The Scholar: December 2011 Edition

The Scholar December 2011 Edition

1 The University of Tennessee at Martin’s University Scholars Organization

Table of Contents

Director’s Corner ................................................................................................................................................................... 2

Important Dates ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Last Music and Pork Chops and Zombie Pigs, Oh My! - Mary Medling ............................................................. 4

Vanguard Theatre Production of The Comedy of Errors - Robert DeYeso ..................................................... 5

Tricks for Treats - Jonathan Hewlett ............................................................................................................................. 5

Scholar’s Thanksgiving Party - Riley Rich ................................................................................................................... 6

Daedalus and the Labyrinth of Martin - Bethany Castleberry ............................................................................ 7

Footsteps - Will Crosby ........................................................................................................................................................ 9

A Pep Talk - Katrina Moeller .......................................................................................................................................... 10

Melissa - Holly Bopp .......................................................................................................................................................... 10

Organic Chemistry - Rebecca Stokes .......................................................................................................................... 11

Different Spheres - Reuben Kendall ............................................................................................................................ 11

Junior/Senior Projects

Effects of Castration/Spaying on High Risk Feeder Cattle - Cayce Wood .................................................... 12

New Hypervalent Iodine-Mediated Phenol and Derivatives- Mary Layne Harrell .................................. 13

An Analysis of Literature in Musical Composition- Kerry Durso ..................................................................... 14

Effects of Exercise on Cognition - Brandon Smith ................................................................................................. 14

Social Choices for Slave Women vs. Plantation Mistresses - Erin Creech ...................................................... 15

Expectation and Perceptions of Persons with Disabilities - Brittni Brewer ................................................ 16

The Role of School Identification in Collegiate Sports Business - Katie Mangrum ................................... 17

Effects of Education on Attitudes Regarding Bioethical Issues and Practices - Erika Pugh ................. 18

Disclaimer: Please note that any views or

opinions herein expressed are not necessarily representative

of the University Scholars Organization as a whole.

Senior Editors Junior Editors

Payton Mink Mary Medling Paige Mason Hunter Lindburg Charles Busby Laura Miller Photographer Katrina Moeller

The University of Tennessee at Martin’s University Scholars Organization 2


Hello again!

Let me just say that this has been a fantastic semester. The beginning of the year cookout and the

Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas parties went very well. The research projects are all progressing

nicely. The trips to Boston, Paducah, and St. Louis were fantastic, and I am excited to see how well the

freshmen are integrating into the program. It’s great to be an Honors Director!

Continuing with my discussion of philosophies for University Scholars and current initiatives …

“Look around the habitable world: how few

Know their own good, or knowing it, pursue.”

~Juvenal, Satires

Impact: What Scholars do should have an impact on their lives and the lives of those around

them. We encourage community service projects such as Relay for Life, and have even helped develop new

activities on campus, such as this-year’s Color Away Cancer. We have activity-based fundraisers such as the

Graduate School Workshop, in which UT Martin students can take practice tests such as the MCAT and

GMAT. Honors Programs also supports travel for University Scholars, giving them experiences beyond the

oft-confining walls of a classroom. Furthermore, Scholars do service for each other by helping plan activities

and forming study groups. In University Scholars, we value making an impact.

Service Learning Course: For the past decade, the second semester course for first year Scholars has

been World Builders, an exercise in creating a world guided by lectures from professors across many

disciplines. Although the course was good in concept, it rarely had much of an impact on all involved. In

Spring 2012, we will be doing a service-learning course instead. The concept is to have a group community

service effort that is based not just on volunteerism, but also background research and project

development. The upcoming projects could include such things a developing a plan to increase healthiness

and/or energy efficiency in Weakley County. Helping schools develop more active recess periods, lobbying

for more access to bicycles in Martin, and creating an “energy audit” program for low-income housing are all

possible projects. I am very excited to see how this will go!

Warmest Regards,

Lionel

Director’s Corner Dr. Lionel Crews



Important Dates

Spring Semester 2012

Thursday, Jan. 12: Day and evening classes

begin

Monday, Jan. 16: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Monday, Feb. 27: Mid-Term Progress Reports

due

Monday-Sunday, March 5-11: Spring Break

Friday, April 6: Good Friday

Friday, April 27: Classes End

Saturday—Friday, April 28-May4: Final

Exams

Saturday, May 5: Commencement

Maymester 2012

Monday, May 14: Classes Begin

Monday, May 28: Memorial Day

Friday, June 1: **Classes End (Final Exams)

Summer Semester 2012

Monday, June 4: Classes Begin, First Half &

Full Term

Wednesday, July 4: Independence Day

Friday, July 6: Classes End (Final Exams),

First Term

Monday, July 9: Advising, Second Term

Tuesday, July 10: Classes Begin, Second Term

Friday, Aug. 10: Classes End (Final Exams),

Second & Full Term

Fall Semester 2012

Thursday-Sunday, Aug. 23-26: First-Year

Initiative

Friday, Aug. 24: Advising

Monday Aug. 27: Day and Evening Classes

Begin

Monday Sept. 3: Labor Day

Friday Oct. 12: Mid-Term Progress Reports

Due

Saturday-Tuesday Oct. 13-16: Fall Break

For more information, visit:

http://catalog.utm.edu/content.php?

catoid=5&navoid=251#Fall_Semester__2012

“The greatest thing in the world is to

know how to be sufficient unto

oneself.” - Michel Eyquem Montaigne



Last Music and Pork Chops and Zombie Pigs, Oh My!

