Digital Commons Network^™

A Quantitative And Qualitative Analysis Of The Use Of Sex In Advertising In American And British Women’S Magazines, Kathleen Ruddy

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Sex and decency in advertising is an international issue, and different nations allow different degrees of sexually explicit material (Boddewyn, 1991). This study compares the use of sex in advertisements in American and British editions of Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, and Marie Claire. The degree of sexual content in the advertisements was analyzed using measures of nudity, sexual behavior, sexually attractive models, sexual referents, and sexual embeds. The variables of nudity and sexual behavior were examined in a content analysis, and the variables of sexual attractiveness, sexual referents, and sexual embeds were examined in a qualitative analysis. Analysis of variance between …

The Connection Is You: Public Service Announcement Campaign, Julia M. Rocchi

Honors Capstone Projects - All

In an effort to raise civic awareness among SU students by encouraging volunteerism throughout their college career, I examined and defined four elements of community in the city of Syracuse: arts and entertainment, politics and government, youth and education, and homes and neighborhoods. I then utilized my Television-Radio-Film training to write, produce, direct, and edit four public service announcements (PSAs) in an integrated campaign titled The Connection is YOU. Each three-minute PSA illustrated a different element through a local organization—respectively, The Redhouse, Onondaga County Board of Elections,SouthwestCommunity Center, andWestcottCommunity Center. The PSAs are slated for distribution through Orange Television …

The [Radio] Play’S The Thing Direction And Production Of The Shakespearean Baseball Game: A Comedy Of Errors, Hits And Runs, Michael K. Girts

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Directing and producing The Shakespearean Baseball Game was a perfect capstone project for mySyracuseUniversity career. I have the proud distinction of being the only student at SU to graduate with both a B.S. in Television/Radio/Film and a B.F.A. in Acting. My goal was to invest my time and energy into a thesis that would utilize my expertise in both areas. Directing and producing this drama has been just that project.

I’ve learned about drama as a visual and audial medium. In radio drama, however, the director must paint the picture – must tell a story – with sound alone. My …

Good Society, Lindsay Dedario

Honors Capstone Projects - All

My senior honors thesis is an illustrated book which renders various snapshots of people and events encountered while I was living and volunteering in Ecuador during the summer of 2004. Each snapshot brings to life some aspect of the human condition which transcends the boundaries of culture, qualities which are intrinsic to humanity despite our vast surface value differences.

I used a fairly tight, lyrical voice combined with a borderline journalistic approach to textually communicate each snapshot. This is not intended to over romanticize the piece or to ignore the fact that this society had problems like all others. Rather, …

Cadensation: A Distillation Of Rhythm In Prose, Matthew G. Sedlak

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This is a collection of four short works fiction. This thesis project addresses the issue of language in short fiction by making it the focal point of the pieces included. The project was pursued largely through workshopping pieces I had already written and obtaining commentary from many outside sources. I met with Arthur Flowers once every other week during the school year to discuss where the pieces stood and where they might be going. The vast majority of the process was the physical act of writing. That was done alone.

Translation: A Reflection On Conducting Translations Of English And Spanish Language Texts, Julie E. Mendez

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Translation is a process that requires time and careful thought. A translator must possess the necessary skills to translate an original text into another language. Although at times an arduous task, translation is gaining respect in the United States as cultures combine into one melting pot. The need for efficient translators has increased, especially for those that are knowledgeable in the Spanish Language.

This Thesis Project focuses on the process of translation and is comprised of two parts. First, I translated short stories from both Spanish and English. Then, I reflected on the issues I faced as I translated not …

Acquisition Of Violations Of English Principle B By Native Speakers Of Japanese Or Chinese, Clarion C. Mendes

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This work focuses on Principles A and B of Binding Theory as applied to English. While English has a very strict interpretation of Binding Theory, it has a violation of Principle B with sentences with locative prepositional phrases and verb phrases of caused movement or perception.

In contrast, Chinese and Japanese have a very liberal interpretation of Binding Theory. The study is involved with investigating whether or not Japanese or Chinese speakers adapt to the English violation which is typically not taught in a classroom setting, but something acquired through natural exposure.

