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1. Psychological Characteristics of College Students-2
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Kelsey Toomey	Psychology	Joshua Broman-Fulks	Arts and Sciences	Psychology	Apr 01, 2009
Project Description: Although there has been a dramatic increase in scientific knowledge in the past half century, the prevalence of pseudoscientific beliefs is still on the rise in our society. Pseudoscientific beliefs not only could cause a direct threat to the physical or psychological integrity of the ones self or others, it can also be harmful through the loss of money, time and productivity spent on ineffective treatments. Pseudoscientific thinking can also decrease one’s ability to understand and evaluate the findings and implications of scientific discoveries. Because pseudoscientific beliefs can be harmful to believers and society in several ways, research surrounding pseudoscientific beliefs has gained increased attention among scientists and educators. Although there are validated measures of paranormal beliefs, currently there are not any validated measures of pseudoscientific beliefs. The purpose of the present study is to validate a new measure of pseudoscientific beliefs, and to examine how such beliefs correlate to measures of mental health. Measures of paranormal beliefs, anxiety, avoidance, and our new measure of pseudoscientific beliefs will be administered to participants in groups and should take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Measures will be administered in a classroom. Participants will only be asked to complete a single questionnaire session. No identifying information will be collected from participants.

2. A Narration of the Immigrant Experience and an Examination of Success
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Cecelia Hinek	International Business	Patricia Napiorski	Arts and Sciences	Foreign Languages and Literatures	Feb 25, 2009
Project Description: I would interview a series of 10 recently immigrated families from Spanish-speaking countries, and record their narratives. They would be asked questions concerning their background, how and why they came to the United States, what difficulties they face/faced, and what they see as the future for them as well as the hispanic community as a whole. I will then interview 5 hispanic business owners and ask them similar questions concerning background and what they see as the prospects for themselves and for their community. The intent of this project is to examine the identity and the point of view of recent immigrants and immigrant families and to contrast that with the point of view and background of immigrants who have 'succeeded' in the business sense of the word. I would also like to compare and contrast the cultural identities of the two groups I interview, and look more closely at any differences that I may encounter.

3. Cis- vs. Trans-selectivity of the Microwave-assisted Wittig Reaction
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Ryan Little	Biology, Pre-professional	Nicole Bennett	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Jan 31, 2009
Project Description: Performing large-scale organic reactions efficiently has always been of interest to the pharmaceutical industry. Recently, efforts have been made to replace conventional heating methods with microwave irradiation because solutions are heated more effectively in the microwave. The Wittig reaction is one of the most common tools used by synthetic chemists for carbon-carbon bond formation. It has been the key step in the preparation of a variety of drugs such as the hormone, prostaglandin F2?, and the anti-cancer agent, calicheamicin.1,2 Using conventional heating, the Wittig reaction predictably forms a mixture of cis- and trans-alkenes, with the trans-product being favored. However, Barros et al. have reported that this selectivity can erode in the microwave reactor.3 This may mean that microwave irradiation is changing the relative rate of the two competing reactions. I propose to study the kinetic effect of this reaction in the microwave using a variety of solvents. Understanding this reaction more clearly will shed new light on the debate over how microwaves affect the mechanisms of organic reactions. 1. Corey, E. J. and others J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1969, 10, 320. 2. Nicolau, K. C. and others J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1992, 114, 10082. 3. Barros, M. T. and others Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2007, 3655.

4. Understanding the Structure and Processes of a Ugandan Grassroots NGO.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Allison Horton	Sociology	Tiffany Christian	University College	Watauga Global Community	Nov 05, 2008
Project Description: Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) offer outlets for community members to organize under a common goal. Having worked with both a NGO from Uganda and a NGO from Memphis, TN, I want to understand the structure and process that the NGO's use to effect community change. Youth Focus Africa Foundation (YOFAFO) was started by a local Ugandan whose goals include, "Bringing social and economic transformation by empowering rural communities to reach their full potential". The target areas are focused on, but not limited to, women and children. Our study abroad group from Appalachian worked with YOFAFO during our three week stay in Uganda, but we did not have the opportunity to get an extensive look at how YOFAFO works behind the scenes. YOFAFO will be compared to the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center in Memphis, TN. I have extensive knowledge of this grassroots NGO through previous work with the organization and have benefited from firsthand experience with a NGO located in a big city with high rankings among the worst in terms of poverty, crime, and infant mortality. Working with these two NGO’s offered very different experiences for me and incited my interest to explore NGO structure and processes. My hypothesis is that each NGO has developed a structure unique to its culture and context. My goal is to further develop the idea that grassroots movements' effectiveness is achieved partly because they are uniquely designed to meet the needs of their community in a way that larger, global NGO's cannot and do not accomplish. My visits will be guided by the following research questions: 1) What community concerns were the catalyst for the creation of the organization? 2) How does the organization address these concerns? 3) How are the community members involved? 4) What are the indicators of effectiveness/success? 5) What is the administrative structure of the organization?

