www.msmary.edu/sparc

SPARC FESTIVAL

CELEBRATION OF SENIOR HONORS SCHOLARSApril 25-26, 2017

Welcome from the University Honors Program Director

Members of the Mount St. Mary’s University faculty dedicate themselves to excellence in both scholarship and teaching, integrating the latest developments in their disciplines into classroom instruction. The Honors Program offers students a unique opportunity to work closely with our expert faculty on research projects involving topics of shared interest. These projects serve as capstone experiences in the honors students’ majors and as springboards to graduate schools and professions.

Each year, the Mount’s SPARC (Scholarship, Performance, Art, Research and Creativity) Festival celebrates academic excellence. The festival showcases the scholarship and creative projects of our undergraduates, who represent the College of Liberal Arts, the School of Natural Science and Mathematics, the Richard J. Bolte, Sr. School of Business, and the School of Education and Human Services. Our senior honors students are responsible for a significant portion of the program through the presentations they give on their research projects. In addition, each year a Mount professor is chosen by the Honors Committee to give the Honored Faculty Address at the festival’s opening ceremony. Layton Field, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology, will deliver this year’s address on Wednesday, April 26 in Knott Auditorium from 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.

We invite you to join us on the Mount’s main campus in Emmitsburg, Maryland. All senior honors project presentations are free and open to the public. Presentations are in the O’Hara Dining Room located in Patriot Hall and Laughlin Auditorium located in the Coad Science Building, with the speakers, times and topics listed in this brochure or found online at sparc.msmary.edu.

If you need directions to these venues or any further information, please call me at 301-447-8387 or email me at staiger@msmary.edu.

We look forward to seeing you at one or more of these events!

Jennifer L. Staiger, Ph.D.Director, University Honors Program

Jennifer Staiger, Ph.D.Director of the University Honors Program | COAD 212B Mount St. Mary’s University |Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727 301-447-8387 | staiger@msmary.edu

The success of this festival depends upon months of work by the SPARC Festival Planning Committee and the University Honors Committee. The festival is made possible by the generous support of our administration and by the time and dedication of numerous students, staff and faculty.

SPARC Planning CommitteeMark Carlson, D.M.A.Josey Chacko, Ph.D.Katy Dye, Ph.D.Teresa Fabregas, C‘17Corinne Farneti, Ph.D.Layton Field, Ph.D.Brian Heinold, Ph.D.Nick Hutchings, M.F.A.Kimberly Mazziott, C‘17Michelle Ohanian, Ph.D.Fred Portier, Ph.D.Sarah Scott, Ph.D.Jen Staiger, Ph.D.Mike Turner, Ph.D.Kimberly Springer, M.Ed.

GHM Society LeadershipAlyse Spiehler, C’17, President Connelly Magin, C’17, Vice-President Sydney Magin, C’17, Secretary

University Honors CommitteeJennifer Staiger, Ph.D., Director Josey Chacko, Ph.D.Carolyn Cook, Ph.D.Jack Dudley, Ph.D. Paige Hoschschild, Ph.D. Michael Turner, Ph.D.

Support StaffJamie EverettDenise AushermanErika ButtsKarlie HerbertEmily WassHilary DouwesMary BenderLisa ReedLisa RhoadsKaren Shorb

SPARC Festival Planning Committee

TUESDAY, April 25 Location Time Student Name Department

Session I

Laughlin Auditorium

5-5:30 p.m. Brigid Flay Ecomonics

5:45-6:15 p.m. Amy Bielicki Business6:30-7 p.m. Katlyn Yano Accounting

O’HaraDining Room

5-5:30 p.m. Leeanne Leary English

5:45-6:15 p.m. Kathryn QuinnVisual & Performing Arts

6:30-7 p.m. Bernadette O’Keefe English

7:15-7:45 p.m. Paige Spangler English

WEDNESDAY, April 26

Session II

Laughlin Auditorium

8:45-9:15 a.m. Jianne DeRaya Science9:30-10 a.m. Katherine Wu Science10:15-10:45 a.m. Johanna Papa Science11-11:30 a.m. Latoya McGlorthan Science

