Author: Matthew

Effects of Soil Warming on Woodland Salamanders (David Marsh)

Remote: this project is scheduled to begin on 6/2/2025 and run for 10 weeks, finishing on 8/8/2025.

Project Description

The goal of our project is to study how salamander behavior and habitat use is altered by soil warming. This study will take place within the Prospect Hill Soil Warming Experiment at Harvard Forest in Western MA, where students will live and work. The experiment consists of 18, 6m x 6m plots – 6 which are experimentally warmed with heating cable buried in the soil, 6 disturbance controls where cables are buried but not turned on, and 6 controls with no heating apparatus. We will survey 3-6 plots per night during periods of salamander activity. During these surveys we will catch salamanders and note their location of capture, as well as their height above the forest floor (e.g. if they are climbing) and their body temperature. The following morning, we will collect data on salamander weight and size, how many eggs they are carrying, and we will individually mark them with small colored dots injected beneath the skin. We will then release them at the site of capture. Over the course of the summer, we can determine if salamanders forage more frequently or over wider areas in the warmed plots. In addition, we can determine whether salamanders in the warmed plots are able to reduce their body temperatures by foraging higher up on vegetation. Finally, be analyzing recaptures between the beginning and the end of the study period, we can determine whether growth is reduced on the experimental plots. Students will participate in all of the day-to-day activities of the project, including fine-tuning of methodology, data collection, and analysis. Students should be comfortable working in the field, getting wet, and handling live amphibians.

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Prerequisites

completion of Field Herpetology is preferred

Special Comments

Students will be in residence at Harvard Forest field station in Western MA

Project Information (subject to change)

Estimated Start Date: 6/2/2025

Estimated End Date: 8/8/2025

Estimated Project Duration: 10 weeks

Maximum Number of Students Sought: 2

Research Location: Remote

Contact Information: David Marsh (email: marshd@wlu.edu)

Globalization and Inequality: A Critical Assessment (Michael Anderson)

On campus: this project is scheduled to begin on 6/2/2025 and run for 10 weeks, finishing on 8/8/2025.

Project Description

This summer my co-author (Stephen Smith, Hope College) and I will take on a new research project, one that examines the relationship between globalization (trade and migration) and income inequality. The voluminous and growing literature on this topic has striking conclusions, including new evidence that a “China shock” (the name given to China’s sudden and large volume of exports to the U.S.) lowers the wages of unskilled U.S. workers. The previous consensus was that trade played a relatively minor role in creating U.S. wage inequality, with skill-biased technological change bearing most of the blame. This recent evidence has rekindled the debate on the trade-and-inequality nexus, as well as a reexamination of migration’s role in affecting wages. Our work this summer will be preliminary to a book proposal. Our goal is to synthesize and critically evaluate the evidence linking globalization to inequality.

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Prerequisites

Successful completion of Econ 203, Econometrics, is desired. In addition, a successful candidate will have previous research experience, including experience with the economics literature.

Special Comments

Project Information (subject to change)

Estimated Start Date: 6/2/2025

Estimated End Date: 8/8/2025

Estimated Project Duration: 10 weeks

Maximum Number of Students Sought: 1

Research Location: On campus

Contact Information: Michael Anderson (email: andersonm@wlu.edu)

Detecting Business Communication Patterns Using Machine Learning and LLMs (Lingshu Hu)

Remote: this project is scheduled to begin on 6/2/2025 and run for 10 weeks, finishing on 8/8/2025.

Project Description

This project consists of two studies. The first study explores how DEI-related content shared by firms on Twitter (now X) influences the digital engagement of their customers. Previous research has shown that brand-generated content on social media plays a critical role in marketing success, and our prior study indicates that DEI-related content generally enhances brands’ digital engagement, with this effect moderated by factors such as the political spectrum of their followers and the type of firm. This new project seeks to further investigate the impact of firms’ DEI strategies on Twitter, focusing on variables such as the authenticity, relevance, and emotional-cognitive aspects of DEI-related content. It also examines whether these strategies affect firms’ financial performance. To support this research, we have developed machine learning models to detect DEI-related content and assess the political spectrum of firm followers. We will also develop new models to measure more nuanced concepts such as authenticity and relevance, as well as econometric models to analyze the effects of these communication patterns. The second study investigates how large language models (LLMs) can predict the outcomes of oral communication between sales representatives and customers. It aims to uncover effective strategies in business communication by applying LLMs to identify key cues for successful conversations. Additionally, we plan to build a system to enhance the communication strategies of sales representatives.