5. PRESENTING AND PRESERVING THE SOUTHWEST THROUGH ART, LITERATURE, AND DELIBERATE LIVING
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Colleen Croghan	Communication	David Huntley	University College	Watauga Global Community	Oct 29, 2008
Project Description: In 1959 artist John DePuy and writer Edward Abbey made a pact to paint and write the Southwest, to introduce the world to its fragile beauty and lead the voices speaking against destructive industrialism. At his death in 1989 Abbey had published 23 works of both fiction and nonfiction, countless essays and travelogues in magazines and journals ranging from the obscure to the international, and had given fiery and controversial talks to varied groups around the country. John DePuy, still painting at age 80, has produced over 4000 oils of the Southwest, capturing what is really there, not the world we think we see. As part of a semester-long research project on deliberate living, culminating with a focus on Edward Abbey, I will spend a day at the home of John DePuy in Ojo Caliente, NM, interviewing him about his long association with Abbey, his commitment to his art (and viewing hundreds of his paintings), and his determination to live in step with his natural environment. In Moab, UT, at the Moab Confluence, a celebration of Abbey on the 40th anniversary of the publication of Desert Solitaire, I will interview Abbey?s widow, Clarke Abbey, and long-time friends Douglas Peacock (author, naturalist, and Grizzly Bear expert), Jack Loeffler (author and film maker), and Ken Sleight. These people have been interviewed before about their association with Abbey, focusing primarily on Abbey as a character whose outrageous voice and extreme opinions created a larger than life figure. My interviews will focus on him as an artist who chose to spend his life writing honestly about the human, environmental, cultural, and political conditions of 20th century America regardless of the financial uncertainty, misunderstandings, and verbal attacks he endured. I will examine the deliberate life of Edward Abbey in the context of other deliberate lives as well as within the broad context of philosophical, economic, theological, cultural, environmental, and artistic perspectives. Dr. Jay Cranston has determined that this project doesn?t require IRB approval. The reading list for this project: The Last American Man, Elizabeth Gilbert Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer Desert Solitaire, The Monkey Wrench Gang, Down the River and selected essays, Edward Abbey Grizzly Years: In Search of American Wilderness and Walking it Off: A Veteran's Chronicle of War And Wilderness, Douglas Peacock Abstract Impressionism, David Anfam Listening to the Land, Derrick Jensen Small is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered, E.F. Schumacher Given the advanced age of Abbey?s closest friends and the presence of them and others together in Moab, it?s crucial to work with them at this time. Presentations of the completed project include a unit on Abbey in Investigations: Local, the Watauga Global Community core class with a focus on deliberate living, and a session at Appalachian?s Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors in April. The project will result in an edited DVD documentary of the collection of filmed interviews and travel through the Arches, personal recollections, photographs, and other relevant information. The model for my product is an available DVD, A Voice the Wilderness, that focuses on Abbey?s life from the perspective of many acquaintances and family. The one I plan to help produce will look at his life (and to an extent the lives of his closest friends) as one guided by deliberate choices and basic convictions.

6. Glenn Bolick: Renaissance Man of the Blue Ridge
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Rebecca Jones	Communication	Kevin Balling	Fine and Applied Arts	Communication	Oct 29, 2008
Project Description: This is a 10 minute video documentary for Video Production 2 class on Lenoir native Glenn Bolick. I will document Glenn's heritage in the Blue Ridge as well has the traditions he continues at his farm in Blowing Rock which include pottery, music, storytelling, and saw milling. I am conducting interviews on camera with Glenn, Glenn's wife, Lula, Glenn's daughter, Janet and Professor of English, Dr. Thomas McGowan who teaches his students about Glenn in his folklore class. This video with help preserve Glenn's heritage and traditions of the mountains of North Carolina.

