Research @ Southern

This blog is published by the McKee Library and highlights research activities from Southern Adventist University's students and faculty. For further information, visit us at www.southern.edu/library.

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Need help starting that research project? Need to write a personal statement for grad school? McKee Library has you covered! Register today for one of January's workshops.

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Our copy of Jason Porath's Rejected Princesses has arrived! Check it out at McKee Library and check out our interview with Jason on our blog at mckeelibrary.tumblr.com!

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Michelangelo’s Pietà: A Student’s Perspective The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection--Michelangelo. For centuries, Michelangelo’s work has been the subject of artistic analysis, so the task of considering his work from a unique perspective is daunting. However, Pamela Acosta-Torres, a biology research major at Southern Adventist University, undertook that challenge with enthusiasm and determination. Acosta-Torres, who aspires to become a pediatric cardiologist, also minors in chemistry and art history. She decided to minor in art history after developing a love for the subject in high school. She said, “I love how you can know people’s stories through their art, as well as how you can make your own interpretation and you’re not necessarily wrong.” In her art history class, Professor Giselle Hasel, tasked students with choosing either an artist or a work of art to interpret from the students’ unique perspectives. Acosta-Torres was intrigued by Michelangelo because his work involves her two passions: art and science. Michelangelo observed the world and copied what he saw through sculpture. He studied the body--how bones interacted with muscles, how skin looked if stressed a certain way--and Acosta-Torres feels that Michelangelo’s study of the human body was clearly portrayed in his art. Acosta-Torres chose the Pietà for her project because she feels the sculpture takes the viewer on a spiritual journey. She believes Michelangelo wanted the viewer to understand the depth of Mary’s emotions as she held the deceased Christ in her lap. Acosta-Torres states that in the Pietà, Mary has not yet reached the height of her emotions; her face is serene, yet sad. Michelangelo wants you to realize that Mary is the mother of God but still experiences human emotions. Acosta-Torres feels that “Mary is presenting you with the price of your salvation.” She is inviting you to feel her pain and realize what the price was. And she is presenting you with a gift at the same time. “Christ has paid the price, and now the gift is yours for the taking. It is now up to you to accept it.” Acosta-Torres also notes the sculpture’s intricate detail, from Christ’s wounds to every detail of his face, hair, and fingernails. However, she explains that this detail, while stunning and characteristic of Michelangelo’s work, was not the sculpture’s focus. The focus was Mary’s emotions and the gift of salvation. Acosta-Torres presented her paper at Campus Research Day on April 12, 2016. Acosta-Torres appreciates Campus Research Day “because it gives you something to work up to, more than just an in-class presentation.” She enjoys the opportunity to give a professional presentation. She feels that if people are excited about their work, Campus Research Day allows them to share that work with others who may not know much about the particular field. For the 2016-2017 school year, Acosta-Torres will serve as a student missionary in Zambia where she will serve as a medical assistant at an eye hospital. She plans to use this opportunity to learn more about the medical field and about a new culture. She is excited to learn about the journey of the people she will meet in Zambia and how God has worked in their lives. When she returns, she will have two years left at Southern after which she plans to attend medical school.

