Digital Commons Network^™

Guardians Of The Galaxy: A Holistic Theoretical Analysis, Melissa O'Rourke

Academic Festival

For my senior seminar class, my final project included doing an analysis on my favorite piece of media. For this, I choice Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. As a viewer of the media it is important to understand the messages it gives us, as it shapes our views on the world. I looked into this piece of popular culture and did a holistic analysis on a range of media theories and perspectives. This includes a political economy and production analysis, textual analysis, and an audience analysis with a focus group.

Medical Advantages Of Allogeneic Vs Autologous Stem Cell Transplants As Treatment In Blood Related Cancer Patients, Hailey Erwin

Academic Festival

Stem cell transplants have become common treatment for certain types of cancer including multiple myeloma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. There are two types of stem cells that are derived from different places. Autologous stem cells are taken from the body of a sick patient and put back into the same patient after treatment. Allogeneic stem cells come from a donor and are given to a person who is sick as treatment. The main focus of this paper is to analyze the two different type of stem cell treatments and to determine which one is a more effective method in treating …

Game Of Thrones And The Background Behind Westeros, Arianna Taite

Academic Festival

The history of how Westeros came to be and how it affected audiences everywhere.

A Look At Modern Day Bilingualism, David Bocach

Academic Festival

Bilingualism is a fascinating phenomenon that can affect many different aspects of a person’s life. By mastering and being fluent in at least two languages, untold opportunities, changes, and perspectives can be learned and further explored. Experiencing life in two languages can almost be like experiencing two different worlds or seeing things from multiple perspectives. People become bilingual for a variety of factors such as assimilation, integration, higher education, or through their profession. Becoming bilingual can affect not only the person’s life, but also their own physiology and neurological activity, economic and social standing, and cultural and historical perception. Such …

Restoration Efforts At Stratford Point: The Development Of A Living Shoreline, Nicholas M. Faulise

Academic Festival

Coastal areas provide a variety of ecosystem services such as wave attenuation, wind breaking, and serving as habitat for a number of species (Davis et al. 2015). However, many of these areas have been degraded and destabilized due to human activity. Rising sea levels and increases in storm frequency and intensity threaten many regions, and have the potential to cause a substantial amount of property damage. Methods such as the installation of sea walls can alleviate some of these concerns, but they do not provide all the benefits that a natural shoreline can. Living shorelines, which refer to green and …

Death And Dying: Deciding Between Hospice And Palliative Care, Kelly Castro

Academic Festival

Title: Death and Dying: Deciding Between Hospice and Palliative Care

Author: Kelly Castro

Purpose: Provide education on death and dying to family members as they navigate through this time specifically differentiating between hospice and palliative care.

Background: After spending several weeks on an oncology unit it was discovered that many patients and family members are ill informed about their options at end of life. They are often confused about the differences between hospice and palliative care. It is a difficult time for families and it is essential to provide all the necessary information to decide upon a plan of care. …

Strategic Analysis Of Target Corporation, Briana Andreoli

Academic Festival

Strategic Analysis of Target Corporation Including:

• Organizational mission, vision, values & strategic goals
• SWOT Analysis
• Porter's Five Forces Model
• Internal Analysis
• Business Strategies

Improving Nurse Driven Initiation And Adherence To Sepsis Protocol Within Bridgeport Hospital's Emergency Department, Gabriella Iadevaia

Academic Festival

No abstract provided.