7. Making a New World: Beyond resistance How is it that we live in a world in which huge multinational corporations report record gains while poverty is ever increasing? How is it that some people live in luxury while others starve to death? Why is the neoliberal economic agenda gaining ground every day, while it leaves a path of destruction and misery in its wake? More importantly, how can we as global citizens fight for democracy, liberty and justice for those to whom it is denied? What does a successful social movement look like?
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Melissa Hanson	Interdisciplinary Studies	Curt Ryan	Arts and Sciences	Global Studies	Oct 22, 2008
Project Description: From December 26th- January 10th the Zapatista movement in Mexico will be hosting the first global festival of Dignified Rage: "Another World, Another Path, Below and to the Left". They have been attempting to answer the above questions for twenty-five years, and have had some remarkable successes. In 2006, in the "Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle", they announced the globalization of their non-violent struggle for democracy, liberty and justice. Through their international campaign they have contacted and collaborated with many different groups around the world who are also fighting for democracy, liberty and justice. They have found that all over, people are fighting for a different world, a better world, "a world in which many worlds fit". They have found that across the globe, workers, students, minorities, homosexuals, indigenous peoples and many other oppressed groups of people are fighting for and against many of the same things. The upcoming Global Festival will serve as a point of encounter for groups from all over the world to come to Mexico and share their struggles, their successes and failures, their hopes and dreams for another world. There will be a conference of all such groups in Mexico City during which each group will present their information, drawing connections, making contacts and dispelling stereotypes. Next, in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, there will be a celebration of the art and music of these struggles, and inquiries into how art and music can add more strength and dimension to the struggle. Finally the festival will conclude with round-table discussions, in which activists, organizers, leaders, writers and intellectuals from around the world will share their ideas about how we can move forward with the movement to create another world, one of democracy, liberty and justice. My intention is to attend these events as an observer. I will conduct interviews and gather information about many different global struggles. Then I will synthesize the information and attempt to draw connections between the various groups and their particular situations, struggles and methods of non-violent resistance. My hope is to find connections that will lead me to an idea of what a truly successful social movement should look like. Next, my hope is to create a plan of action for our community right here in Boone. What can Boone learn from other global struggles? How can we as citizens of Boone make our beautiful town as democratic, free and just as possible? How can we create a community of people dedicated to the constant betterment and sustainability of our town? These are the questions that I hope to be able to answer by attending the Global Festival of Dignified Rage in Mexico. I will then return to Boone and present my findings to the university and town in a number of different forums. I will present to individual classes in many departments including foreign Language, Political Science, Anthropology, Fine Art, Criminal Justice, Sociology and Interdisciplinary studies. I will also present my findings to the general population of Boone as well as the Mayor and Town council. These presentations will also be opportunities for students, faculty and citizens to collaborate and synthesize ideas for the future of Boone as part of the global community.

8. The Relationship between Argentinean Myths and the Argentine Tango and How They Reflect Deeper Cultural Concerns and the Human Condition
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Courtney Stiles	Psychology	Jay Wentworth	University College	Interdisciplinary Studies	Oct 22, 2008
Project Description: In virtually every culture, people have at one time or another told stories to explain the phenomena around them and to answer deeper philosophical questions about their existence. In addition, there are certain aspects or symbols that are readily associated with many cultures today. For Argentina, some of these cultural symbols are its free-range steaks (food), the writings of Borges and Cortazar (literature), and its own style of dance, the Argentine tango. I am interested in comparing the historical, stylistic, and rhythmic developments of Argentinian myths/legends and the Argentine tango. Both of these cultural aspects "tell a story" that has allowed them to endure as traditions and cultural symbols even to this day. That they are considered "classic" and contain similar elements of expression--such as language,cadence, fluidity, structure, etc.--suggests that both speak to deeper hopes, fears, emotions, and/or cultural concerns of the Argentine people. These deeper impetuses, in turn, would reflect the human condition and how we manifest externally what is important to us internally. By comparing and contrasting Argentinean myths/legends with the Argentine tango, I would be analyzing a deeper, subtle relationship between these two cultural staples. This analysis, in turn, may reflect a conception of Argentinean identity and tradition that could then be used to better understand its people. Finally, the research may also serve as an example for similar projects in other parts of South America which is a continent often overlooked.

9. VEGF and vascular permeability in the cervix of pregnant mice.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Whitney Irwin	Biology, Pre-professional	Chishimba Nathan Mowa	Arts and Sciences	Biology	May 10, 2008
Project Description: : Our lab?s long term goal is to find solutions for preventing/lessening obstetrical complications, by investigating the role of microvasculature remodeling in cervical remodeling (CR) using normal and mice models. The present studies will assess the underlying mechanisms of vascular remodeling, namely vascular permeability and its impact on CR. We hypothesize that vascular permeability is dependent on VEGF-induced vascular leakage mediated by PLC?/eNO/PKC signaling pathway in the cervix. We will rigorously test this hypothesis using pharmacologic agents for PKC, real time PCR and histology.