Digital Commons Network^™

Measuring And Modeling The Conductivity Of Highly Insulating Materials, David King

Senior Theses and Projects

Satellites and other spacecraft must be able to withstand hazardous conditions in order to be viable in their expected operating environments. One specific hazard that occurs due to incident radiation is spacecraft charging. Insulating materials, frequently used in spacecraft and other electrical equipment, while very good at preventing charge flow, also store charge very well. This can create problems; specifically, “if the charge decay time exceeds the orbital period, not all charge will be dissipated before orbital conditions act again to further charge the satellite. As the insulator accumulates charge, the electric field will rise until the insulator breaks down” …

Temperature Dependence Of Electron Yield In Low-Density Polyethylene, Jordan Lee

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Uv Degradation Of Polycarbonate, Katie Gamaunt

Senior Theses and Projects

The decrease in visible and ultraviolet transmission spectra of polymeric and glass spacecraft materials has been measured to determine the extent of degradation due to high-energy UV radiation similar to the solar spectrum (both above and below the stratosphere, which is where most of the UV radiation is absorbed). This project looked at the effects that the atmosphere has in regards to blocking UV radiation and thus, slowing down the UV degradation process. A polycarbonate sample was exposed to radiation from a focused high intensity deuterium lamp source, which generates radiation in the UVA and UVB spectrum. A particularly severe …

Microcontroller And Memory Card Survivability In Space Conditions, Windy Olsen

Senior Theses and Projects

The Utah State University (USU) Materials Physics Group (MPG) is interested in the performance of Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) microcontrollers in space conditions. Microcontrollers are commonly used on CubeSats, small relatively inexpensive satellites that are flown in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes of ~160 km-2000 km. There is a large area of interest in COTS microcontrollers because they provide a more cost-effective on-board computer for CubeSats. This experiment focused on the functionality of an ATmega328 microcontroller on an Arduino Uno board inside the MPG’s Space Survivability Test (SST) Chamber. A diagnostic program was used to try to detect …

Microcontroller Survivability In Space Conditions, Windy Olsen

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

The Smell Of Rain, Esther Shittu

Senior Theses and Projects

The Smell of Rain is a collection of four short stories: Harriet Tubman, Road Trip, Piano Lessons, and Friday Night Special

Sea Change In Management Strategies: The Implications Of Global Climate Change On Policy Conceptions Of And Responses To Invasive Marine Species, Griffin J. Hunt

Senior Theses and Projects

The dispersal of the invasive red lionfish (Pterois volitans) across the Caribbean–Atlantic reverberates throughout the region’s public policy, conservation efforts, and economic concerns. Invasions by non–native species generally exhibit a wide range of negative effects on recipient ecosystems, and the lionfish case is no exception. Of central concern, this invasion has occurred at a rate, scale, and magnitude that precludes traditional management efforts. This paper assesses the diverse anthropogenic factors that contributed to the establishment of lionfish within the Caribbean–Atlantic, as well as the reasons for the species’ subsequent rapid dispersal throughout the region. This work investigates how …

The Effects Of Soil Copper Contamination On Earthworm Cholinergic Transmission, Locomotion And Muscle Physiology, Tommaso Meregalli

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Sovereign Debt Crises: Domestically Engineered Or Foreignly Influenced?, Michael C. Selfe

Senior Theses and Projects

Throughout the last half century, the world has seen its fair share of systemic banking crises covering every corner of the globe. Recently, the Eurozone crisis of 2010 and ongoing Argentinian debt crisis have continued to plague the global economy. The motivation behind this thesis is to examine what causes these sovereign debt crises. More specifically, it aims to examine whether these crises are caused by monetary and fiscal policy decisions implemented by central banks or if outside factors including the role of financial institutions are to blame. This thesis examines a number of individual case studies with regards to …

The Sin Of Skin: Color And ‘Other’ In The Greco-Roman World, Grace Gill

Senior Theses and Projects

Many Scholars have denied the presence of racial categorizing in European Antiquity. Though there was no institutionalized system of ‘racial oppression’ like we are familiar with in today’s society, I contend that there are cultural precursors of ‘race’ in the Greco-Roman world, otherwise known as ‘proto-race’. All societies have means to categorize people and put them into hierarchies - this is a major focus in the field of sociology. I propose that color-symbolic language was used to make distinctions amongst and between people; further that by analyzing the context within which these ‘color- words’ were referenced, it illuminates the importance …

Spanish-Speaking Families And School Choice, Michelle L. Herbert

Senior Theses and Projects

School choice is one of the more current education reform movements in the United States, which often uses a market based approach to provide racial integration or consumer-style choices in public education in an effort to improve school quality, and sometimes both. Hartford has a robust school choice system which includes interdistrict magnet schools and interdistrict transfers with local suburban district schools. English Language Learner (ELL) students have been identified as underrepresented in these racially integrated schools. This research seeks to identify how the type of support received by Spanish-speaking Hartford parents influenced their school choices. Evidence gathered through interviews …

