Honors Capstone Research Conference | 1
2014 Honors Capstone Research Conference
Wednesday, April 9, 8:45 a.m.-5:15 p.m., MGC 4 & 5
Opening Remarks: 8:45 a.m., Dr. Michael L. Manson, Director, University Honors Program
Business and Economics | 8:55 - 10:10 a.m.
Sebastian Beckmann (CAS: Economics, and SIS: International Studies)
“Crisis and the Shaping of Central Bank Institutional Design: The Reichsbank and
European Central Bank”
Advisor: Randall Henning, International Studies
Kevin Kurtz (KSB: Business Administration, and CAS: Economics)
“A Divided Currency: Current Account Imbalances in the Eurozone”
Advisor: Evan Kraft, Economics
Camila Linneman (SIS: International Studies)
“Crisis and Opportunity: The Brazilian and Mexican Economies in the Post-Financial
Crisis Period”
Advisor: Andrew Wolfe, International Studies
Savanna Rovira (KSB: Business Administration, and SIS: International Studies)
“Cybersecurity in 2014: Cost-Effective Responses to Today’s Threats”
Advisor: Richard Linowes, Management
Urjita Sudula (SIS: International Studies, and SPA: CLEG)
“The Use and Effectiveness of Capital Controls in Emerging Markets”
Advisor: Manuel Suarez, International Studies
Arts and Humanities | 10:20 - 11:35 a.m.
Laura Materna (SIS: Language and Area Studies: Spanish/Latin America, and
CAS: Graphic Design)
“Culture through Advertisements in ‘the Culture Captial of South America’ ”
Advisor: Brenda Werth, World Languages and Cultures
Zoé Orfanos (SPA: Law and Society)
“An Elegy for Old Terrors”
Advisor: Robert Johnson, Justice, Law and Criminology
Honors Capstone Research Conference | 2
Angelica Selinger (SPA: Political Science)
“Portraying Women as Beauvoir’s ‘Other’ ”
Advisor: Amy Oliver, Philosophy
Madeline Ullrich (CAS: Art History)
“Questioning German Expressionism: Nazi Reception and Contradiction in the Art of
Käthe Kollwitz”
Advisor: Juliet Bellow, Art
Rebecca Zisser (SOC: Journalism, and CAS: Graphic Design)
“Untitled Nudes”
Advisor: Iwan Bagus, Film and Media Arts
Culture and the State | 11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Nicole Atallah (SIS: International Studies)
“Historical Memory and Foreign Policy: Conflict Resolution in Southeast Asia”
Advisor: Quansheng Zhao, International Studies
Rick Bartoldus (SIS: International Studies)
“Sexuality Rhetoric as a Policy Choice in The Gambia”
Advisor: Daniel Esser, International Studies
Nancy Cohen (SIS: International Studies)
“Safeguarding Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage: The Key to Nation-Building in a
Post-Conflict Context”
Advisor: Maria De Jesus, International Studies
Erin Randall (CAS: Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies)
“Electoral Politics as an Extension of Activism in the 1970s: A Case Study of Bella Abzug
and Shirley Chisholm as Activist Women in Electoral, Party Politics”
Advisor: Eileen Findlay, History
Systems and Global Governance | 1:10 - 2:25 p.m.
Emma Lydon (SPA: Political Science)
“In the Field: How Academic Research on Voter Mobilization Informed Strategy in
Two Competitive Congressional Races During the 2012 Election”
Advisor: Candice Nelson, Government
Honors Capstone Research Conference | 3
Zach Duey (CAS: Mathematics and Economics, and Philosophy)
“Impacts of Bank Failures on Firm Entry and Exit: Evidence from a Natural Experiment
in Mississippi During the Great Depression”
Advisor: Mary Hansen, Economics
Brock Grecco (SIS: International Studies)
“The MIRAB Model’s Role in the Depopulation of New Zealand’s Freely Associated
States: A Look into the Relationship between Aid Policy and Migration in the Cook
Islands and Niue in Comparison to Other Fully Sovereign Polynesian States”
Advisor: Amanda Taylor, International Studies
Greg Nudge (KSB: Accounting)
“Growing Beyond ‘Small Business’ in Government Contracting”
Advisor: Richard Linowes, Management
Mollie Wagoner (SPA: Political Science)
“At the Intersection of Blue and Green: How Labor Unions and Environmental Groups
Can Work Together for a More Sustainable Future”
Advisor: Sonja Walti, Public Administration and Policy
Domestic Social Issues | 2:35 - 3:50 p.m.