O’Hara Dining Room

8:45-9:15 a.m. Bari Boyd English9:30-10 a.m. Jessica Huhn English10:15-10:45 a.m. Sara Curley English11-11:30 a.m. Connor Burne Political Science

Session III

Laughlin Auditorium

1-1:30 p.m. Grace Wagler Science

1:45-2:15 p.m. Megan Crandall Science2:30-3 p.m. Kelly Weiss Science3:15-3:45 p.m. Omomayokun Ojo Science4-4:30 p.m. Sarah Bonson Science

O’HaraDining Room

1-1:30 p.m. Joseph Theis English1:45-2:15 p.m. Connelly Magin History2:30-3 p.m. Matthew Koury Psychology3:15-3:45 p.m. Giofranco Libonate Science4-4:30 p.m. Rebecca Schisler Philosophy

Session IVO’HaraDining Room

6-6:30 p.m. Alyse Spiehler Philosophy6:45-7:15 p.m. Anne O’Neil Theology7:15-7:45 p.m. Hannah Dunham Psychology8-8:30 p.m. Kayla Morrow Philosophy

Senior Honors Projects Schedule

Senior Honors Project Abstracts

Tuesday, April 25 | Honors Session I

| Laughlin Auditorium |

AMY BIELICKIExamining the Effectiveness of Cross-Platform E-mail and Social Media Marketing to MillennialsMentor: Mary Beth Graham

This project highlights the effectiveness of cross-platform marketing to students at Mount St. Mary’s University. Recent studies show that digital advertising followed by a television advertisement increases the overall effectiveness of the advertisement. Conducted research for this study included placing an advertisement on social media prior to an organization’s regular marketing platform to record changes to event attendance. Events with a consistent attendance were chosen for this study in order to gauge any fluctuations in attendance based upon the introduction of the digital advertisement prior to an email and the organizations’ normal marketing platform.

BRIGID FLAYThe Ethics of Economic Sanctions: Economically Ineffective and Morally ObjectionableMentor: Michael Barry, Ph.D.

Economic sanctions have been a popular foreign policy choice for the United States and other nations for an extensive period of time. As a result, many citizens of sanction-targeted countries are severely impoverished and suffering while the political leaders of those countries remain unaffected. Through a case study approach, this project explores the morality and effectiveness of economic sanctions, concluding that in nearly all circumstances they are unsatisfactory. Going forward, nations should adopt an approach to sanctions that does not place negative econom-ic consequences on civilian populations and that preserves the goal of international relations: cooperation and peace.

KATLYN YANOEmployee Retention in Humanitarian Aid Focused Nonprofit OrganizationsMentor: Josey Chacko, Ph.D.

Employee retention is a strategically imperative task for humanitarian organizations amidst a growing skills shortage concern. This task is even more difficult when much of the current employee retention literature focuses on strategies

applied in the for-profit business context. This paper examines and clearly defines the humanitarian context through the evaluation of humanitarian operations and employee retention literature. In addition, this paper looks to explore and analyze the effect of various strategies on retention in humanitarian organizations.

| O’Hara Dining Room |

LEEANNE LEARYFrom the Inside: Observations of Extreme Poverty and Resounding LoveMentor: Ernest Solar, Ph.D.

This series of essays follows a home and school dedicat-ed to 37 children in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. This glimpse into their lives does not attempt to make sense of each individual tragic past, but instead tells a story about where the children are now while commenting on themes such as baby-feeding, Christianity, Missionary Children, orphans, Tent City, and The Ravine. Creative Nonfiction will be used as the vehicle to tell this story. The research being done in accordance with this project tests the idea that CNF is the most appropriate format for these narratives, and will allow for emotion, interaction, and the human experiences of suffering and love without detracting from the truth of these lives.

