Research Symposium Research Articles

A Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

Dear Readers,
 2014 proved to be an instrumental year for the growth and total revitalization of the Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal. Our associate editors, CEO and myself looked forward to recruiting a new editorial board made up of underclassmen and building strong relationships with these editors through weekly workshops and event planning meetings. I am especially proud of our board’s commitment to building strong relationships; what was once a journal that lacked mentorship opportunities has now blossomed into a tight-knit community of aspiring researchers who value the power of quality writing.
 A highlight of our events this past year was our Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium, which was held on April 20th, 2014. 22 research posters were presented by students from colleges across the Northeast Region. It was delightful to feel the passion from each of these students as they talked about their research, and we look forward to hosting the symposium again on April 26th, as we have expanded the event to include 30 posters.
 
 Looking at this year’s journal, I am also proud to see the various authors and research that we have been blessed to exhibit. For the first time, our editors have been given the opportunity to publish in the journal through our editorials section. We are thrilled to provide these fresh perspectives on scientific research to our audience and hope to continue this practice in future journals. In addition, the multi-page papers in this journal showcase the breadth of scientific research that our organization promotes. I sincerely hope that you enjoy the articles.
 All in all, the Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal has made major progress over the past year. “Stability leads to legitimacy” has been our mantra this academic year, and our e-board has provided the stability needed to give meaningful experiences for our editorial board and a quality publication for our readers. Thank you for your continued support. It has been an honor to serve as the Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal for this past year.
 – Ritish Patnaik

Pioneering visions for access and equity in dance education: inaugural symposium of the arnhold institute

ABSTRACT This article describes the inaugural symposium of the Arnhold Institute for Dance Education Research, Policy & Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City (USA). Titled ‘Pioneering Visions for Access and Equity in Dance Education,’ the symposium focused on seminal Black and African-American histories that, though they have largely been ignored, have shaped the field of dance and dance education at Teachers College and beyond. Four guest scholars presented research examining over one hundred years of history. The essay provides historical context for the symposium, a summary of the presentations, and reflections on the importance of this symposium for future research and educational policy.

The Academic Boycott of Israel: Juxtaposing Academic Freedom and Human Rights in International Relations

ABSTRACT This article juxtaposes the principle of academic freedom with the call for an academic boycott of Israel to advance Palestinian human rights. It examines the controversy surrounding a conference that took place at Stellenbosch University in South Africa in 2018, where an Israeli delegation was disinvited from presenting a research symposium following calls for an academic boycott. The article is an analysis of the media responses of academic leaders, activists, and social commentators in Israel and South Africa to the cancellation of the Israeli symposium at the conference. The argument advanced is that scholarship is influenced, facilitated and restrained by political systems, and that the academy is more accurately viewed as a political space where some wield power while others do not. The case is made that universities and academic conferences function as a consequence of historical and political forces and reflect the challenges with which states constantly engage.

Characterizing Student-Driven Research Investigations Contributed to the GLOBE Program Citizen Science Initiative in a Formal Education Context

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program offers citizen science opportunities to participants of all ages, with a focus on youth in formal classroom contexts. This study uses student investigation research reports and posters submitted to the 2018 International Virtual Science Symposium (IVSS) and Student Research Symposium (SRS) as testbeds for characterizing student-driven Earth system citizen science investigations. Secondarily, this study aimed to capture GLOBE’s alignment to existing citizen science outcomes frameworks in the literature, which have primarily focused on adults and non-formal settings. Based on a literature review, the evaluation team identified 89 potential characteristics in 27 categories to typify investigations from both formal education and citizen science perspectives. We coded the artifacts from 207 student projects, conducted quantitative analysis of frequencies, and performed a semantic network analysis. By using this networking approach, we conceptually mapped several clusters of co-occurring characteristics, defining a descriptive framework for GLOBE projects. We identified three tiers of citizen science projects, increasing in the sophistication of participants’ demonstrated science practices. The framework includes additional components that reflect student citizen scientists’ thoughtfulness and connection to context as well as their projects’ reflection of their motivation and self-efficacy. Through these findings, we have identified areas where student citizen scientists would benefit from further support, and suggest here further research to incorporate the experiences of students into the broader understanding of citizen science outcomes.

