2022 Jepson Research Symposium

Jepson Research Symposium

10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., April 22, 2022 Jepson Hall

About the Jepson Research Symposium The Jepson School of Leadership Studies hosts a symposium each spring to give students an opportunity to showcase their research projects and to recognize students who will earn honors. The event is held in Jepson Hall and includes student exhibits, remarks by faculty who are advising honors students, and a lunch reception.

Schedule of Events 10:30 - 11:30 a.m., Exhibits Jepson Hall 11:30 a.m. - 12 p.m., Remarks by Faculty Advisors Heilig-Meyers Lounge 12 - 1 p.m., Lunch Reception Jepson Faculty Lounge

Ahsan Suheer Ahmad & Matt Barnes First-Person Shooter Games and Leadership Collaborative Study Advisor: Dr. Kristin Bezio

This collaborative study looks at the intersection of first-person shooter video games and leadership.

Specifically, it considers the effects of several game mechanics on communication and cooperation in games.

Matt Barnes The Gamification of Well-Being Honors Thesis Advisor: Dr. Kristin Bezio

This thesis explores the effect of motivation design patterns on exercise motivation, as well as the ethical implications of gamification.

Will Brooks Crime Pays: How Black Americans Became Central to the Carceral State Honors Thesis Advisor: Dr. Julian Hayter

This thesis examines how Black Americans have been intentionally criminalized at moments of ostensible social progress. This legacy of intentional criminalization of minority communities has created the perception that African Americans are innately criminal and given rise to a prisonindustrial complex that now depends on Black bodies. Now, predictive-policing technology reinforces both perceptions of Black criminality necessary for the justification of the carceral state and the survival and expansion of the prison-industrial complex.

Oona Elovaara The Cultural Significance of Hip-Hop Artists in the Television and Movie Industry Independent Study Advisor: Dr. Kristin Bezio

This project studies successful hip-hop artists who have transitioned into television and film careers and why their careers help increase representation within the entertainment industry. The study explores the cultural contributions of hip-hop artists, how they resist societal expectations of what an actor or actress should look like or where they should come from, and how their music or work in television serves as acts of leadership for other artists who come after them.

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Katie Encinas De Donde es Pablo? The Process, Trials, and Findings of Encinas Family Geneology Independent Study Advisor: Dr. Kristin Bezio

This project is a small step toward answering the question, Where do I come from? Using archival records and oral history, I researched the history of my paternal ancestors from Bolivia. I gained insight into the effects immigration, colonization, and social strata had and continue to have on my family.

Megan Geher The Effect of Rhetoric on the Public Progressive Health Care Plans Honors Thesis Advisor: Dr. Thad Williamson

This honors thesis project combines a content analysis and an experiment that explores the impact of rhetorical strategies on how Americans view different health care plans. I looked at the failure of the Clinton administration’s health care plan and the success of the Obama administration’s health care plan and then analyzed the impact of rhetoric on how these two plans played out. Then I conducted an experiment in the form of a survey to see if people perceive different prominent strategies in different ways.

Haley Huamani The Impact of Calls to Action Regarding Factory Farming on Consumer Behavior and Attitudes Honors Thesis Advisor: Dr. Haley Harwell

This project focuses on the role and the impact of a call to action to consumers in the context of factory farming. Factory farming has a negative impact on the environment, human health, and animal welfare, but this can be hard for consumers to accept. This research aims to understand whether what we ask of consumers will affect their acceptance of this problem and their meatconsumption behaviors.

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Meredith Johnson Leadership and the Arts: How Artists Utilize Public Art as Tools of Revisionist History Collaborative Study Advisor: Dr. Peter Kaufman

I curated a course outline for a leadership and the arts class (LDST 103), which will focus on the intersection of public art, history, activism, and community engagement. This course will touch on ideas of autonomy, authority, and the dichotomy between leadership and followership through the analysis of art installations and institutions. It will take advantage of the city of Richmond’s abundant history and art culture to provide experiential learning to students.

