Kirmser Undergraduate Research Award
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2097/18163
The Kirmser Undergraduate Research Award recognizes and promotes outstanding scholarship among K-State's undergraduate students. Awards are given to winners in the freshman individual, non-freshman individual, and group project categories. Research projects must have been completed as a requirement for a K-State course. They may encompass any academic topic. Applications are evaluated based on the use of library resources.
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Recent Submissions
Item Open Access Incels in Relation to Masculine Honor Beliefs and Beliefs of Pure Evil(Kansas State University. Dept. of Psychological Sciences, 2022) Claro Martinez, LoribethIncels have become a population of men who believe that they are unable to be [sic] receive love or attention from women and blame those outside of the incel community. This population has been the cause of multiple death, much of past research has focused on the analyzing the words and behavior of incels through the internet. However, this study proposes to analyze their internal beliefs; specifically masculine honor beliefs (i.e., beliefs of how men need to act to uphold their masculinity) and beliefs of pure evil (i.e., people are inherently motivated to do harm). We hope to have a further understanding of why these individuals behave the way they do by understanding where the internal drive is coming from.Item Open Access EcoBrew Design Group: Collection and Implementation of Trüb into Animal Food Products(Kansas State University. Dept. of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, 2023) Molitor, Zachary; Searcy, Caden; Tumberger, Sydney; Worthington, EmmaOur team focused on researching and developing a design for collection of Trüb, a byproduct found in the beer brewing process, and utilizing it as a protein additive in animal food products such as dog treats or feed. Our team wanted to reduce the waste entering the sewage system at Manhattan Brewing Company by collecting the Trüb at the brewery and developing a debittering and drying process, as well as a process to make dog treats or feed with the dried product. This can help other breweries learn how to reduce their environmental impact on local water resources and add a new life cycle for a waste product.Item Open Access Indigenous Film: The Effect of Production Design(Kansas State University. Dept. of English, 2023) Henshaw, Mandy“Indigenous Film: The Effect of Production Design” takes a closer look at the role of production design in Indigenous media. The multimedia project focuses on the impact of filming location and production design decisions in Indigenous media such as the series Reservation Dogs, and how the production of indigenous film has a role in breaking stereotypes of previous media representation. A visual component of a diorama was made acting as a material representation of impactful design decisions in media watched during the course English 420 Indigenous Film. Each piece of the diorama is an object chosen by the production team of the respected film or series, showing that even these small designed aspects of these productions can enhance the message, story, perception and representation in Indigenous Film.Item Open Access Literary Connections to Yellowstone(Kansas State University. Dept. of English., 2023) Carney, Luke; Hovis, Jessie; Jackson, Mikaela; Poulsen, AudreyIn this project we address connections between the novel Letters from Yellowstone and writer John Muir to historical and modern research occurring within the National Parks system. By examining historical literature as well as modern scientific literature and data, we examined the development of scientific practices and focuses over time. Letters from Yellowstone offered different research focuses through different characters within the novel via letter-writing. John Muir supported the development of national parks and helped to get the public to view these programs favorably. The novel touches upon research that has been going on in the park since its inception and John Muir has been an inspiration to continue the national parks program.Item Open Access Effects of Financial Situations on Mental Health in College Students(Kansas State University. Dept. of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, 2024) Arnold, Karsyn; Olmstead, Morgan; Wedlock, AlyssaThe purpose of this study is to address and explain the relationship between anxiety and access to financial assistance on the Kansas State University Campus. The study will be conducted in a quantitative, cross-sectional method utilizing 200 participants from Kansas State. Participants will complete questionnaires asking questions regarding demographics, financial status, financial assistance, and financial anxiety, as well as completing an informed consent. Financial status will be measured through a) student credit card and student loan debt and monthly income. Financial anxiety will be measured using the Financial Anxiety Scale. We expect that those individuals who have utilized financial assistance before will have lower anxiety levels and that those individuals who have not utilized financial assistance before will have higher anxiety levels. The results of this study will help determine new methods for helping college students struggling with finances. It can help bring awareness to the link between financial assistance and financial anxiety among college students.Item Open Access Optimization Models for Flash Flooding in Developing Countries(Kansas State University. Dept. of English, 2024) Stelk, CalebThis paper details two optimization models which are designed to increase the number of lives saved from flash flooding in developing countries. The evacuation planning model is prescriptive and built to minimize road link failure probability as civilians evacuate the area. The operational planning model is formulated and applied during a flash flood and focuses