Mary Medling

On Saturday, October 22, 2011, a few people from the Scholar’s Organization took a trip to

Kentucky to go to Patti’s Settlement and Talon Falls Scream Park. However, the fun was not limited

to only those places. Lionel Crews and Teresa Fowler were both driving vans, and in Lionel’s van we

listened to an eclectic selection of music, while in Teresa’s van, I hear, they had a dance party.

Needless to say, the two-hour drive up to Patti’s felt

like no time at all.

When we arrived at Patti’s Settlement, I was

in awe of the beauty of my surroundings. Every piece

of the Settlement was covered in Christmas lights and

different plants. It was like falling into a fairy tale

book, and this was before we even got into the

restaurant. Once in the restaurant we were met with

the sweet aroma of food and the homey feel of the

elegant place. Most of the freshman Scholars, myself

included, had never been to Patti’s. We were

overwhelmed by all the amazing food that was put out

before us. As expected, most of us ordered the two-

inch-thick pork chop and also had a hearty helping of

flowerpot bread. By the time we left the Settlement,

most of us were in food comas, but the festivities did not end there; we headed to Talon Falls.

As we pulled up to the Talon Falls Scream Park, I was immediately scared to death. The place

looked so menacing and frightening. I was so glad that I had gone to this haunted house with my

Scholar’s family because I knew they would protect me. We were struck with some luck (good or bad,

depending on how you look at it), and we got to bypass the long line and go much closer to the front.

Once we began our journey through the haunted house, everyone was on edge. There were zombie

pigs hanging from the ceiling, people in costume who jumped in line with you, screams everywhere,

and doors crashing and slamming around you. I was terrified, and when we finally exited, thirty

minutes later, I had never been so happy to see the van. The haunted house, although very scary, was

full of so much laughter and fun.

The drive back to UTM was filled with jovial stories of the different reactions from different

parts of the night. I got to know a lot of Scholars so much better because of this trip. It was a success

and a night to never forget.

“What’s Happening?” Freshmen News Reports



Vanguard Theatre Production of The Comedy of Errors

Robert DeYeso

From November 10-13, the UTM Vanguard Theatre put on performances

of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors, where a diverse group of students

showed a contemporary adaptation of the play. The Comedy of Errors is a play of

mistaken identity; the main plot is that the Antipholus twins, one from Ephesus

and one from Syracuse are mistaken for each other. They do not know that the

other exists. What makes it more confusing is that each Antipholus has a servant

named Dromio; the two Dromios are also long lost twins. The comedy begins

when the locals of Ephesus confuse the Antipholus twins, which generates a

generous amount of conflict. Shakespeare’s plays have experienced many

displays, but the Vanguard Theatre made sure their presentation was unique.

Incorporated in the standard plot were modern themes like a Star Wars light-saber

duel and the King of Music himself to combat typical theatrical methods overused

in the past.

Reuben Kendall, a University Scholar who played Antipholus of Syracuse, did an exceptional job

under live pressure. I was skeptical coming in to the play as to whether the cast could give off the ‘illusion of

reality’ well enough. My favorite scene was the conversation between Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse

after Dromio of Ephesus’s lover mistook him for Dromio of Syracuse. The two Syracuseans proceeded to joke

about the woman’s weight and shape in the traditional fashion of Shakesperean comedy. I felt the scene was

important because it captured every aspect of a Shakespearean play at once. The scene exploited the

characters’ developments, a form of humor that underlies the play’s title, and the bond that the two

Syracuseans share.

Even though I am equipped with little to none theatrical experience, I could tell that the performers put forth

their best effort, and they delivered an enjoyable experience. I have not seen many plays, but thanks to the

UTM Vanguard Theatre’s performance, I now want to see many more to gain a better appreciation of the

performance arts.

Tricks for Treats

Jonathan Hewlett

The week of October 23 turned out to be the busiest week of my life. This week contained the three

days leading up to the Halloween party that freshmen had to plan, prepare, and host. A group of eighteen

highly capable college students planning one Halloween

party does not sound too difficult, right? Wrong! The life

of a college student is hectic enough without an

organization as rigorous, though rewarding as University

Scholars, but for a decorating committee comprised of

three Scholars, it became an enormous task.

With a budget and a boatload of ideas, Jake Riley,

Laura Miller, and I set sail on making this year’s

Halloween party one of the best in recent memory. The

plan for making the Tennessee room into a haunted room

was the result of Laura and Jake’s creative minds, and

once we understood their idea, we began turning our

vision into a reality.



