Digital Commons Network^™

The Function Of Liturgical Music Within The History Of The Catholic Church, Christopher Cuzzupe

Honors Theses

Within the Catholic Church, there has always been a need and a strong presence for music. The need for music has changed from being simply something listened to by all and sung by a few to involving everyone to sing together and participate in liturgical celebrations. There is great richness to be gained from an increased awareness of music in the Church, and many important lessons can be learned from the historical progression of liturgical music. The effect music has had on the liturgy has directly affected the congregation based upon their needs. The central questions addressed within this thesis …

Mastering Customer Loyalty, Kathleen M. Hurley

Honors Theses

Customer loyalty can be described as “the result of consistently positive emotional experience, physical attribute-based satisfaction and perceived value of an experience, which includes the product or services” (Shaw & Hamilton 2015). Since 1896, loyalty programs have developed from a simple stamp redemption system to an intricate in-store and digital model. This system has become so successful because it properly engages the customer, both inside and outside the store, to build a mutually beneficial relationship between the business and the customer. Understanding customer loyalty is essential in creating a program that will provide the customer with incentives to reward their …

Can Your Hear Me?: Assessing College Students' Knowledge Of Noise Induced Hearing Loss, Casey Curran

Honors Theses

Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is an irreversible condition in which the cells of the inner ear are destroyed by strong sound signals and are no longer capable of relaying said signals to the brain for comprehension. Previous studies found that college students are most at risk for NIHL. Several organizations have created Hearing Conservation Programs; however, their efforts to change students’ behaviors have proven unsuccessful as noted by several research studies. These studies explain that Hearing Conservation Programs and initiatives have not worked because college students do not believe they are susceptible to NIHL. The purpose of this study …

Crabp1 Regulation Of Fas Rna In Mouse Mammary Gland Ascs, Fabiola De Varona Colon

Honors Theses

Introduction: The cellular retinoic acid binding protein 1 (Crabp1) promotes tumor growth and is expressed in adipocyte stromal cells (ASCs-L) present during lactation. One known function of Crabp1 is the binding and retention of retinoic acid (RA) in the cytoplasm. This can prevent RA regulated transcription of other genes. Research has shown that Crabp1 is also responsible for the inability of ASC-Ls to retain lipid. This study hoped to connect these two functions of Crabp1 and hypothesized that Crabp1 limits lipid accumulation through Fatty acid synthase (FAS) transcriptional regulation. FAS is an example of a gene that is regulated by …

Ice Buckets To Proteins: Investigating The Role Of Matrin 3 In Als, Elizabeth Diloreto

Honors Theses

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS, is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the dysfunction of motor neurons in the spinal column, which prevents muscle movements and eventually, breathing. The prognosis is death typically within 2 to 5 years with only one drug available for treatment, Riluzole. This drug can only help select ALS patients as ALS is associated with many different protein mutations. One protein frequently found in ALS patient samples is TDP-43. These samples are from stress granules that form when there is toxicity in the cell. TDP-43 has been studied in an isolated context of its RNA-Recognition Motifs, RRM. These …

A Microgenetic Study Of Postpartum Depression And Infant Development, Anna S. Docurral

Honors Theses

Approximately 15% of mothers and 3-5% of fathers experience postpartum depression (DelRosario, 2013). Current literature suggests a negative association between maternal depression and infant development, but little is known about paternal contributions. Field (2010) found that mothers with depressive symptoms at 4 and 8 weeks postpartum reported frequent infant nighttime awakenings and less sleep during the night. Depressed mothers also reported more eating difficulties and lower infant weight gain than nondepressed mothers did (Gress-Smith, 2012). Moreover, infants of depressed mothers expected maternal unavailability and made less effort to engage the mother during the still face experiment (Field, 2002). In this …

A Case For Collaboration: A Manual For Bringing The Collegiate Tutoring Model To The High School Level, Veronica A. Beaupre

Honors Theses

Colleges across the United States have peer tutoring centers designed to support diverse student bodies in their efforts to learn. At the surface level, peer tutoring provides tailored one-on-one instruction that meets the varied learning needs of a large learning community. In addition, peer tutoring has been shown to benefit not only the tutees coming to the center for assistance, but also increase the performance of tutors and change the learning culture of the rest of the learning community. As a powerful resource, the collegiate peer tutoring center model would greatly benefit high schools across the United States, who also …

Us Net Foreign Direct Investment: Determinants And Implications, Ryan Gomez

Honors Theses

Political campaigns always churn the political spectrum on the issue of outsourcing and international trade with the 2017 presidential primary being no exception. Are politicians, like Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, correct when preaching the economic negatives associated with outsourcing? Are they considering the right factors? Could it be that a strictly negative outlook on outsourcing is economically inappropriate in determining future policy? In an attempt to answer these questions, this paper will critically analyze the impact of incoming and outgoing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the USA. Specifically, this study will use determinants of Net FDI (NFDI), where NFDI …

A Return To The Authentic: The Changing Book Industry & Millennial Detachment, Kathryn Bauer

Honors Theses

Similar to many other industries in the twenty-first century, the book industry is beginning to turn in the technological direction. The emergence of eBooks, among other factors, has started to change the face of the industry as we know it. However, these changes may be a result of something bigger: the lifestyle choices of the trailblazing millennial generation. Millennial lifestyles differ significantly from those of past generations, especially in terms of social and emotional detachment. How do these seemingly different, yet defining, aspects of today’s world relate? And is it possible to use ideas from thinkers of the past such …

A Child's World: How Electronics Influence Children's Language, Physical, And Social-Emotional Development, Santina Marinelli

