Journal of Student Research 2023

3

Foreword

A Swipe, a Swoosh, and a Sweep

Dear Readers,

If you scroll back a couple of swipes from this page, you will arrive at the cover of this, Volume XXI of the Journal of Student Research (JSR). There you will see two new things. The first is the cover art itself, produced by Graphic Design student Alex Redetzke. Over the years, the JSR has richly benefited from the fresh and expressive work of graphic designers like Alex. Secondly, you will see something in the lower left corner—the new UW-Stout logo. Commercial logos are a fact of modern life and impact our awareness of large enterprises. The Nike “Swoosh,” and the Olympic Games’ interlocking Olympic Rings, for instance, have become inextricably associated with the products they represent. Recently, a new logo has been adopted for Stout’s identity and marketing. According to a brochure from Stout’s Marketing and Communications Department, this stylized “S” employs three shades of the color blue to “honor the past, present, and future of our university”; its parallel bands “reflect the inseparable tenets of applied learning, career focus, and collaboration” inherent in our identity and programming; and the ascending sweep of the “S” “reinforces the upward, onward... impact” of our larger Stout community. (Incidentally, we noticed that Alex’s cover design nicely echoes this new logo.) The tenets suggested by this logo also represent the work we aim to publish in the Journal of Student Research . The articles featured here represent how our student researchers have turned their interests into contributions to the larger academic community. These students can be justifiably proud of their work and the contributions they have made. We value the “upward, onward” impact of all our student researchers. We are thankful for the support the JSR has received from so many corners of our campus community. We thank the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs staff, Anne Hoeltke, Chela Cea, and Jeff Bates, for their support and guidance, helping the JSR reflect the ideals of student research; thanks to the UW-Stout Foundation for its generous funding of research at UW-Stout, some of which appears here. Thanks also to Dr. Charles Lume, who arranged for the juried art selections included in the JSR, to cover artist Alex Redetzke, to Chad Nyseth and the Graphic Communications Practicum, who were responsible for production; and to Dr. Joleen Hanson’s Editing Processes and Practices class. We are pleased to present Volume XXI of the Journal of Student Research . Maybe not a “Swoosh,” but definitely an upward sweep of student achievement.