on minimizing the number of trips taken by public transportation services to evacuate civilians. Both models are discussed in detail and evaluated according to applicability, ability to predict crowd behavior, road link maneuverability with rising water depths, ability to identify risk-averse relief points, and assumption requirements. After evaluating both models, this paper recommends the evacuation planning model as best suited for countries with poor infrastructure or rural environments with limited technological resources. The operational planning model is found to be best suited for countries with large cities and public transportation networks. The paper recommends that the UNDRR hire an industrial engineer familiar with operations research and CPLEX optimization software. This engineer would coordinate with local officials to develop flash flood evacuation plans by tailoring one of these models to fit the specific needs of that country.Item Open Access Conversion Therapy: Recognizing and Recentering the White Christian Nationalist Settler Origins(Kansas State University. Dept. of Social Transormation Studies., 2023) McNorton, CampbellThis is my final research project for GWSS 405: Social Movements and Resistance. For this project, I decided that I wanted to research LGBTQ conversion therapy and the origins of the practice. With this research, I began to see and then examine the connection between modern day conversion therapy practices and Indigenous residential schools that were run in North America. In the paper I argue that conversion therapy is based in white colonial violence that upholds capitalism, white supremacy and settler colonial violence. However, despite the history of settler violence that is entwined with conversion therapy, most anti-conversion therapy activism centers white gay young men. So, instead of centering the normative white subject, I call for an alternate framework to be utilized in discussions surrounding conversion therapy-- an anti-colonial, anti-racist intersectional understanding of the settler colonial foundation. With this framework, I aim to work toward coalitions that work together against cis-hetero settler violence that continues to impact conversion therapy.Item Open Access Feasibility Study of Replacing Soy and Alfalfa Protein with Spirulina Protein to Develop a More Sustainable and Nutrient Rich Horse Feed(Kansas State University. Dept. of English., 2022) Tumberger, SydneyMy research focused on the feasibility of using Spirulina protein, a strand of microalgae, in place of soy and alfalfa in horse feed. I had four key research objectives, which included the nutritional facts about Spirulina and how it can benefit horses, an analysis of efficient growing processes of Spirulina and how they protect the environment, a cost analysis and comparison of soy, alfalfa, and Spirulina, and final recommendations on how to implement Spirulina protein into horse feed. I concluded my research by listing the overall objectives and my recommendationsItem Open Access Declining Population Trends of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken in the Southern Great Plains(Kansas State University. Dept. of Geography., 2023) Willson, Madeline; Miller, Natalie; Jackson, Mikaela; Davis, KenzieAs a result of habitat loss and inbreeding, lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) have faced severe population decline. This species, once widespread throughout the Southern Great Plains, is now fragmented and rare. As part of a project for the class Biogeography (GEOG 445), our group sought to further investigate the causes of lesser prairie-chicken decline and the conservation programs that are in place to protect them. After utilizing a variety of library research tools, we discovered that prairie-chickens are declining from habitat loss due to agriculture, oil production, windfarms, and fire suppression. We also found that these birds are experiencing a loss of genetic variability due to their fragmented populations. Few conservation efforts are currently in place, though restoring the prairie to its natural state through the use of prescribed burns and native grazing holds some promise. However, 95% of current prairie-chicken populations live on privately owned land, which makes private landowners essential to the protection of this vulnerable species.Item Open Access The Sandy Hook Conspiracy Theories: A Case Study(Kansas State University. Dept. of English, 2022) Torkelson, CatherineThis project provides an in-depth exploration of the conspiracy theories that emerged after the 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. As well as debunking these conspiracy theories, the project also explains how said theories have been used in subsequent mass-shootings to the same effect--that being, the prevention of reforming gun control laws. What happened at Sandy HookElementary School? Why did misinformation begin to spread? Who believed the conspiracy theories and why? How can future school shootings be avoided, and why are conspiracy theories standing in the way of a safe future for children? "The Sandy Hook Conspiracy Theories: A Case Study" attempts to answer all these questions and more by explaining important context, providing insight into the minds of both propagators and victims, and asking questions about the nature of conspiracy theories and how they spread on the internet.Item Open Access Adverse Childhood Experiences and Influences on School Competency in Elementary-Aged Children(Kansas State University. Dept. of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work., 2023) Brown, Quinlan; Comas, Meredith; Tummons, Ashley; Heasty, ReeseThe purpose of this proposal is to study the complex associations between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and academic competency in elementary-aged students. Our study proposes in the presence of ACEs, a disruption in a child’s normal behavioral processing occurs. This disruption then correlates with lower academic performance