Primer To Nfl Salary Cap Accounting, Carmen Vacchiano

Academic Festival

This research project explores salary cap accounting as it pertains to the National Football League. The objective of this project is to educate fans on how unadjusted and adjusted salary cap numbers are calculated, the different components of a player contract, and how each component is accounted for by NFL teams. With a basic understanding of salary cap accounting principles, fans are better able to understand why their favorite team make certain decisions in regard to players. Examined closely in this project are actual player contracts like Levi Brown’s contract restructure and Richard Sherman’s team friendly contract with the San …

Endure, John Albergo, Justin C. Cullen

Academic Festival

One of the oldest styles of arcade video games is “play until you lose.” A game where there is no real end, but is defined on how long you can survive, or in our case, Endure. Our game will be a First-person shooter, round based survival game built and designed using Unreal Engine. While the main goal will be to, of course, survive as many rounds as you can. Players will be able to keep track of their score, which you get by defeating enemies and surviving rounds. What will make the game unique, however, is the attention we put …

Influence Of Race, Religion And Socioeconomic Status On The Diet And Physical Activity Of A Household, Kaitlyn Murphy, Juliana Merighi

Academic Festival

With high rates of obesity among children, additional research is needed on how different social determinants play a role in a household’s health. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine specifically if race, religion or socioeconomic status (SES) has a greater influence on a child’s diet habits and physical activity (PA). Methods:This cross sectional study included an online questionnaire via SurveyMonkey that was administered to Sacred Heart University’s faculty and staff and posted on social media. The questionnaire had 10 items that assessed the eating and physical activity of a household in relation to their race, religion …

The Psychology Of Giving And Receiving Compliments, Rebecca Bedosky, Lauren N. Schaefer, Ana-Marie Kalafatis, Melissa Weaver

Academic Festival

No abstract provided.

Multimodal Analgesia: Optimizing Perioperative Pain Management, Cynthia Louro

Academic Festival

Multimodal pain management is the action of utilizing at least two different medication classes mechanisms in conjunction with non-pharamacologic measures in order to optimize pain relief.

Introduction: This teaching tool will be used to educate nurses on the use of Multimodal medications prior and after surgical procedures. With the recent increase in opioid prescription abuse, multimodal medications should be a first-line option utilized to help manage pain with minimal or no opioids throughout the operative process.

Background: Pain after a surgical procedure is common and is often expected. Common Multimodal Analgesia Regimens include Acetaminophen, NSAIDs, COX-2 selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, …

Computational Design Of Novel Insulin Degrading Enzyme Inhibitors, Todd J. Sullivan, Sushma Sree Bondela, Naveena Tamma, Brad Cingolani, Andrew O’Neill, Alec Finelli, Benjamin Alper, Joseph Audie

Academic Festival

Human insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) plays a role in the proteolytic cleavage of insulin, glucagon, and other short, hydrophobic peptides with roles in glucose and cellular metabolism. Because of IDE’s role in insulin clearance, IDE inhibitors may hold promise as therapies for potentiating insulin signaling in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus. IDE is a large (~100 kDa) chambered protease of the conserved M16A subfamily of zinc metalloproteases. The enzyme adopts a structure that is analogous to a clamshell formed by the joining of the N terminal and C terminal domains. The characteristic zinc binding and catalytic motif (HXXEH) …

Students With Disabilities And Academic Performance In Post-Secondary Education, Nathalie Reyes

Academic Festival

The purpose of this study is to determine whether services and social supports influence students with disabilities in their academic performance in postsecondary education. This study conducted quantitative research and created a survey through Survey Monkey to survey students with disabilities at Sacred Heart University. This research is testing if there is a relationship between academic performance and social supports provided to students with disabilities that could enhance their success.

Comparison Of Wild-Type Versus Mutant L1cam Expression In Cultured Neurons, David R. Cannata, Eva Murphy, Cassandra Lew, Samantha Pignatelli

Academic Festival

The correct targeting of proteins to axons and dendrites of neurons is essential for the proper development of the nervous system. L1CAM is a cell-adhesion molecule responsible for multiple aspects of neuronal development; mutations are known to result in a developmental syndrome characterized by cognitive and motor disabilities. We expressed wild-type L1CAM and known L1CAM mutant proteins, P941L and D544N, in cultured embryonic chick forebrain neurons and compared their cellular distributions. Preliminary data suggests that both the wild-type L1CAM and the P941L L1CAM mutant are targeted to axons in a similar fashion. In contrast, the D544N L1CAM mutant does not …