Using Open Access Institutional Repositories to Save the Student Symposium during the COVID-19 Pandemic

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities around the world were forced to close or move to online instruction. Many institutions host yearly student research symposiums. This article describes how two universities used their institutional repositories to adapt their student research symposiums to virtual events in a matter of weeks. Both universities use the bepress Digital Commons platform for their institutional repositories. Even though the two universities’ symposium strategies differed, some commonalities emerged, particularly with regard to learning the best practices to highlight student work and support their universities’ efforts to host research symposiums virtually.

Society for Education and the Advancement of Research in Connected Health Abstracts SEARCH 2021 – The National Telehealth Research Symposium November 8–10, 2021 Virtual Meeting

Society for Education and the Advancement of Research in Connected Health Abstracts SEARCH 2021 – The National Telehealth Research Symposium November 8–10, 2021 Virtual Meeting

Society for Education and the Advancement of Research in Connected Health Abstracts SEARCH 2021 ‐ The National Telehealth Research Symposium

Telemedicine and e-HealthVol. 28, No. 4 Abstract Author IndexSociety for Education and the Advancement of Research in Connected Health Abstracts SEARCH 2021 ‐ The National Telehealth Research SymposiumPublished Online:19 Apr 2022https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2022.29070.abstracts.indexAboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail View articleFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 28Issue 4Apr 2022 InformationCopyright 2022, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishersTo cite this article:Society for Education and the Advancement of Research in Connected Health Abstracts SEARCH 2021 ‐ The National Telehealth Research Symposium.Telemedicine and e-Health.Apr 2022.A-36-A-38.http://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2022.29070.abstracts.indexPublished in Volume: 28 Issue 4: April 19, 2022Online Ahead of Print:March 15, 2022PDF download

Evidence attack in public health: Diverse actors’ experiences with translating controversial or misrepresented evidence in health policy and systems research

ABSTRACT Bringing evidence into policy and practice discussions is political; more so when evidence from health studies or programme data are deemed controversial or unexpected, or when results are manipulated and misrepresented. Furthermore, opinion and misinformation in recent years has challenged our notions about how to achieve evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM). Health policy and systems (HPS) researchers and practitioners are battling misrepresentation that only serves to detract from important health issues or, worse, benefit powerful interests. This paper describes cases of politically and socially controversial evidence presented by researchers, practitioners and journalists during the Health Systems Research Symposium 2020. These cases cut across global contexts and range from public debates on vaccination, comprehensive sexual education, and tobacco to more inward debates around performance-based financing and EIDM in refugee policy. The consequences of engaging in controversial research include threats to commercial profit, perceived assaults on moral beliefs, censorship, fear of reprisal, and infodemics. Consequences for public health include research(er) hesitancy, contribution to corruption and leakage, researcher reflexivity, and ethical concerns within the HPS research and EIDM fields. Recommendations for supporting researchers, practitioners and advocates include better training and support structures for responding to controversy, safe spaces for sharing experiences, and modifying incentive structures.

Feyerabend on the Quantum Theory of Measurement: A Reassessment

ABSTRACT In 1957, Feyerabend delivered a paper titled ‘On the Quantum-Theory of Measurement’ at the Colston Research Symposium in Bristol to sketch a completion of von Neumann's measurement scheme without collapse, using only unitary quantum dynamics and well-motivated statistical assumptions about macroscopic quantum systems. Feyerabend's paper has been recognised as an early contribution to quantum measurement, anticipating certain aspects of decoherence. Our paper reassesses the physical and philosophical content of Feyerabend's contribution, detailing the technical steps as well as its overall philosophical motivations and consequences. Summarising our results, Feyerabend interpreted collapse as a positivist assumption in quantum mechanics leading to a strict distinction between the uninterpreted formalism of unitary evolution in quantum mechanics and the classically interpreted observational language describing post-measurement outcomes. Thus Feyerabend took the no-collapse completion of the von Neumann measurement scheme to show the dispensability of the positivist assumption, leading the way to a realistic interpretation of quantum theory. We note, however, that there are substantial problems with his account of measurement that bring into question its viability as a legitimate foil to the orthodox view. We further argue that his dissatisfaction with the von Neumann measurement scheme is indicative of early views on theoretical pluralism.

