Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Engineering Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences

PDF

Stander Symposium Projects

Articles 31 - 60 of 371

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

A Portfolio Weighting Strategy For A Portfolio Of 9 Large Cap Healthcare Stocks: The Case For Capture Ratios, 2010 - 2015 Apr 2016

A Portfolio Weighting Strategy For A Portfolio Of 9 Large Cap Healthcare Stocks: The Case For Capture Ratios, 2010 - 2015

Stander Symposium Projects

The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) indicates that individual stocks are systematically influenced by overall price movements in the market. One way of measuring these systematic movements is through capture ratios. In this study I utilize upside/downside capture ratios to develop portfolio weights for 9 large cap Health Care stocks which make up the largest overall weight in the Health Care Sector XLV. I test the following hypotheses: (1) The upside/downside capture ratio weighted portfolio outperforms the market (S&P 500), (2) the upside/downside capture ratio weighted portfolio outperforms XLV. (3) The performance of the upside/downside capture ratio weighted healthcare portfolio …


Bmi Associations Between Mother And Offspring From Birth To Age 18: The Fels Longitudinal Study Apr 2016

Bmi Associations Between Mother And Offspring From Birth To Age 18: The Fels Longitudinal Study

Stander Symposium Projects

Introduction: It is reported that two of three American adults are classified as overweight or obese; and one in three of their offspring will become overweight or obese (Sun et al., 2012). Because parental obesity is a risk factor for childhood obesity, children can also be pre-exposed to risk factors for chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery and cardiovascular diseases. It has been well established that body composition is affected by many variables such as age, sex, race, in addition to the familial environment affects such as diet and exercise habits (Baumgartner et al., 1994). Previous research has …


Re (Cell) Lcd: A Feasibility Study On Recycling Cell Phone Lcd Apr 2016

Re (Cell) Lcd: A Feasibility Study On Recycling Cell Phone Lcd

Stander Symposium Projects

Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) are used in a magnitude of devices and have now become the norm in products that require a screen, such as, cell phones, computers, televisions, tablets, and more. However, many of these technologies are becoming outdated leading towards the issue of exponential growth of waste with a lack of technology set in place for proper recycling. Most of research literatures on LCD recycling are of electronic products and e-waste in general rather than cell phones in particular. Few studies on recycling of cell phone LCD have been accomplished. Since everyday around 300,000 mobile phones are sent …


Identification Of Potential Acrab-Tolc Efflux Pump Inhibitors In Escherichia Coli Using An Ethidium Bromide Method. Apr 2016

Identification Of Potential Acrab-Tolc Efflux Pump Inhibitors In Escherichia Coli Using An Ethidium Bromide Method.

Stander Symposium Projects

Many bacteria are known to exhibit antibiotic resistance through overexpression of efflux pumps. In this experiment, inhibition of a bacterial efflux pump through the physical binding of small molecule inhibitor compounds was explored as a way to combat substrate expulsion. The TolC protomer of the AcrAB-TolC efflux pump in Escherichia coli was targeted in a virtual screen for novel small molecule inhibitor compounds. PyRx AutoDock Vina was used to virtually dock the various small molecules to the TolC protein and rank the compounds based on favorable binding energies. Five lead-compounds from the virtual screen were ultimately selected for in vivo …


Identification Of English Learners As Gifted Students Apr 2016

Identification Of English Learners As Gifted Students

Stander Symposium Projects

The United States educational system has faced several challenges and reforms regarding assessment and identification in the past fifty years which continue to change as the nation develops new goals and needs (Giuliani & Pierangelo 2012). In recent years, schools have included a large population of immigrant students from families with native languages other than English (Carter 2005). The need for educating students in English as a second language has led to new policies and programs developed specifically for ELL or English Language Learners (Elizalde-Utnick 2008). Another current topic of educational policy concerns the emphasis on assessment and high-stakes testing. …


Internship Experience Through The Wild Encounters Program Of The Cincinnati Zoo Apr 2016

Internship Experience Through The Wild Encounters Program Of The Cincinnati Zoo

Stander Symposium Projects

In the summer of 2015, I participated in an internship in the Wild Encounters department at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens. The internship required an extensive amount of training in proper animal handling, husbandry, and interpretation. This training allowed me the opportunity to work with a wide diversity of wildlife including several endangered species. The internship gave me access to a wide range of biodiversity including invertebrates such as the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, and smaller vertebrates, such as Sand Boas and Spiny Tailed Lizards. In addition, I spent time interacting and educating the public on larger species of wildlife, …


