Sewanee: The University of the South
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Effect of text-background color combinations on saccadic frequency
Get PDFThe act of reading is accomplished by making a series of rapid eye movement, also known as saccades. During reading, a major contributor to visual perception is color contrast. An appropriate color combination is necessary to facilitate reading. Poor contrast of text may cause strain on the eyes. To test the effect of text color contrast on reading performance, we recorded the frequency and duration of saccades made by classmates as they read sample paragraphs. We hypothesized that saccade frequency would decrease in response to the complimentary color combinations. We paired text and background with complementary (e.g., blue and orange) and non-complementary colors (e.g., pink and red). We found that sample texts that had a combination of complementary colors led to higher saccade frequency compared to the complementary colors combinations. There was a difference, though not significant, between the average ASF in the complementary colors combinations group compared to the non-complementary colors combinations group across all 7 participants. There was no significant difference between the order group (complementary colors combinations displayed then non-complementary colors) and the reverse group (non-complementary colors combinations displayed then complementary colors) further confirming that the differences between the two groups were due to the contrast rather than the order of display. These data suggest that pairs of colors farther apart on the electromagnetic spectrum may elicit higher frequency of eye movements compared to colors closer to each other on the spectrum. The use of complementary color pairings may enhance readability for effective written communication.Neuroscience Program, The University of the South
Faculty supervisor: Dr. Thomas Repper
Ash Inventory and Management Options for Emerald Ash Borer Response
Get PDFThe invasive emerald ash borer (EAB, Agrilus planipennis F.) has eradicated populations of ash (Fraxinus sp.) trees across the United States. The major response options include tree removal and stem chemical treatments. To examine the potential impact of emerald ash borer on the ash trees in the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly (MSSA), in fall 2021 we inventoried all the ash trees on leaseholds and along trails. We mapped the tree location, and measured stem diameter at breast height (stems >2 inches), height (estimated and exact), percentage dieback of the crown, and general notes. Tree locations on leaseholds were approximately marked on paper maps for entry in ArcGIS software, and trees along trails were mapped with a GPS. The inventory identified 126 ash stems on leaseholds. One or more ash were found on 53 leaseholds, with some leaseholds having up to 12 stems. The ash had an average DBH of 14.8 inches. With respect to canopy dieback, one and two inch diameter dead branches were the most common, with the larger sizes being much less common. Ash trees become very brittle after infection, with the most common target of dead branches and trees being houses and powerlines. An inventory of trees in the MSSA commons in 2018 reported 54 additional ash stems, with an average DBH of 16.2 inches. Ash trees along the trails were more common below the bluff and showed that there are some large ash trees in striking distance of a trail. A comparison of the effectiveness, environmental considerations, and costs were made of stem removal and the two main chemicals available to treat EAB (imidacloprid and emamectin benzoate). Input was used from tree service providers, public land management agencies, and university resources. A management plan comparing treatment options is being prepared for MSSA. We recommend that the MSSA begin their response to EAB this year, and that they group sectors of the property for treatment or removal to reduce the overall cost of their response
Air Cannon Physics: Approaching the Sound Barrier
Get PDFA ping-pong ball “cannon” was built and tested, first with the usual air, and then with single composition gases, such as helium and argon. A plastic tube (the canon) containing a ping pong ball snugly fitted inside the tube is sealed with tape on both ends and evacuated with a mechanical pump to a pressure of about 100 mTorr. A pin is used to prick the tape nearest the ball causing the outside air to rush in, accelerating the ball forward and out the other end of the tube at speeds approaching the speed of sound. Light switches were used along the length of the tube to measure the acceleration and speed of the ping pong ball. The number and placement of the light switches were adjusted to get the best possible measurements of the movement of the ball. Experiments with different gases with very different speeds of sound were performed to study the balls’ performance
Cracking the Code to Student Flourishing Videos
No full textA college is a place of growth and transformation where young adults are prepared both intellectually and socially for professional and adult life. However, over the last 10 years, the prevalence of mental health problems has risen steadily among college students with a particularly notable increase in symptom prevalence over the last 5 years. What is this down to? What are some key determinants of student flourishing and well-being? How do factors such as race and gender influence well-being? Using Healthy Mind’s Survey data that examines mental health, service utilization, and related issues among undergraduate and graduate students, our team of researchers at Sewanee DataLab is seeking to understand the well-being of students, and where to target resources to improve student flourishing, specifically at Sewanee: The University of The South. This report serves as an exploration of prior research on the topic of student flourishing, well-being, mental health, service utilization, and help-seeking behavior specifically in the college setting.Sylvia Gray, Nicole Noffsinger-Frazie
Investigating ER Overuse Posters
No full textGrundy County is defined as a Medically Underserved Area (MUA), meaning that the county lacks the health care services required to adequately meet community needs. Research shows that across the U.S. in rural MUAs, citizens are increasingly seeking primary care at ERs. Our partner believes that analyzing ER discharge data may offer helpful insight into how Grundy County is medically underserved. Our team’s objective is to create an interactive dashboard that expresses trends in ER discharge data from Grundy County and the surrounding area to aid the SCHN in creating solutions to Grundy’s health service shortage.The South Cumberland Plateau (SCP) is made up of three counties, Grundy, Franklin, and Marion, all of which are defined as "medically underserved" by the Health Resources and Services Administration. This means that these communities lack the primary health care services and providers necessary to sufficiently meet residents' needs. Our partner, the South Cumberland Health Network (SCHN), wants to understand how these communities are being medically underserved. Our work this summer is dedicated to investigating trends in emergency room use from the South Cumberland Plateau in order to better understand how the community is medically underserved. The insight gained from our findings will inform the South Cumberland Health Network's advocacy moving forward aimed at closing the health care service gaps within these communities.Jim Peterman, Myles Elledge, South Cumberland Health Network (SCHN
The Hidden Ghost in Me: Emily Brontë's Homeward-Bound Soul
No full textEmily Brontë’s relationship with the idea of “home” was complex. It is well-known that she was so knit together in relationship with the genius loci of her native landscape that she became desperately ill from a sort of “failure to thrive” on the few occasions she traveled, aching for the open air and the boundless freedom of the moors. However, in her writing and in the little we know of her life, Brontë expressed a deep longing in her soul, a reaching for something beyond herself to fill a hole, assuage a yearning, and to grant her everlasting authenticity and liberty. She writes repeatedly in her poems of a desire to commune with boundless nature, and to be boundless herself and never separated from it. Her work moves in non-linear form in search of a residence in which to thrive in freedom and peace: the characters of Wuthering Heights move back and forth between the houses of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange in search of a belonging they find only in frustrated form with one another, and in barely described but undeniably present liberty on the moors that lie between. Her poetry, too, yearns for a place that provides both freedom and safe respite from a place of non-belonging: in the quietude of nocturnal nature, and even in the peace that Brontë imagined would accompany death. While remaining deeply attached to her own home at the parsonage, Emily Brontë suffered from a kind of homesickness—an ache that roved from other worlds, to this world, to other people, and even to non-being.