La tablature de luth allemande et les problèmes d’édition

Kurt Dorfmüller's essay is from Le luth et sa musique, a volume of proceedings from the 1957 research symposium of the same name that gathered a number of eminent scholars at the beginning of the modern era of lute scholarship and performance revival. In it, he inquires into the unique nature of German lute tablature, its mostly latent capacity for expressing polyphony, and the types of music for which it is more or less suited. He ends by proposing a set of guidelines for establishing a "mainstream practice" for transcription not only from German tablature but also from tablature in general. Appended to the essay is a transcript of the short discussion following the delivery of Dorfmüller's original paper at the symposium for which it was prepared. Notes This article was originally published in French as “La tablature de luth allemande et les problèmes d’édition,” in Le luth et sa musique: Neuilly-sur-Seine, 10–14 septembre 1957, ed. Jean Jaquot (Paris: C.N.R.S., 1958), 145–57. The translation is by Ellwood Colahan.

The War in Ukraine: Rethinking Values in Communications

This material is submitted for discussion on the pages of the journal. It has the status of a working version, a draft of a possible article, a preprint. Anyone can participate in the discussion by submitting their materials with a link to this material in the "Discussions" section of the following issues. The author of the same material, in the case of writing a scientific article, must make a reference to his material, which he submitted for discussion. The draft article is devoted to the online speech by the author at The 29th International Public Relations Research Symposium (BledCom) (Slovenia) on July 1, 2022 (https://www.bledcom.com/com/copy-of-bledcom-2022-to-introduce-hybrid-conference-access). Speaking on the topic the author expounded on the various dimensions of communication evident at various venues and among various stakeholders since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th.

Promoting Scientific Exchange and Student Training Through Scientific Meetings; Insights from a Joint Virtual Undergraduate Neuroscience Conference During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Participation in scientific conferences is a fundamental part of neuroscience and student training. Many conference opportunities have been cancelled, limited, or changed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper is a conference report from a joint virtual 2021 meeting of two regional undergraduate neuroscience conferences, the Midwest/Great Lakes Undergraduate Research Symposium in Neuroscience (mGluRs) and the Midwest Regional Neuroscience Conference (MidBrains). We discuss our conference planning logistics, benefits and challenges of the virtual conference format, student feedback on the virtual meeting, additional benefits of a joint meeting, and "take home" messages and considerations for future conferences. We hope insights from our experience can benefit future conference organizers in planning scientific conferences, both for in-person and virtual settings.

Eighth Report of the Hands-on Seminar on Basic Research for Clinicians at the 60th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Rhinologic Society and the 20th Asian Research Symposium in Rhinology

日本鼻科学会では，鼻科学会会員を対象とした『鼻科基礎ハンズオンセミナー』を2014年より開催している。鼻科基礎ハンズオンセミナーは，研究技術の向上や研究に対するモチベーションの向上，そして各施設間の研究を通じた横断的連携を図る目的で企画された。本セミナーは，基礎研究を行っている全国の各施設の医師より構成されている。今回で8回目となる本セミナーを第60回日本鼻科学会総会・学術講演会，第20回Asian Research Symposium in Rhinology（大津）において企画した。今年度は，①ヒト気道上皮細胞・線維芽細胞の培養法～ヒト鼻粘膜を用いた基礎実験に繋げる～，②蛍光免疫染色法による鼻腔組織評価の実践，③非脱灰硬組織凍結切片作製法の手技の基本とポイント，④鼻腔組織からのRNA抽出およびquantitative PCR解析，をテーマとし，①②は例年どおり会場で直接手技を実演，指導する形式で行ったが，COVID-19の蔓延により，③④は事前に収録した動画を放映した。参加者に対するセミナー後のアンケート調査において，「本セミナーに満足した」，「今後の継続を望む」という意見を得ている。本セミナーは本邦から発信する基礎鼻科学の新知見に直結する有意義なセミナーと考えられた。

Illustrated Protocols to Improve Undergraduate Student Research Independence.