BERNADETTE O’KEEFEThe Irish Puppet Show: Alcohol and Agency in James Joyce’s DublinersMentor: Jack Dudley, Ph.D.

This paper focuses on the ambivalent representation of alcohol in modern Irish literary culture by exploring how James Joyce (1882-1941) imagined alcohol in his fiction. In his writings, particularly Dubliners, alcohol instigates and then perpetuates cycles of violence and economic struggle, yet it is also one part of Irish hospitality. Its potency in Joyce’s narratives varies from simple enjoyment in “The Dead” to violent, alcoholic rage in “Counterparts.” I examine how in these stories, the alcohol itself functions as a character through the way it manipulates the perspective of the protagonist and by how directly it affects the other characters and their circumstances.

KATHRYN QUINNDusty Roads and Dusty Souls: Pilgrimage is the Human’s ConditionMentor: Elizabeth Holtry, M.F.A.

This work communicates pilgrimage. Pilgrimage, at its simplest essence, has three elements: it is a journey, it has an end and it is of a spiritual nature. Physical pilgrimages allude to the greater pilgrimage, life. Unless we participate in life as pilgrims, contemplatively searching for our end, we experience shallow existence. My ink paintings commu-nicate this life-pilgrimage through marks, not images. The marks, reminiscent of incense, suggest movement, silence, and contemplation, without which one cannot participate in pilgrimage. The work’s role is to draw viewers into con-templation of pilgrimage. Through contemplation, people become pilgrims.

PAIGE SPANGLERFarm to Table: Improving Writing Fluency in Rural CommunitiesMentor: Jack Dudley, Ph.D.

What resources are lacking in rural communities that cause students to struggle in writing? Although writing is a universal problem for young adults, how can writing be improved for the students who need it most? This study examines the benefits of journaling and conferencing as a form of writing intervention for low-scoring writing students at the secondary level. I will also examine writing samples from college freshmen to see how going to college in a rural community impacts writing. This study was completed from October 2016 through February 2017.

Wednesday, April 26 | Honors Session II

| Laughlin Auditorium |

JIANNE DERAYAValidation of miRNA 125 Target Sites in the ace-3 and nhr-34 3’-Untranslated RegionsMentor: Michael Turner, Ph.D.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are single-stranded RNAs that play a role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. They have the ability to nonspecifically bind 3’Untranslated Regions (UTRs) of a target messenger RNAs (mRNA) and inhibit translation. Sometimes this results in diseases such as breast cancer. Generally, base-pairing with complimentary sequences in the 3’UTR of the target enables miRNAs to silence mRNA targets. While there is a general understanding of the binding of miRNAs and its targets, the base pairing between the miRNAs and these targets is typically imperfect, thus it is difficult to accurately predict miRNA binding sites computationally. This experiment focuses on the validation of two putative targets of miRNA125 - ace-3 and nhr-34 3’-UTRs. MiRNA125 is associated with the p53 tumor suppressor protein in breast cancer. Dysregulation of miRNA 125 ultimately leads to translationally inhibiting the mRNA of the p53 tumor suppressor protein and complications in the p53 signaling pathways. The experimentally validated miRNA targets of miRNA 125 will, hopefully, assist in the pharmaceutical research efforts to accurately identify biomarkers and targets that will aid in oncogenic studies.

LATOYA MCGLORTHANDetermining the Outcome of Competition Between Two Parasitoid WaspsMentor: Abigail Kula, Ph.D.

The experiment utilizes elements of the Lotka- Volterra competitive model, which describes the rate of change of a species on its population density and the density of the competing species. When forced to share a resource, one species of wasps will outcompete the other, producing more offspring than its opponent. The other species has a smaller body size and is presumed to be less competitive. This species was given priority access to the resource to determine if this will increase the species’ competitiveness.

Katherine WuDetermining the Diploid Parentage of a Polyploid Isoetes Species Mentor: Abigail Kula, Ph.D.