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Life Without a Living Room by Izzy Olaore Libraries don’t really make any money, and they cost a fortune to maintain. Why are they so important? Swipe. Beep. Scan. Beep. Smile. “Here you go. Have great day.” “Can I get some markers?” “I have a study room?” “I need to find some articles.” “What time does the gym close?” “This is the collaborative floor, right? So, I can talk as loud as I want to, right?” “What are they serving in the café?” “Can I get a laptop?” (“Can you do my homework for me?”) Swipe. Beep. Scan. Beep. Smile. “Here you go. Enjoy your evening.” Everyone who comes to the library is different but most share one common trait. They are not just here for the books. Neither are they just here for the laptop they checked out. They may say that they are just here because their personal textbook was too heavy to carry up those dreaded steps from the dorm, but from the vantage point of observing the library happenings from behind the front desk for the past two years, I know the real reason they are here. I’ve walked through those majestic glass double doors so many times that I’ve lost count. Today, however, when I swung those doors open in all of their greasy-fingerprint-smeared glory and stepped into the library, it hit me for the first time. That oh-so-familiar fragrance of old books, vegetarian food, cheap body spray, and a few more of my favorite things welcomed me. I could feel the warm gentle rumble of the collaborative interaction on the ground floor. My floor. It’s time for another shift. I’m home. McKee Library serves as part of the home in the house structure of Southern Adventist University. For many, college years are disconnected from pre-college life. Everything is different, and they often seek a new familiar. If “familiar” is being able to tell who is home by looking at the shoes on the doormat, then this rumble, that aroma, and the state of those double doors definitely tell something about this library. People are home – real people. And they are telling their stories. Think of your living room at home. How would you describe it? Clean (relatively), spacious, comfortable, and possibly one of the biggest rooms in your home. It is central, and your necessities are relatively at your fingertips. Sometimes it gets loud, but hey, it’s the living room, and the quiet moments are blissful. Sound about right? I just described the McKee Library. Home is where the hearts are, and the hearts are in the people. The people make the family, and I’ve talked to a few of them. I talked to uncles, big sisters, distant cousins, and even an adopted brother (twice removed) of the library. Each one gave me their take on the idea of the library’s home factor. The first thing they told me was their perceived spot in the library’s family tree. Then they gave some key insights into why those double doors stay open. Here’s what the family had to say. Carol Harrison, the Circulation Manager, is the closest thing to this library’s mother. She takes care of everything. I call her “Mama Bear” sometimes. “I hope that the library feels ‘homey’ to people, and that they feel comfortable and safe here. I hope that they can find some of the things that they need – information, care, and maybe a little love. It’s definitely more than just the books. It’s the environment and the people.” That mindset is key to the library’s thriving existence. Dan Maxwell, the Library Director, fills the “Dad” role. He expressed how the library strives to create a place where students feel comfortable enough for natural learning to occur. “You really can’t learn in a situation where you’re uptight. It’s not gonna happen.… So you need a comforting space. The library is kind of like a kitchen plus family hearth kind of situation. It’s like both. You have nooks and crannies for people who want to get away and study, but you also have collaborative areas. Overall, we try to exude a feeling of warmth. My job is to define the culture that surrounds the space.” Mellissa Rodriguez, a graphic design major who helps with marketing in the library, was busy sticking mustaches on books when I stopped by. “It’s for our ‘No Shave November’ display,” she said. She told me that in the family of the library, she is definitely one of the children. “Like, I would be that little one that’s always drawing and making stuff, and like, excitedly showing Mommy what I made.” From Pet-a-Dog Days to book chandeliers to flaming displays, it is safe to say this library embodies the idea that creativity starts at home. Interestingly, Rodriguez credited the library’s strength to one of its calmer traits. “It’s the peacefulness here that I think draws people. Yeah, I could see the library as a quiet home; a home for study and for students that are trying to get away.” Granted, like the living room, the library can get a little less peaceful at times when everybody is home, but in general, it provides an element of comfort and peacefulness that may be difficult to find elsewhere. And it’s not only the library’s staff that feels this way. Veronica Guisinger, a community student, couldn’t agree more with Rodriguez and the overall idea of the library being a part of the home. “That really applies to me because I live off campus, and this is the only place I can actually go to. I mean, I can’t take naps here but.…” She actually could take a nap here, and a really good one for that matter, if she wanted to. When I reminded her of the famous comfy red chairs in Periodicals, she agreed. For her though, the library is more than a naptime destination. “I actually get stuff done here, and it’s nice because at my house I am so distracted. When I was a freshman, I didn’t really come to the library because I thought it was a stuffy place. Now, it’s perfect. I can see friends and be studious at the same time. In this library’s huge family, I feel like I’m that cousin who visits way too often, but only because I know I am always welcome.” Jon Francis, a psychology major, added a new perspective about library family. “I feel like the adopted brother, twice removed, from three different orphanages, that is just trying to make it in life.” As crazy as it may sound, Francis’s view of himself in relation to the library family accurately represents a majority of the library’s population, and that is a good thing. Most of the people who utilize the library’s resources and get the home treatment may initially feel distant like an adopted child who knows deep down they know they are part of the family. That is the kind of family McKee Library is, and that is why it is treasured. Those double doors are open arms to welcome all who enter, providing the resources that make them feel at peace and like part of the family. Whether you are a first-timer, a some-timer, or an all-the-timer, once you step into the library, you can make yourself at home. That is what the library is here for, and that is why the library, with all of its books, sounds, smears, smells, and family moments, will be here for many years to come.