A custom survey was designed to see if …

A Promenade Through Paris, Kelley Voegelin

Honors Capstone Projects - All

I have written and illustrated a short story that takes place during one day in Paris, France. The story is drawn from my own experience living in another culture. I have created a main character that brings the reader through the story. Along the way the reader visits wonderful places in the city of Paris and learns snippets about Parisian culture and lifestyle.

The text and artwork themselves appear in a book that I have made by hand. I began by inventing a unique paper of a cotton base, lilies, cattails, and other starchy plants. At the end of the …

On Earth, Kristina Foley

Honors Capstone Projects - All

My thesis project is structured around a friendship that grew into an artistic collaboration. Laura Williams and myself, Kristina Foley, pulled our resources and concepts together from two seemingly disparate fields of art, Fiber Structure and Interlocking and the Media Art Program, to explore our personal identification with Feminism, magic, and the role of art in illustrating history through revealing perspectives often kept hidden. Using fibers and textile pieces we explore a women’s history that has been kept private and held close to the body, while simultaneously using video and photography to re-imagine how the female is projected into the …

Through Doors: Every Door Takes You Someplace Completely New, Gareth Manwaring

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Through Doors is a 30-minute experimental action-adventure fiction film. The film is fueled by the premise: “What if every door you walked through took you someplace completely different?” It was shot in Syracuse, New York, with collaborations between the community and students at Syracuse University. The sound track was composed by local artists Joe Driscoll, Ryan Zara and Gregg Yetti. Through Doors was shot using the Panasonic DVX100 24p camera which gave the final piece the look of film, even though it was shot in a digital format. Through Doors is a work of art for entertainment purposes as well …

The Town Hall Is Filling With Boulders, Christopher Miller

Honors Capstone Projects - All

When I first decided that I wanted to endeavor the realization and composition of a book-length collection of poetry, I had no theme or binding conceptual idea in mind. I saw the thesis project as a chance to create an anthology of work, one that would both map my personal growth as a writer and the distillation of my craft and technique. I knew the poems were going to reach over a period of about two-and-a-half years, so it was clear to me right away that I had no idea where writing would take me, or what iterations my imagination …

Cell Wall Functions Required For Mating In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Stephen Dougherty

Honors Capstone Projects - All

In order for two haploid yeast cells to undergo normal fusion during mating, adhesive contacts are formed by a general class of fungal proteins termed “adhesins”. Within this family there is a subgroup of cell wall proteins termed “agglutinins” which are known to mediate aggregation, thereby increasing mating efficiency in liquid medium (Aga1p, Aga2p, Aga1p). In the absence of sufficient mating adhesive contacts we observed that cells undergo defective morphogenesis, apparently continuing to grow at their tips after fusing at the expense of laterally expanding their conjugation bridge. Based on these qualitative observations, I utilized differential interference microscopy to capture …

Determining The Effects Of Psychosocial Interventions On Quality Of Life For Cancer Patients: Analysis Of Pilot Data And Recommendations For Full Experimental Design And Statistical Analysis, Sarah Julia Thomas

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The Hematology and Oncology Specialists Foundation plans to carry out a scientific study to assess the effects of several of its psychosocial interventions, or “wellness programs,” on the quality of life (QoL) experienced by cancer patients. Pilot data showed that participation in a meditation program significantly reduced the symptoms of stress experienced by the patients (t = 2.70, p = 0.011), and that participation in psychological counseling significantly reduced the anxiety and depression levels of the patients (t = 5.33, p = 0.002; t = 8.70, p < 0.001, respectively).

The full scale study has a 6×2 factorial design with six treatments (non-participation, …

A Place Apart: Myth And Sacred Space, Diana Hazel

Honors Capstone Projects - All

“When old myths are lost, new ones are needed. Myths flourish and fade and die, but new myths are born, old ones are resurrected, and hybrid forms combining new and old emerge when times change or cultures mingle” (Graves: 1959, 9).

The original concept of this project was to create a CD-ROM database of mythology from various cultures and time periods throughout history. The first few months of my work were carried out with this end in mind. Since then, the project has taken a more personal turn. Instead of presenting the mythologies of other people, I have created my …

Design Of A Prototype Model Aircraft Utilizing Propulsive Airfoil Technology, Richard L. Pepe

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Researchers have considered the concept of a simple, compact aircraft for personal use for many years. To date, no effort has led to the development of a practical and affordable vehicle. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Lab atSyracuseUniversity, however, has been researching a distributed propulsion technique, called propulsive airfoil technology, that has significant promise to meet the requirements for personal ownership of a small, hybrid road and air vehicle.