Identification of species in the plant genus Isoetes, which bear a strong resemblance to tufts of grass, is notoriously difficult due to their morphological simplicity and compli-cated evolutionary history. Allopolyploidy, or interspecific hybridization combined with chromosome doubling, is sug-gested to be a significant speciation mechanism for Isoetes. A new species, Isoetes graniticola, has been proposed as an allotetraploid resulting from hybridization between I. piedmontana and I. melanopoda. Parentage of this new species was inferred from plastid and nuclear markers as well as next-generation DNA sequencing.

JOHANNA PAPAValidation of MicroRNA Let-7 Targets Within the Ceanorhapditid Elegans GenomeMentor: Michael Turner, Ph.D.

MicroRNAs (MiRNAs) are a relatively new member to the RNA family. They are short non-coding single strand RNA molecules, only about 22 nucleotides long. MiRNAs are a part of the RISC complex that targets messenger RNAs, which stops translation. Through three different databases, a list of the theoretical gene targets of let-7 was created. These genes were isolated from the genome of Ceanor-hapditid elegans (C. elegans). Each gene was implanted into a plasmid with the luciferase gene. Determination of an actual target of a gene by let-7 will be based on the data collected from a Fluorescence assay.

| O’Hara Dining Room |

BARI BOYD The End of Heroism in the Literature of the Great WarMentor: Jack Dudley, Ph.D.

The nature of a hero during the Great War saw a radical shift from the knight in shining armor of Arthurian legend to a more complex and potentially darker ideal. David Jones’ In Parenthesis, T. S. Eliot’s poetry and Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur are crucial to understanding this shift in the literary and cultural portrayal of heroism. I argue that the Arthurian hero, although present in Jones and Eliot, changes through the accidence associated with the draft, whose individuality is irrelevant in the new form of war, and whose identity is fragmented, losing cohesion, intentionality and a sense of dualistic morality.

CONNOR BURNETrouncing Terror: Applying the Successes and Shortfalls of Counterinsurgency in Iraq to the Islamic State and Future InvolvementsMentor: Kristen Urban, Ph.D.

While U.S. Counterinsurgency Strategy (COIN) proved successful at mitigating insurgencies while U.S. forces were in Iraq, the rise of the Islamic State reveals a lack of COIN’s effectiveness in post-American Iraq. This project will assess COIN’s role in achieving such polarized results. Before the American withdrawal, COIN had laid the groundwork for a stable and safe environment. After the withdrawal of American forces, the Islamic State rapidly gained power. After analyzing the successes and shortfalls of COIN in Iraq, these lessons learned will be applied to revising COIN to improve its effectiveness in achieving positive outcomes in future U.S. involvements.

SARA CURLEYAvoiding the Stereotype: The Hidden Advantage of the Shakespearean WomanMentor: Sarah Scott, Ph.D.

This project will argue that females were not entirely at a disadvantage while living within the patriarchal and misogynistic society of Shakespeare’s time, but rather that they held the ability to take advantage of a certain type of feminine power that was unavailable to their male counterparts. This project will examine the foremost female characters in several of Shakespeare’s works and describe the advantage that these women possess in being able to live a life balanced between stereotypically masculine and feminine behaviors.

JESSICA HUHNMarriage, Credit-Worthiness, and the Woman Cahined in The Comedy of ErrorsMentor: Sarah Scott, Ph.D.

Within Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors, Craig Muldrew’s concept of “economy of obligation” appears in two gender-specific forms: the commercial economy of men and the marital-behavioral economy of women. Through the dilemma of the golden chain, the social construct of female reputation parallels commercial credit-worthiness, wherein credibility is defined by one’s faithfulness to his or her promises. In the domestic sphere, the imagery of the chain symbolizes the bonds of marriage in the play, framed as a relationship in which the wife pays a constant debt of obedience to her husband to retain credibility or suffers personally and socially. However, a husband does not owe the same fidelity to his wife. Shakespeare uses the circulation of the literal chain in the drama, along with its metaphorical associations, to urge for mutual obligations between husband and wife.