Honors Theses

The present study examines how parents view the role that electronics play in their children’s language, physical, and social-emotional development. Children are growing up in a world where technology is incorporated into many aspects of daily life. It has become an element in how children are parented/raised and it is believed to have an impact on children's development. An instrument was developed to survey parents about their perceptions of the role of technology in their children’s lives. The survey was distributed to 120 participants. The participants comprised a convenience sample of parents from a New England childcare center with children …

Holographic Scaling In Newtonian Gravity, Emma Machado

Honors Theses

Many high school and college students are required to take physics, but few actually learn to discover the mysteries of the field, because they are too busy trying to memorize equations and solve "plug and chug" style problems. Looking into the calculations and equations of physics, a holography can be seen within the subject. This holography can be discovered and made accessible to general physics students, by studying the duality that exists between Electricity and Gravity. Furthermore, the concept of mass in physics (M_ADM) can be calculated, within this holography, for various black holes along with the …

Identity Theft: A Look Into Preventing Decades Of Damages, Mallory Monaco

Honors Theses

Each year identity theft victimizes more people, taking their time, money, and feeling of financial and physical security. Despite its ongoing presence in the news and media, this fraud is too often treated in a reactive manner. Due to the lack of prevention of identity theft, its negative consequences range from damaging one’s credit score for decades to cases of medical identity theft incorrectly altering a patient’s medical records and causing potentially life threatening complications. This thesis examines four major types of identity theft, including medical identity theft, credit card fraud, consumer data breaches, and the identity theft associated with …

Vesicle-Membrane Tethering: The Interaction Of Sec1 And Exocyst Subunit Sec6, Lauren O'Connor

Honors Theses

The exocyst complex is a multi-subunit tethering complex that is used in the process of exocytosis. There are eight subunits in the complex, and these subunits interact with each other as well as proteins outside of the complex to facilitate membrane fusion. Prior research has shown that the exocyst subunit Sec6 and Sec1 from the Sec1/Munc18 (SM) family, a known regulator of membrane fusion, interact with each other. In this experiment, the goal was to crosslink the two proteins and in turn work to identify the interacting amino acid residues that are responsible for the proteins’ interaction. To do this, …

The Effect Of Distance From Nhl Affiliate On Ahl Fan Attendance, Stephen Picard

Honors Theses

This paper examines the effect of American Hockey League (AHL) teams locating closer to their National Hockey League (NHL) affiliates. With several AHL teams closing the distance (geographically) between their NHL affiliates for logistical purposes, I studied whether or not they will experience higher levels of fan support. I used data from all AHL teams between 2007 and 2017. I found a statistically insignificant negative relationship between proximity to NHL affiliate and average attendance in the AHL for all the teams. However, less popular AHL teams do experience higher levels of fan attendance when located closer to their NHL affiliate. …

Does Mindful Meditation Enhance Eyewitness Memory And Prevent The Misinformation Effect?, Lauren Price

Honors Theses

Engaging in a brief mindful meditation task prior to witnessing an event may enhance event encoding and reduce susceptibility to post-event misinformation. Participants in this study completed either a 3-minute mindful meditation exercise or an unrelated filler task (Sudoku). Half of the participants in each group were first told their task was beneficial to memory, while the other half were told nothing. After completing the task, all participants viewed a video of a fictitious crime. After viewing the video, they listened to a narrative that introduced misleading information about the video. Finally, they took a memory test on the video. …

Protecting The Whistleblower: An Evolving Understanding Of The Role Of The Whistleblower, Alan Harrington

Honors Theses

This thesis will provide a background for whistleblower protection policies and explore the evolution of whistleblower protection policies in the United States in relation to publicly traded companies.

Is Stem Cell Transplantation A Practical Treatment For Macular Degeneration?, Zachary Slepchuk

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Couples' Birth Experiences In Coparenting Dynamics During The Transition To Parenthood, Deanna Marie Cecilia Tortora

Honors Theses

Past research uncovered different antecedents, which influence the coparenting relationship including environmental supports and stressors, individual parent and child characteristics, and the couple relationship, though no prior study to date has investigated the impact of birth narratives on coparenting. The main purpose in the present study was to explore links between partners’ conjointly constructed birth narratives and coparenting dynamics preceding and following the birth of couples’ first child. Fifty-five couples’ coparenting interactions were observed during their last trimester of pregnancy (Prenatal Lausanne Trilogue Play) and at 3- (Postnatal Lausanne Trilogue play) and 12- months postpartum (Triadic play and mealtime interactions). …

Beyond The Pond: My Semester Abroad, Converted Into Creative Nonfiction, Elaine Ingalls

Honors Theses

Creative nonfiction is a genre that consists of dramatized, true stories. They are portrayed through literary elements commonly used by poets and fiction writers. These elements include dialogue, a replication of scenes, character development, and detailed descriptions of setting and interior thought. Creative nonfiction allows the writer to find meaning beyond his/her experiences and reflect on universal and personal issues.

When I set out to write, I intended on writing one longer story that brought each individual experience together. As a final product, my thesis stands as a collection of different trips and events that all contributed to my time …

The Influence Of Social Context On Communication And Restricted And Repetitive Behaviors In Autism, Shannon Campbell

Honors Theses

Two of the most salient features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are impairments in communication and engagement in restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs). The goal of this study was to identify the effects of social context on both the occurrence of RRBs and social language performance in children with ASD. In this study, we defined the social context of a situation based on the primary focus (object or conversation) and the initiator of the interaction (child or experimenter). We performed a frequency count of RRBs as well as a mean length of utterance (MLU) analysis for play tasks with variations …