Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Lexical Stress Perception: An Investigation Across Varied Listener Experience With Prosody, Olivia J. Pride

Honors Theses and Capstones

Prosody is a characteristic of speech that allows others to understand emotion, emphasis, and meaning of language more deeply. Perceptual accuracy by speech-language pathologists is critical to diagnosing speech disorders. This study examined perceptual abilities of three different groups in identifying lexical stress across groups. Four SLPs, 6 SLP graduate students, and 6 untrained listeners listened to 396 audio files elicited in a prior study using the lexical stress tasks from the Prosodic Profiling Elements of Prosody in Speech-Communication (PEPS-C) and the naturalistic lexical stress (NLS) tasks. Listeners were asked if syllable stress was on the first syllable, second syllable, …

“Slaves Of The State:” The Exploitation Of Women Through Convict Leasing, Beth F. Newton

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Imputation Strategies For Different Categories Of Missing Data, Karthik Chalumuri

Honors Theses and Capstones

Addressing missing data in research is crucial for ensuring the reliability and validity of study findings, yet it remains a significant challenge. This study investigates the impact of missing data on research outcomes and explores the underutilization of existing tools for managing missingness, potentially leading to gaps in critical information with tangible implications for decision-making processes (Dziura et al.).

Focusing on the different categories of missing data—Missing Completely At Random (MCAR), Missing At Random (MAR), and Missing Not At Random (MNAR)—this research examines various imputation strategies tailored to each category. Specifically, we compare the efficacy of several model-based imputation methods, …

Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Analysis And Discovery, Payton Maddaloni

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Feminist Environmental Ethics: A Modern, Intersectional Approach, Suzanne E. Scharff

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Unsung Heroes In Conservation: Evaluating The Limitations Faced By New England Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers And Proposing Solutions For Their Support And Recognition, Shaylee M. Sarmiento

Honors Theses and Capstones

Wildlife rehabilitation is an often-unacknowledged practice within the overarching field of wildlife protection and conservation. This practice involves the treatment and hopeful release of wild animals affected by various ailments. With the continued expansion of and interest in the field, it could be assumed that wildlife rehabilitation is supported and funded by government bodies, but this is not the case. Because of the lack of funding and resources, many wildlife rehabilitation centers cannot achieve their full rehabilitative potential and expand their reach in the conservation world. Additionally, an absence of support leads critics to question the ethical standards of wildlife …

Environmental Taxation In Spain: Policy And Practice, Emily Sang Lynch

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Anti-Queer Policy As It Translates To Violence Against The Lgbt Community, Kendall Bush

Honors Theses and Capstones

In recent years, the amount of anti-LGBT policy introduced is rapidly increasing (ACLU, 2023). Contemporary policy focuses mainly on queer youth and gender identity, attacking gender-affirming health care and limiting LGBT discussions in public schools. Although these policies are particularly insidious, they follow a trend of queer persecution in the United States. Within federal policy and across state legislation, the panopticon of anti-LGBT policy ensures that queer bodies are policed and monitored. This paper posits that the increase in anti-queer policy translates to an increase in experiences of external and indirect violence. Based on findings from the UCR and various …

Examining The Interest Of Business School Students And The Gender Gap In Careers Of Data Science And Analytics, Logan M. Lopus

Honors Theses and Capstones

Professionals in the data science and analytics field are in high demand. Recently, business schools have introduced various academic programs to train students in those fields. However, what makes business school students interested in these career fields is not entirely known. Research questions such as who the major influencers are for business school students' career choices or whether there are any differences between genders in terms of their awareness, readiness, and interest in data science and analytics careers remain to be answered. Therefore, this study examines the segmentation of business school students in how they prepare for careers, drivers of …

Occurrence Of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) In New Hampshire Biosolids, Katherine A. Wieck

Honors Theses and Capstones

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of over 4,000 compounds used in the manufacturing of products including aqueous film forming foams for firefighting, stain repellents, waterproofing agents, and nonstick cookware since their initial development in the 1940s. The long fluorinated carbon chain structure of PFAS causes chemical and thermal stability, and thus resistance to biodegradation. Biosolids produced at wastewater facilities for uses such as agricultural land-applied compost and fertilizer for lawns and athletic fields, as well as sludge disposed in landfills can cause contamination of groundwater and surface water. This poses a significant threat to human and environmental …

Reducing The Variability And Cost Of Determining The Coefficient Of Friction Of Various Lubricants, James M. Wirth

Honors Theses and Capstones

The Navy requires accurate fastener preloading for many of its fastened applications to protect the safety of the vessel and its personnel, and to ensure proper operation of various components. The preload is based on many properties including fastener materials, fastener geometries, and the coefficient of friction (COF) between mating surfaces. The COF is a critical value in determining the torque-load relationship of a fastener, and is dependent on the contact surface area and the materials in contact, the condition and finish of the contact surfaces, and any lubricant applied in these contact areas. Due to the large amount of …

Cardiorespiratory And Metabolic Responses To Low-Intensity Blood-Flow Restricted Running, Violet E. Sullivan, Amanda P. Ares, Summer B. Cook Ph.D.