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If peace had a smell, he thought, it would be the smell of a library full of old, leather-bound books.

Mark Pryor (via theperksofbeingabookseller)

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One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals. --Michael Korda

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/michaelkor135023.html

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One finds limits by pushing them.

Herbert Simon. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved June 21, 2016, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/herbertsim181922.html

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“LEAP” Spells Success for Southern Adventist University Students 

by Katelyn Pauls 

 “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know that matters.” Young job seekers everywhere have heard this phrase many times. But sometimes it is easier said than done. How are they supposed to meet mature professionals in their field while they are stuck on a college campus? Southern Adventist University has developed a program to combat this dilemma. Leadership Education through Alumni Partnerships, LEAP, is a new program created to connect students with alumni who are professionals in a given field. This program has several goals at heart. The first is to connect students and alumni. This allows students to get wisdom and advice from a mentor who has been in their place. It also allows alumni to stay involved with Southern and to connect with new, future professionals. This program also helps foster Adventist networking connections for students in their selected field. It allows them to develop relationships, and possibly acquire new skills, that may facilitate their transition to working life after graduation. Finally, LEAP endeavors to provide mentees with guidance in all areas of life, including spiritual. The idea is that the mentor was in the same place in the past and can offer specific advice the student couldn’t acquire elsewhere. The LEAP program was in the testing phase on Southern Adventist University’s campus for the last two years. However, in the past few months the program has been fully functioning. Currently, there are seven student mentees at Southern who are already partnered with alumni mentors. These seven students come from 5 different departments: Religion, Business, Nursing, Biology, and Education/Psychology. The students are matched with their alumni mentor by the volunteer coordinator, Corinne Fetingis. She seeks to make the best matches based on the needs and experiences of the participants. Loren Hall, a senior biology major at Southern, is one of the participants in the LEAP program. She was matched with her mentor in the middle of the fall semester of 2015. She originally sought a mentor to assist with her Southern Scholars senior project involving bed bug research. Dr. Norskov, a professor in the Biology/Allied Health Department at Southern, recommended a former student of his who is currently an entomologist. Once Hall was matched with her mentor through the LEAP program, she was able to get advice on the execution of her research and contact information for people from whom she could acquire bed bugs to study. The LEAP program has been invaluable to Hall in allowing her to carry out and improve her research. Hall recommends the program to other students who would like advice in a certain field of study or who would like help with a research project. After completing her career goal of becoming a medical doctor, Hall hopes to volunteer as a mentor with LEAP to provide the same assistance and encouragement that she received from her mentor. The LEAP program has more alumni mentors who are waiting to be matched with students in Mathematics, Computing, Humanities and Nursing here at Southern. Students interested in participating in this program can call 423-236-2830 or visit http://www1.southern.edu/advancement/alumni/leapmentoring.html.

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Southern Adventist University Students & Alumni Partner With Erlanger Health System to Fight Childhood Obesity

by Katelyn Pauls

Childhood obesity is a growing problem in America. Fast food, television and a sedentary culture all contribute to this issue. However, a team at the Childhood Healthy Eating and Active Living Center (HEAL Center) of Erlanger Health System is challenging this dilemma. This project was started with a grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation when it was realized that many adult patients were overweight. They wanted to address this problem in younger children to prevent more overweight adults. The program helps connect parents with resources to enable them to teach their children to make healthier choices. The HEAL Center also provides dietary counsel, a host of creative activities for the whole family to participate in, and education for physicians to enable them to appropriately and successfully solve child obesity problems.