One big challenge for undergraduate research students is gaining independence in the laboratory. In this curricular project, undergraduate students transformed research protocols developed for experienced scientists into protocols understandable to someone new to a laboratory. This process enabled themselves and other students to more quickly learn and master new techniques and advance to independent projects. Typically, students started with an original research protocol that assumed basic knowledge, such as instructions that came with a kit (i.e. plasmid purification kit instructions). Students created notes that explained the purpose of each step and reagent and provided example calculations. Then students illustrated the protocols with photos of materials needed, equipment used, action shots of difficult steps and screenshots of software programs. This approach has been used by students in laboratory courses and by new independent research students learning laboratory techniques. In the laboratory courses where students contributed to this project as part of a writing assignment, additional professional experience was gained by presenting a talk about their completed Illustrated Protocols to their classmates and by creating group posters that were presented at an undergraduate research symposium. After completion of this activity, undergraduate students gained confidence by applying their new knowledge to create user-friendly protocols. Students reported increased understanding of what is happening in each step, while instructors reported increased student independence and confidence that the protocol was being applied correctly and consistently. Thus, designing Illustrated Protocols enhanced learning and independence for the students creating the protocol and provided valuable help for future students.

Искусственный интеллект для науки и наука для искусственного интеллекта

In 2016, Hiroaki Kitano proposed that artificial intelligence (AI) will be able to overcome a number of human cognitive limitations that slow down the process of scientific discovery [Kitano 2016 web]. Since then, the odds of AI being awarded the Nobel Prize have been widely discussed, particularly within aca­demic community [Engineering for Research Symposium web 2020]. At the AI Journey 2021 conference, some renowned representatives of four scientific dis­ciplines (physics, mathematics, neurobiology, philosophy) discussed this issue and then co-authored this article [AI 2021 web]. In the first part of our paper, we critically analyze the role of AI technologies in natural science research: how useful they can be for fundamental science, what the potential of AI in natural and exact sciences is, and what principal limitations it has. Another part of our article discusses a counter-question of what science can do for the future re­search into AI. Today, it is impossible to imagine machine learning without lin­ear algebra, physics of materials, and brain research. All this falls under what is now commonly referred to as AI, a general umbrella term [Russel, Norvig 2021]. Thus, having served the birth of AI once, how can physics, mathematics, and neuroscience serve it today?

Abstracts : Annual Research Symposium 2021 - Postgraduate Institute of Medicine 21st November 2021 (via zoom platform)

The Journal of the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine (JPGIM) is an open access, peer-reviewed, biannual journal published by the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM) of the University of Colombo (UOC), Sri Lanka. The JPGIM aims to publish articles relevant to clinicians, policymakers, and researchers on topics relating to the practice of medicine, medical education, professionalism, integrity, and ethics of the research enterprise. The JPGIM has been in publication since 2014 and publishes accepted manuscripts online immediately after copy-editing, enabling rapid dissemination of scientific knowledge. The published articles are compiled into two issues in June and December.The Journal practices a double-blind peer review policy. The JPIGM does not charge any article processing or publication fee.We recommend that you review the About the Journal page for the journal's section policies, as well as the Submission Guidelines. Authors need to register with the journal prior to submitting or, if already registered, can simply log in and begin the five-step process.

THE ORGANISATION OF RESEARCH IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHER PREPARATION IN THE US UNIVERSITIES

Although research has been shown to expedite the professional growth and development of prospective specialists, less is known about the effective world practices in undergraduate and graduate research that could be applied in Ukrainian language teacher education. The present article explores the characteristics of student resear ch in US foreign language teacher education. The study focused on the analysis of academic literature, normative resources and the practical experience of language teacher preparation with the aim of extrapolating good practices into the Ukrainian system of language teacher education. It was shown that student research integrates didactic approaches with elements of creative activity, individual research projects, culminating projects, the study of specialised disciplines, individual and group scientific inquiry, not included in the curricula of educational programmes. The organisational forms of the latter are research symposia, seminars, workshops, conferences, preparation of scientific publications and some others. Among the central tasks of undergraduate and graduate research is the preparation of highly qualified, autonomous specialists, who are capable of accumulating and generating scientific knowledge, skillful application of professional knowledge in approaching the task of teaching; familiarising students with the methodology for organising and conducting research in the field of foreign language education; increasing motivation for scientific inquiry and professional development, intensification of learning; promotion of critical and reflective thinking, professional self-identification and self-realisation; stimulating the need for continuous self-development; implementation of individualisation and differentiation principles in language teacher education; replenishment of the cohort of scientific and pedagogical staff. The research competence is developed through diverse didactic forms and approaches; it is characterised mainly by electiveness at the undergraduate level and is a mandatory component of the graduate programmes’ curricula in foreign language teacher education.

