Name: Dr. Jason W. Buel
Title: Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of Communication, Assistant Professor of Cinema and Media Arts
Department(s): Communication, Entertainment Arts
Email: jbuel@ncwc.edu
Research interests and activities: In general, I research independent film, alternative media, and the politics of new media. I am particularly interested in emerging documentary practices, especially within the context of social movements, protest, and dissent. I adopt a critical cultural studies perspective, which means I am most interested in deeply contextualizing communication phenomena and examining the relationships between media practices and systems of power. My published research addresses a wide range of cases from internet memes to Occupy Wall Street. In addition to writing essays, I am a scholar-practitioner: I engage directly with many of the activist communities I study, and my research outcomes sometimes include creative work like documentaries or multimedia art.
When conducting research with me, undergraduate researchers may gain experience in the following:
Video editing; ripping video clips; video annotation; creating and indexing archives of web-based media; qualitative coding; ethnographic description; and/or experience producing multimedia art.
Name: Dr. Shannon Crowley
Title: Associate Professor of Exercise Science and Health Promotion Program Coordinator
Department(s): Exercise Science; Health Promotion
Email: scrowley@ncwc.edu
Research interests and activities: My research interests are focused on psycho-biological aspects of exercise and physical activity, and in particular, stress-related mechanisms by which exercise may help to prevent and treat depression and anxiety disorders.
When conducting research with me, undergraduate researchers may gain experience in the following:
Saliva collection and measurement of analytes (cortisol, estradiol, progesterone, other) in saliva; laboratory-based psychosocial stress testing; analysis of sleep-wake behavior using wrist actigraphy; hemodynamic measurements (heart rate, blood pressure); data management and analysis; participant recruitment and retention; survey development and administration; presentation of findings at scientific conferences and/or in publications.
Name: Dr. Jarrod Kelly
Title: Assistant Professor of Political Science
Department(s): Political Science
Email: JKelly@ncwc.edu
Research interests and activities: My research interests lie within the interdisciplinary field of political psychology, which broadly entails the application of psychological theory and methodology to political questions. Specifically, I am interested in topics such as partisan/ideological social identity, polarization, conspiracy theories, misinformation/disinformation, strategic voting, as well as electoral politics more generally. My methodological expertise lies in quantitative and (survey) experimental methods. I am currently working on projects on topics such as strategic voting in the 2016 and 2020 presidential primary elections as well as stereotype congruence between partisan and ideological groups. I am also just embarking on a project examining the relationship between the need to belong and endorsement of conspiracy theories (with Dr. Greg Preuss). Along with Dr. Preuss, I am the co-director of the NCWC Social Science Lab, which should be up and running in the 2021-22 academic year.
When conducting research with me, undergraduate researchers may gain experience in the following:
Summarizing social science literature; formulating empirical research questions and hypotheses; designing and conducting experiments (lab and/or survey); analyzing quantitative data using statistical software.
Name: Dr. Young Hun Kim
Title: Associate Professor of Political Science
Department(s): Political Science
Email: ykim@ncwc.edu
Research interests and activities: My research has focused mostly, but not exclusively, on comparative political institutions and democratization, with regional expertise in East Asia and Eastern Europe. More specifically, I examine sources and consequences of new types of presidential instability (interrupted presidencies and impeachment attempts), post-tenure fate of political leaders, and institutional determinants of democratic performance in presidential and semi-presidential systems.
When conducting research with me, undergraduate researchers may gain experience in the following:
Quantitative methods.
Name: Dr. Meir Magal
Title: Program Director and Professor of Exercise Science
Department(s): Exercise Science
Email: mmagal@ncwc.edu
Research interests and activities: My research interests are focused on NCAA DIII athletic performance, cardiorespiratory and postural control responses to various modes of exercise, and physical activity preparticipation health screening procedures.
When conducting research with me, undergraduate researchers may gain experience in the following:
Various sports and athletic performance measurements.
Name: Dr. Kaitlin Pericak
Title: Assistant Professor of Sociology
Department(s): Sociology
Email: kpericak@ncwc.edu
Research interests and activities: I am a sociologist with specializations in medical sociology and race, ethnic relations, and immigration. Specifically, my research uses the case of sport to examine health and illness, the body, and organizations. One research project I am currently working on examines experiences of international “student-athletes” (ISAs) in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) institutions.
When conducting research with me, undergraduate researchers may gain experience in the following:
Literature reviews, qualitative methods (conducting focus groups and interviews, observations, coding and analyzing data by hand and using NVivo), quantitative methods (survey design, coding and analyzing data using Stata).
Name: Dr. Ayra Sundbom
Title: Instructional Technologist
Department(s): Zipf Teaching and Learning Center
Email: asundbom@ncwc.edu
Research interests and activities: Immersive learning, virtual reality, simulations.
When conducting research with me, undergraduate researchers may gain experience in the following:
Immersive learning theory and design, virtual reality, education, instructional technology, instructional design.
NCWC Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) 