The propulsive airfoil concept is rooted in HVAC technology, utilizing a cross-flow fan (CFF) embedded into the trailing edge of a thick airfoil section, drawing in air from the top surface …

The Role Of Dosage Sensitive Sex Reversal Adrenal Hyperplasia Congenita 1 (Dax-1) In Mouse Oogenesis, Krystal Wilson

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Although critically important to fertility and reproduction, the mechanisms controlling development of mammalian primordial germ cells into functional oocytes are poorly understood. Understanding the mechanisms that regulate oocyte development will ultimately reveal significant insights into female infertility problems in mammals, including humans. In order to decipher what mediates the formation of a functional oocyte, we are studying oogenesis in the mammalian model Mus musculus. During mouse embryonic development the oocytes develop as interconnected clusters of cells called germline cysts. Evidence suggests that in humans, oocytes are also organized into cysts. Eventually the cysts undergo programmed cell breakdown, each giving …

Neonatal Nutritional Care, Karen O'Shea

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Premature birth is defined as a birth occurring at or before 37 weeks of gestation, but it encompasses so much more than just gestational age. The incidence of premature birth has increased by 27% since 1981 and it accounts for 12% of all live births. In addition, premature birth can have devastating effects on the infant if not handled properly. Therefore, all forms of treatment of preterm infants are important. The nutritional care given to these infants is one area of treatment that needs more attention. Little research exists to address the nutritional care, since it would be unethical to …

The Effects Of Core Affect, Emotion, And Self-Efficacy On Physiologic Response To Social Stressors, Jessica L. Reedy

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Cardiovascular health is affected by many factors including biological aspects such as heredity and overall health, as well as by environmental factors. Social stress, socioeconomic status, family environment, and coping skills have all been shown to contribute increased risk for cardiovascular disease. In an effort to further elucidate past findings in this area, this study, conducted on 36 college-age students, examined the connection between physiological response (blood pressure, heart rate, and mean arterial pressure) to laboratory social stressors in correspondence to emotional, affective, and arousal levels, as measured by self-report. The results yielded a significant relationship between physiologic response to …

The Effects Of The Availability Heuristic On Student's Judgments Of Others Alcohol Consumption, Jennifer Mcenroy

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The primary purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that enhancing the availability of images that either portrayed liberal heavy drinking at college or the conservative academic side of college would serve to influence students’ perceptions of peer norms. It was hypothesized that students would rely on the availability heuristic to make judgments of peer norms, so that exposure to a movie clip that emphasized drinking would increase estimates of peer drinking norms when compared with exposure to a movie clip that emphasized academic work. It was further hypothesized that the film clips would assist participants in making …

Synthesis Of Novel Alkaline Earth Metal Acetylides, Eva Baker

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Acetylide complexes of the heavy alkaline-earth metals were first introduced by our group. With our group being interested in how the ligand and donor affect the structural chemistry of the resulting complexes, my project was focused on the detailed analysis of past work and the extension towards new ligand and donor sets. The work required the analysis and development of synthetic procedures towards these highly reactive species.

Past synthetic work in our group had established several synthetic routes towards the target compounds including transamination and toluene elimination. Using toluene elimination, I was able to reproduce the synthesis of M(C≡CSiPh_{3 …}

Developing A Constitutively Active Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor In The Mouse Heart, Bruno Decaria

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Abstract not Included

Using A Pda To Control Home Appliances, Atif Albraiki

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) is a handheld device that gives users different organizational capabilities. Over the years, the functionality of PDAs has expanded tremendously to include internet connectivity and different computer applications. The purpose of my honors thesis, combined with my engineering senior design project, was to include a new functionality to the PDA and use it to control different home appliances. The goal of the project was to develop a PDA program that will communicate with a PC program, and have the PC program communicate with a microcontroller to control home appliances. My part of the project was …

Photo-Induced Current Measurements In Chlamydomonas Cell Suspensions, Collin D. Capano

