Journal of Student Research 2017

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Foreword

Boy, do we have problems! It seems as though everywhere one turns these days, there are debates and disputes about people, places, and policies. Reports of contention, anxiety, and provocation pour out of the television, radio, internet and print media. All these concerns weigh heavily on our mind, as they do, no doubt, on yours. I often tell my Composition students that good academic writers have problems—they have to! Without a nagging question or a pressing problem, they would have little of value to say. Problems, properly considered, lead to questions. Questions, properly framed, lead to inquiry, investigation, analysis, or experimentation. And such undertakings can lead to deeper knowledge, thoughtful policies, and data-driven solutions. We here at the Journal of Student Research have a few problems of our own. One person wondered about the impact of military life on female soldiers, and what such women themselves thought about it, while another wondered what happens to “relationship satisfaction” in veterans, both women and men. Someone else saw the problem—and potential—of making inexpensive, easy-to-build electrical generators for villages in Malawi. Here’s another problem: certain dyes in industrial waste pollute rivers; one of our contributors hypothesized that those dyes might be neutralized by using a compound known as “horseradish peroxidase.” People often complain that students tend to be apathetic about politics and civic engagement. Someone here stopped complaining and investigated the wherefores and whys of our students’ attitudes about the same. It seems we’re neck-deep in problems worthy of research—and how exciting that is! The articles that follow demonstrate that problem-solving is alive and well here at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Together with their mentors, peers, and research teams, our contributors have demonstrated the spirit of inquiry, the practical tools, the sensible application, and the ethical reasoning that lie at the heart of UW-Stout’s polytechnic mission. These students, and thousands like them, are learning to foster the wisdom, sensibility, and hopefulness that will help their generation address, and in many ways, resolve, the many dilemmas that confront our communities, nation, and world. Boy, do we have opportunities! Production of a journal such as this comes with its own set of problems which, without the help of many, would be insurmountable. I would like to thank Dr. Elizabeth Buchanan and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs for making the Journal possible, and for the assistance of many there in bringing this volume together. Thanks also to Professor Ted Bensen and the Cross-Media Graphics Communication teams, Elizabeth Kafka’s editing classes, and Charles Lume and Alex DeArmond from Art and Design for assistance in assembling this volume from beginning to end. We proudly present Volume XVI of the Journal of Student Research. We hope you will enjoy it.