Wednesday, April 26 | Honors Session III

| Laughlin Auditorium |

SARAH BONSONSynthesis and Characterization of Gold Micelles for Use In A Targeted Drug Delivery SystemMentor: Patricia Kreke, Ph.D.

The treatment of disease requires the destruction of harmful cells, which is often amalgamated with the death of healthy body cells. A targeted drug delivery system would allow drugs to be delivered exclusively to affected areas, treating only harmful cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed. This research focuses on the use of gold micelles in targeting drug delivery, which could be especially helpful in the effective treatment of diseases due to the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effects of gold nanoparticles and their potential in photothermal therapy. Measurement techniques have been developed to confirm the structure of these nanoparticles including IR, NMR and microfluidic microwave measurements. A Dynam-ic Light Scattering (DLS) instrument is also being developed for characterization. Though these methods, the structure of the system can be determined as well as the size of the nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles have been synthesized, thiolated, polymerized and characterized. At the critical aggregation concentration (CAC), these nanopar-ticles will form micelles which could be used as a vehicle in a targeting drug delivery system.

OMOMAYOKUN OJOCharacterization and Categorization of Mixed Mouse Astrocyte Cell LinesMentor: Christine McCauslin, Ph.D.

Neuroinflammation is understood to be involved in multiple neurodegenerative diseases but its biochemical process within the human brain is yet to be fully grasped. The exposition of the mechanisms involved in glial activation is a pivotal step in improving our understanding, but this requires the generation of a stable and valid model system in which to analyze this progression. Cells were isolated from one-day-old mice cortices then virally infected in prior experiments to generate two immortalized mice glial cell lines, J2B9 and J2B10. In order to determine the growth characteristics and also confirm the identities of our cell lines as mixed microglial/astrocyte cell populations, this project aims to characterize the cell lines via neutral red assays, cell counting assays, cell doubling assays, and anti-body immunofluorescence staining. Our results suggest that the doubling time of both populations are stable across

multiple weeks in culture. Both cell lines stained positive for GFAP while J2B9 also stained positive for Integrin alpha M. Though further research is required to fully confirm the complete characteristics of our cells, our results support that we have generated stable mixed astrocyte cell lines.

GRACE WAGLER Determining the Effectiveness of aPKC Inhibition in Preventing Retinal Vascular Permeability in Disease StatesMentor: Michael Turner, Ph.D.

Diabetic retinopathy due to macular edema (ME) is current-ly one of the most prevalent causes of vision loss and blind-ness in modernized countries. A small molecule inhibitor of atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) could reverse vascular permeability, which is a major contributor to ME. While the long-term goal is to develop therapeutic options to restore/reverse vision loss, part of the research is devoted to assessing how effective aPKC inhibition is in preventing/reversing retinal vascular permeability. To this end, the protein expression of six kinases from the protein kinase C iota domain was assessed, turning up negative results.

KELLY WEISSUsing CRISPR Technology to Identify Genes Involved in HMGB1 Signaling in Glial CellsMentor: Jennifer Staiger, Ph.D.

In the human brain, a stroke leads to ischemic injury. The brain then uses various proteins to go into the neuro-in-flammation process. One of those proteins, high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is released from dying cells, stimu-lating inflammation of microglial cells. HMGB1 regulates CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins (C/EBPs) – transcription factors that regulate a variety of cellular processes. The goal of this research is to use CRISPR cloning technology to better understand the role of C/EBPβ in neuroinflammation by creating constructs to inhibit the expressions of certain genes in order to better understand their roles in regulating inflammation.

MEGAN CRANDALL The Effects of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) on Treatment Outcomes in Patients with Congenital CMV-Induced Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SNHL)Mentors: Barbara Marinak, Ph.D./Michael Turner, Ph.D.