Black And White Women's Perceptions/Attitudes Towards The Feminist Movement, Hannah Maximin

Academic Festival

It has been nearly two decades since Bell Hooks argued that “Feminism in the United States has never emerged from the women who are most victimized by sexist oppression; women who are daily beaten down, mentally, physically, and spiritually- women who are powerless to change their condition in life” (Hooks, 2000). Her critique of the feminist movement which had been almost entirely lead by White women in it’s first and second waves helped inspire the intersectional emphasis of the feminist movement of today. Based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with five White and five Black women between the ages of eighteen …

Apollo 11, Zachary Festini

Academic Festival

Short story written by Zachary Festini.

Negative Scripts, Racism, And Its Effects On Black Identity Construction, Kelly Y. Llaguno Velarde

Academic Festival

It has been over a century since W.E.B. DuBois described the double consciousness experienced by African Americans who are forced to measure their souls “by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity” (DuBois, 1903). More than one hundred years later, Black Americans continue to face the negative scripts of racism that devalue their humanity, all the while facing the risk of internalizing the presumption of their racial inferiority. Based on ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews with young Black adults between the ages of 18 and 21, this study focuses on the internalization of racism and …

Mercenaries And Poverty: A Panel Data Study On Defense/Military And Education Spending And Their Effects On Poverty Related Metrics, Ben Field

Academic Festival

This research paper explores the possible relationship between a nation’s defense/military and education spending and its effect on the nation’s income inequality. Several prior studies have found that there seems to be a direct relationship between defense/military spending and income inequality. However, there is lack of papers that have examined adding the additional variable of education or included multiple countries in its analysis. The purpose of this paper is to fill the hole in the research of the topic by including fourteen nations and the additional variable. Specifically, the paper includes data from 2004 to 2014, including the percentage of …

Modeling Of Surface Area And Pore Volume Of Activated Carbons Prepared From Renewable And Low Cost Precursors, Kacey A. Carido, Amanda C. Balesano, Christopher J. Domville, Aaron M. Schwartz, Krisjana Seferi, Penny A. Snetsinger

Academic Festival

In this study, methylene blue and iodine numbers were used to optimize the conditions of preparation of activated carbons from renewable and low cost precursors. Standard methods of determining iodine number and methylene blue absorption were applied. These were used to model surface area and pore volume. Each carbon prepared under different experimental conditions was characterized with the goal of using the data as a response factor in the determination of optimum preparation conditions for each carbon.

Patterns Of Amphipod Feeding And Phenolic Content In Apical And Middle Portions Of Invasive Myriophyllum Spicatum And Native Ceratophyllum Demersum, Meghan Kebalka

Academic Festival

Although the factors leading to successful submerged plant invasions are poorly understood, high levels of chemical feeding deterrents in invasive plant species may be partly responsible. However, chemical deterrents are not always uniformly distributed within plant tissues, and little is known about how that may affect herbivore feeding patterns in aquatic and marine systems. To examine the distribution of phenolics within the tissues of invasive Myriophyllum spicatum and native Ceratophyllum demersum, 2-cm fragments were taken from the apex and middle portions of 10 individuals of each species. A two-way ANOVA showed that phenolic content in M. spicatum plants was significantly …

Integrated Screening For Arginase Inhibitors, Todd J. Sullivan, Sushma Sree Bondela, Renee Russo, Evan Jones, Hatoon Albilady, Benjamin Alper, Joseph Audie

Academic Festival

Arginase is an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of L-ornithine and urea from L-arginine. L-arginine is also a substrate for nitric oxide synthase (NOS), resulting in the formation of nitric oxide (NO) which is a key vasodilator. Not surprisingly, arginase inhibitors are being studied to treat various diseases, including hypertension, erectile dysfunction, atherosclerosis, wound healing and myocardial reperfusion injury. Recently, the use of virtual screening and docking to identify and characterize novel arginase inhibitors as potential therapeutics to treat leshmania infections has been reported in the literature. Hence, there is interest in the development of new and improved arginase inhibitors. …