Honors Theses and Capstones

Low-intensity (LI) aerobic exercise with blood-flow restriction (BFR) increases heart rate (HR), oxygen consumption (VO₂), and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), sometimes to similar levels as high-intensity (HI) exercise. Distance runners may benefit from LI-BFR running in periods of reduced volume or intensity, possibly due to injury. PURPOSE: To compare HR, VO₂, blood lactate (BLa), and RPE during LI-BFR running and HI running without BFR. METHODS: Fifteen female distance runners (age 23+4yrs, height 1.67+0.50m, body mass 57.6+5.7kg, VO₂max 51.0+4.5mL•kg^-1•min^-1) completed three randomized 12-minute running conditions: LI control (40% VO_{2 …}

Plastic Storage In River Sediments Across An Urbanization Gradient In The Ipswich Watershed In Massachusetts, Jackie L. Harris

Honors Theses and Capstones

The importance of plastic pollution research has become apparent as plastic pollution has increased exponentially since its introduction in the 1950s. Plastics mechanically break down into minuscule particles called microplastics, which are plastic particles with a size range of 0.1 micrometers (μm) to 5 millimeters (mm). Most of the research on microplastic pollution has centered around marine ecosystems rather than freshwater ecosystems. More freshwater microplastic research to date is emerging but is still nascent and sparse. Furthermore, the idea that rivers are merely conduits of microplastics to the ocean is even more limited and ignores microplastic loading and retention in …

The Search For Value For New England Skiers, Colin J. Liebert

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Cutaneous Microbiome Of Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes) Infected With Sarcoptic Mange (Sarcoptes Scabiei), Jacqueline C. Robidoux

Honors Theses and Capstones

Sarcoptic mange is a parasitic skin disease that affects countless mammals worldwide, including red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). The symptoms, such as hair loss, crusting, and the number of mites, vary between individual foxes. Sarcoptic mange damages the skin barrier, which in turn disrupts the biodiversity of bacteria in the microbiome. It is unknown what the biodiversity of bacteria is at each stage of the disease. This experiment will compare the microbiomes of different samples with and without mange; in hopes to reveal a connection between the different severities of sarcoptic mange and the biodiversity of bacteria and fungi …

An Exploration Of Self-Identity In Transracial Adoptees From China, Aliya Dejun Sarris

Honors Theses and Capstones

Sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the author began to notice that the newest wave of Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) activism was not inclusive of transracial adoptees, or people adopted by parent(s) of a different race. This study explores the unique identity of transracial adoptees specifically from China. The author explores the topics of identity, family, friends, community and overall belonging through the lens of primary and secondary sources. The primary sources include seven, hour-long interviews that the author conducted herself. Overall, the study concludes that transracial adoptees have a qualitatively different experiences than non-adopted peers that – although an incredibly …

Individual Behavioral And Neurobiological Markers Associated With Vulnerable To Ethanol Use Phenotype, Hannah Elizabeth Manning

Honors Theses and Capstones

Alcohol use disorder is a chronic, relapsing brain condition that affects 29.5 million Americans. The disease is characterized by loss of control over drinking, continued use of alcohol in the face of negative consequences, and the experience of withdrawal symptoms. While there are several forms of treatment available for alcohol use disorder, 95% of patients experience at least one relapse during recovery. Currently, the high tendency to relapse remains the major challenge standing in the way of successful treatment for alcohol use disorder. Research is continuing to be conducted into the behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying relapse into alcohol use, …

Developing Honey Bee Diagnostics At The New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostics Lab: Successes And Challenges, Mary Feranda

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Individual Behavioral And Neurobiological Markers Associated With A Vulnerable To Ethanol Use Phenotype, Kelsey M. Alimandi

Honors Theses and Capstones

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic relapsing brain condition that is characterized by excessive alcohol consumption, continued use when faced with negative consequences, and a negative emotional state associated with withdrawals (anxiety, irritability, depression). The main challenge to treating AUD is preventing relapse. The purpose of this study was to use a prolonged-exposure model to allow rats to self-administer ethanol to determine the brain regions active during relapse events. The rats performed multiple behavioral tests such as economic demand, negative consequences, and an elevated plus maze. These tests determined how hard rats were willing to work for an ethanol …

Productivity Working From Home During The Pandemic, Jacqueline M. Veglia

Honors Theses and Capstones

I will be focusing my research on productivity during working from home. Specifically I will be focusing on men versus women productivity levels working from home, as well as single women versus women with children. This research is also designed to investigate the extent of work employees do while working at home and their productivity levels. The Covid19 pandemic had a major impact on the working environment. People were stuck inside their houses and were not able to go to their offices for months to years and this is still an ongoing problem we are dealing with today. It can …

Language As Resistance: An Exploration Of The Use And Implications Of Spanish In Three Memoirs By Female Chicana Authors, Ella Ross Franzoni

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Accent On Receptive Language Assessments For Bilingual Children, Katherine Stariknok