Policy Series/ESPO and Social Research, Policy, and Practice Section Symposium: It’s a Practice, Not an End State: Centering Equity in Gerontological Research and Policy

Social, economic, and health inequities shape the experience of aging, reflecting a landscape of unequal resources, opportunities, and stressors that accumulate over the life-course. These inequities are not accidental, but rather reflect systems of power that act through institutions, policies, and people to simultaneously privilege some groups and disadvantage others based on socially constructed categories. These systems include, but are not limited to, racism, ageism, and capitalism. The unequal and unjust distribution of resources and opportunities over the lifespan results in health, social, and economic disparities in older adulthood. For example, Black older adults are at higher risk of experiencing chronic disease burden and shorter life expectancy than white older adults due to greater economic disinvestment, interpersonal and systemic racial discrimination, and lower health services access over the life course. This symposium features three leading scholars whose work centers racial and health equity in later life. The symposium will engage with issues related to long-term services and supports infrastructure, community-engaged and culturally relevant programs and education, and research activities (e.g., recruitment, study design, grant writing, dissemination). Panelists will also discuss their research agendas and recent scholarship, career trajectories, insights, and practices. We hope symposium attendees will identify opportunities and strategies for focusing on elimination of health disparities across the life-course in their own work. We believe this symposium can serve as an opportunity for SRPP members and emerging scholars and practitioners to center equity, highlight intersectionality, and amplify our colleagues at the forefront of addressing inequity through their work.

Cannabinoid Cancer Biology and Prevention.

Plant-based, synthetic, and endogenous cannabinoids have been shown to control a diverse array of biological processes, including regulation of cell fate across cancers. Their promise as broad-based antitumor agents in preclinical models has led to the initiation of pilot clinical trials. Session 5 of the National Cancer Institute's Cannabis, Cannabinoids and Cancer Research Symposium provides an overview of this research topic. Overall, the presentations highlight cannabinoid signal transduction and specific molecular mechanisms underlying cannabinoid antitumor activity. They also demonstrate the broad-based antitumor activity of the plant-based, synthetic, and endogenous cannabinoid compounds. Importantly, evidence is presented demonstrating when cannabinoids may be contraindicated as a treatment for cancer, as in the case of human papilloma virus-meditated oropharynx cancer or potentially other p38 MAPK pathway-driven cancers. Finally, it is discussed that a key to advancing cannabinoids into the clinic is to conduct well-designed, large-scale clinical trials to determine whether cannabinoids are effective antitumor agents in cancer patients.

The Management of Cancer Symptoms and Treatment-Induced Side Effects With Cannabis or Cannabinoids.

Cannabis and cannabinoids are increasingly being accessed and used by patients with advanced cancer for various symptoms and general quality of life. Specific symptoms of pain, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite and cachexia, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and medical trauma are among those that have prompted patients with cancer to use cannabis. This conference report from the National Cancer Institute's "Cannabis, Cannabinoid and Cancer Research Symposium" on the topic of "Cancer Symptom/Treatment Side Effect Management" is an expert perspective of cannabis intervention for cancer and cancer treatment-related symptoms. The purpose of the symposium was to identify research gaps, describe the need for high-quality randomized prospective studies of medical cannabis for palliative care in patients with cancer, and evaluate the impact of medical cannabis on cancer survivors' quality of life. Further, education of clinicians and affiliated health-care providers in guiding cancer patients in using cannabis for cancer care would benefit patients. Together, these steps will further aid in refining the use of cannabis and cannabinoids for symptom palliation and improve safety and efficacy for patients.