Di-N-Butyl Phthalate Or Dbp, A Common Ingredient In Plastics, Induces Craniofacial Defects During Embryonic Development, Danielle Cusmano, Tanner Jergensen

Academic Festival

Di-n-Butyl phthalate (DBP) is a high production volume plasticizer added to increase the flexibility of synthetic polymers. DBP is found in a variety of everyday items like food packaging, cosmetics, cleaning materials, lubricants, waxes and insecticides. DBP readily leaches from products into soil and groundwater and its ubiquitous presence in the environmental has lead the European Commission to label DBP as a priority substance. Sediment and water analysis has noted high levels of DBP and the endocrine disrupting effects of DBP are well noted. Given the widespread uses of and exposure to DBP, studies on developmental toxicity are …

Obesity And Fast Food: National Analysis, Savannah Lobo

Academic Festival

Research Question: Does a increase or decrease in fast food restaurants per capita affect the rate of obesity in the United States? Research: Behind the research was to see if fast food restaurants has a correlation with obesity rates in the United States. Data was collected for the 2011, 2012, and 2014. To determine whether other factors that affect obesity, data was also collected for income and obesity rates by age group for each state in the United States including the District of Columbia.

Something To Talk About Blog, Kelly Gilbert

Academic Festival

With a goal of writing more of my own personal pieces and taking photographs on my own, I decided to create a lifestyle blog for my senior project. This has allowed me to write freely, demonstrating my writing skills in a more expressive way. And I have also been able to incorporate my photography/photo editing skills on photos used alongside the articles that I have written as well. Creating an attractive blog with a steady list of followers has proven to be appealing to future employers.

Advertising Campaign For Ronald Mcdonald House, Maddalena Tondi

Academic Festival

For my senior project I decided to create an advertising campaign for the Ronald McDonald House in New Haven, CT that utilized diverse media outlets. I researched the history of the organization, the New Haven house’s specific goals and operations, and interviewed the House manager in order to get a clear understanding of the subject matter that I was going to be representing. After having a good understanding of what I wanted to say with this campaign, I went about creating it. I used the skills that I have acquired through my Communications education at Sacred Heart University in order …

Fertility Rate & Infant Mortality Rate, Elena Burke

Academic Festival

Enclosed in this research report is the analysis of the effect of a nation’s infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) on fertility rate. The objective of this paper to evaluate the topic by conducting a cross-country analysis. The paper evaluates the effects of infant mortality rate on fertility rate across 80 countries between 1990 and 2015, in five-year time intervals. The additional control variables examined are female labor force as a percentage of total labor force, GNI growth as an annual percentage and secondary education enrollment female percentage. The empirical method conducted found that a nation’s infant mortality, female …

Grandmothers Raising Their Grandchildren, Ruth Ann Phillips

Academic Festival

While once a phenomenon concentrated to poor families, grandparents co-parenting grandchildren is becoming increasingly common in contemporary American society across class categories. There are ranges of reasons why grandparents are finding themselves in a parenting role including dual earner parents who are working more often, single parents needing extra help, or young parents who are overwhelmed by parenting responsibilities. While there is an increasing body of literature exploring the impacts of grandparent centered kinship care on children, there is comparatively little research focused on the impact of co-parenting on grandparents who transition into helping raise their grandchildren just a few …

Are Drug Treatment Programs In Prison Effective In Reducing Recidivism Rates?, Kallysta Tanguay

Academic Festival

Much of the United States prison population consists of offenders who have some sort of substance abuse problem. There are now substance abuse treatment programs that are offered in prisons to help rehabilitate these offenders in hopes that they will not commit further crimes once they are released into the community. The question is, are these drug treatment programs offered in prison effective in reducing recidivism rates? The proposed study involving therapeutic drug treatment communities in 20 different prisons can help determine this. Individuals chosen to participate in the drug treatment program within the prison will be compared to another …