URSP Megan Storkan Aims to Analyze the Link Between Women’s Historical Preservation Efforts in the 1960’s and the Resurgence of the "Lost Cause" Narrative

Some people are lucky enough to grow up thinking they know exactly what they want to do for the rest of their life. Throughout high school I thought I was one of those people, however, I could not have been more wrong. When I first came to George Mason I believed I would get a degree in Political Science and eventually go to law school to become a human rights attorney. It only took a month of government classes for me to promptly switch my major. After interning at a local museum in my hometown of Scandia, Minnesota I discovered a new passion and talent; museum

work. Since then I have been running full force towards a degree in Public History. In May I will be graduating, and in a last-minute effort to check off everything on my “Mason Bucket List” I decided to apply for a USRP grant through OSCAR last April. I knew from the minute I had heard about OSCAR that I wanted to participate somehow, however, as a history major I felt as though my field of study could not possibly produce research valuable enough to be funded. And then I came across my current research topic.

Currently there is a large scholarly conversation within the public history field surrounding the topic of the Civil War’s “Lost Cause” narrative and its effect on today’s society, almost 150 years after General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Rather than remembering the Civil War as a war between brothers, many southerners, especially women, portrayed the Confederate cause as a heroic one despite their overall defeat. This “Lost Cause” narrative was developed immediately after the Civil War, however, its acceptance regained popularity during the 1960’s. Women began to utilize the field of history as a way to enter the workforce and academia, especially through the domestication of historical preservation and the creation of historical house museums, specifically Confederate houses. My research aims to analyze how the efforts of these women in the latter half of the 20th century affected the progression and continuation of the South's "Lost Cause" narrative after the Civil War.

However, unlike much of the current publications on this topic, my research argues that while many women who began to preserve these Confederate houses and convert them into museums did so with the knowledge of what many of these people stood for, many of these women were descendants of the men who they were honoring, thus saving these houses as a way to preserve a family legacy, not a confederate one. These museums were founded by descendants of those who the memorial is in honor of, so the museums look at these Confederate officials through a family lens and not a critical one, thus making it seem synonymous with the “Lost Cause” narrative. Through oral histories, personal documents, and archival research, my research examines two Civil War era museums in Northern Virginia and the women who helped found them; The Arlington House, also known as the Robert E. Lee Memorial in Arlington, Virginia and Eleanor Lee Templeman, and The Stonewall Jackson House in Lexington, Virginia and Julia Jackson Christian Preston. 

Over the past semester I have not only learned a lot about my topic, but also a lot about myself. I have begun to realize how passionate I am about historical research, especially research in regard to historical preservation. While I still may not know exactly what I want to do with the rest of my life I do know this, I want to devote my life to telling the untold stories of people like Eleanor Lee Templeman and Julia Jackson Christian Preston. Before she passed away in 1991, Templeman wrote a manuscript entitled “Meanwhile, I was Busy”in which she documented all of the things she accomplished during her life. I think this perfectly encapsulates what this semester has felt like to me; busy, but so worth every second.

URSP Student Donna Imadi Studies the Geopolitical Interdependency between Russian Actions in Influencing the Syrian and Ukranian Conflict

Hello! My name is Donna Imadi, I’m a double major in Global Affairs (concentration in Global Governance) and International Conflict Analysis and Resolution. This semester, I have spent my time studying the geopolitical interdependency between Russian actions in influencing the Syrian and Ukrainian Conflict, and the U.S response to these major international security challenges. My research aims to explore foreign policy options in resolving two of the world’s most perplexing conflicts that have come to represent massive challenges to international law and security, in their paving a new frontier into hybrid warfare.

My interest in this topic heightened after working at the U.S State Department these last two summers on foreign policy issues, and after returning from a research trip to Ukraine this Summer 2018 with the School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution. As a result of my broadening perspectives through researching the policy solutions to address emerging sociological and psychological warfare strategies on my trip, I was inspired to utilize my networks in the practitioner realm to conduct in-depth research on pressing political, security, and social issues reflected in the two major global challenges to peace facing the UN Security Council today: the stalemate conflict in Ukraine and Syria. Further, I yearned to find a method to connect my practical “practitioner” experiences to my academic studies—wanting to challenge the gap between theory and practice in the realm of foreign affairs.

On a weekly basis, I read vast arrays of literature on current affairs about the dynamics unfolding in Ukraine and Syria in both energy, military, and political developments. By the end of my term, I am working toward conducting a set of 1-1 interviews with practitioners from U.S govt officials to thinktank academics, in creating the first analysis from a practitioner view point on how policy should be formulated to respond to the international crises within both Ukraine and Syria, while balancing Russian interests.