Honors Capstone Projects - All

In order to fully understand the principles behind phototaxis in flagellate algae, it is necessary to measure the electric currents these cells create when processing light stimuli. Many different techniques have been developed to do this. One of these techniques, measuring from cell suspensions, has a number of advantages over the others that makes it highly desirable. However, the lab that first developed this method of recording did not describe the setup very well. The result is that in the thirteen years since it was first reported, only one other independent lab has been able to reproduce the results despite …

The College Football Gambling Market An Empirical Approach, Brian Mcneil

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This study tests the efficiency of the college football gambling market and whether the market allows for profitable wagering. Operating upon the theoretical framework that, at any given time, prices fully reflect all information available in a particular market, I test for the existence of residual information that is not currently incorporated into the market, thus rendering it inefficient. This project expands upon several previous studies performed on sports betting – most notably that of Zuber, Gandar, and Bowers (1985), which examined the gambling market efficiency for National Football League games. The findings prove to be consistent with the conclusions …

Studies On Novel Semiconductor Detectors And Front-End Electronics For Heavy Flavor Decay Studies, Gustavo Kertzscher

Honors Capstone Projects - All

I have studied novel semiconductor detectors designed to provide precise space point information of the trajectory of charged subatomic particles produced in high energy physics (HEP) collisions. The technological thrust aims toward maintaining good performance of these detectors in a hard radiation environment for an extended period of time. My studies approached two different types of silicon devices: a whole wafer comprised of test structures and pixel devices designed for the inner vertex detector of the BTeV experiment, and small test structures of a novel type of quasi-3D detectors developed in the context of the CERN RD50 collaboration. This collaboration …

Comparing Montessori Education And Conventional Education On Aspects Of Creativity, Tiffany Jones

Honors Capstone Projects - All

My Honors Thesis compares creativity in children taught in a Montessori classroom with students taught in a conventional classroom. I tested 58 children at BelleValleyElementary Schoolin EriePennsylvania, half in the Montessori program, half in traditional classrooms. Their ages ranged from 5-9, from kindergarten to 3^rd grade. I hypothesized that the independence allowed in Montessori classrooms would help foster creativity in its students. The project uses two forms of evaluation to test the concept of creativity, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking and consensual assessment to score a creative collage. Significant developmental differences were found; older children scored higher on …

Connections Between U.S. Consumer Magazine Cover Characteristics And Single Copy Sales Circulation, Stephanie C. Barlow

Honors Capstone Projects - All

In the realm of journalism, conventional wisdom suggests that magazine covers “sell” magazines at newsstands. This study explores this idea by looking at the econometric relationship between cover characteristics such as presence of people and “catch” words and single copy sales. Several significant characteristics influencing such sales are found. In addition, this study is based on a new data set developed by the author indicating various characteristics of numbers of magazine covers over a five-year time span.

Specifically, a set of 14 magazines were observed for 10 characteristics. The percentage of the presence of these characteristics on magazine covers over …

Rise And Fall Of The Continuum Revivalism In Architecture, Tyler Caine

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Abstract not Included

An Exploration Of Self-Esteem And Racial Identity Among Children Placed In Transracial And Same-Race Foster Homes, Shanay Barrett-Hugan

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The number of children in foster care continues to grow. Unfortunately this increase in children is far greater than the number of foster families available. Children are being placed in homes in which the race of the foster parent is different from that of the foster child. Legislative policies have also been enacted to eliminate discrimination in foster care placement. This study is designed to explore the impact of transracial foster care on adolescent children’s racial identity and self-esteem. Three children ages 11-17, who were placed in transracial and same-race foster homes, were interviewed in order to explore whether children …

The American Democracy In The 21st Century, Richard A. Cocozza

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This paper puts forward a theory of democracy most suited for American politics given the plurality of ideological interests at play in the United States. This plurality, which I call the "fact of ideological diversity," dictates that in order for our government to be truly democratic, the political forum must foster opinions from all ideological considerations, not just the most dominant ones. I also demonstrate that given the nature of free institutions and our governmental structure, prior attemps by philosophers to reconcile a diversity of ideological interests using a procedural format is not sufficient to forming a wholly democratic political …