Scholar’s Thanksgiving Party

Riley Rich

Thanksgiving: a time for family, delicious food, and an occasion to

turn away from your everyday worries and focus on the people in your life

and the blessings you have been given. It is an annual opportunity to share a

meal with those you love, forget about little squabbles you may have had

throughout the year, and simply enjoy one another’s company. Unfortunately,

as a college student entering the holiday season, stress from upcoming finals

and projects can make it difficult to press on through the end of the semester.

This year, as is the tradition, the University Scholars celebrated Thanksgiving

by holding a feast. It allowed everyone to forget their academic concerns for

the night and appreciate good food and company.

As everyone began arriving bearing homemade dishes and desserts,

the honor’s building quickly filled up with people talking and laughing

amongst themselves. As a fellow freshman Scholar described, “It was as if

there was no difference between us, [the freshmen], and everyone else. We

were welcomed as new members of the family.”

In the Tennessee room, a long row of decorated tables was set up for the nearly sixty students in at-

tendance. Between mouthfuls of green bean casserole and pumpkin pie, new friends were made and amiable

debates began about the most appetizing dishes. After dinner, several Scholars began putting together a themed

puzzle, while others prepared for the upcoming Christmas party by drawing names for secret gifts.

The Scholars Thanksgiving party was, if nothing else, a piece of home at an incredibly stressful time

of year. While most students are able to see their families over the holidays, some of us, especially seniors,

find it difficult to do so. However, should we find ourselves near or far from our families this Thanksgiving

day, the University Scholars Organization certainly brought the spirit of family and gratitude to the campus of

the UTM.

After three long days of decorating and preparing, the big day finally arrived. Upon returning to the

McCombs Honors building, I was greeted by an honors study full of costumed and anxious Scholars. The

turnout was greater than I had anticipated! I saw the usual faces, but I was surprised to see a good number of

Scholars that that I had not met before. The costumes were very entertaining. From Teresa Fowler as Little

Red Riding Hood and Katie Pigg as Hermione Granger to Katrina Moeller as a zombie zebra and Riley Rich

as a lion, I was very pleased by the level of participation among my fellow Scholars.

Once the pizza was ordered, it was show time. As the guests were escorted outside and into the

waiting area outside the Tennessee room, my dedicated team of trained spookers got in position for a couple

of rounds of “Scare the Scholar.” The lights were cut, the ambiance was set, and the groups traveled through

our two-part spooktacular. Complete with a demonic tiger, a territorial witch, and a classroom haunted by the

student who never graduated, our creation was sure to scare at least a few unsuspecting people. From the

screams I heard, the haunted rooms were a success. We got a lot of congratulations and encouraging

comments that further made us feel like we had made an impact on the University Scholars Program.

I would like to give a big thanks to Jake Riley, Laura Miller, Lindsey Feigl, and Adam Merook for

making the haunted rooms a success. Also, a word of thanks to the other Scholars who bought or prepared

treats and supplied extra decorations. We work well as a team.



“Creative Outlet” Sophomore Creative Pieces

Daedalus and the Labyrinth of Martin

By Bethany Castleberry

Click click. Click click. Click click. Daedalus paced across the floor outside the office door of

Alexander the Great Squirrel of Martin. He was nervous about the meeting. He showed up half an hour

early to make a good impression, but now it was fifteen minutes past the hour and he was still outside

waiting. At this point he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be called. What is better? To become sick on the

emperor or go home defeated. His family still hadn’t forgiven him. After five years of engineering

failure, he finally got into the Tree Force with his idea of flying. Of course, fast jumping from

dangerous heights was a lifestyle and art well respected, but the flight abilities of birds were brilliant.

He knew he should have done more research and tests and found a better material than wax, but he had

wanted to prove the feasiblity of his design as quickly as possible. Who knew sunlight could be so….

“Daedalus, the emperor demands your presences”

shouted Hermes, the imperial postmaster.

Daedalus stepped forward into the office full of war

trophies collected by the emperors’ spies throughout the

millenia, a spoon from the cafeteria, a book of poetry from the

library, and a beaker from the chemistry lab, but the emperor

was standing at his war table, his favorite trophy. It was in

truth a device the evil humans knew as an iPad with a Google

Earth App, but it was to the squirrels of Martin a powerful

weapon. With the air of a squirrel that had never seen

defeat, the great emperor Alexander studied Daedalus.

“Daedalus, I can bust your nuts and have you collecting

acorns til the end of time, but in the end, you are still a

brilliant engineer, and you owe me a debt.The empire needs you to design a prison to house our

enemy.”

“A prison, my lord?”

“Yes. But not the typical prison. As you know, our foes are somewhat larger than we.”

Deadalus wrung his paws nervously, a bit of trapped acorn rattled against his teeth.

“What we need, architect, is some sort of oubliette—a place where we can simply deposit our

foes and forget them.”

