Journal of Student Research 2018

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Foreword

At the start of the 2018 spring semester, the UW-Stout community was advised by Chancellor Meyer that, after months of doing whatever the digital alchemists must to do to make a website operate, our wizards were prepared to launch the new UW-Stout website. I was wondering just how that works; my cyber-literacy being a bit stunted, the best I could do was to visualize the Chancellor standing next to a human-sized wall switch, looking to a group of technicians in lab coats, asking “READY?” Well—however it got off, things have gone pretty smoothly, and UW-Stout has an appealing new website. Of course, among the 10,000 pages this site will ultimately manage, there are a few pages to find and links to repair, including, at this writing, the pages to the Journal of Student Research. Sniff… Complex technical systems that represent a university, or a large business, or a branch of government, and help them function in tens of thousands of ways, are a reality of life. Making that happen takes people who are skilled, knowledgeable, and collaborative. We aim to prepare such people, turning them out to businesses, schools, and communities, READY to take on the challenges of our world. We believe that the research work published in the JSR is evidence that our programs prepare information technology developers as well as financial analysts, human resource managers, child psychologists, and a host of other people who will prove their worth in future careers. Our student researchers have shown that they have the big-picture mentality to survey large swaths of our society’s conditions and can develop research that is relevant, focused, and useful. They have also shown that they are detail-oriented in their commitment to preparing and revising their work for publication, each responding to the advice of advisor, reviewers, and editor. Speaking of seeing the big picture, we are pleased to feature the winning essays of the 1 st Annual Liberal Arts Essay contests, held in the spring of 2017. We look forward to seeing more of these in the future. As always, I would like to thank all those who have helped bring this edition to fruition. In particular, I thank Elizabeth Buchanan, Matthew Gundrum, and Sydney Tylke of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Ted Bensen of the Cross-Media Graphic Management program, Charles Lume from Art and Design, Brooke Rossi for helping ready the Liberal Arts essays, and this year, Janice Conti, Ann Vogl, Rachel Thompson and Courtney Elsner of the Robert S. Swanson Learning Center, who have made the JSR searchable through Minds at UW. You should see a search widget appear on the JSR web page, once the dust settles from the new UW Stout site migration. We are pleased to present Volume XVII of the UW-Stout Journal of Student Research . It represents a small slice of the great things we have at Stout: meaningful research, thought-provoking art, conscientious perspectives . . . these people are READY.