Rhetoric Is Not Reality: How Policymakers, Professionals And Parents Define Parental Engagement, Doug Curtin

Senior Theses and Projects

A new Connecticut pilot program for low-income families has attempted to actively engage parents in the planning and decision process to provide a holistic approach to comprehensive workforce services. This study analyzes perceptions of parental engagement gathered from interviews with policymakers, professionals and parents. Results show that in this program policymakers, professionals, and parents agree that parental engagement was a deliberate action to incorporate parent voice and create parent leaders for long-term success of the program. Policymakers and professionals disagreed on the level of leadership and amount of training necessary for successful parental engagement. Recommendations include aligning expectations and definitions …

Fear Thy Neighbor: Spatial Relations In 17th Century New England Witch-Hunt Trials, Sedona Georgescu

Senior Theses and Projects

It is easy to overlook relational history in terms of space and movement because it is not an obvious aspect of the trial records. Nor is it able to be identified by looking solely at individual cases, such as Salem. When scholars look exclusively at learned works and use the trial records to fill in the narrative, they ignore the possibility of the trials to speak for themselves. Only through an in depth examination can a multidimensional understandings shine through. Fear of witchcraft was a given and was not a new concept associated with witchcraft trials. However it is possible …

A Voice For The Voiceless: The Unpo And The Dalai Lama, Jamie N. Brandel

Senior Theses and Projects

International organizations and international law have suffered from structural issues such as Westphalian sovereignty and submission to state interests. These inherent problems have contributed to the ongoing religious violence and occupation of Tibet since 1951, as Tibet does not qualify as a state under international law. While Tibet is not the only group of peoples who do not have access to international fora because of their stateless status, the Dalai Lama is unique in his platform and authority. The Dalai Lama has been able to take Buddhist values and intertwine them with the more familiar Western human rights concepts, promoting …

Structures, Norms, And Renewable Energy Policy: A Comparative Analysis Of The Driving Forces Behind Energy Policymaking In The United States And Denmark, Elise Ogden

Senior Theses and Projects

The 1973 OPEC Oil Embargo served as a wake-up call for many highly oil dependent countries, including the United States and Denmark. In the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, the U.S. and Denmark had very different policy responses. Denmark identified oil itself as the underlying issue, and quickly transitioned to alternative energy sources, including wind. Today, Denmark is a global leader in renewable energy usage and sustainability. The United States, on the other hand, saw foreign reliance on oil as the main issue, and moved to develop domestic oil reserves rather than transitioning to alternative sources. Today, the U.S. …

The Longest Walk: Rape, Drugs, And Racial Aggression At Trinity College, Chiarra Davis

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

They Were Never Silent, You Just Weren't Listening: Buffalo's Black Activists In The Age Of Urban Renewal, Domonique Griffin

Senior Theses and Projects

“They Were Never Silent” will explore the inner workings and impact of both top-down and bottom-up approaches to Urban Renewal for African Americans in the city of Buffalo. For decades, government funded projects that arose in the name of “saving” inner-cities have been guilty of concentrating poverty into centralized areas, directing monies toward downtown development that dislocated families, excessive housing clearance, and modernizing segregation in the form of public housing projects. However, we have yet to fully explore how black community members crafted their own visions of a revitalized city. Many of the most significant bottom-up Urban Renewal developments have …

When Values Compete: Reconciling The Tension Between National Security, Religious Freedom, National Identity And Islam In The U.S. And France, Clara Abramson

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Dual-Language Advocates And Their Arguments: A Comparison Of Utah And New York, Minying Cao

Senior Theses and Projects

This project investigates and compares the arguments that advocates for Spanish-English dual-language programs use to persuade others and gain support in racially diverse New York City vs. predominantly White Utah. In addition, it seeks to understand the challenges that advocate face when attempting to persuade different audiences to support dual-language schooling. The results of this research suggest that he primary argument voiced by advocates was economic. Dual-language immersion programs were defined as an economic asset to benefit both the students and the nation at large. Following the economic argument, a cultural argument was also used to promote dual language immersion …

Persistent Effects Of The Ketogenic Diet On The Core Symptoms Of Autism In Btbr Mice, Elizabeth M. Foley

Senior Theses and Projects

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The Ketogenic Diet (KD), is a high fat, low carbohydrate dietary regimen, that has been shown to treat a diverse array of medical conditions, most notably the seizure associated with epilepsy. Recent studies have demonstrated that in addition to reducing seizure frequency, the KD has antiepileptogenic effects that continue after reversal to control diet (CD). Such results indicate that the KD does not only suppress seizures in adult mice and rats, but it is potentially effective in attenuating long-term disease progression. Furthermore, studies on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a murine mouse model (BTBR mice) found that KD …

"I'M Doing Time On The Outside" -A Study Of The Effects Of Parental Incarceration On The Life Outcomes Of Adolescent Children In The City Of Hartford, Margaret C. Brown