“But they would die,” Deadalus interjected.

“If they don’t,” Alexander began with narrowing eyes, “we will. It is the price of war. And what

do humans do but destroy kingdom after kingdom of our kind? Our grand towers of civilization, our

very trees, are nothing but fire fodder to warm their meager dwellings, their concrete trees.”

“What do you have in mind?” Deadalus asked.

Alexander grinned death. “I want their world to end—not with a bang—but with a whimper. I

want the Homo sapien species to putter out and disappear into the oblivion of time. I don’t want

anything too grand for them. One human martyr would be all it took for the fools in the Squirrel Senate

to cast a sympathetic vote and unravel our entire plan. In short, make it a place where they will be



forgotten.”

Deadalus thought for a moment. How could you simply make the race of man be forgotten?

Fade out? A disappearing shadow—yes. Darkness. Underground. No one will see them. But they

would escape. It’s a simple dig upwards—unless it’s some sort of underground cavern. But then

they could simply wander their way out. How could one make them wander until their deaths?

There’s the potential for them to get lost in the dark, but that’s no certainty. But could you make

them get lost?

There’s a novel idea. A maze. A labyrinth. Yes. Hypothetically speaking, it could work.

The humans would be forced to wander until they either die or discover the exit. Should there be an

exit? Yes, of course there should. You have to give a squirrel, well, a man a fighting chance, don’t

you?

“I have an idea, my liege.” Deadalus said.

Originally, Deadalus expected the construction to take years, but Alexander’s army worked

at remarkably quick speeds. But, then, when your food was tied to the amount of work you

accomplished, it was amazing what you could do. The cavern was selected within the first forty-

eight hours of the idea’s creation, and the first walls had gone up within the first seventy-two.

The maze walls twisted and turned throughout the vast cavern, multileveled. One could

walk a hundred feet upward only to meet a sharp turn and fall off into an abyss where only the

moisture that ran down the walls in rivlets could here you scream.

As the mortar and rock began to rise, so did the emperor’s suspicions that perhaps the trap

was escapable. Granted, humans are stupid, but should even one man find his way out, he could

warn the others and then the plan would be shot to Styx. They needed a guard, a monster, a terror, a

screeching, howling beast to strike even the bravest hero’s heart. They needed GaGa, the mother

monster herself. Once trapped within the bowels of the cavern, she would unleash her siren song,

with its nonsensical lyrics, yet addictive beat that no unsuspecting victim could escape from. Her

tones made her hapless victims turn to stone…or at least seemed as the humans would say, stoned.

The trap was set, but Daeduls knew from experience that even the best laid plans of

squirrels and men could melt like wax in the sun. Opening night arrived, flashing neon lights that

lured humans like moths to an open flame illuminated signs that read: Beer, Girls, Nuts…all FREE.

Come one, come all. Oddly enough, luring the GaGa creature had been the easy part. The squirrels

offered her an invitation for a support group session for people who were “born this way.” Daedulus

wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but he was sure if he had been born human, he would need

support too.

As the humans arrived and began lining up to be admitted to the maze, and their ultimate

doom, Daedulus began to be consumed with guilt. This wasn’t a fair way to fight the human

menace. This was murder, plain and simple. Daedulus knew he could not go on with this kind of

genocide on his concious. He turned to the squrriles gathered around incognito as simple rodents

and began to speak.

“My fellow squirrels. This is wrong. Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a

squirrel can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base. But, does this seem

like battle to you. Will you scurry away from here, return to your wives and children with a sense of

having fought the good fight and come away the noble victor? I know I designed this travesty of a

trap. I did so with the best of intentions. I wanted to rid the world of these beastly, vile creatures.

But this isn’t the way. No one here will go down in the annals of history as heroes if we do this

thing. We will be no better than our foe the weasels. For me, I want to someday look my



Footsteps

Will Crosby

It seems so strange there. The gray in the field of emerald stands out

sharply, but, at the same time, it seems to belong. That lone rock in the nest of

hills sits like a scar of a forgotten wound. Its presence is a blemish that fits, an

oxymoron.

After seeing the outcrop on the hill across the field and letting the quick

thoughts run their course, the man returns his attention to steady sound of his

footsteps hitting the hard ground of the dirt path he’d been following—the

repeating thump that is a runner’s closest companion. The rhythm is the shield

against the burning of his lungs and the aches of his knees. They remind him

that he’s still moving, that pain can’t win. They let him know he’s still on his

course, even when the sweat runs into his eyes and he has to wipe it out. Even

though he might not see, he knows that sound won’t lead him astray. That slow

drumbeat sending a small shock through his feet keeps a part of his mind

constantly focused on running, letting the rest veer off onto mental tangents.

Those tangents give him new insights to what he sees, like the small, gray boulder in the green sea.

grandchildren in straight in the eyes and say, “I fought with the Emperor’s army at the greatest battle ever

known. We shed the blood of our enemies side by side … we few... we happy few, we band of squirrels. This

trap is not that battle and this is not that day. We should not send our foe softly into that dark night, but fight

them openly and honestly on a field of glory. Who is with me?” he roared very unsquirrel like.