It is through this quality of longing that I and many others have found deep connection and communion with Emily Brontë. Growing up in a difficult domestic situation, I was lucky to discover the Brontës at an early age, and attached myself firmly to Emily, and to Wuthering Heights. In this thesis, I seek to excavate what lies beneath that attachment. One way in which I have found connection with Brontë and her work is through our mutual preoccupation with homegoing, and the different places we seek to home ourselves throughout life. Certainly, Wuthering Heights has been one home for me, a text I have carried with me wherever I go. I seek to explore the different kinds of homes Brontë’s writing invokes: home in a lover; home in the wild; home in death; a home in the creation of art. Emily Brontë explored these spiritual residences in her work: the ways they free us, and the ways they entrap. All of these Brontëan notions of home have, over long years of attachment, become forever entangled with my own. In partnership with Emily Brontë, I search for the true and final home in the life and work of Emily Brontë, and the deep meaning that it holds for those who yearn after something fugitive
Ancient Diversity and Genetics in Roman Britain
No full textWhat do you picture when you think of an ancient Roman? What is their gender? How old are they? What is their race? These questions are difficult ones, as just five years ago in 2017, a controversy occurred over a historical cartoon portraying a Roman soldier at Hadrian’s Wall in Britain as a black man. People have firm opinions about what ancient Romans looked like in their minds, and often, they looked like them. But what do ancient people really look like in Roman Britain? What do they look like when our biases and prejudices are put aside? Following a review of commonly held academic and pop-cultural perceptions of race in ancient Rome, we compared them to the actual archaeological findings and genetic data of what some of these ancient people looked like. This research will examine the ethnic populations we find in Roman Britain through a literature study of archaeology journals, genetic research, epigraphical inscriptions, and classical texts. Although we cannot know the exact percentage of ethnic populations from this ancient empire, we can create a comprehensive catalog for the individuals we know lived at this time. Looking at evidence drawn from bioarcheological sources, we have created a storytelling project featuring ancient individuals who lived and breathed in Roman Britain long ago. This collection hopes to dispel the idea that Romans were mostly white, affluent, wealthy men. It includes finds of diverse people who lived all over Britain and the stories of their lives and deaths two thousand years ago. So what did ancient Romans in Britain really look like? You might just be surprised by the answer.Dr. Chris McDonough- Independent Study Mento
Purifying Wastewater for Rural Communities Team Photos
No full textPopulation growth and climate change continue to pose ever-increasing challenges to water treatment facilities. Constructed wetlands, designed and built to mimic natural wetlands, are a more sustainable and cost effective alternative to purify wastewater. The Sewanee Wetlands Project has been collecting data over the past several years to determine the effectiveness of its constructed wetlands, and we are analyzing this data to determine if constructed wetlands function efficiently on a small scale in rural communities. We are also creating a community accessible dashboard which will educate the public further on wetlands and climate change.In 2016, Dr. McGrath, Professor of Biology at Sewanee, lobbied for the construction of three wetland basins at the Sewanee Utility District (SUD) in order to research the efficacy of wetland treatment for a small community setting. For the past few years, water quality measurements have been taken at the SUD's wetlands to better determine the outcomes of wetland treatment in rural communities like Sewanee. Our team's goal was to set up visualizations that allow our community partner, Dr. McGrath, to understand the water quality trends of the wetlands over time to push for sustainable development in the community.Deborah McGrath, Kevin Fouts, Catherine Cavagnar
Stop the Raves in the Caves
No full textNo one has synthesized the available data on the conservation status of subterranean cave species in the past 20 years. Because of this, the Sewanee Datalab has partnered with Dr. Kirk Zigler, who is interested in researching cave species biodiversity across North America. Working with Datalab and Dr. Zigler, the goal of this project will be to obtain the available data on a specific list of subterranean cave species and analyze them to highlight trends among different species of varying endangerment in different locations of North America. The final product of this project will be an interactive dashboard with an undecided long-term use, along with an academic paper that will be written following the conclusion of the data lab and the results that came from it.Kirk Zigler, Matthew Rud