Senior Theses and Projects

The mandatory sentencing criterions established via the implementation of the infamous War on Drugs has resulted in the mass incarceration of millions of nonviolent offenders in the United States, and crafted a national penal population that is distinctly the largest in the world. Blatantly disproportional and misrepresented in racial and socioeconomic configuration, America’s correctional and criminal justice system has become overcrowded with individuals who overwhelmingly hail from at-risk urban communities of color. As a result, low-income urban communities across the country have been devastated by the continuous destruction and misconfiguring of fragile families that occurs when an individual, especially one …

Using Computational Tools To Design A Molecularly Imprinted Polymer With Selectivity And High Affinity For Acetylcholine, Nathaniel Donald Thiemann

Senior Theses and Projects

Nanomaterials are artificial materials that have been engineered to have special chemical properties. Molecularly imprinted polymers are a type of nanomaterial, which contain recognition sites with high selectivity and affinity for a template element. A neuroethological and computational approach was taken to rationally design a molecularly imprinted polymer for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. The program AutoDock was used to study interactions of acetylcholine with the protein acetylcholinesterase. It was found acetylcholine interacts with the protein through hydrogen bonding, ionic interactions, and pi-cation interactions. The results of the docking study were used to select five functional monomers that could potentially engage in …

Effect Of Visual Self-Image On Attention During Speech, David Ballenger

Senior Theses and Projects

When people are made more self-aware either through name priming or the introduction of a mirror, the increase in self-awareness elicits a positive effect in performance of difficult mental tasks. This effect was first documented decades ago, but lacks extensive research. The relationship between self-awareness and seeing oneself has been studied in terms of task completion and self-esteem measures, but never in the realm of speech tasks. The present study focused on the effects of different speech goals on self-attention. Similar to earlier studies, a webcam was used to display the participants’ images during tasks, while eye-tracking was used to …

Destruction Of Democracy: Examining Voting In The Wake Of Shelby County, Henry R. Butler

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

La Tension Entre Laïcité Et L’Islam : L’Harmonie Sociale Française En Danger, Clara Abramson

Senior Theses and Projects

It is no secret that the French government has struggled to maintain its foundational concept of laïcité while welcoming an increasingly diverse and mainly Muslim immigrant population. France is a nation that has been long characterized by religious struggle. Today, threats to the country’s national security and identity exacerbate the conflict between the strong advocates of laïcité, white Christians, islamophobes, right-wing parties, on one hand, and Muslims, proponents of religious and civil liberties and liberally minded members of the population on the other. In this thesis I analyze the fraught religious history that led to the development of the concept …

An Exploration Of The Gut Bacteria In A Mouse Model Of Autism Spectrum Disorder On A Ketogenic Diet, Laura M. Nee

Senior Theses and Projects

Alterations in the gut bacteria presence and abundance have been noted in certain diseased states like autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The BTBR T+tf/J mouse strain exhibits the three core behavioral symptoms of ASD and is thus used as the model organism to study ASD in this study. Previous studies have shown that a high-fat, ketogenic diet significantly improves all three core symptoms of ASD. The aim of this study was to describe differences between the gut bacteria of healthy mice on standard and ketogenic diets as well as BTBR mice on standard and ketogenic diets. In particular, an unidentified species …

A Fractured Legacy: The Governance, Goals, And Guides Of The Hartford Park System, Caroline C. Feeney

Senior Theses and Projects

Since its inception in 1853, the Hartford Park System has been a crucial asset to the City of Hartford. The purpose of this thesis is to answer a set of questions about the history and future of Hartford’s parks. How has history shaped the current system of 37 parks that can be found in Hartford today? How important is the park system to the City of Hartford? Who are the most important stakeholders within the park system and what goals do they have? How can the goals created by relevant park stakeholders be consolidated into realistic goals for the City …

Caskets, Closure And Cash: Explorations Of Funeral Director And Client Relationships, Haley R. Thompson

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Twin Crises And The Financial Accelerator, Andrew Calabrese

Senior Theses and Projects

The incidence of simultaneous banking and currency crises is a recurring theme in emerging economies operating under fixed or quasi-fixed exchange rates. This thesis conducts an empirical analysis of the underlying determinants of so called “twin crises” by applying a probit econometric model to a sample of 48 emerging economies during the 1980-2013 period. Current account deficits are found to be a robust driver of twin crises, with vulnerability increasing in the size of the deficit relative to GDP. There is also evidence that real exchange rate appreciation and higher levels of short-term debt relative to reserves increase crisis probability. …

Don Lorenzo Milani (1923-1967) Lettera A Una Professoressa And Italian Educational Reform In The 1960s, Luca R. Albisetti Mr.

Senior Theses and Projects

The Italian school system’s methodology and pedagogy have long been the subject of great controversy. The official Italian school system was born in 1859 with the implementation of the Legge Casati, which was the first organic law establishing a true system of education. During the 20^th century the schooling system underwent several reforms, amongst the most important are the Riforma Gentile in 1923 and the legge n.1853. Many consider the latter to have the most impactful change on the system given that it created a unified middle school that was obligatory until the age of 14. The educational system …