Diving into Summer Research

Putting beach trips, summer jobs and relaxation aside, 85 Saint Joseph’s University students have chosen to participate in the Summer Scholars program, spending 12 weeks of summer pursuing faculty-mentored research.

The program, which runs annually from May to August, offers students a $3,200 stipend, the option of on-campus housing and the opportunity to engage in extracurricular social, academic and cultural activities throughout the summer. In return, scholars work exclusively with a faculty expert to research an intriguing topic proposed earlier in the academic year. Celebrating its 11th year, the Summer Scholars program publishes a written description of each scholar’s work. Students present their findings twice publicly during the following academic year.

Projects include both creative and scholarly work, in fields ranging from health and the natural and social sciences to business and education, as well as extended analyses of literature and fine art.

Sarah Ferguson ’16

Sociology major Sarah Ferguson ’16, of Easton, Pa., examines the way youth discuss race relations in Cape Town, South Africa. Collecting data through oral Skype interviews and the analysis of South African news, she is researching how race is handled globally in today’s post-Ferguson, Mo., era of riots and protests.

Ferguson studied abroad in Cape Town during the fall semester and was in South Africa during the Ferguson, Mo., protests in August 2014. The events followed the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer.

In her interviews, Ferguson delves into subjects’ personal beliefs about race and the South African media’s coverage of racial protests. Working with her faculty mentor Kim Logio, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of sociology, Ferguson plans to compare the language used in these interviews with that of South African news outlets, examining how the media’s discussion of race differs from country to country.

“People’s opinions on racial protests, like those that occurred in Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore, Md., reflect what is happening in society,” she says. “I am interested in learning if we consider racial protests a valid and moral form of social activism. Should we call attention to possible human rights issues or ignore them because it is uncomfortable?”

Ferguson’s generation in South Africa is called the “born-free generation,” born around the time that racial apartheid ended. “Given that race is a taboo topic among South Africans,” Ferguson continues, “I was interested in the unique ways my classmates and the local media discussed Ferguson and the concept of racial protests. This generation’s perspective on race must, then, be unique.”

Ferguson will use this research to supplement her senior thesis, which focuses on news reporting of racial protests.

Kelly Spalding ’18

Kelly Spalding ’18, who studies accounting at SJU, is researching Islamic banking practices for her Summer Scholars project, “A Longitudal Analysis of Islamic Banking within the Context of a Capitalistic Economy.” According to her research, Shari’a Law mandates that bankers are prohibited from charging interest, a cornerstone practice in the global financial system. Instead, Islamic banks create profit-sharing contracts, involving a partnership among investors, depositors and the bank.

“The surge in Muslim wealth as the result of oil booms really created the need to study Islamic banking practices,” says Spalding, of Lansdale, Pa., “and it is incredible to learn about this evolving, functional system that doesn’t incorporate interest.”

Because there is no single banking system in this area, as there is in the West, global financial institutions regulate business transactions according to Western laws. Spalding adds, “Regulations passed by Muslim governments are suggestions, not laws."

Working with Joseph Larkin, Ph.D. ’78, associate professor of accounting, Spalding traces the development and evolution of the Islamic banking system, while contrasting it with Western systems. Given the problems inherent in utilizing this system globally, she will further analyze the difficulties the Islamic community faces in operating their system and the global economy’s response to evolving Islamic banking regulations.

Jackie Boran ’17, Matt Janton ’17 and Ryan Vance ’16

Under the guidance of Matthew Nelson, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, Jackie Boran ’17, Matt Janton ’17 and Ryan Vance ’16 are researching quiescent, sleep-like behaviors in the round worm Caenorhabditis elegans. “During sleep, animals become quiescent,” says Nelson, “which means that they stop performing activities that they would normally carry out when they are awake, such as moving and feeding. Many of the genes that control the worm’s behavior also control mammalian behavior, and by studying C. elegans, we hope to further our understanding of how sleep is regulated in humans.”

The group’s lab work focuses on quiescence that occurs in response to cellular stress or damage. For instance, when worms are exposed to harsh environmental conditions, their cells become damaged, and the worms become quiescent to avoid the harmful stimuli. This response is believed to be protective, allowing the animals to recover from the stressful situation, as humans often rest following illness or injury.

Each Summer Scholar is focusing his or her project on a specific aspect of the sleep research. Boran, of Orwigsburg, Pa., studies feeding quiescence, where she has begun a large genetic screen to search for genes that connect the NLP-29 protein to the quiescence it induces.

Janton, of Camp Hill, Pa., and Vance, of Mount Laurel, N.J., are researching a signaling pathway involving cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) that regulates sleep in evolutionarily distant animals, such as humans and worms. Taking different experimental approaches to altering this pathway in worms, each student’s research suggests that cAMP is key in regulating quiescence.

Dennies Chung ’17 and Annie Hosler ’18

Accounting majors Dennies Chung ’17 and Annie Hosler ’18 are researching companies’ accountability and financial reporting in two concurrent Summer Scholars projects this year. The first project, “Cybercrime Financial Disclosures by SEC Registrants,” looks at financial disclosures of cybercrime victims, particularly large corporations that are registered with the SEC. Although it is not mandatory for companies to report the effects of such compromises, recent attacks on Sony, Home Depot and Target have brought to light the need for transparency with clients and shareholders.

“With the constant growth of technology, we’re seeing a bigger risk of cybercrime and the potential to hurt financial statements,” says Hosler, of Ringoes, N.J. “When companies fail to disclose this information, clients are put at an unfair risk. We feel that this does not fully comply with reporting standards and rules.”

Chung and Hosler are looking at the annual reports for companies that have been victims of cybercrime and analyzing the effects of these breaches in relation to their hypothesis.

Under the guidance of A. J. Stagliano, Ph.D., professor of accounting, the pair’s second project examines corporate reporting in the areas of climate change and sustainability efforts. “Every year, we see higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions, and companies must be held accountable for this,” says Chung, of Springfield, Pa. “It’s important to not only work toward reducing emissions, but to make their consumers and investors aware of these issues so they can push for change.”

Their research has shown that smaller companies are more likely to disclose sustainability information and to be more transparent with their clients about the effects of climate change on their financial statements.

“The rules for reporting are constantly changing and they are getting better, but some companies are still hiding information from investors,” says Chung. “My hope is that new, stricter accounting standards will be put into place to increase companies transparency with their shareholders.”