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Prerequisites

BUS 202 or equivalent

Special Comments

Project Information (subject to change)

Estimated Start Date: 6/2/2025

Estimated End Date: 8/8/2025

Estimated Project Duration: 10 weeks

Maximum Number of Students Sought: 1

Research Location: Remote

Contact Information: Lingshu Hu (email: lhu@wlu.edu)

Florence As It Was (George Bent)

On campus: this project is scheduled to begin on 6/2/2025 and run for 8 weeks, finishing on 7/25/2025.

Project Description

This project will call upon students to research and write annotations about works of art and architecture produced in Florence from 1300 to 1500. Students will then code these annotations so they may be embedded into 3D models of those objects.

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Prerequisites

Only students who have taken art history courses at W&L will be considered.

Special Comments

Project Information (subject to change)

Estimated Start Date: 6/2/2025

Estimated End Date: 7/25/2025

Estimated Project Duration: 8 weeks

Maximum Number of Students Sought: 2

Research Location: On campus

Contact Information: George Bent (email: bentg@wlu.edu)

Hyperpluralism: The Composition of Organized Interests in the Age of the Internet and Social Media (Brian Alexander)

Hybrid: this project is scheduled to begin on 6/2/2025 and run for 8 weeks, finishing on 7/25/2025.

Project Description

Social media and the internet have changed the nature of special interests and coalitions politics. This project develops a unique data set of organized interests in the era of social media, allowing for empirical tests of the changing nature of power in American politics. Specifically, the data set accounts for the formation of online political coalitions, including the issues, types of activity, and numbers of participants. This data can then be compared to historical data on traditional interest groups and political coalitions.

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Prerequisites

A student should be comfortable with statistical analysis (e.g. multiple regression, a statistical package such as STATA or R) and they should have completed at least some course work in social network analysis. This project will require regressions, SNA, and a desire to improve in using these tools. The project will require very intensive data gathering and subsequent analysis.

Special Comments

The project is part of my book project, where I am developing a theory of political power called “hyperpluralism.” The student will be a partner in developing empirical evidence and proofs of this theory. I will rely on your thoughtfulness and ambition to contribute to this research, which has the potential to be groundbreaking, if we’re successful.

Project Information (subject to change)

Estimated Start Date: 6/2/2025

Estimated End Date: 7/25/2025

Estimated Project Duration: 8 weeks

Maximum Number of Students Sought: 1

Research Location: Hybrid

Contact Information: Brian Alexander (email: alexanderb@wlu.edu)

US Economic History research on two projects related to (1) maternal health and (2) marriage laws (Katharine Shester)

On campus: this project is scheduled to begin on 6/2/2025 and run for 10 weeks, finishing on 8/8/2025.

Project Description

This position offers students the opportunity to work as a research assistant on two projects at different stages of completion. “Maternal Mortality and the Baby Boom” examines the effects of changes in maternal mortality rates on fertility and family formation during the mid-twentieth century. “The Effect of Blood Test Requirements and Marriage Rates in the US” explores the potential effects of state-imposed blood test requirements for marriage on marriage rates in the early to mid-twentieth century. Scholars will engage in a wide range of research activities, including finding, reading, and synthesizing relevant literature from related fields; locating historical documents and data sources; entering, cleaning, and organizing datasets; creating publication-quality tables and figures; and doing preliminary empirical analysis. Students will be involved in all steps of the research process, gaining hands-on experience in empirical research methods and data management. This position will also provide valuable training in Stata, a widely used statistical software in economics and social sciences.

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Prerequisites

Students should have already completed ECON 203 (Econometrics).

Special Comments

Project Information (subject to change)

Estimated Start Date: 6/2/2025

Estimated End Date: 8/8/2025

Estimated Project Duration: 10 weeks

Maximum Number of Students Sought: 2

Research Location: On campus

Contact Information: Katharine Shester (email: shesterk@wlu.edu)

Low Cost Design Techniques to Convert Radio Frequency (RF) Signals into usable DC power sources (Paul Aiken)

On campus: this project is scheduled to begin on 6/30/2025 and run for 6 weeks, finishing on 8/8/2025.