“I am with you,” a voice chittered.

“And me,” came another, and another until the entire area was alive with the excited chittereings of

hundreds of squirrels.

“How can we stop them…What do we do?” asked a huge, muscular young squrriel.

“Follow me!” Dadelus said as he took off running toward the entrance to the cavern. “See that pillar. It

supports the entire roof. Hercules, push against that pillar with all your might and we can end this.”

Hercules pushed as hard as he could and the pillar toppled, collapsing rock tumbled down. One large

rock landed on Hercules’ tail, pinning him to the ground. Debris and dust continued to fall all around. He tried

to free himself but couldn’t. Overwhelming shafts of pain reverberated up his tail and tears poured from his

beady eyes. Dadelus tried to push the rock off of him, but it wouldn’t budge. Almost overcome with pain,

Hercules grasped Dadelus’ arm. “Go, just go, save yourself.”

“No, never…I’m not quitting you.” Dadelus rasped. Spying a tree root he raced across the debris,

grasped the root in his paws, and began chewing his way through the root. When it was free he wedged the

root under the rock and exerted with all of his might to lever the rock off of Hercules. The rock moved and

Hercules was able to scramble free and together they raced out into the open night air.

They collapsed to the ground with their lungs laboring to draw air. As Dadelus rolled to his back and

opened his eyes, he looked straight up into the raging eyes of the Emperor himself. “You fool. What have you

done? My plan, it’s gone, ruined. You will die for this. This is treason,” he bellowed.

Dadelus knew his life would be forfeit. He had defied the Emperor and betrayed his own kind to save

the enemy. This was the end for him. He humbly bowed his head and waited for the death blow to fall, and

then it did. The End.

P.S. No good deed goes unpunished.



A Pep Talk

Katrina Moeller

Grab your books

Rush to class

Wave to a friend

Past him you dash

Attend class ‘til noon

Take three hard tests

Inhale a quick lunch

There is no time to rest

Attend more classes ‘til four

Add two labs to do

Drag yourself home

Awaiting there are two reports too

Do homework ‘til 12

Study until three

Crash into bed

In an 8 AM class you must soon be

Work hard all day

Constantly stress

Wonder why you’re here

Your life’s a terrible mess

Get crushed by the work

It only gets harder it seems

Worry and stress all day

But then recall your dreams

Recall why you came here,

Remember what you want to achieve,

Refuse to give up,

Your dream is worth it, you must believe.

Keep working hard,

Your life is moving forward,

Know that if dreams were easy to achieve,

They wouldn’t be such a great reward.

Melissa

Holly Bopp

As the bright morning sun wakes over the horizon

Creating reflections as the leaves form shapes,

Around the pond he waits for a sign that she is there,

A rustle in the trees, a whisper in the wind,

Not aware of what will happen that day,

Just knowing that she is watching over him

Like she promised when she first held him in Her arms.

Glancing at the earthly features, he overlooks Her presence:

The red of the autumn leaves—Her hair;

The green of the grass—Her eyes;

The whispers in the wind—Her words;

The clouds in the heavens above— Her soft skin;

The sun in the sky— Her smile.

Upon the heavenly cloud where she keeps an eye,

Watching him wait, unable to console him.

Her wings keep him warm whilst he sleeps;

During the day Her halo lights his way through life.

The hardest thing she did was leave him behind,

Letting those two bright lights take Her away,

Knowing that he would still need Her like he always would.

How could he have known that was his last chance

To say “I love you, Mom.”



Rebecca Stokes

Organic Chemistry

Oh Organic Chemistry,

How much do I dread thee?

1:00 in the Legislative Chambers

Is my least favorite place to be!

Between the alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes,

At the end of the day, my brain is completely fried.

Cis and Trans, E and Z,

I have no idea what the difference might be.

Unpaired electrons and localized charges,

Structure rearrangements and chiral carbons, too.

With all of this in my head,

What is a girl to do?

On Friday nights when my friends all go out,

I stay in with some new friends,

You know, the ones that make me pout.

Markovnikov and Zaitsev,

Yeah we’re real close now.

And Cahn, Prelog, and Ingold

All have my time firmly in a hold.

I cannot wait until the semester’s end,

When I have back my time to spend,

Doing whatever I like (which is not this).

Organic Chemistry will be something that I won’t miss.

Reuben Kendall

Different Spheres

we turn in different spheres,

run round a mutual sun

each on the line assigned to us-

we do not cross our paths;

do not, in all the miles of our dance

err one step inward to embrace,

or leave our places; we are planted

thus, and thus we grow-

each singly in the circled sky we own,

reached only by the other over

such a gaping space by those thin lines

of thought; those threads of gravity

wrought faint but firm

through void and time to bend

each other’s tides- in rhyme to our

slow passing in the pattern of our lives.



