Breakout Session III

SESSION 3-A

Teaching Historical Research at a Two Year College
John Ball, Ph.D., Hillsborough Community College

In this presentation I will discuss the challenges for teaching research for first and second year students based on three semesters of teaching Honors history classes built around a research focus. I will go over the skills included under the blanket idea of research, how the course was structured to support students while guiding them through advanced skills, how to grade fairly, and finally the outcomes and student successes. It focuses on historical research, but the concerns and teaching skills are applicable to a broad range of disciplines.

Session 3-B

Detection Probability of the Herpetofauna Community in the Peruvian Amazon
Alexander Marsh, Florida Gulf Coast University

Less than 18% of snake species and less than 16% of lizard species globally have been assessed for conservation status. This is because many species are difficult to sample. Consequently, population monitoring using mark-recapture is not effective for many species because recapture rates are near 0. Instead, occupancy modeling using presence-absence data has been applied to distinguish imperfect detection from absence. This study documents the presence of new species within the Santa Cruz Forest Reserve.

Okinawan Resilience & Resistance: The U.S. Military's Impact on the Indigenous Culture in the Post-WWII Era
Eden Davenport, University of Tampa

The presentation will focus on the research question of how the U.S. military's presence in Okinawa, Japan has influenced local culture and politics in the post-World War II era. Throughout the presentation, I will detail the outline of my research process and how through second-hand, historical sources I was able to draw a conclusion on how Okinawan culture has faced erasure from the Japan-U.S. alliance. I plan to explain the discoveries of how Okinawa has faced continued cultural oppression and adversity as a former colony under a world superpower, and how the indigenous heritage has persisted into modern times.

Everglades National Park’s Historical Impact on Native American Land Rights in South Florida
Katherine Ryan, Florida Gulf Coast University

While most Everglades National Park literature discusses the environment, research has overlooked key questions regarding Everglades National Park and twentieth-century Florida history. How did Seminole rights change following the park’s establishment, and how did its establishment influence the economy? My research argues that as a result of establishing Everglades National Park, Miccosukee and Seminole people experienced changes to land use rights that affected their legal sovereignty and economic opportunities in South Florida.

SESSION 3-C

Title VII Civil Rights Act 1964: The Numerosity Requirement of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Katy Nadira, University of West Florida

Title VII was created to protect employees from being discriminated against by their employers. It specifically holds businesses that have more than 15 employees liable if one of their employees is sexually harassed. By reviewing the origins of the numerosity requirement, analyzing cases dismissed, and reviewing current articles on the topic, this research will determine the impact of this limit. We will discuss the potential impact on victims and small businesses if this limit is removed.

Inspiring Vision for College
Helen Tran, Hillsborough Community College

At some point in our lives, we each had concerns about entering college. Whether it was financial, social, or career choices, many of us sought someone to guide us on where to start and where to go for information and inspiration. In an Honors Leadership Course, my group had the opportunity to give back to our community by helping high school students to become more prepared and informed for college.

SESSION 3-D

Intercultural Communication
Julia-Cristina Rusu, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

Intercultural Communication Honors Module contributed to my awareness related to the limits of communication, both verbal and non-verbal, in an international setting. For my case model project, I interviewed a Dutch medical specialist (psychiatrist), and analyzed the practices applied using Hofstede’s dimensions and drew a comparison between Dutch and Romanian best practices of medical treatment. My case findings can be found: (https://mtpdculture.org/category/cases/psychiatry/). Finally, I learned to develop healthy and interesting connections with people from several cultures, by perceiving actions and messages objectively rather than interpreting them based on my own cultural assumptions. If you wish to know more about Intercultural Communication tools, please join this presentation.

Hidden Identity Patterns & Processes in Young Adults
Emma Leonardo Solórzano, Florida Atlantic University

The study to be discussed, Identity Development in Early Adulthood, was a study conducted among a group of young adults that documented their identity development as they aged. The research confirmed that identity stability is progressive as maturity increases and provided new data on 20 paths of identity development in emerging adults with stable identities. The new findings have a wide-range of applications for future studies and provide a template for socially conscious young adults.

The 2020 Belarusian Protests - Why Should America Care?
Michael Berg, Florida Atlantic University

In Belarus, an eastern European country of about nine million people, average citizens have spent the past five months protesting against the presidential elections, which have given the authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, a sixth term in office. Though over 30,000 people have been detained for peaceful protests, most Americans don’t even know where Belarus is. Why is this, and why is it important to care about this struggle for democracy in this country?

Session 3-E

Reimagining the Honors Symposium: From in-person to remote
Brooke Wheeler, Nancy Garmer, Kelly van Woesik, Florida Institute of Technology

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated changes in how we gather, present, and discuss our research. This presentation outlines the process, challenges, and faculty and student perspectives in shifting from an in-person Honors Research Symposium scheduled for April 2020, to an online format. Looking beyond the pandemic, we forecast how these lessons can improve scholarship in honors colleges and explore future plans for the Honors Symposium.

Flywheels as a Viable Form of Energy Storage for our Future
Morgan Frost, Valencia College

Renewable Energy Supplies are on the rise, but with them is the issue of production fluctuations. A way to mitigate this is by using Energy Storage Systems. One promising form is that of Flywheel Energy Storage, which shows characteristics such as potentially low costs and general robustness. In this report, a look into FES is presented, along with benefits they could bring, comparisons to other ESS, and potential applications for the future.