This semester, I have valued my interdisciplinary approach to research: assessing military, energy, financial, political, and environmental drivers of the current state of affairs. It has vested in me a true appreciation for all disciplines and recognition of how each specialty has immense value in and of itself—but furthermore, demonstrated to me how much stronger policy formulation can be if one brings various academic disciplines within collaboration of each other. Connecting broad concepts and ideas to formulate creative and innovative solutions to complex social problems is at the core of my research. I am thankful for the opportunity that the OSCAR office has granted students in conducting original research on nuanced topics in interdisciplinary fields, such as my own!

URSP Student Laura Hillard Researches the Impacts of Cash Transfers

My undergraduate research project with OSCAR in the Fall of 2018 was one of the most rewarding experiences of my undergraduate career. I chose to research the impacts of cash transfers, programs aimed at reducing poverty by giving low-income families cash stipends, sometimes with attached conditions on things like school enrollment.  The effectiveness of cash transfer programming in meeting education and health goals for low-income populations has gained the attention of international development professionals around the world. I am interested in researching methods in which international development programs can become more impactful so non-profits and international organizations can better utilize limited resources to serve those in need abroad. Since cash transfers have been a proven to be a relatively low-cost method of empowering vulnerable families, I wanted to learn more about the impacts these programs could have. 

My project consisted of  using Baird, Ozler, and McIntosh’s dataset published in Cash or Condition? Evidence from a Cash Transfer Experiment where they collected data on the impact of cash transfer programming on school enrollment, test scores, teenage pregnancy, and marriage rates for school-age girls in Malawi. I spent my time in the DiSC lab at the Fenwick library so I could utilize the STATA software. I first replicated the do-file attached with the data set in order to  learn more about STATA programming and the data I was working with. Then I ran my own analysis to look into the relationship between family dynamics and the effectiveness of conditional and unconditional cash transfer programs. I was curious to see if the household size or if household was headed by a female impacted the results of the cash transfer program.

This research experience taught me about an important program in the field of international development and gave me statistical analysis experience that I hope to utilize later in my career. In the future, I plan to work in the field of international development in order to serve those in need around the world. 

URSP Student Amanda Dillon Investigates the Use of Visual Aids and Self-Monitoring

My name is Amanda Dillon and I am a senior psychology major graduating in Spring 2019. This semester I have had the pleasure of investigating how teaching the combination of using a customized visual aid and self-monitoring strategies can create better shower hygiene routines for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

My research project was inspired by my time working for the residential component of the Mason LIFE program here on campus. Mason LIFE is a post-secondary education program for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In the residential component I spend much of my time in the dorms with students working to teach independent living skills. I noticed that when it came to individuals with a deficit in shower hygiene we did not have a set way to teach these skills. At this time, I was also taking the research methods class for psychology students and was inspired to write a proposal for a project that would be able to help not only my students, but other post-secondary programs and other individuals of all ages with IDD. 

On a weekly basis I check in with participants and monitor their use of the visual. I sit down with participants and construct individualized visual aids for their personal showering routines. I remind students to send photographic evidence that they have completed their visual by physically checking a box next to each step on the list. I also track the frequency of these reports. The extent of each step that I complete varies based on participant activity for the particular week. 

My long-term goals include getting my master’s degree in special education focusing on an ABA certificate. I plan to continue my work in new improved studies with the Mason LIFE program. I hope to one day practice private ABA therapy with individuals with IDD. 

One constant thing that I have learned over the course of the semester is all of the background work that goes into creating a successful research project. I have learned practical skills like submitting an IRB and data collection strategies. I have also learned how messy research can get and how to be resilient even when everything isn’t necessarily going according to plan. I have found this opportunity to be a great chance to experience firsthand how to execute a research project within my future field. 

URSP Student Katelyn Bittinger Studies Mason's Program for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Hello! My name is Katelyn Bittinger and I am a Social Work major and Psychology minor. My URSP project for the Fall 2018 semester was focused on Mason’s program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and how the residential component of the program impacts a student’s independence and overall experience at Mason. As a first step, I decided that interviews would be the best way to find and analyze a student’s experience. Yet, before interviewing, the Institutional Review Board (IRB) must approve the study.

For the majority of the semester, I worked closely with my mentors and others from the program’s administration to make sure that my questions were asking what I wanted them to and methods for my study were ethical. This meant submitting for IRB, editing, adding, and amending my project. Even though the process was sometimes frustrating, I was so grateful for all the experience I received. Now, if someone even mutters IRB, I am ready to go. 