Ilana Lavine, Caroline DeVita, Anna Marston, Samara Rosen, & Yulia Shatalov Responding to Leadership Failure: Does Race or Gender Matter?

Collaborative Study Advisor: Dr. Crystal Hoyt

We examined themes central to how followers perceive and evaluate leaders based on their gender and race. Specifically, we looked at how people evaluate leaders of both failing and successful organizations and whether the leaders’ race and/or gender influence these perceptions. In successful organizations, we found that both Asian and white leaders were perceived to be similarly competent, while in failing organizations, white leaders were perceived to be significantly less competent than Asian leaders. These findings contribute to a sparse literature examining perceptions of Asian leadership in the U.S. context.

Anna Marston Double-Edged Sword Effects for Growth Mindsets of Weight but not for Growth Mindsets of Mental Illness Collaborative Study Advisor: Dr. Crystal Hoyt

This work extends our understanding of double-edged sword effects of growth mindsets in stigmatized domains. Namely, we found growth mindsets of weight indirectly have both beneficial and adverse consequences on prejudice, but growth mindsets of mental illness have only beneficial effects, which are driven, in part, by greater compassion associated with mental illness, relative to weight.

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Charlotte Moynihan

Understanding Racial Bias Toward Physicians: The Role of Patients’ Preference for Hierarchy Honors Thesis Advisor: Dr. Crystal Hoyt

Most of the research into bias in health care has historically looked at discrimination toward minority patients, but very little has attempted to understand bias toward minority physicians. Using a vignette study, I found that participants responded differently to Black and white physicians, but there was no difference in how Black and white participants responded to the physicians. Instead of their race, what mattered was participants’ preference for hierarchy. That is, relative to participants who hold egalitarian beliefs, participants who hold anti-egalitarian beliefs perceive a Black physician to be less competent than a white physician. They also report greater anxiety and fewer intentions to adhere to the treatment plan after the imagined interaction with a Black versus white doctor. The effects are not influenced by participants’ race.

Ally Osterberg Does Civic Engagement Predict Moral Behaviors? A Test of Moral Theories Honors Thesis Advisor: Dr. Crystal Hoyt

This thesis researches connections between civic engagement in college students and theories on morality, including moral licensing and moral consistency. The primary goal of this research is to better understand connections between demonstrated good deeds and morality. A secondary goal is to gain a deeper understanding of connections between civic engagement and leadership schemas.

Olivia Podber

Coercion or Influence: Ethical Strategies Leaders Should Use to Increase COVID19 Vaccination Uptake Honors Thesis Advisor: Dr. Terry Price

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to millions of cases and deaths around the world, persists, in large part, due to vaccine hesitancy. Through interrogating the harm principle and exploring ethical justifications of influence, this thesis seeks to determine justifiable strategies leaders should use to increase COVID-19 vaccination uptake.

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Alex Swift

Implications of a Central Business District on Opportunity Zones Independent Study Advisor: Dr. Jessica Flanigan

Due to decreasing inter-generational mobility in America, opportunity zones were established as part of a law intended to promote economic advancement and job creation in low-income communities. I measured the effectiveness of opportunity zones and offered an analysis of the potential sociopolitical factors and economic policy keeping poor neighborhoods in their place across generations.

Kayla Woods

The Impacts of Segregation and Desegregation Policies on Academic Achievements of Black Students in Delaware Public Schools Honors Thesis Advisor: Dr. Olga Chykina

This research looks at the educational outcomes and experiences of two generations of students that attended Delaware Public Schools: The older generation graduated in the1980s and early 1990s during a time when Delaware Public Schools were integrated due to a federally enforced desegregation plan. The younger generation graduated between 2015-2020 during a period of resegregation. Through interviews and data analysis, I sought to identify the effects of integration, interracial friendships, and, more specifically, cultural capital transfer and acquisition on educational outcomes.

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