Emily Brincka (CAS: Public Health)
“The Forgotten Offender: The War on Drugs’ Punitive Policies and the Quest for Parity
for Female Offenders”
Advisor: Marguerite Seldin-Jimenez, Public Administration and Policy
Kathryn Gillon (CAS: History)
“Schools Under Siege: Reactions to the Crack Epidemic in Washington, D.C.”
Advisor: Gautham Rao, History
Nallely Mejia (CAS: Sociology, and SIS: International Studies)
“Trends in Age at First Birth for Hispanic Women in the United States”
Advisor: Andrea Brenner, Sociology
Aubrey Rose (SPA: Law and Society)
“Beyond Hall v. Florida: Death-is-Different Procedural Norms for Atkins Claims”
Advisor: Jessica Waters, Justice, Law and Criminology
Honors Capstone Research Conference | 4
Evan Senie (CAS: Psychology)
“Flex-Testing: An Alternative Assessment Structure”
Advisor: Patrick Kelly Joyner, Literature
Poster Presentations | 4:00 - 5:15 p.m.
Allison Blauvelt (SIS: International Studies)
“Negotiating in the Shadow of the Law: Cultural Property Restitution in the
European Union”
Advisor: Patrick Jackson, International Studies
Sarah Connolly (CAS: Public Health, and SIS: International Studies)
“The ‘Neglect’ of Neglected Tropical Diseases: A Contextual Analysis of Setting
the Global Health Agenda”
Advisor: Maria De Jesus, International Studies
Alex CVitan (CAS: Biochemistry)
“Fibroblasts Increase Keratinocyte Invasion and Metastasis in Tpl2 Knockout Mice”
Advisor: Kathleen DeCicco-Skinner, Biology
Nathan Eckman (SIS: International Studies)
“Strategic Diversification in Vietnamese and Philippine Trade Policy”
Advisor: Manuel Suarez, International Studies
Alexandra France (CAS: Public Health)
“Global Health Case Competition Design and Implementation”
Advisor: Marguerite Seldin-Jimenez, Public Administration and Policy
Sneh Hanspal (CAS: Biology)
“The Evolutionary Effect of Codon Bias on E. coli”
Advisor: David Carlini, Biology
Dorothy Joseph (SPA: Law and Society, and Political Science)
“Judaic Scholarship and the Western Legal Tradition: A Challenging Narrative”
Advisor: Chana Barron, Justice, Law and Criminology
Zachary Kopin (CAS: History, and Music)
“A New Deal for the World: Going Beyond Communism to Understand the True,
Peaceful Purpose of the Marshall Plan”
Advisor: Peter Kuznick, History
Honors Capstone Research Conference | 5
Carly Montanero (CAS: Biochemistry)
“Effect of Chirality on Bactericidal Activity”
Advisor: Monika Konaklieva, Chemistry
Stephanie Peng (SIS: International Studies)
“High-skilled Migrants, Globalization and the Emergence of Professional Hubs:
Indian Diaspora in Three Global Cities”
Advisor: Maina Singh, International Studies
Catherine Reeves (KSB: Business, Language, and Culture [Spanish] )
“Measuring and Expanding Success: The Business of Fighting Poverty
in the United States”
Advisor: Richard Linowes, Management
Lauren Reiser (SPA: Political Science)
“Desalination and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A Strategic Opportunity for Peace?”
Advisor: Kimberly Cowell-Meyers, Government
Mark Verdi (CAS: Applied Mathematics)
“Analysis of Ocean Winds”
Advisor: Michael Robinson, Mathematics and Statistics
Andreas Wiede (CAS: Mathematics)
“Computational Analysis of the Riemann Zeta Function”
Advisor: Stephen Casey, Mathematics and Statistics
Ryan Youra (SIS: International Studies)
“Safety Net or Noose?: International Norms and Proxy Wars”
Advisor: Benjamin Jensen, International Studies