I think the most important thing I learned this semester is that research, in theory, seems easy but in practice is sometimes (almost always) difficult. Truthfully, there were numerous times where I felt defeated and did not think I was going to be able to present something at the end of the year. If you are there right now, just keep going. In my journey with research this semester, I gained a great relationship with both of my mentors, learned more about my own work habits, and got a basis of what research looks like in my field. In the future, the things I learned during this process will continue to help me; in Social Work, I am not sure what population I want to focus on, but I know eventually I would like to go more into the policy-side which involves research. The opportunity OSCAR gave me through URSP is unique in its nature and taught me so much and I am forever grateful to them, my mentors, and everyone else who has supported me. This is just the beginning.  

URSP Student Lauren Back Analyzes the Discovery Channel's Shark Week Content Shift from Education to Entertainment an its Affect on Public Perception of the Program

My name is Lauren Back, I’m a senior studying Communication with a double concentration in public relations and journalism and a minor in environmental science. My research project is analyzing Discovery Channel’s Shark Week’s content shift from education to entertainment, and how it is affecting public perception of the program. To do this, I created a survey for the general public who watches Shark Week about things they have noticed or not noticed in recent programming. 

This project started when I was at home with my parents watching new episodes of Shark Week over the summer. Discovery Channel always plays reruns before the new episodes come out, and I noticed a huge difference between the reruns and the new programs. In older episodes, there was an emphasis on facts and new research, highlighting important findings. The newer shows have changed drastically, focusing on sensationalism, mock shark attacks, and false facts. Newer shows feature a lot more celebrities, and less scientists. I wanted to know if I was noticing this because of my background in media, or if this was something the everyday person would pick up on. 

On a weekly basis, I watched at least one and a half seasons of Shark Week, taking notes on things I noticed and changes that were happening. I also worked with the Institutional Review Board (IRB), to create my survey that was sent out to the general public. I had to identify groups and places I could send my survey in order to get enough responses. 

Long-term, I’m hoping to work in science communication. I’m hoping to stay at George Mason to get my master’s in strategic communication. My plan is to research shark ecotourism in the U.S versus in other countries where it’s wildly successful. I want to find ways the U.S. could improve its shark diving industry, and if Shark Week’s programs being mostly abroad has anything to do with people not shark diving in the U.S. as frequently as in places featured on Shark Week. 

I’ve discovered so much through this project. I’ve hit a lot of road blocks, so I learned how to adapt and change things as necessary. I also learned that it’s okay not to be 100% sure before jumping into a project. I had no idea if I was right or wrong when this started, but my mentor Dr. Richard Craig helped me to trust my gut and to push myself. 

URSP Student Jalah Townsend Researches the Experience of Black Students at George Mason

This semester, I have had the opportunity to complete a research project on the experience of Black students at George Mason. This project specifically explores the impact that identity centered organizations have on the transition of first year Black students in order to find effective ways to support these students. I became interested in this topic after realizing that the term “diverse” now appears in every university’s mission statement. However, as universities are transitioning to include minority populations, employees are often unprepared to support these students, especially within a student’s transition from high school into college. As a result, many colleges and universities rely on the support given to students through their peers through identity centered organizations that pertain to a student’s race or ethnicity such as organizations like the Black Student Alliance, the Caribbean Student Association and the African Student Association. Through these organizations, many first-year students have the opportunity to find a community that gives them a positive experience which often contributes to their successful transition into college.

I am grateful for this opportunity as it will help me prepare for the future. I am hoping to receive my master’s degree in Higher Education where I will essentially study the experiences of students at various universities in America. In order to complete research such as this, having the experience in completing multiple interviews each week, like I have this semester is invaluable. This semester, I have learned so much- what works and what doesn’t and from this experience, I have truly learned that my passion lies in student affairs.

URSP Student Ferris Samara Analyzes the True Authorship of the Works Published under Former Congressman David Crockett’s Name

Since my first class with Dr. David Holmes, I was greatly interested in the field of statistics he specialized in: stylometry, the statistical analysis of literary style.  When Dr. Holmes shared with the class about the projects he has taken up and how he’s used this to attribute authorship to contested works, I knew this was a topic I needed to learn more about. During the summer of my senior year, Dr. Holmes kindly let me join his project of analyzing the true authorship of the works published under former Congressman David Crockett’s name. Evidence stacks against Crockett being the author of these works, given his lack of a formal education and historical accounts of ghostwriters. 

