence comes the availability to be intimate, but what are the dimensions of intimacy? This exploration will touch on various factors that influence intimacy, emotional intelligence, and the effects on human behavior.
Is cryonics a safe and possible means for prolonging human life? If cryonics becomes a fully functional method of life prolongation, people of a future generation who suffer from diseases will be able to stop their aging processes until a cure for their disease is uncovered. The argument is whether this science is even worth studying since it is primarily based on theory and goes against many religions. However, cryonics is worth considering, as it could double the human lifespan.
A SOAN Capstone presentation on art as a tool for youth empowerment at the Kids Unlimited school in Medford. A mural project undertaken during the after-school program focused on social justice and community conversation. How can we integrate art into programs to amplify youth voices and start conversations about critical thinking and community reflection?
The Green Fund, ran by the Environmental Affairs Committee, is a funding source for sustainable projects that will be implemented on the SOU campus. This presentation will highlight and provide information for all of the projects that the Green Fund has approved since the start of the Green Fund. Come learn details about these sustainability projects, as well as details and the successes of each project.
By converting to 100% renewable energy, the U.S. would save money in the long run, create jobs, have a cleaner environment, and stabilize energy prices. This research will use information gathered from peer reviewed sources. Technologically and economically, the U.S. is capable of making and benefiting from the transition, but there are social and political barriers that prevent this from happening.
This presentation will analyze previous research done on soldiers during WWI (Shell Shock), WWII (Battle Fatigue), and into Vietnam (PTSD) moving forward. This presentation will focus on the effects that these combat disorders had on military training, battles, and operating procedures throughout the 20th century. The 20th century brought, with its technological progress, deadly new tactical and psychological problems into warfare, and it deserves to be analyzed for its historical context.
Is the world ready for AI to make ethical decisions? Self-driving cars will soon have to choose whether to save the lives of pedestrians or the lives of their passengers. Would you trust your car to choose whether you live or die? Preliminary conclusions indicate that the world is not ready for AI to be ethical. Without an ethical framework to guide both researchers and the AI they work on, lives will be lost and it will be difficult to hold anyone accountable.
Mental health is a topic often not talked about until tragedy strikes, and is indeed a public health concern. In the spirit of prevention, how can we engage children and youth in activities that promote their mental, emotional, and physical well-being? Physical activity interventions for mental health are a promising frontier in modern research.
Do microorganisms affect human behavior in relation to the diet provided? This question is significant because everyone has microorganisms that interact with food in the stomach. Should the research show positive correlation to the topic, it would mean that a healthy diet is important to mental health. Many of the sources in this presentation are peer-reviewed with the topic having no clear counter-argument at this time. The preliminary conclusion reached is that a healthy diet promotes mental health.
While the cities of Europe were dark mazes of narrow and irregular streets in the early 16th century, Tenochtitlan was already a well-structured and organized metropolis. After the Iberians established their empire in the Americas, they wanted the cities of New Spain to be embodiments of Renaissance ideals, which they accomplished in part through the application of the Vitruvian gridiron. This presentation tracks the development of the grid system in Mexico City up until the 18th century.
This research will describe how the child's neurological development is impacted from multiple kinds of abuse experienced by the child. Furthermore, it explains how various types of maltreatment can lead into adulthood, affecting the individual in many ways.
A lecture on studies regarding the benefits of choral and communal singing. Myers will present findings from his own research of two different singing groups, as well as discuss the psychological and social benefits of group singing. He will touch on his future research, which will be concerned with educational components of learning music in public schools and the impact that musical study has on students, from social behaviors to scholastic aptitude in other subjects.
An examination of the costs and benefits of attending college from a labor market perspective. Key findings suggest that given the changes within the labor market, graduate success is largely determined by the socioeconomic features of the student and the college they attend. Kamrar argues that structural changes have created a labor mismatch, resulting in increased inequality between graduates and non-graduates; and colleges should employ practices that promote access to skilled labor.
Using data from a campus needs and readiness assessment, a strong grounding in best practices, and evidence-based programming, this group presents a strategy for the prevention of sexual assault at SOU.
This presentation demonstrates the ways in which the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides protections to colonizer states, and suggests revisions to UNDRIP derived from Tribal Critical Race Theory.
Presenting The Better Half, a short film taking aim at the tropes and clichés of modern romantic comedies. Written/directed by Straub and produced by Borrego, the goal was to produce a brief but highly-polished piece of satire.
Have you ever wondered how our brains process pitches and interpret them as music, or how we can tell the sound of a piano apart from a guitar? Mathematics and music theory combined can explain many of these puzzles. This presentation will give an accessible overview of basic topics in acoustics, music theory, and music cognition—including the properties of the overtone series, the development of tuning systems, and the cognition of rhythm and pitch.
A descriptive essay about a place the author considers their home, including a partner piece to the essay that explains the title, Beef, Bean and Cheese. Part of the “Sense of Place” Symposium, focused on the theme of places, problems, and solutions.