A recent graduate of Southern Adventist University, Katelyn Birge, started at the HEAL Center as a volunteer. She was introduced to the program through Dr. Norskov, a professor at Southern in the department of Biology and Allied Health. Dr. Norskov has been connecting students with research opportunities in a wide variety of fields since 2011. Though Birge started as an assistant, entering data from various surveys given to patients and physicians alike, she has temporarily assumed more responsibility as a Community Health Navigator while her colleague is on maternity leave. Since Birge had been a volunteer and was familiar with the workings of the clinic, she was a logical choice to take on this job.

Birge’s main responsibilities at the clinic involve meeting with the parents to establish a plan of action to help their children develop healthier, more active lives. She personally helps them find parks and gyms to encourage physical activity and places to eat that are healthier than typical fast food. Birge is very grateful for this opportunity. It has allowed her to expand her horizons and see a great need in the area of community health. She has also learned much from shadowing the pediatrician and dietitian associated with the clinic. Finally, this job has given Birge experiences that she would not have found elsewhere, mostly in the area of dietetics and social work.

Recently a current Southern pre-med student, Morgan Payne, has taken Birge’s old position helping with data entry. Dr. Norskov also introduced Payne to this project. Her desire to work with children and help them to have a healthier future prompted her to pursue this volunteer position. With the experience she will gain in this position, she is hoping to be a better researcher and more effective doctor in the future. Payne plans to volunteer until her graduation in May 2017.

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I never learn anything talking. I only learn things when I ask questions.

Lou Holtz

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Oral History at Southern:  A Voice “Heard” Around the World

by Gavin Finch

When pieces from an archive of student work are downloaded in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Tokyo, Japan; and Uxbridge, England, something about the assignment is working.

Dr. Kris Erskine, who assigned the oral history project to his American History Since 1877 class, has conducted many oral traditions for personal research. He explained that his experience with oral history helped him realize the value that an oral history project would bring to the class.

For the project, each student is required to find and interview someone who lived through a major historical time period in U.S. history. Students must meet with the interviewee once to gather basic information on the topic, and once more to conduct the interview. Afterwards, the student has to compile the interview into a transcript, which must include everything that was said and observed, along with any vulgar language or comments. Because students often interview veterans who use “salty language” as Erskine calls it, some students find this problematic. Handing a profanity-filled paper to a professor would make most students cringe, but Erskine says that changing the transcript would be “polluting history.” So when students come to him complaining, “He [the interviewee] said the f-word. Can I change it?” Erskine tells them they cannot. “They [students] gain a deeper appreciation of history by learning we’re not here to make things look right,” Erskine explained. “We don’t impose our own prudeness, our own fears on the transcript, our own moral judgements on the transcript.” As a result, no topics are off limits, though students are given guidelines to avoid offensive or insensitive questions and comments.  However, students are also taught to avoid manipulating the interviewee with either words or attitudes about a certain subject. Students cannot avoid a topic that the interviewee wants to discuss.

 Accuracy is also essential because the transcripts are archived online at the McKee Library’s website. Transcripts from this archive have been downloaded in five continents, meaning that the information from Erskine’s class is now global. Erskine explained that oral history transcripts from small schools have been very useful to him in his research, and he wants the transcripts from Southern students to help others as well. “I want to make it [history] real and I want to make it useful,” he said. Erskine’s oral history project has given ordinary men and women a global audience. The global reach of these transcripts is useful now, and it will be useful in the future when historians study these transcripts for the depth of individual experience.  

Oral histories that have been completed in Erskine’s class can be accessed at Knowledge Exchange, Southern’s institutional respository.

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Faith & Science: An Education in Intelligent Design

by Katelyn Pauls

How did life originate? Where did it come from? These questions have been a cause of scientific controversy for years. One main idea, evolution, is being taught in schools all around the world. The other main idea about origins is that of intelligent design. This idea is much less popular and is typically only taught and studied at some Christian and Islamic institutions. Unfortunately, since intelligent design is the less popular idea, the educational materials are not as profuse or well developed as those teaching evolution. Dr. Hill, a professor at Southern Adventist University, has an integral role in forging a new curriculum for intelligent design education.