We immediately started on gathering more evidence about the potential ghostwriters of the books and finding sources on their books. From there, we began to compile text files of all the books together. Each text chunk of about 4,000 words needed to be nicely organized and edited to ensure that the analysis would run smoothly. Since we collected all of those files and had all the necessary information together, we have begun to plan and run the analysis, the stage we are currently in. The analysis will be mostly relying on the identification of non-contextual words (such as “or”, “and”, “the), and computing how frequently each author uses these words. Since everyone uses non-contextual words at a unique frequency, we will see how these differ and compute the distances between them using different statistical measures. 

This project has taught me how interlinked statistics can be with other fields of study and has inspired me to continue this work in different languages. Dr. Holmes and I plan to conduct a stylometric analysis on a heavily disputed Russian work, which will allow me to combine my passion for languages with the new skills I have developed learning about the wonders of stylometry.

URSP Student Abigail Loughlin Investigates the Influence of Conflict, Policy, and American Interventions on the Access to Water in the West Bank in Palestine

Throughout the Fall 2018 semester, I conducted a research study focused on the water quality conditions of the West Bank in Palestine and how these conditions have been shaped by the conflict in the region, the policies in place, and the involvement on the United States.  The project aimed to answer the following questions: how the policies in place regulate water accessibility in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, who are the primary actors participating in the creation of water policy, what is the environmental impact of these policies actions, what are the limits and possibilities of these policies, and what is the potential for sustainable development of water infrastructure in the region.By investigating the water regulations in place, as well as U.S. presence in this conflict, this research intended to increase the knowledge on the topic, encourage growth in the field of conflict resolution paired with environmental sustainability, and raise awareness for populations being denied basic necessities. 

I developed this research question with the intention to focus on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict since it has been a topic conversation within my household, as well as within my studies in college while minoring in Middle Eastern studies. I hope that by reframing the conflict as a case of environmental injustice this will help attract a new audience of support which has been absent from the conflict. This project is not only significant to me for the discussions I hope to inspire, but for my own pursuit of knowledge and my desire to create a defensive argument for a region and ethnic group which has been neglected for too long. In my professional career I plan to work with ecologically vulnerable areas and populations, particularly in the Middle East, aspiring to raise environmental awareness and increasing the potential for equal environmental conditions. 

On a weekly basis I have conducted literature reviews of primary and secondary sources, and academic journals, conducted interviews with professionals and academics who have expertise in the conflict, and met with my advisor to help shape and direct the path of my research. My schedule has included developing personalized questions based on expertise and focused on various aspects of the research project, coordinating time meet with those I interviewed, and searching for and analyzing online and print sources. This research project has solidified the direction of my career path to focus on cases of environmental injustice in the Middle East and to continue to study the impact of conflict on the environment. Additionally, it has taught me the importance of investigating the stories of oppressed populations in order to dispel misconceptions and discover the truth. 

URSP Student Enya Calibuso Examines Child- and School-Level Predictors of School Mobility in Middle School Students

Tacoma, Washington; Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; Latina, Italy; Eagle River, Alaska; Dumfries, Virginia; Johannesburg, South Africa; Orono, Maine; and Alexandria, Virginia – What do all of these cities and countries have in common? Well they’ve catalyzed my research interests. Growing up in a military family, having moved 8 times, lived on 3 continents, and attended 9 schools, I’ve witnessed firsthand the resilience needed in highly mobile students. Through the Psychology Honors Program and the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, I’ve had the great opportunity to work with Dr. Adam Winsler to examine Child- and School-Level Predictors of School Mobility in Middle School Students.These research-intensive programs have equipped me with the skills (data analyses, conducting literature reviews, and preparing materials for grants and conferences), knowledge (specific to applied developmental psychology), and experience needed to further my education in hopes of attending a MD-PhD program specializing in psychiatry and French. 

On a weekly basis, my duties typically consist of revising my honors thesis. This semester, I’ve been working on editing my literature review to integrate feedback from my mentor, double its length, reorganize its structure to be in accordance with APA formatting, and add an additional theoretical framework. I’ve also begun to address the gaps in the literature, my proposed study, its methodology, and a data analysis plan to move forward. Throughout this process, I’ve discovered that predictors of increased school mobility include being African American, being in poverty, attending a low-quality school and/or center-based early care, and having a disability. Importantly, researchers attempting to claim that school mobility has adverse effects on students’ academic performance and school completion need to understand and statistically control for these pre-existing differences between movers and non-movers before analyzing outcomes.