In 1933, Einstein objected to quantum mechanics at the Solvay Conference in Belgium, claiming it required "spooky action at a distance." His objection stood unanswered until 1980, when the Bell Inequality was experimentally verified. This talk could be subtitled: How the Hippies Saved Quantum Physics!
The Office of International Programs (OIP) serves SOU students, staff, faculty and the general public through international student advising, study away opportunities in the U.S. and overseas, passport application assistance, and more. Come learn about our services and the international possibilities awaiting you!
Discussing the similarities between the creation of Israel for the Holocaust survivors who were left homeless after WWII, and the homeless today in our country who need to be provided assistance and support so that they can live free and independent lives.
This presentation will be about the dark side of Australia, specifically the issues between the natives of Australia and the foreigners that took Australia by force and brutality.
Should youth contact sports be banned due to the rise of concussions? Around 45 million kids participate in a sport; with a high level of youth athletes comes an equally high chance of injury. In the research, evidence from peer edited journals about concussions and sports related head trauma in youth are used. The preliminary conclusion is that youth contact sports should be banned for children under the age of 12, because of the short term and long term effects on the brain from concussions.
Using Stephen Crane's Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, along with multiple contemporary and modern sources from a variety of fields, this presentation will showcase the argument of Meador’s final research paper for winter term's ENG 301 class. The paper is a conversation about the importance of the development and expression of sexual desire as it relates to the formation of individual identity. It presents a feminist discourse regarding Crane's novella that is challenging, engaging, and unique.
Most people have some understanding of their emotions and the emotions of others, but few learn how to adapt effectively to those emotions. This presentation uses Aristotle's idea of balanced virtues and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to provide a framework for becoming a more balanced leader, who is able to adapt and react effectively, regardless of the circumstances.
What is the lingering damage of sexual secrets? Can shame be inherited? Using Family Systems and Attachment Theories, this presentation will focus on cultural stigma, family shame, and challenges to love. The presenter's new memoir about her father's secret gay life will be used as a heuristic case study. The presentation will appeal to anyone who is keeping a sexual secret or grew up with one. The presenter has written five books on the subject of sexual shame and offers healing strategies.
Describing an undergraduate research experience, including field sampling at Crater Lake National Park along with laboratory work at SOU’s Biotechnology Center and the Microbiology lab.
This presentation will be conducted by the Polynesian Education Conference steering committee. It will cover the various perspectives and struggles that come along with the westernization of various Polynesian countries. It also analyzes the effects that westernization continues to have on Polynesian countries, at both the state and territorial levels.
A science-based exploration of the entheogenic experience of ayahuasca, a concoction brewed from two plants native to South America that shamans have used for thousands of years for healing and spiritual insight. Forbidden in the U.S., except when used under religious license, ayahuasca is a psychoactive tea with many biomedical and psychological health benefits.
This talk focuses on the application of GIS and Geospatial Technologies for detecting suitable sites for growing grapes in the Pacific North West region of the United States, especially the State of Oregon. The idea is to provide an overview of the major factors that contribute to the growth and development of grapes. Consequently, various regions of the state will be evaluated based on their vineyard potential.
This presentation takes a look at whether victim-blaming biases play a role in the recollection of words in a fictional story depicting sexual assault. The presentation uses student responses to a word list with victim-blaming trigger words such as "alcohol" or "short skirt" to assess the impact on memory and analyze our societies tendencies to blame victims of sexual assault. The presentation will break down the responses by gender.
Children don't have proper access to comprehensive sex education to navigate in safe and responsible ways. This presentation will assess juveniles’ involvement in sexual offenses, compare the current local sex education programs by evaluating the liberal model of the Ashland School District versus the more traditional and conservative model of the Medford School District, and provide support for the idea that a strong education system can help deter sexual offenses from taking place.
Relaxation time as a measurement tool has not been explored as an indicator of life satisfaction in parents. Camdon Engelbach wrote a multiple regression analysis survey to further explore life satisfaction. It's important for parents to maintain positive life satisfaction, as a large part is transferred to children; children absorb behavior.
How are conscious community agreements communicated, enshrined, ritualized, and enacted in intentional communities? Through ongoing exploratory ethnographic fieldwork and analysis, Eddie Lee will present an exposé of what Conscious Community entails, what it means for individuals and society to organize accordingly, as well as provide Lee’s latest findings on ongoing research.
Bakken discusses her art practice and past and current bodies of work. Her work centers around printmaking and concepts of public land use, and the natural landscape influenced by her personal experiences.
Opiates have become the most abused drug in the United States. In 2014, the State of Oregon had a prescription opioid death rate of 4.23 per 100,000. Jackson County, Oregon had a rate of 6.06 prescription opioid deaths in 2014. This group will present a program proposal about the effects of abusing prescription opioids in Jackson County, OR and the need for action!
Hawkins studied abroad in Ireland last fall, and traveled Northern Europe alone for three weeks prior to meeting the study abroad program. Hawkins is a Creative Writing BFA major and wrote creative pieces to describe these experiences while abroad, and also just small moments of life. This presentation is for those wanting to study abroad, travel, or reflect on moments of being human.