Dr. Hill was not a major player in this project at the beginning. Her husband, Dr. Spencer, originally applied for a grant from the Faith and Science Council of the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists with the purpose of completing three goals. The first was to make a set of origins PowerPoint presentations that correlated with “By Design,” the new North American Division science textbooks for grades one through eight. The presentation would allow elementary science teachers to have a more effective, attractive way to present the information found in the book. The second goal was to make a series of videos about dinosaurs from an intelligent design perspective. Both Hill and Spencer traveled to several locations with a cast to film the videos, which are in the editing stage. These videos will be released this summer on Southern’s website and will be free for educators to use. The final goal was to begin gathering the curriculum already being used for a class at Southern and turn it into a professional PowerPoint presentation, a PDF file, and eventually use it to create a textbook for college level intelligent design courses. This is the part in which Dr. Hill has invested the most effort.

In the fall of 2011, Dr. Hill was asked to begin teaching the Issues in Science and Religion class at Southern because her husband was unable to continue to do so. At first she was overwhelmed, but with Dr. Spencer’s help she began to master the curriculum. Her familiarity with this curriculum and passion for the intelligent design theory has made her the ideal person to complete this goal for the Faith and Science Council. She has put many hours into overseeing the design of a functional, striking presentation and formatting current assignments for the Issues class into an e-book with answers for teachers to use. Though copyright issues have made the project difficult, Dr. Hill has, with help of other professionals, completed many of the presentations and most of the e-book. As the grant deadline draws nearer, she pours more and more of herself into the project, knowing that her efforts will help Christian educators in the future. When asked about her motivation for this project, she said, “I have seen so many people lose faith in God because they can’t reconcile the Bible to the scientific evidence. I care about that. I see that there is an agenda to promote evolution and that has caused some to lose their faith. That bothers me.”

The end goal for this project is to create a college level textbook based on intelligent design ideas and to make resources, like the PowerPoint presentations and e-book, available to Christian teachers around the world. With so much evolutionary material available, a curriculum that will teach children Christian worldviews will be invaluable to Godly educators worldwide.

Materials that have already been completed are available on the Origins Curriculum Website.  The dinosaur videos, to be released later this summer, will be available on this website as well.

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Meet the Writers: Katelyn Pauls

by Pamela Jansen, JD

Katelyn Pauls, a senior biology major and pre-med student at Southern Adventist University, wrote the inaugural article for research@southern, which launched in late 2015. Pauls grew up in Colorado where she attended Vista Ridge Academy.  After high school graduation, Pauls’s family relocated to Dayton, Tennessee, so Southern was a logical college choice for her.  The move to Tennessee also gave Pauls a welcome opportunity to explore a new part of the country.

Pauls, who began her college career as a journalism major, is now in her fourth year at Southern. After her freshman year, Pauls took a year to serve as a student missionary in Thailand where she taught English as a second language to individuals of all ages.  Since Pauls was considering a career in education, this gave her an opportunity to not only serve others but also to determine whether a career in education was the right choice for her.  

As a student missionary, Pauls enjoyed watching her students learn and observing the improvement in their English skills.  She even had the opportunity to teach a child math without the benefit of speaking the same language.  Even with the language barrier, she was still able to communicate with the child and help him learn.

While she deeply enjoyed her student missionary experience, Pauls ultimately decided to change her major and pursue a lifelong interest in biology.

Ironically, Pauls’s involvement in research@southern materialized after she changed her major.  One of her biology professors, Dr. Rick Norskov, learned of her interest in journalism and thought that her combined science and journalism background would be a good fit for research@southern.  Katelyn has written several thorough articles discussing a number of scientific endeavors occurring at Southern.

Katelyn will graduate in May of 2016 and plans to attend medical school in the fall of 2017.

