What women want, benefits of vitamin C and more

By: Sarah Cash

Posted: 4/14/08

Every Spring Semester, students from all disciplines gather in the Western Illinois University Union to show off their academic prowess. Most have spent a semester or two doing research for their own hypotheses. On Wednesday, nearly 150 students will present their findings at the sixth annual Undergraduate Research Day.

The event begins at 11 a.m. with a presentation by Steve Catania, Western alumnus and graduate student at Loyola University Chicago, called Undergrad Research: A Restrospective. At noon, President Al Goldfarb, Provost Jack Thomas and Centennial Honors College Director Bill Knox will offer opening remarks. From 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., students take over.

Most students take part in poster presentations, which are set up in the Union Grand Ballroom and offer one-on-one interaction with visitors. Podium lectures are scheduled in the Capitol and Fox rooms and make time for group discussion. The general public is invited to take part in the event.

If you've ever wondered what women really want, how to save your hearing after years of loud concerts or why some dog breeds are more popular than others, well, you're not the only one. The following three students had the same questions and will present them Wednesday in poster sessions.

Change of the Popularity of Dog Breeds in the Last Two Decades

Senior zoology major Allison Campbell worked at Country Estate Kennel outside of St. Louis for two years, and she became curious which breeds visited the most over time.

Although the American Kennel Association ranks the popularity of pure breeds every year, Campbell's experience led her to believe mixed breeds deserve a spot in the Top 10. She decided to do her third poster presentation on the topic.

"I thought that this project would be something people could understand and relate to and not just another project trying to figure out the genes that determine vocal chord abilities of frogs … or something else so immersed in technical, scientific jargon that people are scared to read it or approach it," Campbell said. "I think people love mutts and they should be considered when looking at the most popular types of dogs."

Campbell is basing her research on files at the kennel from 1988 to 2008. Her data found that the Top 10 of almost every year included Labrador retrievers and mixed breeds.

What do Women Want in a Man: Risk-Taking, Altruism or Wealth?

Matt Hahn, senior psychology major, was prompted to do his first poster session by his honors requirements and a class with Dr. Eugene Mathes called The Evolutionary Psychology of Romantic Love. He wanted to know if the concepts discussed in class held up in real life. One did, and another did not.

"Women were found to prefer low risk-takers at higher incomes," he said, summarizing the second part of his study. "This is consistent with one of the main tenets of evolutionary theory - that women are mainly concerned with resources when choosing a mate."

Hahn encouraged students to visit the Grand Ballroom and check out what their peers have been up to.

"This day isn't just for faculty to see how and what students research, but for students to see what their friends have been working on for the last few years or so," he said. "Together, these projects have probably had thousands of hours of work put into them, and the people presenting them are very proud of their work. Basically, this day is a great excuse to indulge yourself in academic research and maybe even learn something interesting, too."

Prevention of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss with Diet

Junior communication sciences and disorders and psychology double major Viola Marrs' project is more scientific and classical in nature, an experiment with the diets of mice to see if vitamin C or Alpha Lipoic Acid protect from noise-induced hearing loss.

"We wanted to introduce the mice to higher concentrations of antioxidants by diet because this relates directly to human consumption via vitamins, or diet," Marrs said. "Preliminary findings show that the high vitamin C diet does in fact seem to help protect mice from noise-induced hearing loss."

In Marrs' case, she was able to work alongside psychology assistant professor Dr. Sandra McFadden, and she said she hoped to make an impact with the research as well as educate others by participating in the research day for the first time.

"I hope to be able to educate people on the problem of noise-induced hearing loss, as it is the second leading cause (after age) of hearing loss in the U.S. and most other industrialized countries," she said. "Attending (the research day) could, at the very least, give people insight and understanding to the gains that have been made in the past and also foresight to exciting gains in the near future.

"This is not our grandparents' research anymore," she added. "That research has been built upon and has branched out in new and interesting ways, and it's pretty exciting to be a part of it."