and behavior. Our research uses a five-year, longitudinal, cohort study. The Pediatric ACEs and Related Life Events Screener will be used to measure different levels of ACEs. Additionally, we integrate educator evaluations of academic progress by using summative and formative grade assessments to measure the level of school competency. The results of our study show the impairing nature of ACEs during early childhood, and the necessity of studying and treating ACEs at the pediatric level.Item Open Access An Overview of the Correlation between Societal Influences, Bodybuilding, and Muscular Dysmorphia(Kansas State University. K-State Libraries, 2022) Quinn, AidanData suggests that there is an underlying connection between societal influences (i.e. childhood, advertisements), bodybuilding training, and muscular dysmorphia, a condition in which a patient believes they are "too small." This relationship is discussed and explored in this literature review.Item Open Access Émile de Rousseau: La pédagogie, la volonté, l’independence(Kansas State University. K-State Libraries, 2021) Murphy, MatthewÉmile ou de l’Éducation (1762) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau presents an ideal world within which the relationship of the teacher and the student has been changed greatly from the contemporary norm. While society at the time suggested an educational system that treats the child as if they were young learning adults and encouraged reading the classics, Rousseau suggests an environment wherein the education of the student is centered around their volition to independently increase their own epistemological understanding of the world through physical experience and play. Drawing upon the works of Enit K. Steiner and Eliyah Rosenow and their theories on the totalitarian contradictions of Rousseau’s writings, I will be analysing the Bois de Montmorency episode from book 3 in the hopes of examining the role of the student and mentor in greater detail, showing the paradoxes between Rousseau’s ideals and his philosophical actions. This presentation represents a part of a larger project in which I am examining this student-mentor relationship across multiple episodes of Emile in the hopes of further elucidating the claims of Steiner and Rosenow and continuing this discussion of an anti-utopian system of concealed control by means of environmental conditioning.Item Open Access The Correlation between Self-Consciousness and Depression in Adolescents(Kansas State University. K-State Libraries, 2021) Cazella, Kimberly; Poole, Morgan; Urban, MirandaThe purpose of this research proposal is to study the relationship between high levels of self-consciousness and depression among adolescents. In the context of this study, a positive relationship between the study variables is expected to reflect that adolescents are more at risk for the development or continuation of depression or depression symptoms when they experience or maintain high levels of self-consciousness. To assess adolescents’ levels of self-consciousness and severity of depression, participants in this study will be expected to complete a survey questionnaire. The use of these instruments incorporates quantitative data as numerically ranked measurements of personal reflection within a reliable screening. The Revised Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS-R) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) will be in a combined survey distributed to 100 adolescents aged 9-12 years old. Data will remain anonymous and be collected through a classroom setting. The results of this study are expected to help health professionals, parents, educators, and individuals consider self-consciousness as a more emphasized and prevalent element in adolescent depression and mental health.Item Open Access Outdoor Lighting and the Effects of Artificial Light at Night (ALAN)(Kansas State University. K-State Libraries, 2021) Satzler, StaciaAs Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are replacing High Pressure Sodium (HPS) street lights, some groups have concerns about the health and environmental effects of blue-rich LED lights. The AMA released a report recommending that all street lighting have a CCT of less than 3000K, but other organizations felt this threshold was arbitrary and unfounded. To shed light on this dispute, I researched the effects of artificial light at night (ALAN), particularly concerning LED lights, to determine what policies design companies should set concerning outdoor lighting. I have learned that artificial light at night (ALAN) has been linked to many serious health conditions, including diabetes, cancer, heart disease, obesity, and depression. Light sources with high intensities of 450-500 nm light disrupt our bodies’ circadian rhythm and make it more difficult for our eyes to adjust to darkness. LEDs, even low-CCT LEDs, have a spike in intensity in that range. Studies have also shown that sources with high blue light content impact natural photosynthesis cycles, disrupt animal behavior, and affect skyglow and star visibility much more severely than warmer sources like HPS. Unfortunately, I also discovered that CCT, often the only metric that manufacturers release about the light source in a luminaire, is a poor descriptor of blue light content. On average, higher-CCT sources will have higher levels of blue light, but two sources with the same CCT can have wildly different levels of blue light, meaning that a designer cannot know the effects of the light source they choose. This presents a challenge and an opportunity for lighting designers. To provide exceptional design to clients, designers will need to be pioneers in calling for new light sources and metrics to describe spectral distribution, while continuing to serve their clients excellently with limited information.Item Open Access The Association Between Childhood Trauma and Social Anxiety among Adults(Kansas State University. K-State Libraries, 2021) Bird, Conor; Collom, Kristen; Kindscher, JessiThe