“Independent Studies” Junior & Senior Projects

Cayce Wood

Mentor: Dr. Jason Roberts

Second Reader: Mr. Jason Duggin

“Effects of Castration/Spaying on High Risk Feeder Cattle”

For my research project I am studying the effects of spaying heifers on the average daily gain

and on the mortality and morbidity rates associated with the stress of such a procedure in a stocker cattle

environment. Feedlot producers would benefit from this research because stocker heifers can become

pregnant while at the feedlot. This reduces the price of the heifers along with adding the trouble of either

aborting the pregnancy or dealing with the calving process.

We hope to see that spaying the heifers allows them to grow

at better rates that are comparable to steers and castrated

bulls in the same group of stocker cattle.

We received the cattle in September and vaccinated,

dewormed, and weighed them upon arrival. We were not

able to receive all eighty of the cattle on the same day, so

they arrived a week apart. Two weeks after each group was

vaccinated, they were administered boosters and weighed

again. Due to stress from shipping and being in a new

environment, some of the cattle had to be treated for bovine

respiratory disease. On October 3, 2011 we spayed ten of the

heifers and castrated the bulls. A veterinarian from Waverly,

TN volunteered to assist us with the spaying procedure because it is a relatively new concept, and he had

previously performed this type of surgery. We collected fecal samples of all the cattle and blood samples

of all of the heifers. With the fecal samples, we hope to measure the cortisol levels which indicate the

amount of stress the animal is experiencing. The blood samples will give us progesterone levels in each

heifer which will allow us to see how reproductively mature each heifer is.

I have learned that the spaying procedure can be quite difficult depending on the size and age of

the heifer. I hope we find sufficient data supporting the economic worth of this procedure. The

remainder of this semester will be filled with data collection and analysis. I am very pleased with how

the project is progressing, and my mentors are extremely helpful. I am anxious and excited to see what

the rest of this project has in store.

“Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare”

- Harriet Martineau



Mary Layne Harrell

Mentor: Dr. Phillip Shelton

“New Hypervalent Iodine-Mediated Phenol and Derivatives”

My University Scholars project focuses on hypervalent iodine-mediated substitution of aromatic

compounds. My project is primarily based on developing a new process as an alternative to the well-

known electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction. An example of a synthesis we are attempting is

shown below.

At this point in the semester, Dr. Shelton and I have attempted four syntheses of this reaction. All four have

used phenol as the electrophile, NaIO4 as the hypervalent iodine promoter, and K2CO3 as the base (and three have

used 1-butanol as the nucleophile). For the first synthesis, the reagants were combined together in a

dichloromethane medium and the reaction was run overnight. The second synthesis repeated the same reaction on a

larger scale. Because neither of these syntheses were able to produce the target product, the third synthesis was

altered slightly by using a stronger base to remove a proton from the hydroxyl group on phenol; this additional step

was used to increase the nucleophilicity of 1-butanol. For this synthesis, phenol, K2CO3, and NaIO4 were added to

dichloromethane, and the reaction was run overnight. A second reaction mixture of 1-butanol and N, N-

dimethylethylamine (a strong base), was prepared in dichloromethane, and then added to the first reaction flask;

after this transfer was complete, this additional reaction was allowed to run overnight. For the fourth synthesis,

phenol and K2CO3 were combined together in a dichloromethane medium, and the reaction was allowed to run for

several minutes before N, N-dimethylethylamine was added. After the reagants were combined, the reaction was

allowed to run overnight similarly to the others. 1-butanol was not used in this procedure because the earlier

syntheses indicated that it was not acting as a nucleophile.

After each synthesis, the final products were carried

through an extraction process and then characterized by mass

spectrometry and 1H NMR. For the third synthesis, the

product was purified by column chromatography. When

analyzed by mass spectrometry, one of the fractions from the

column contained a component with a molecular weight of

128 atomic mass units, which may be chlorophenol. The

chloro- substituent in this compound must be coming from the

solvent, dichloromethane. This is chemically intriguing

because reactions where the solvent, intended to be inert,

reacts with the reagants is rare. Mass spectrometry analysis of

the product from the fourth synthesis also showed this

component. The most recent research efforts have focused on

the separation of the mystery component so that we can

analyze it more thoroughly through techniques such as 1H NMR. After the compound has been isolated, we will

work to maximize its yield.

OH K2CO3

OH

NaIO4

OH

OCH2Cl2



Kerry Durso

Mentor: Dr. Julie Hill

Proposed Second Reader: Dr. Any Simmons

“An Analysis of Literature in Musical Composition”

For my University Scholars senior project I am

doing research on the use of literature in musical

compositions throughout history and compiling a set of

criteria common to these pieces. Once these have been

established, I would like to create my own musical

arrangements using passages from literature.

In the Spring 2011 semester the voice and

percussion studios gave a recital based on these two areas

working with each other, and many of the pieces we

performed incorporated literary references and excerpts.