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Meet the Writers:  Gavin Finch

by Pamela Jansen, JD

Gavin Finch, a sophomore communications studies major at Southern Adventist University, joined the writing staff for research@southern in January of 2016.  He is pictured above with his girlfriend, Hannah Jobe.  

Finch, who had previously attended public school, resisted his parents’ encouragement to enroll at Southern.  Even after attending a retreat at Cohutta Springs Youth Camp where he met several Southern students, Finch was still not convinced that he wanted to become part of the Southern community.  Finch’s mother, however, eventually forced the issue, requiring him to enroll at Southern for at least one semester.  

Finch, who is naturally shy, said, “In between me stepping out of the car and putting my feet on the pavement, I had to decide whether or not I was just going to sit in my dorm room and be miserable for the semester that I had to be here, or if I was going to go out and make friends and get to know people.” Finch took the courageous route and emerged from his shell. He now credits his Southern experience with helping him overcome his shyness.  Ultimately, one semester led to the next, and now he is a second semester sophomore. When asked why he decided to stay, Finch responded, “Without the people, I wouldn’t have stayed.”

Following his successful first year at Southern, Finch had the opportunity to intern with Southern’s Advancement office.  During his internship, Gavin often dined with faculty members during lunch.  He enjoyed listening to their dialogue, gleaning valuable wisdom and insight.  It was during these lunches that Finch crossed paths with Dan Maxwell, PhD, the Director of Southern’s McKee Library.  When Maxwell learned of Finch’s involvement with the Advancement office and passion for writing, he thought Finch would be a great fit for research@southern.

What Finch enjoys most about writing for research@southern is the opportunity to develop his own writing voice, improve his writing skills, and follow each story through to completion.  In the future, Finch wants to become involved in Christian writing, though he is not sure yet whether it will be fiction or non-fiction.  He also hopes to create fundraising materials to benefit charities where the funds raised will directly affect the lives of people in need.

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Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.

Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (via csuramblr)

[briefquotes]

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.

Benjamin Franklin (via briefquotes)

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Coffeehouse Controversy

by Pamela Jansen, JD

Relaxing repose or political powerhouse?  Why did the coffeehouse, a seemingly harmless establishment, cause such turmoil for the English in the 1600s? Derek Haas, a recent graduate of Southern Adventist University, tackled these issues in his paper entitled “The Drink of a Thousand Kisses: Coffeehouse Culture in 16th Century England.”  Haas wrote this paper as part of a History of England course taught by Professor Lisa Diller, PhD.

Haas chose the early English coffeehouse as his topic because he worked at a coffeehouse, so the topic was relevant to his education and to his employment.  During his research, Haas discovered several reasons for the coffeehouse controversy.  Haas noted that coffeehouses were popular venues for political and intellectual discussion, making them attractive to “cultured gentlemen.”  On the other hand, coffeehouses faced fierce opposition from women, politicians, and even King Charles II.  

In 1674, “The Women’s Petition Against Coffee” was published.  The Petition argued that coffeehouses occupied too much of a man’s time, causing neglect of family and marital duties.  Similarly, the English government opposed coffeehouses, believing them to cultivate a dangerous environment that promoted freethinking and negative conversations about government and politics.  Of particular interest to Haas was the fact that King Charles II, on December 29, 1675, issued the “Proclamation for the Suppression of Coffee Houses,” requiring the closure of all coffeehouses.  The Proclamation alleged, among other things, that coffeehouses had “produced very evil and dangerous effects,” including “defamation of His Majesty’s government.”  Haas notes that the Proclamation was met with immediate and passionate animosity, so much so that the Proclamation was annulled within ten days.

Haas’s paper presents an intriguing view into English culture during the 1600s.  He presented his research at Campus Research Day on December 4, 2015, and found the experience engaging and enjoyable.  Haas said that he appreciated the conversational aspect of Campus Research Day as well as the collegial atmosphere. Following his presentation, Haas took advantage of the opportunity to become a published author—an opportunity given to all Campus Research Day Presenters—and uploaded his final paper to Southern’s institutional repository, KnowledgeExchange.