Capture Ratio Analysis And The Materials Sector Xlb: A Performance Review For 2010-2015 Apr 2016

Capture Ratio Analysis And The Materials Sector Xlb: A Performance Review For 2010-2015

Stander Symposium Projects

The materials sector performance has had a challenging time over the last few years. A slow down in China and Europe certainly have been contributing factors in XLB's weak performance. In this study, I evaluate a portfolio weighting model based on capture ratios. The covariance in price peformance between large-cap stocks in the materials sector and the market (S&P 500). In this study I use a concentrated portfolio of the 10 biggest cap-weighted stocks in XLB and weight their position in the portfolio by upside/downside capture ratios. I then test the following hypotheses; 1.)The 10 materials stocks portfolio weighted by …


Finding Physicians Fast: Making Finding A Doctor Easier For Esl Students Apr 2016

Finding Physicians Fast: Making Finding A Doctor Easier For Esl Students

Stander Symposium Projects

In the realm of healthcare, it is often difficult to decipher how to locate personal and primary physicians. Those living in the United States are familiar with the role of family care physicians, however, individuals who have immigrated to the U.S. may not fully understand how to find a family physician. The topic of family physicians is important because many other countries do not have primary care physicians that require appointments. For our project, we took two documents that tested at a reading level of 12th grade. We did this by testing the original documents with the SMOG test and …


Intellectual Property And The Ncaa Apr 2016

Intellectual Property And The Ncaa

Stander Symposium Projects

The research aim of this project is to examine the legal issues regarding intellectual property with student athletes who participate in sports under governance of the NCAA. Intellectual property rights are for creative works which are designated to specific people or businesses by law. This research thesis will examine the conflict the NCAA has with student athletes that argue they should be obtaining revenue from autographs, jersey sales, etc. The Ed O’Bannon case, which just concluded and is now in the settlement phase, will be a major focal point of this research project. Ed O’Bannon sued the NCAA for using …


Electrical Characterization Of Tungsten Oxide Based Memristor For Improved Resistive Switching Apr 2016

Electrical Characterization Of Tungsten Oxide Based Memristor For Improved Resistive Switching

Stander Symposium Projects

Memristor,the forth fundamental circuit element, has opened new phase in the realm of thin film semiconducting device. The non-volatility of memristors, used as Resistive switching RAM, is promising for applications such as DRAM, hard disks etc. The implementation of a memristor device with Tungsten Oxide (WOx) is presented in this work. The presentation addresses fundamental electrical characterization of the memristor devices for their switching performance. Resistive switching in WOx is bipolar in nature. The Pd/WOx/W made memristors become more conductive (resistive) when applied with a positive (negative) bias voltage. The conductance or resistance change is controlled by the re-distribution of …


Portfolio Weighting Strategies For A Concentrated Portfolio Of Consumer Discretionary Stocks: An Empirical Analysis, 2010-2015 Apr 2016

Portfolio Weighting Strategies For A Concentrated Portfolio Of Consumer Discretionary Stocks: An Empirical Analysis, 2010-2015

Stander Symposium Projects

Recent interest by investment managers in Portfolio Weighting Strategies other than market capitalization has led to a rapid increase in fundamental based indexing. In their study I use the price dynamics of firms relative to the market (S&P 500) to weight a 10 stock portfolio of Consumer Discretionary firms. The weighting model is based on the capture ratio of the price changes for each stock compared to the S&P 500. In particular, an upside/downside capture ratio is developed for each stock based on a years worth of daily price changes. The following hypotheses are tested: 1) Firms with higher upside/downside …


Examining Factors Associated With High Leadership Self-Efficacy Among International Women College Students In The U.S. Apr 2016

Examining Factors Associated With High Leadership Self-Efficacy Among International Women College Students In The U.S.

