Poster Presentations

Procrastination research relies on undergraduates' self-reports from online surveys. Recent research with insufficient effort responders (IERs) shows that even a small percentage of inattentiveness may have harmful effects on means, structural, and psychometric results of studies. Given shared traits between procrastinators and IERs (e.g., distractibility), it is imperative to study how these two concepts relate.

In this study, we examine (a) the prevalence of IERs in an online survey of procrastination, (b) the differences in means and alpha reliability of a scale of procrastination, (c) whether IERs see themselves as procrastinators, and (d) US and China differences.

Undergraduates from the Midwestern US (n = 810) and Guangdong region of China (n = 570) responded to a survey that included the Irrational Procrastination Scale (IPS;’ Steele, 2010). The survey also included three directed-response items and a self-reported diligence measure (0 = minimal effort; 3 = very diligently) in addition to average time per question and instances of straight lining provided by SurveyGizmo.

164 participants were identified as IERs (US = 86, 10.6%; China = 78, 13.5%). The IER group straight lined significantly more in both countries. The means on IPS were similar, but alpha reliabilities were significantly lower for the IER group in both countries. The IERs also had a lower GPA (significant in U.S.) but identified less as procrastinators (significant in U.S.) suggesting strategic carelessness from self-identified non-procrastinators.

References

Steel, P. (2010). Arousal, avoidant and decisional procrastinators: Do they exist? Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 926–934. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2010.02.025

Ensuring the health, production, and management of crops has been one of the challenging issues due to ongoing climate change and the continuous rise in the population. In an article by the national geographic magazine, it has been estimated that by 2050, the world’s population will reach approximately 9 billion, which will lead to an increase of food demand by 70% and less arable land will be available for agricultural practices. The proposed prototype could help in crop management using an agricultural unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The UAV can also help to map the land, sense the sounding environment, adjust harvesting time, and ensure optimal growth of crops. It can also allow for farm predator analysis to determine how the crop is being attacked by larger animals. Sensors like location-based sensors (GPS, ultrasonic), barometric, temperature, humidity sensors, and optical sensors (RGB, NIR) would be used to fulfill these tasks. The cost-efficient agricultural UAV will make farmers save labor costs and increase productivity.

Invasive, pathogenic fungi pose a significant health challenge, especially among those with weakened immunity. As fungal resistance develops to conventional therapies, new compounds are being sought to act as fungicides. Hydroxamates coordinated to ruthenium have been investigated as antimicrobial and anticancer agents. A novel ruthenium-based hydroxamate produced by the Warhausen group of SVSU was evaluated against S. cerevisiae. The ligated complex showed no inhibition of growth whereas the free hydroxamate inhibited growth.

Writing generally involves three interleaved processes: planning, text generation, and revision (Hayes & Flower, 1987). Many college-level writers find revision particularly challenging, although it is essential to high quality writing (Butterfield, et al., 1996). The purpose of this project is to examine the development of college students’ revision processes in depth.

The participants were 29 students at a regional, comprehensive university. Sixteen were beginning writers (having no more than one college-level writing class), and thirteen were advanced writers (either seniors or employed as writing tutors). Each completed three sessions in which they planned a persuasive essay on a given topic, wrote the essay, and revised the essay. They were instructed to do all of their writing on a computer and think aloud while they were writing. The students’ verbalizations and actions on the screen were recorded. These think aloud protocols were transcribed verbatim. Before writing, the participants filled out a survey regarding their attitudes about writing and their general writing practices. After writing, the participants answered several questions about the processes they used to write within this study.

Our preliminary results indicate that college writers tend to make more revisions involving mechanics (i.e., grammar, punctuation, wording changes) than revisions involving meaning. These results were expected given past research (Adams, et al., 2010), and this trend was stronger for beginning writers than advanced writers.

We are now conducting analyses to “dig deeper” into when and how students revise their writing. Two raters have coded the participants’ think aloud protocols using categories such as reading the draft, verbalizations about content, and verbalizations about strategies. Advanced writers made more revisions overall and more comments while thinking aloud about these revisions. Particularly, advanced writers made more comments about specific revision strategies than beginning writers did. With few exceptions, the revisions students made and the way they thought aloud about these revisions were not correlated with their survey and interview answers. Thus, there is a discrepancy between their perceived writing practices and the actual revisions they made. We are currently conducting analyses to find out which revision practices predict the quality of the participants’ essays.

This multi-method approach will provide insight into the development of students’ cognitive processes while revising and, therefore, a better understanding of how best to support students in this challenging task.

Background: Testing an individual’s one-repetition maximum (1RM) allows exercise professionals to determine maximal strength for a given muscle group(s). The current literature includes many studies that test 1RM via free-weight or machine-based movements. However, there is a paucity of literature examining 1RM via landmine exercises, including the landmine row (LR). Someone performing the LR pulls the free end of the barbell toward their torso, with the opposite end on the ground. Because the LR follows a curvilinear path, the user encounters a variable resistance pattern throughout the movement. Consequently, the actual load the user encounters must be determined using a load quantification procedure that allows for direct comparison between LR 1RM and free-weight row 1RM. Objective: To determine whether the LR 1RM assessment meets criteria for a reliable strength test. Methods: Thirty individuals will be recruited to participate in three testing sessions: (1) LR familiarization and free-weight row 1RM and (2) 1RM LR testing sessions. During LR 1RM testing, the angle of the barbell will be measured at the top and bottom positions via a phone goniometry application. Data will be analyzed via intraclass correlation coefficients (2,1), coefficient of variation, paired t-test with effect size, and standard error of measurement. Discussion: The results of this study will inform a recommendation on whether 1RM assessments are reliable for LR exercises. If 1RM assessments are determined to be reliable for the LR, practitioners can prescribe exercise using a percentage of 1RM. Furthermore, future researchers can investigate other landmine exercises for 1RM reliability.

Antibiotic resistance poses a continuing threat to global health as pathogenic bacteria adopt defenses against conventional b-lactam based therapies, often by the expression of b-lactamase enzymes. Large molecule drugs such as obafluorin, oxazolomycin, and curromycin feature the β-lactone functional group and have been successfully employed as antibiotics but are challenging to synthesize or isolate from natural sources.

Synthesized easily from a ketene heterodimer, a novel, small molecule b-lactone, (3S,4Z)-4-[1-(4-chlorophenyl)ethylidene]-3-methyloxetan-2-one) shows antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive M. luteus, Gram-negative E. coli K-12, as well as the fungi S. cerevisiae and C. albicans in disk diffusion assays. Binding affinity of the compound to calf thymus DNA and bovine serum albumin were investigated to characterize interactions with biomolecules.

The broad-spectrum, intermediate intensity of action of the easily synthesized small molecule support further investigation toward identifying a mechanism of action and consideration of incorporating the b-lactone moiety into future antimicrobial agents.