Congenital Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common cause for sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in the birth to early adolescence population. It is difficult to identify patients

born with silent (asymptomatic) CMV due to late-onset characteristics of the infection and lack of testing in newborn screening programs. Hearing loss due to the CMV infection in infants can be progressive up to six years after birth. This study looks at differences in treatment outcomes of patients with CMV-induced SNHL compared to patients with non-CMV SNHL as well as the efficacy of research available to practitioners treating patients with CMV.

| O’Hara Dining Room |

MATTHEW KOURYThe Interaction Between Delay Discounting and Acute Stress Mentor: Jonathan Slezak, Ph.D.

Impulsivity can be defined as preference for smaller, immediate reinforcers over larger, delayed reinforcers. This phenomenon is known as delay discounting; as the delay to a larger reinforcer increases, the value of that reinforcer decreases. Previous research indicates an association between high delay-discounting rates and poor health like obesity and drug abuse. This study builds upon previous research indicating that the induction of acute stress in subjects can increase impulsivity and stress levels. Using a within-subject, pre-posttest design, we further examine the relationship between stress and impulsivity. The results suggest that there was no relationship between stress and delay discounting.

GIOFRANCO LIBONATEDetermining the Role of SPEC1 in Human CellsMentor: Dana Ward, Ph.D.

SPEC1 is a protein that was discovered by Dr. Ward in her graduate work, but its function remains unknown. The role of SPEC1, a CDC42 effector protein, will be examined through various experiments in order to better understand the functions of this protein. Specifically its role in mitotic spindle orientation, focal adhesion points, and cell mor-phology were all examined because previous experiments alluded to these possible functions of SPEC1.

CONNELLY MAGIN Imperial Envy and God-like Glory: Neoclassical Art as Propaganda During the Reign of Napoleon Bonaparte Mentor: Jamie Gianoutsos, Ph.D.

Historians of Napoleon, by virtue of their research on the images and symbols he promulgated during his reign as

emperor, have come to understand Napoleon almost exclusively through his use of Roman imagery to justify his ascension to power. However, this paper argues that there is a significant theme of Napoleon’s reign that has been overlooked in the past. Through the study of various portraits that were commissioned by Napoleon and his legislature, another image emerges that creates a religious depiction of Napoleon as ruler, equating his authority to that of Jesus Christ.

REBECCA SCHISLERThe First Amendment and the Common Good: A Look into the Role of the PressMentor: Richard Buck, Ph.D.

Over time, the Press has developed as a necessary resource for pursuing and understanding the truth. The Press un-dertakes a necessary position: holding those in leadership positions responsible for their actions and reporting infor-mation crucial for the public’s knowledge. This project will develop a philosophical analysis of Freedom of Press and its contribution to the common good and human flourishing. Two essential aspects of a flourishing society are peace and justice, qualities that the Press protects. In order for liberty to be preserved and truth to be uncovered, journalism must be present as a conduit between public discourse and society at large.

JOSEPH THEISThe Naked Empire: An Analysis of Political Correctness as a Method of Cultural ReformMentor: Sean Lewis, Ph.D.

Through an examination of linguistic structures and their relationship to behavioral patterns as particularly pertaining to cultural trends, I present an argument condemning political correctness as a means by which the restriction and alteration of speech may influence political institutions and legal interpretations; additionally, I examine the current crisis facing freedom of speech as it affects the cultural and academic climate of the American university campus.

Wednesday, April 26 | Honors Session IV

| O’Hara Dining Room |

HANNAH DUNHAM The Role of Priming in Stereotype Threat Situations Involving Order EffectsMentor: Robert Keefer, Ph.D.

This research is influenced by Smeding et. al’s (2013) study examining order effects and their ability to create or alleviate stereotype threat on girls’ math performance. The present research centers on the hypothesis that eliminating stereotype threat will eliminate order effects regarding math and verbal testing. When primed to experience stereotype threat, women should perform in accordance with that stereotype and achieve higher grades on a verbal-math test than a math-verbal test. In contrast, when women are primed to feel masculine, thus eliminating stereotype threat, they should perform equally on both the verbal-math and math-verbal tests.