Stander Symposium Projects

Leadership self-efficacy is an area of self-efficacy related to the level of confidence one has in his or her knowledge, skills, and abilities to lead others (Bandura, 1997). When leadership self- efficacy is placed within the context of student development, it has the ability to contribute to or negate from a student’s motivation to persist and succeed in leadership associated tasks (Bandura, 1993; Stage, 1996). The goal of this research is to explore how international female undergraduate students perceive their leadership abilities in relation to their personally constructed definition of leadership. Through qualitative interviews with six international female undergraduate students, …


Do High Roe Stocks Outperform The Market With Persistence: An Empirical Analysis, 2009 - 2014 Apr 2016

Do High Roe Stocks Outperform The Market With Persistence: An Empirical Analysis, 2009 - 2014

Stander Symposium Projects

Academic studies by Eugene Fama and Kenneth French as well as Robert Novy Marx identify profitability as one of the factors determining the variation in excess returns in the cross section of stock returns. Using return on equity (ROE) as my measure of profitability and the S&P 500 as my universe of stocks, I examine the impact of ROE on S&P 500 stock performance for the period 2009 - 2014. I test the following hypotheses with respect to ROE: (1) Portfolios of firms with high ROE's (40% or higher) outperform the market with persistence i.e. over long periods of time, …


Dissecting The Sex-Dependent Neurochemical Effects Of The Rapid-Acting Antidepressant Drug Ketamine With In Vivo Brain Microdialysis In Mice Apr 2016

Dissecting The Sex-Dependent Neurochemical Effects Of The Rapid-Acting Antidepressant Drug Ketamine With In Vivo Brain Microdialysis In Mice

Stander Symposium Projects

Major depression is a devastating mental disorder that affects nearly 20% of the world’s population. Notably, women experience major depression at roughly twice the rate of men and respond differently to different types of antidepressant drugs. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this sex-differentiated responsiveness remain a largely neglected area of experimentation with current treatments based almost exclusively on research conducted in males. Most importantly, currently marketed antidepressant drugs take anywhere from weeks to months in order to elicit their therapeutic effects, thus leading to increased drop-out rates. Ketamine is a unique, rapid-acting antidepressant drug that alleviates depressive symptomatology in both …


Supplementation Of Propionate Inhibits The Anaerobic Growth Of The Foodborne Pathogen Listeria Monocytogenes Apr 2016

Supplementation Of Propionate Inhibits The Anaerobic Growth Of The Foodborne Pathogen Listeria Monocytogenes

Stander Symposium Projects

Listeria monocytogenes is an infectious bacterium that is known to cause severe diseases in people who are pregnant, elderly, or generally immunocompromised through consumption of contaminated food products. To help develop preventative strategies to protect these high-risk individuals, our lab focuses on the approach of enhancing the chemical barrier naturally existing in the intestinal tract to block L. monocytogenes from interacting with the human intestinal epithelium and causing fatal infections. The chemical environment inside the human intestinal lumen is rich with fermentation acids produced by the endogenous microbes. In my research project, I tested the efficacy of propionic acid, one …


The Use Of A Molecular Probe To Investigate The Details Of Pria Helicase Function Apr 2016

The Use Of A Molecular Probe To Investigate The Details Of Pria Helicase Function

Stander Symposium Projects

During DNA replication in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, the replication machinery (replisome) invariably encounters structural DNA damage, an event that can result in disbanding of the replisome and the creation of a collapsed replication fork. In order for DNA replication to continue, the replisome must be reloaded onto the DNA strand, a process that often begins with unwinding of double-stranded (duplex) DNA by the primosome protein PriA. Little is known about the mechanism through which PriA unwinds DNA and begins replisome recruitment. We seek to shed new light on this mechanism through the use of a PriA inhibitor, compound …


Role Of Axial Patterning Genes In Growth Regulation During Eye Development Apr 2016

Role Of Axial Patterning Genes In Growth Regulation During Eye Development

Stander Symposium Projects

An important question in developmental biology is that how axial patterning genes work with growth and patterning to form any three-dimensional organ. In any multicellular organism, Organogenesis, requires axial patterning i.e. formation of Antero-Posterior (AP), Dorso-Ventral (DV), Proximo-Distal (PD) axes. Any deviation in these axes during development leads to genetic birth defects. We use Drosophila melanogaster (a.k.a fruit fly), eye as our model. As the genetic machinery between flies and human is conserved, any insights generated in flies can be extrapolated into humans. In Drosophila, DV patterning marks first lineage restriction event where expression of dorsal, ventral fate selectors forms …


Mutant Pria C-Tev Ml346 And Its Unwinding Dna Capabilities Apr 2016

Mutant Pria C-Tev Ml346 And Its Unwinding Dna Capabilities

Stander Symposium Projects

DNA damage can cause the process of DNA replication to stall and this can lead to dissociation of the DNA replication enzymes from the DNA. In bacteria, a protein called PriA recognizes this, unwinds a portion of duplex DNA at the site where replication stalled, and reloads the replication enzymes to restart DNA replication. PriA has multiple structural domains that are closely associated with one another to give rise to a compact globular protein. The winged helix domain, however, is connected to the remainder of the protein by a long, flexible portion of polypeptide, akin to a tether. I examined …