These pieces absolutely intrigued me, inspiring further

research into how literature has been used in music in the

past and in contemporary composition. My project

encompasses two main fields: the research and composition

of music and the study of English and literature. For the musical area I would like to specifically focus

on creating music for voice and percussion. In the literature area I will most likely focus on British

literature, as most of the literature adaptations from which I have found inspiration are from this genre.

Most of the progress in my project so far has been in the researching area. I have spent many

days in the library looking up musical forms, pieces that involve literary references and meet those

forms, and listening to recordings of my findings. The musical compositional forms I have chosen to

study and base my criteria off of are the symphonic poem, the song, the song cycle, programmatic

music, and the German lied. I have also compiled a timeline of musical periods and chosen one piece per

section to sample for my project. Once I have done the research side of my project and compiled a list of

similarities, differences, and direct relationship to literature, I would like to either compose or arrange

music that I find to be inspired by literature. Dr. Hill also suggested that I contact a composer whose

works I admire, such as Michael Auckofer, a prominent modern day composer of voice and percussion,

and ask to enroll in a workship with him in order to have a strong evaluation of my compositions.

When I finish my project, it will consist of a paper written on the historical background of all the

pieces I am studying, and the pieces I arrange, compose, or have composed for me. I am very excited to

be working on my project and cannot thank Dr. Hill and Dr. Simmons enough for the information and

support they have already provided.

Brandon Smith

Mentors: Dr. Ann Gathers and Dr. Michelle Merwin

“Effects of Exercise on Cognition”

Exercise has long been known to improve physical health when practiced regularly. The

mechanisms that are used in this process have been thoroughly studied as have its effect on mental

health. Exercise has been found to be beneficial to mood and cognition. The problem is the lack of

explanation of the mechanism. To fill this void a hypothesis, “transient hypofrontality,” was proposed.



The brain has a finite information processing capacity. Resulting in the available resources (i.e blood)

being dedicated to the most efficient information processing. Global cerebral blood flow (perfusion),

metabolism, and oxygen uptake to the brain remains constant and is finite; metabolic supply is the same

at rest as it is during exercise. This would suggest that since processing in the brain is competitive and

there is a finite amount of metabolic resources available during exercise neuronal activation of the motor

and sensory regions during exercise must come at

the expense of neuronal activity in other regions

of the brain. This unequal sharing of metabolic

resources during exercise and resulting inequity

in the division of labor among brain regions may

explain the seeming disparities in the cognitive

benefits of exercise in current literature. This

explanation termed the transient hypofrontality

hypothesis states that during exercise non-

exercise essential areas of the brain, such as the

prefrontal cortex, receive fewer metabolic

resources and are functionally inhibited during

exercise.

To test this process I will have subjects

on an exercise bike performing different cognitive tests. The subjects will be required to pedal and keep

their heart rate at a specific level to induce hypofrontality. I will then give tests that will gauge the

effects of hypofrontality on cognitive functions specifically the prefrontal cortex which is supposedly

inhibited during exercise.

Erin Creech

Mentor: Mrs. Tomi Parrish

“Social Choices for Slave Women vs. Plantation Mistresses”

In the 1830s and 1840s, roughly twenty years before the Civil War, Northern women in America

were beginning to campaign for women’s rights and freedom from patriarchal restraints. It was a

common argument during this period for female supporters of women’s rights to compare their state of

political oppression to that of the enslaved Southern black woman. The American South’s “peculiar

institution” – chattel slavery – was a concept with which Northern women believed they could identify

and use as a symbolic reference for all that white women found restrictive, “never matter that they were

free whereas their ‘sister slave’ was bound for life.” While the women’s rights movement progressed

slower in the South, there were surely Southern women who would have agreed with such a sentiment.

Although, regardless of their opinions of male domination, white Southern women did have the obvious

and undeniable advantage of being free in a society based socially and economically on slave labor.

It is commonly assumed that slave women, in their desire to better themselves and their

condition, sought the same social status as their white mistresses, but we must stop to consider the

possibility that, taking white hypocrisy and social restrictions into account, slave women did not



consider such a status to be ideal. Deborah White asks scholars to examine whether slave women even

wanted the “empty deference” given to those within the bounds of Victorian womanhood. She goes on

to explain that “the feeling in antebellum America was that

women needed male guidance because women were fickle and

weak-willed. Slave women demonstrated that sex was not an

absolute determinant of skill, will power, aptitude, or even

strength.” These women were black in a white-dominated world

and female in a male-dominated society, but the fact remains they

may not have been interested in the hollow respect white women

spent their lives trying to earn. This is not to say they preferred

slavery over freedom – quite the opposite – but living outside the

attention of “polite” society could be considered a liberating

position. Slave women were socially invisible within the contexts

of the larger Southern society. However, research suggests this

social invisibility afforded slave women a certain level of control

over her domestic and social life, particularly as compared to her

white counterpart – the slaveholding Southern woman – who

labored under the critical eye of respectable Southern society.