KAYLA MORROWThe Pilgrimage of Life: The Parson’s Manual for Marital Harmony Mentor: Sean Lewis, Ph.D.

My project considers marriage in The Canterbury Tales, specifically The Wife of Bath’s, The Clerk’s, and The Frank-lin’s Tale. Each articulates a unique perspective on marriage and women’s role within it. The Wife of Bath presents marital happiness as requiring male submission and female sovereignty; the Clerk asserts a husband’s sovereignty and a wife’s complete submission; and the Franklin proposes mutual respect and love in marriage. Though the Franklin’s option seems a preferable equilibrium, I argue that each of these three responses necessarily fails, and that the Christian solution is appropriately found in the work’s conclusion: The Parson’s Tale.

ANNE O’NEILLThe Effect of Youth Involvement in the Action Francaise on Laïcité in FranceMentors: Paige Hochschild, Ph.D.

This combines both theological and Francophone perspec-tives to look at interwar France and the participation in and foundation of anti-republican, royalist political movements by Catholics. Encouragement for Catholic participation lead to political movements appearing all over France; including the Action Française movement. This encompassed sub-groups appealing to youths. The Action Française was condemned in 1926 as it drifted too far from the teachings

of the Church. The youths who had been joining the Action Française movement were left and grew to be the leaders of an increasingly secular France. These youths shaped the secularized France that exists today.

ALYSE SPIEHLERHuman Flourishing and the Vocation of Stay at Home Motherhood Mentors: Sarah Scott, Ph.D./Jessy Jordan, Ph.D.

Stay-at-home mothers have been criticized in recent years for not living up to their potential as rational, free agents in contemporary society. Certain critics claim that these women make the war on women possible, others that the tasks of the stay-at-home mother do not amount to much. It seems, however, that an account of human flourishing that details the specific virtues necessary for a flourishing life shows the error of such claims. This project offers such an account and, additionally, analyzes stay-at-home mothers in literature so as to bring this discourse out of the abstract and into one’s lived experience.

Distinguished Faculty Address

WHERE HAVE ALL THE BABIES GONE? FERTILITY DECLINES & THE SCIENCE OF POPULATION RESEARCHKnott Auditorium, Main CampusWednesday, April 26 11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m.

Who is having babies in the world today? What are some of the factors that impact that decision? When will you have a child and how many? Why does any of this matter? These questions address contemporary trends in fertility patterns that shape the world around us in very important ways. Come join us for a discussion of the principles of population research including fertility, mortality and migration that will explore these and many other questions.

Layton Field, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Sociology, Mount St. Mary’s University

Layton Field, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the department of sociology and criminal justice. He received his bachelor’s degree (2009) master’s degree (2011) and doctorate (2014) in sociology from Texas A&M University. Field specializes in population research examining the intricate

relationship between the population processes of fertility, mortality, and migration and society as a whole. Field has published works in several outlets including one of the leading demographic journals, Population and Development Review. In the nearly three years that Field has been at the Mount, he has taught a wide range of courses including Population & Society, Social Research Methods, statistics, introduction to criminal justice and Social Problems. He currently lives in Carroll Valley, Pennsylvania with his wife, Lindsey, and four children, Abigail, Philip, Maximilian and Agnes.

Keynote Address

HOW DO WE FEEL? AN EXPLORATION OF THE SENSORY NEURONS OF TOUCH Knott Auditorium, Main Campus and live streamed to Frederick CampusWednesday, April 26 4:45–5:45 p.m.