USTF Student Karlie Berry Presents the Perceptions of Programming inside Diversionary Treatment Units

This past November, I had the opportunity to attend the American Society of Criminology (ASC) conference in Atlanta, Georgia.  ASC is an annual conference that allows students, scholars, and professionals throughout the criminal justice and criminology community to discuss various topics of interest within the field. Although presentations range from focusing on subjects such as juveniles or policing to ideas including terrorism or technology, my panel presentation discussed the correctional system.  I explored the perceptions of programming inside Diversionary Treatment Units, which are essentially restricted housing units for severely mentally ill.  After many days of interviewing, observing, and analyzing data, my findings concluded that even though staffs’ perceptions of inmate programming is generally positive, they do not believe that the types of programs are appropriate or the process acceptable.  This is an important disconnect to recognize because it affects frontline implementation and application by the staff, and ultimately, the livelihood of inmates. All in all, the conference was an amazing opportunity and an unforgettable experience as it allowed me to hone my presenting skills, increase my knowledge about criminal justice innovations, and meet many admirable individuals.           

OSCAR Student Vanessa Hormann Participates in the Farmland Restoration Project

During the Summer of 2018, I participated in the research project on farmland restoration, and worked on the team that surveyed bird communities. I investigated the differences in bird community composition and breeding habitat diversity between four sites enrolled in conservation easement. Each site implemented a different set of restoration techniques (seeding, disking, chemicals, and burning) for converting farmland into native grassland. My findings showed the site that implemented two restoration techniques with less frequency had the greatest species diversity, diversity of breeding habitats, and grassland species.

Participating in this project gave me a holistic overview of the impacts of restoration techniques on ecosystems, the interactions between different communities, as well as how these communities respond to changes in their habitats.

As an Environmental and Sustainability Studies major, with a concentration in Sustainable Food System and Agriculture, this experience was extremely valuable to me. It helped me understand the benefits of conservation easements, and reflect on how to manage farmland in synergy with bird conservation efforts.

OSCAR Student Kendra Coleman Participates in the Changing The Hole Mind Living & Working in Solitary Confinement During Reform Project

What got me interested in the Changing The Hole Mind Living & Working in Solitary Confinement During Reform project, was the project’s goal. I have always been intrigued by prison reform and the organizational functions of the prison system. I heard about the project from a friend who had participated in a similar project the year prior; this prompted me to apply immediately.

When I think about my long-term goals, I believe the Changing The Hole Mind project plays a big part in what direction I want to go in. While working on this project, I have found out I am rather passionate about field research relating to prisons. Collecting the data was a new experience and one I enjoyed quite a bit. Once the data was collected and we started the process of coding the qualitative data (I thought I would suck at it), it was fascinating to watch the data reflect what we were or were not looking for. On a weekly basis, it varies what I do.  In the weeks prior to a trip to an institution, time was spent attending training. After visiting an institution, I spent my time working on preparing the data to be coded. Finally, I spent my time coding the prepared data. After coding, I then was able to query the data and analyze my findings; the results helped answer my initial research question.

What I discovered this term…is a lot. If I had to narrow down what I discovered, it would be…I didn’t expect to find something I wasn’t looking for. After constructing my research question with my partner, I knew there was a strong chance we would find data to answer our question. However, while I was coding, I discovered there was separate information, also appearing in the data at a high frequency; I queried for this. I thought this was exciting, I spoke to my mentor about it, and there might be a chance I can switch over to work on this new data set. Which, I think is completely thrilling and am ready to do. Overall, this has been a great growing experience and an excellent opportunity to “get my hands dirty” within my future field.

OSCAR Student Viky Orellana Participates in the Latina Immigrant Multidisciplinary Project in Advancing Research

I’ve always had a passion for wanting to help and work with marginalized communities but had never considered research as a driver. This summer I was given the opportunity to work on the Latina Immigrant Multidisciplinary Project in Advancing Research (LIMPiAR). This research project has required us to develop quantitative and qualitative research methods to explore if social and family factors have negative impacts on Latina women’s health, particularly those working in the cleaning industry.

For the past two weeks, our research team has been conducting in-depth interviews in conjunction with survey questionnaires. Before our interview process began, we knew we had to establish trust within the community. Often times, due to fear, Latino communities can be a difficult population to reach, therefore trust was an integral part of our research. Using a Community Based Participatory Research approach, we began attending community advisory board meetings and volunteered in community events in hopes to build trusting relationships. As a result, we established rapport with the community board members, who played a key role in helping us recruit women for our research project.

The in-depth interviews have been a humbling experience overall. Some interviews have required us to spend more time than expected, but have resulted to be the most insightful. In these interviews, women have been more than willing to share their personal stories about community, family and job-related challenges. A lot of work is ahead of us as we continue to analyze our data. We hope that the interviews we have conducted can shine light on whether or not social and family factors have negative impacts on Latina women’s health.