Honors Theses and Capstones

Language assessments are used to screen and diagnose children with language disorders. Many speech-language pathologists (SLP) practicing in Spanish in the United States do not speak Spanish as their first language, so they are administering these assessments in accented speech. This study aims to find what effect an SLP’s accent will have on a bilingual child’s language assessment. Initial findings show that participants were largely able to understand words in the L2 accent, with most of the errors due to several repeating consonantal features (i.e., voicing alone; place and manner of articulation). The broader impact of this work is to …

Nba Tean Valuation: What Drives Value?, Jackson Cleary

Honors Theses and Capstones

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has slowly become one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the United States as well as growing its reach in European and Chinese ties. With this growth, we have seen the value of NBA teams climb significantly. Mark Cuban, a well-known entrepreneur and Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank, purchased the Dallas Mavericks for $285 million in 2000. They are now worth a staggering $2.5 billion (as of 2021). In 20 years since Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks, they have seen close to ten times increase in their value. This begs the question, what …

How Management’S Response To Fraud Affects The Likelihood Of Future Fraud., Adam Garrity

Honors Theses and Capstones

This article studies the effect of two parts of deterrence theory: sanction certainty and sanction swiftness, on their ability to prevent and deter embezzlement within companies. I will use an experiment, a research instrument, survey questions, and SPSS and ANOVA software to determine if sanction certainty and sanction swiftness have significant effects on how a fictional company is perceived by participants. Participants will be given a scenario that has a combination of a slow or swift punishment and a high or low detection rate. In the experiment, deterrence theory’s effect will be measured by dependent variables such as organizational attractiveness, …

Investigation Of Mechanical Regulation On Stat3 Activity And Mmp Production, Jaxson R. Libby

Honors Theses and Capstones

Transcription factor, STAT3, is inappropriately expressed in cancer cells, and has contrasting activation in 2D versus 3D microenvironments. 2D plates are often used for drug screening and do not always recapitulate in vivo responses. To combat inaccurate 2D drug studies, a 3D hydrogel was created to support the growth of cancer cells into a tumor-like environment. The hydrogel consists of a biocompatible dextran homopolysaccharide, cell adhesion RGD sequences, and crosslinker MMP labile peptides. A pH dependent reaction couples the RGD sequences to dextran then the polymers are crosslinked into a gel. Crosslinking is accomplished using terminal cysteine peptide sequences, allowing …

The Historic Returns Of Gold: Is It The Best Hedge Against Inflation?, Jack William Gillis

Honors Theses and Capstones

The world of investing is rapidly changing as technologies advance. In the past few years especially, we have seen many investors shifting toward decentralized digital money, or what is known as cryptocurrencies. Even with these new asset classes coming out, there has always been one commodity that has stuck around. Gold has been used as a store of value for millenniums. Investors tend to rely on gold because it’s believed to be a safe-haven asset, in times of economic uncertainty. This paper aims to determine whether or not this traditional mindset is still effective in today’s ever-changing investment environment. To …

Investigation Of The Function Of Protein Acyl Transferases Using Crispr-Cas9 To Create Null Mutants, Claire E. Christopher

Honors Theses and Capstones

24 Protein Acyl Transferases (PATs) have been identified in the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana. Despite knowing the enzymatic function of these genes (palmitoylation), the specific subcellular pathways, protein targets, and cellular activities of these proteins remain unknown. To investigate the pathways that PAT genes are involved in, deletion mutations were created in several genes and the phenotype of the organisms carrying homozygous mutations was observed. To introduce mutations, the CRISPR/Cas9 system was inserted into the plant’s genome using Agrobacterium tumefaciens to cause deletions in PAT genes of interest. To date, no CRISPR-induced pat mutants have a noticeable phenotype. These …

Green Home Technology In Residential Real Estate, Edwrad King

Honors Theses and Capstones

This thesis paper explores green home technology in residential homes. The purpose of this research is to understand what green home technologies are, the extent to which they are being adopted, the factors that lead people to adoption, barriers to adoption, and if green home technology adds value to residential homes. The data methodology involves a literature review, and interviews with people who have adopted these technologies, people who have not adopted these technologies, and companies that sell these technologies. The results reveal that green home technology is something that is becoming more commonly adopted, due to factors like cost …

Applications Of Video Game Music Theory For The Highschool/College Theory Curriculum, Daniel L. Thompson

Honors Theses and Capstones

This paper covers the origins of video game audio and the technical limitations that effected what composers could write. Several audio excerpts have been transcribed with roman numeral analysis. The goal of this project was to determine if musical excerpts from video games could supplement an existing highschool/college theory curriculum. Theory techniques ranging from simple cadences to secondary function chords are present throughout the pieces. The pieces are from a variety of games and composers from 1983 - 2014. Overall, many of the compositions contain excellent examples of theory techniques. These excerpts would best be utilized alongside existing theory material. …

Preliminary Findings For Stem Undergraduate Research Mentoring Across Neurodiversity, Sarah K. Young

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.