Brittni Brewer

Mentor: Dr. Angelina MacKewn

Second Reader: Dr. Susan Buckelew

“Expectation and Perceptions of Persons with Disabilities”

The primary focus of my senior research project is to determine levels of stigma and

discrimination toward someone diagnosed with schizophrenia on the constructs of fear, anxiety, pity,

and the likelihood of avoidance. Research has been collected and studied from multiple sources related

to mental illness and discrimination and is the basis for the methods being used and the data being

collected.

For this experiment participants will be given an online link. Once this link is selected,

participants will be prompted to complete a demographic

survey (i.e. age, race, gender, marital status) followed by

the Level of Contact Report which measures familiarity of

people diagnosed with mental illnesses. The Level of

Contact Report consists of multiple statements that

participants will be asked to check if the statements

describe his or her experiences. Following the contact

report, participants will be shown one of four video

vignettes. The vignette will consist of a male named Bill

who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. The

vignettes will vary the amount of responsibility the man

holds (ie. employed, unemployed, married, single) and the

level of violence associated with the man (ie. violence vs.

no violence). After the vignette is viewed, a survey taken from Patrick Corrigan’s research will be

administered to measure the constructs. The results will then be coded and analyzed using a Likert scale

due to its reliability and validity in previous research involving contact with the mentally ill. The results

will then be presented, hopefully, at a psychology convention in spring of 2013.



“Why comes temptation but for man to meet and master and make

crouch beneath his foot, and so be pedestalled in triumph?” -

Robert Browning

Katie Mangrum

Mentor: Dr. J.C. Kim

“The Role of School Identification in Collegiate Sports Business”

For my project I am researching the relationship between team and school identification and

how those two aspects correlate with student attendance and participation at UTM athletic functions.

Team identification can be defined as the personal commitment and emotional involvement customers

have with a team, and school identification can be defined as the personal commitment and emotional

involvement with a student’s school.

Our progress so far has included finding

and studying journal articles that focus on school

and team identification to further gain

understanding of how those two feelings

influence student attendance and participation in

athletic events. Dr. Kim and I have also begun

work on a survey to see whether or not school

and team identification do indeed play a role in

student attendance at UTM. We are hoping to

finish the survey during the beginning of next

semester, and then complete the IRB process. I

hope to have all the data collected and analyzed

next spring and begin writing next fall.

Once we analyze the data we collect, we

will turn it over to the marketing department so they can find ways to increase attendance and

participation for Skyhawk athletic functions among UTM students. We also hope to present our findings

to our athletic department. Another goal of mine is to publish our research by the end of my senior year.

We are also tentatively planning to present some of our research at TAHPERD (Tennessee Association

for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance) next fall.



Erika Pugh

Mentor: Dr. Byers

Second Reader: Dr. Key

“Effects of Education on Attitudes Regarding Bioethical Issues and Practices”

As scientific knowledge continues to advance, it becomes increasingly important to have a solid

set of bioethical standards. In order to reach a consensus on what should be done about these standards,

one must first assess the viewpoint not only of the scientific community but the general public as well

and incorporate these views into laws and procedures. The views and sensitivities of the public may be

formed from multiple sources including religious beliefs, cultural and ethnic mores, social and political

pressures, educational levels, and even personal biases. These views, which often bring ethical conflict

to the public forum for debate, are the influences that drive the improvement of biomedical research.

I believe education level is a significant predictor of attitudes regarding bioethical issues and

practices. I plan on conducting a thorough literature review to formulate an appropriate and scientific

survey composed of questions concerning current bioethical topics. The survey will be administered

randomly to three populations consisting of individuals who have completed and are currently

completing undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate

education.

Matters concerning ethical practices in biomedical

research will always be an evolving issue affecting societies

at the political, social, and moral level. It is therefore the

responsibility of every society to monitor, evaluate, and refine

the administration and regulation of this industry. This

requires that the public keep itself informed of the emerging

controversial issues. Public opinion, which this research is

designed to illuminate, will assist the government and

scientific institutions in generating more applicable bioethical

laws and procedures. However, the nature and complexity of

many scientific questions at hand make it difficult for the

general public to make well-informed judgments.

My mentor is Dr. Byers of the Biology Department.

She has taught courses in bioethics at both the undergraduate

and graduate levels; she has fourteen years experience in

biomedical research and has mentored numerous

undergraduate research projects, several master’s theses, and

two doctoral dissertations. My second reader is Dr. Key of

the psychology department, and he has taught over twenty-five courses in statistics and research

methodology, including survey methods. He has also conducted numerous surveys (web-based, paper

and pencil and structured interview). In addition, he has published survey research in both national and

international journals.

So far I have successfully constructed my survey, and I am currently in the process of

completing my IRB application. Next semester I plan on conducting the survey and performing the

necessary statistical analyses. I hope to possibly get published and that my work can lead to better laws.

The Scholar: December 2011 Edition

Documents

Transcript of The Scholar: December 2011 Edition