purpose of this proposal is to study the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and social anxiety in adulthood. The relationship is expected to be positive, meaning that experiencing any form of childhood trauma will result in high levels of social anxiety in adulthood. Using a cross-sectional research design, 200 participants between the ages of 21 and 30 will be invited to complete a self-administered survey that will assess what specific adverse experiences in childhood correlate with social anxiety in adulthood. The independent variable, exposure to trauma, will be compared to the dependent variable, social anxiety experienced as an adult using both the Childhood Traumatic Events Scale and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale. This research would help mental health professionals gain a better understanding of the impact of childhood trauma on social functioning, coping skills, and behavior in adulthood.Item Open Access Group Oral Policy Analysis Presentation(Kansas State University. K-State Libraries, 2022) Hobbs, Annaleigh; Roggenkamp, Suzanne; Tonjes, JadeFor this project, the main goal was to analyze one specific expenditure or tax policy from a nonpartisan position and then present it to the class. The oral presentation was required to be 10 minutes long with a visual and citations to back up the claims. Since it is nonpartisan, we were not allowed to sway our audience to think one way or another about the issue. Rather, we were to recite a plethora of research about the topic. After presenting, every group would be asked a number of questions about their research, such as research methods used or how systems work. Within the project, we were asked to cover topics such as economic theory, costs, benefits, published economic research about the topic, and how the policy works. We were required to have at least 10 sources used in the project, but it was recommended that you utilized more. We then had 1 and a half months to work on our projects.Item Open Access The Human Understanding of Garments: An Exploratory Study on Technology Inspired Clothing Design for Young Adults with Anxiety(Kansas State University. K-State Libraries, 2022) Brinkley, Tamara; Bynum, Kaylee; Filinger, ClaudiaThe purpose of this exploratory study investigates the clothing preferences and choices of people who have anxiety issues. The goal of this project is three-fold: 1) studying the relationship between people's anxiety and their clothing choices; 2) experiment with different apparel technologies to accommodate the wants and needs of people who have anxiety issues, and 3) developing an apparel collection that incorporates apparel technologies to address the anxiety issues of the wearer. The basis for this project revolves around innovative apparel technology, anxiety issues, and their relationships with clothing preferences and choices. The research study included questions about the effect of color, comfort, and fit in clothing in correspondence to participants' anxiety as well as their demographics. Our project “HUG” is focused on the subjects within our 18–25-year target market.Item Open Access The Role of Economics in the Fight Against Climate Change(Kansas State University. K-State Libraries, 2021) McClain, TomOver the past century, humans have drained our planet’s natural resources and altered its climate through increasing carbon emissions. Efforts to protect the environment and mitigate warming have yielded little progress. This project seeks to provide a starting point for policymakers, academics, and voters alike by applying economic research and principles to climate change. An analysis of the issue reveals that markets fail to incentivize businesses to consider the long-term health of the planet when making decisions. If market deficiencies are to blame for the conditions that cause pollution and global warming, then economics has powerful potential to direct firms toward more environmentally responsible behaviors. With this foundation in mind, the paper identifies three criteria that can be used to evaluate policy instruments that seek to address climate change. First, policies must force firms to account for the environmental cost of their emissions. Second, policies must incentivize the innovation of more sustainable business practices. Finally, policies should not be so complex or heavy-handed that it is impossible to raise the political support needed to enact them. These criteria are applied to four major policy tools: command and control approaches, information disclosure programs, emissions trading systems, and pollution taxes. In each case, this paper reviews the economic debate on the policy option and examines the varying degrees of scope and success achieved by these policies when implemented. Carbon taxes are identified as a particularly promising candidate for reducing emissions on a large scale. The project concludes by emphasizing that well-designed policy action by wealthy nations, especially the U.S., is critical to stopping climate change and protecting the planet.Item Open Access Water Contamination from Pesticides in Crop Runoff(Kansas State University. K-State Libraries, 2022) Barrett, OliviaWhen deciding on my research topic, I applied what I had learned in a few of my classes to the real world. Most places in Kansas get their drinking water from local streams and rivers, and it is a big issue if pesticides are flowing into the streams and rivers from crop runoff. In recent years, many places in Northeastern Kansas have had increased rainfall and there has been more runoff from the fields. Most fields are located in flood plains or near creeks and rivers. I thought it would be interesting to see how pesticides from crop runoff affect the local rivers and streams. This is an important topic that does not get discussed very often. I did some background reading to make sure this was the topic that I wanted to focus on, but it was my own family experience that refined my topic.