Inflation Trends In Personal Consumption Expenditures, 2001-2015 Apr 2016

Inflation Trends In Personal Consumption Expenditures, 2001-2015

Stander Symposium Projects

The Federal Reserve, as a key element in its monetary policy, uses a 2% target inflation rate to determine if the federal funds rate needs to be increased. The purpose of this study is to evaluate long, intermediate, and short term trends in inflation to determine if the inflation policy objective has been reached. My inflation metric is Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) and the period of analysis is 2001-20015. I develop linear trend equations for both PCE and PCE less food and energy using the b coefficients from the regressions as a proxy for the PCE inflation rate. Out of …


Robust Nonlinear Adaptive Control For Longitudinal Dynamics Of Hypersonic Aircraft Vehicle Model Apr 2016

Robust Nonlinear Adaptive Control For Longitudinal Dynamics Of Hypersonic Aircraft Vehicle Model

Stander Symposium Projects

A hypersonic aircraft vehicle is a highly complex nonlinear system, which includes uncertainties in the dynamics. This paper presents the design of robust nonlinear adaptive control for a hypersonic aircraft vehicle model. The complexity of the dynamic system is considered into the design structure of the control in order to address robustness issues. Design of a robust control system should decouple the longitudinal and lateral dynamics to handle the flight of hypersonic vehicle under certain specific conditions. In this paper, we only consider longitudinal dynamics, which are divided into aircraft speed subsystem and flight-path angle subsystem. A robust control design …


Monetary Policy And Unemployment Rates: Is There A Relationship? An Empirical Analysis: 2001-2015 Apr 2016

Monetary Policy And Unemployment Rates: Is There A Relationship? An Empirical Analysis: 2001-2015

Stander Symposium Projects

The Federal Reserve has a dual mandate to carry out Policy objectives that bring about full employment in the economy with price stability. On the full employment side, monthly job growth along with unemployment rates are two key metrics that indicate how well the fed is doing in achieving the mandate. In this study, I focus on unemployment rate trends over the period 2001-2015.In 2001, the U.S. economy was dealing with a mild recession and in 2008 a severe recession. I look at the trend in the unemployment rate for the periods 2001-2007 and 2009-2015 to obtain a better understanding …


Wage Costs And Inflation Trends: An Empirical Analysis 2001-2015 Apr 2016

Wage Costs And Inflation Trends: An Empirical Analysis 2001-2015

Stander Symposium Projects

Rising wage costs have often been used as a leading indication of inflation in national economies. In the US since the 2008 recession wage costs growth has, to say the least, been erratic with no discernible upward trend. In 2015, however, wage cost growth showed some signs of picking up steam suggesting that overall spending in the economy will likely pick up. In this study we examine trends in the employee cost index (ECI) from 2001 to 2015, the long term trend period, and 2009 to 2015, an intermediate term period after the 2008 recession. Linear trend equations are developed …


Cross-Cultural Engagement: Is It Happening? Apr 2016

Cross-Cultural Engagement: Is It Happening?

Stander Symposium Projects

This study examines the cross-cultural engagement between international and domestic undergraduate engineering students at a private, Midwestern university. It uncovers the situations in which international and domestic students are engaging and explores the components which help or hinder the cross-cultural interaction between these students. This study informs higher education professionals endeavoring to provide undergraduate engineering students a greater ability to function in a global world. Data was collected through the use of one-on-one interviews with current international and domestic undergraduate engineering students. The study revealed that while international and domestic engineering students are engaging, the frequency remains low and there …


Imagery Solutions Geospatial Information System (Gis System) Apr 2016

Imagery Solutions Geospatial Information System (Gis System)

Stander Symposium Projects

Imagery Solutions is a small start-up company that specializes in imagery gathering technology using aerial methods for customers who need precise imaging data, such as those in precision agriculture and energy distributing industries. The purpose behind this image gathering functionality is to provide decision oriented information derived from image data. The mission for the company is to have this information come to the customer in a timely, accurate, and relevant way. Open GIS is the established open source application for this process. The task presented to our team is to create a business process for the organization from the point …


