What is Thinking Matters?
Innovative teaching and creative work – whether in a classroom, in a lab or in a studio – are the heart of any dynamic university culture. At theUniversity of Southern Maine, it is showcased at Thinking Matters, a one-day, once-a-year conference, that is a capstone that reflects what's going on all year long in departments all across campus. It promotes the high quality student-faculty research collaborations and opportunities available to both graduate and undergraduate students. Learn More about Thinking Matters
Presentations from 2021
Child Welfare Service Worker's Perspective of the Juvenile Justice System, Valorie Antone, Kathryn Whitehead, Alexander Comeau, and Zoe Donvan
A Comparison of Patriarchal vs. Feminist Courtesan Novels in Late 19th Century French Literature, Nicole Araujo
Timing Comparisons Across American Sign Language And English, Jillian Bartlett
How Genetics Plays A Role In Avian Migration, Tyler Bauersfeld
Shifting the Paradigm: Youth Leadership at Maine Seeds of Peace, Dylan Bell
Color-Sound Conditioning and Affective Changes, Elizabeth Bernier
Indigenous Experiences of Social Services, Oaklin Blaisdell, Haley West, Sammy Ellie MacKinnon, and Brianna White
Design of a Constant Volume Combustion Chamber, John Bono, Collin Gould, and Scott Eaton
Sedan Performance/Economy Rear Diffuser, Jacob Boucher Koris
Opioid Use and Harm Reduction, Elise Bourassa, David Lee, Jason Rogers, and Christian Silverthorne
East Germany and its unheard of skeletons in the closet- Generational trauma and sexualized violence in the GDR, Nadine Bravo
Impact of Group Prenatal Care on Health Outcomes for Women of Color in the United States: A Systematic Literature Review, Morgan Brockington, Emily Bauer, and Julie Kameisha
Importance of Understanding Genetic Predisposition, Andrew Carter
Microprocessor Coding For Biometric Device, Christopher A. Chappie and Connor J. Pittman
Nitinol Robotic Arm, Brandon Cousino and Connor Sweatt
Effects of Oxidative Stress on the Astaxanthin Biosynthesis Pathway of Haematococcus pluvialis, Rachel Cray
The Impacts of Social Media Sites such as Instagram and Facebook on Emerging Adult’s perceptions of Self-esteem and Body Satisfaction, Wynne Cushing, Samantha Shandorf, Courtney Piccirillo, and Abby Frazier
MEMS Directional Acoustic Sensors, Colby Damren
Cold temperature and host-parasite dynamics of Sarcophaga bullata (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) and Melittobia digitata (Hymentoptera: Eulophidae), Elizabeth Davis
Memory and Emotional Estrangement in James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues", Robin Davis
Marketing Menstruation: Female Hysteria and Sexism, Taylor Day
Soil salinity and the occurrence of invasive Phragmites australis in Scarborough Marsh, Anthony DeVecchis
Perceptions About Expatriate Leaders in Tanzanian Non-Governmental Organizations: Elevating Local Voices, Seth Diemond
Interactive Machine Learning Methods for the Quantification of Vascular Features in Soybean Images Obtained via Laser Ablation Tomography (LATscan), Berkeley Elias, Asheesh Lanba PhD, Jose Costa Netto, Felix Fritschi PhD, and Abraham George Smith
The Magic of Picture Story Books: Read-Alouds for Memory Loss Patients, Kacey Foerster
Design, Simulation and Testing of Biomimetic Directional Acoustic Sensors, Brendan Francis
Tension In Acoustic Guitar Strings Laboratory, John Gaudet
Black-Capped Chickadee (Parus atricapillus) Food Preference, Isabelle Gilbert
Understanding How NIMBY-ism Shapes Portland, Maine’s Homeless Policies: A Qualitative Study, Eleanor Ginder
Impact of Viewing Fatphobic Messages on Facebook in Generation X, Emily Gobi, Anna Biasin, and Emily Baronfeld
The Relationship of Grit to Academic Improvement of College Students on Academic Probation, Helen Gorgas Goulding
The Division of Paid and Unpaid Labor During the Pandemic, Hannah D. Gorham
The Lived Experiences of Student Nurses’ Altered Clinical due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Kerry Gray
Access to Quality Childcare, Diane Hancock
Journey to Portland: A Qualitative Study on the Experience of new Mainers from Africa, Johanna Hattan
Application for User-Defined Ambient Audio Analysis, Daniel Hayes and Nathan E. Soule
Imagining Others, Emma Henson
The Experiences of Staff working with Immigrant Students Who Have Experienced Trauma, Paula Hernandez, Jessica McCaffrey, and Gabby Poulin
The Evolution of Mimicry; The Doublesex Gene, Aisha Hill
The Effects of Authentic Leadership on Creative Performance and Innovation in Modern-Day Entrepreneurship, Nicole Holbrook
Consumer Food Waste Behaviors in Relation to Open Date Label Misinterpretation, Daniel Hutchings, Elisabeth Seliga, Anya O'Meara, and Anna Blank
Vibration of Beams under Moving Loads, Larissa Ishimwe
Changes in Gene Sequence that Cause Discordances Involving Disease in Monozygotic Twins, Kacie Jacques
COVID-19 Gender/Sex Reporting Practices, Kai Jillson
Saturated lipid-induced changes in the lipidomic signature and structure of caveolae, Dawood Jimale
Modern Interpretations of the International Space Treaty: The Future of International Space Relations, Jourdan Johnson
Inherited Bone-Marrow Failure Syndrome, James Joseph
Redefining Power: The legacy of struggle and survival of Black Women and girls to change social systems, Sandra Jose
Study of the effects of CTHRC1, a protein involved in tissue repair, on the expression of energy metabolism enzymes, Deepak Kandel
Women in STEM: Exploring the Stereotypes, Doaa Khalil