Symphonic ensembles of neural impulses flow from our skin to our brains to convey tactile encounters with the physical world. What are the instruments of these neural ensembles? How does one composition of impulses signify a mother’s nurturing touch, and others a menacing bug, a summer’s breeze, a tickle, a complex pattern of Braille dots, or raindrops? Our ability to perceive and respond to the physical world is rooted in the cadre of intricate nerve cell endings in our skin, the largest and least understood of our sensory organs. Indeed, the first step leading to the perception of any touch is activation of nerve cells whose projections terminate in the skin. These cutaneous nerve cells are called touch receptors or low-threshold mechanoreceptors (LTMRs). Our research goals are: 1) to elucidate the response properties and functions of each of the seven or more types of LTMRs; 2) to determine how LTMRs convey their impulses from the skin to the spinal cord and brain; 3) to establish how the brain interprets myriad LTMR inputs to achieve perception of both discriminative and affective (pleasurable) touch; and 4) to establish how this system –the somatosensory system develops. We also strive to understand whether and how dysfunction of touch information processing underlies tactile deficits in disorders of the nervous system, such as autism, and during neuropathic pain. Our discoveries are revealing the organizational logic of neural circuits that underlie touch perception and how alterations of these somatosensory circuits give rise to sensory dysfunction in disease states.

David Ginty, Ph.D. Edward R. and Anne G. Lefler Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School

David Ginty, Ph.D., has worked for more than two decades to unravel the mysteries of peripheral nervous system (PNS) organization and development. He graduated with a degree in biology from Mount St. Mary’s College in 1984 and a doctorate in physiology from East Carolina University School of Medicine

in 1989. Following postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School, from 1989 to 1994, Ginty joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, where he became an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in 2000 and was promoted to professor in 2004. In 2013, Ginty returned to Boston to become the Edward R. and Anne G. Lefler Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. Ginty’s research has revealed a core logic of sensory neuron organization and key developmental steps that direct the assembly of neural circuits. His current research uses sophisticated molecular genetic approaches to interrogate sensory neurons as well as spinal cord and brain neurons with the goal of revealing the principles of development, organization and function of neural circuits that underlie our sense of touch. Ginty is also interested in the cellular and molecular basis of touch and pain sensations under disease conditions.

SPARC Festival Schedule

Tuesday, April 25 3:30–5 p.m. Opening Ceremony Founder’s Plaza 4-4:15 p.m. Opening Remarks Founder’s Plaza 5–7 p.m. Student Debate Cardinal Keeler Dining Room 5-7:45 p.m. Honors Session I O’Hara Dining Room and Laughlin Auditorium 5-7 p.m. Senior Art Exhibition Williams Art Gallery, Delaplaine Fine Arts Center5-6 p.m. FIRE Talk Session I Phillips Library 6-8:30 p.m. Lightening Talks Session I Phillips Library7-8 p.m. Split Recital Horning Theater, Delaplaine Fine Arts Center8-9p.m. Bari Boyd Piano Lecture Recital Horning Theater, Delaplaine Fine Arts Center

Wednesday, April 268:45-11:30 a.m. Honors Session II O’Hara Dining Room and Laughlin Auditorium 9-11:30 a.m. Lightning Talks Session II Phillips Library10-11:30 a.m. Poster Session I Patriot Hall11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Distinguished Faulty Address Knott Auditorium 1-2 p.m. FIRE Talk Session II Phillips Library1-4:30 p.m. Honors Session III O’Hara Dining Room and Laughlin Auditorium 1-4:30 p.m. Performance Presentations Knott Auditorium 1-2:30 p.m. Poster Session II Patriot Hall1-2:30 p.m. Poets and Storytellers Mount Café1-3:30 p.m. Lightning Talk Session III Cardinal Keeler Dining Room 2-4:30 p.m. Lightning Talks Session IV Phillips Library 2:30-4 p.m. Moorings & Tolle Lege Mount Café 3:30-4:30 p.m. FIRE Talk Session III Cardinal Keeler Dining Room 3-4:30 p.m. Poster Session III Patriot Hall 4:45-5:45 p.m. Keynote Speaker Knott Auditorium 6-8:30 p.m. Honors Session IV O’Hara Dining Room 6-7 p.m. Internship Panel Laughlin Auditorium 6-7:30 p.m. Lightning Talk Session V Mount Café6-8 p.m. Theatrical Performance Horning Theater, Delaplaine Fine Arts Center 6-9 p.m. Mosaic Expo Cardinal Keeler Dining Room