The Implementation Of Two-Way Immersion Programs Apr 2016

The Implementation Of Two-Way Immersion Programs

Stander Symposium Projects

As society becomes more global, educators are searching for models of education that provide students with the ability to be competitive in the global marketplace. Bilingual education offers students the opportunity to learn two languages while maintaining student achievement in other content areas. One option of bilingual education is called two-way immersion (TWI) programs. TWI classrooms are comprised of students who are native speakers of two different languages. Together, these students communicate in both languages, while receiving instruction in both languages as well. These programs have been shown to be effective in teaching two languages without lowering student achievement. Bilingual …


Confessions Of A Sorority Woman: Impacts Of Hazing On New Members Of Panhellenic Greek Lettered Organizations Apr 2015

Confessions Of A Sorority Woman: Impacts Of Hazing On New Members Of Panhellenic Greek Lettered Organizations

Stander Symposium Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine how Panhellenic Greek lettered organizations might choose to haze their new members and how being hazed impacted a new member, physically and mentally. Participants responded to a web-based survey that asked individuals to identify what they believed constitutes hazing, hazing acts they have been asked to engage in, and outcomes of joining a Panhellenic organization. Both new members and initiated members received the survey. For data analysis, participant responses were compared using an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). New members of Panhellenic Greek-lettered organizations defined organizational unity and mental/emotional instability as an outcome …


Characterization Of The P53 Signaling Pathway In Urodele Amphibians During Lens Regeneration Apr 2015

Characterization Of The P53 Signaling Pathway In Urodele Amphibians During Lens Regeneration

Stander Symposium Projects

Urodele amphibians such as the red spotted newt, Notophthalmus viridescens, and axolotl are commonly used to study organ regeneration due to their remarkable ability to regenerate organs such as limb, tail, spinal cord and lens. The newt is able to regenerate the lens solely from dorsal iris pigmented epithelial cells in 30 days following removal. Axolotls, neonate salamanders, invoke curiosity because they can only regenerate their lens two weeks post hatching although they have the same regeneration potential as newts for limb, tail, and spinal cord. Using these animal models the role of the p53 protein, a tumor suppressor protein, …


Defective Proventriculus (Dve) A New Member Of Dv Patterning In The Eye Apr 2015

Defective Proventriculus (Dve) A New Member Of Dv Patterning In The Eye

Stander Symposium Projects

In multi-cellular organisms, axial patterning is required to generate three-dimensional organ from its primordia during organogenesis. Drosophila eye serves as an excellent model to study patterning and growth. In Drosophila eye, Dorso-ventral (DV) patterning is the first lineage restriction event in the developing eye. The early eye primordium begins with the default ventral fate on which the dorsal eye fate is established by expression of a GATA-1 transcription factor, pannier (pnr). We have identified defective proventriculus (dve), a K50 homeodomain gene as a novel dorsal gene that plays a crucial role in Drosophila eye development. We have found that dve …


Diminishing The Discipline Gap: Restorative Justice As A Promising Alternative In One Urban School Apr 2015

Diminishing The Discipline Gap: Restorative Justice As A Promising Alternative In One Urban School

Stander Symposium Projects

Across the nation, the education system is responding to student misbehavior with zero tolerance policies that parallel the punitive practices found in the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Zero tolerance policies have contributed to the “discipline gap,” wherein schools punish racial and ethnic minorities more often and more severely than they punish whites. One alternative to punitive punishment is restorative justice, which aims to foster respect, responsibility, and empathy in members of school communities. This project evaluates the relationship between restorative justice and out-of-school suspension rates in an urban school district. It also serves as one of the few studies …


A Study In Dividend Investment Strategieshigh Yield Vs. High Dividend Growthfor The Period 2008 - 2014 Apr 2015

A Study In Dividend Investment Strategieshigh Yield Vs. High Dividend Growthfor The Period 2008 - 2014

Stander Symposium Projects

From a total return perspective, there is an on-going debate among financial analysts as to which is the better strategy: (1) investing in high yield stocks or (2) investing in stocks with high dividend growth rates. Since stocks with high dividend growth rates also tend to be lower yielding stocks, the strategy debate is often more about low vs. high levels of yield. In this study I test several hypotheses: (1) low yield stocks outperform high yield stocks, (2) high dividend growth rate stocks outperform low dividend growth rate stocks, (3) high dividend growth rate stocks outperform high dividend yielding …