Project Description

Extracting usable power from RF signals involves converting electromagnetic energy into a usable DC form. The following techniques will be explored using components employed in RF energy harvesting systems: 1. Tuned and matched antenna Design to capture RF signals from the environment and converts them into AC voltage. 2. Impedance matching techniques to maximize the power transfer from the antenna to the the rectifier circuit. 3. Rectification of AC signals to convert the captured AC signal into DC power for storage. 4. Voltage multipliers to get usable magnitude for DC voltages.

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Prerequisites

Students should have taken ENGN 295D-01 Analog Circuits and Applications and/or ENGN/PHYS 207 Electrical Circuits.

Special Comments

Project Information (subject to change)

Estimated Start Date: 6/30/2025

Estimated End Date: 8/8/2025

Estimated Project Duration: 6 weeks

Maximum Number of Students Sought: 3

Research Location: On campus

Contact Information: Paul Aiken (email: paiken@wlu.edu)

Composition, Music Engraving, and Ethnomusicological Work (Shane Lynch)

Hybrid: this project is scheduled to begin on 6/2/2025 and run for 10 weeks, finishing on 8/8/25.

Project Description

The applicant will work on the complexities of advanced choral composition for musical ensembles through assistance/editing of research/composition, especially focused on the ethnomusicological research of the music of Morocco and the Canary Islands. The student will combine these efforts with research/training at the Kodaly Institute at James Madison University. Using the skills gained, the student will use this experience and complete their own original composition or arrangement that will be submitted for publication or competition during the 2025-26 academic year.

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Prerequisites

The student should have completed the Music Theory sequence and have taken MUS 315 Orchestration/Arranging prior to completing this work.

Special Comments

The student must be able to attend the Kodaly Summer Music Institute at James Madison University as part of this work.

Project Information (subject to change)

Estimated Start Date: 6/2/2025

Estimated End Date: 8/8/25

Estimated Project Duration: 10 weeks

Maximum Number of Students Sought: 1

Research Location: Hybrid

Contact Information: Shane Lynch (email: lynchs@wlu.edu)

CLOSED: Green Information Systems Comparative Study (Keri Larson)

Remote: this project is scheduled to begin on 6/2/2025 and run for 10 weeks, finishing on 8/8/2025.

Project Description

This project focuses on international Green IS, or sustainable information systems, efforts. Specifically, the student research scholar will assist investigation into the sustainability practices of two nations, Iceland and Wales, that are considered leaders in the global effort to create a viable low-carbon world. The project will comprise both qualitative and quantitative data collection including assessments of both governments’ legislative endeavors and adherence to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Data will be collected in a low-tech environment, so the major requirement is familiarity with Excel. Depending on the trajectory of the project, some data will be collected via survey. As such, the student research scholar will gain experience in survey design methodology if desired, entailing the use of the Qualtrics survey platform.

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Prerequisites

Familiarity with Excel Willingness or interest in learning survey design and learning to use Qualtrics

Special Comments

Project Information (subject to change)

Estimated Start Date: 6/2/2025

Estimated End Date: 8/8/2025

Estimated Project Duration: 10 weeks

Maximum Number of Students Sought: 2

Research Location: Remote

Contact Information: Keri Larson (email: larsonk@wlu.edu)

CLOSED: Politics, LGBTQ identity, Morality, Accuracy. & AI and Education Study. (Jacob Gibson)

Hybrid: this project is scheduled to begin on 6/9/2025 and run for 10 weeks, finishing on 8/15/2025.

Project Description

There are three projects being worked on. One is looking at the accuracy of making judgments of individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community. The other is looking at personality, moral reasoning, and the accuracy of judgments based on political affiliation. We are also working on a project looking at how AI is used in the classroom and how it is helping and harming students.

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Prerequisites

I prefer it if you have taken a research methods and stats class but that is not required.

Special Comments

No travel or courses.

Project Information (subject to change)

Estimated Start Date: 6/9/2025

Estimated End Date: 8/15/2025

Estimated Project Duration: 10 weeks

Maximum Number of Students Sought: 2

Research Location: Hybrid

Contact Information: Jacob Gibson (email: jgibson@wlu.edu)