Digital Commons Network^™

Mobile Munchies: An Occupation-Based Transitional Skills Program For Adolescents, Reilly S. Dujmovic

Occupational Therapy Capstone Presentations

This capstone project is focused on program development in the area of life/work skills for adolescents in a special education setting. The specific interest was in transition skills for adolescents, or skills that promote independence in ADLs, IADLs, and leisure, and work activities following formal education. The goal of this project was to develop work programming as an intervention to teach transition skills to adolescents in a special education classroom setting. The programming developed was based on programming the special education classroom has used in the past. Programming was modified to take an occupational therapy lens to reach the goal …

Promoting Social-Emotional Development In Preschool Children Using A Trauma Informed, Sensory Integrative Approach, Sarah M. Mcgoldrick

Occupational Therapy Capstone Presentations

The incidence of sensory processing difficulties and related behaviors is increasing in young children, which supports the need for early intervention and support. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of TBRI® Nurture Group© in improving social emotional and sensory processing skills in preschool aged children while reducing the number of negative behaviors observed. The project was conducted in a four- and five-year-old preschool classroom at the Early Learning Center in Edina, Minnesota. Nurture Group© sessions occurred over the span of ten weeks in small groups of about three to four students. Students worked on identifying calming …

Chicago Methodist Senior Services Internship Experience, Virina Khalil

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Internship Experience

Using Nyc Open Data To Improve Accessibility For People With Mobility Impairments In New York City., Said Naqwe

Publications and Research

Approximately one-fifth to one-quarter of American families have a family member with a mobility impairment, which poses challenges for many local communities, particularly in New York City Boroughs. To address this issue, Doorfront.org aims to make sidewalks and facilities, such as residential buildings and restaurants, more accessible to disabled residents of New York City. As a research assistant for Doorfront.org, I used NYC Open Data to accumulate data on inaccessible facilities, such as the NYC sidewalk polygons, building footprints, city hydrants, bus shelters, parking meters, street trees, pedestrian ramps, litter baskets, city benches, and newsstands.
I downloaded a non-geospatial CSV …

Uav Mapping Vs Manned Aerial Mapping, Calvin O. Walters Jr.

Publications and Research

As the technological capacities and capabilities of geospatial data acquisition enhance employing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), geospatial data users must now wrestle with whether it is more beneficial to utilize UAVs to map, chart, survey, examine, and record an area's topography and graphical features or stick with the traditional method of Manned Aerial Mapping (MAM) aircraft for better aerial data acquisition. Factors such as project scope, location, size, budget, accessibility, time constraints, and project site security and accessibility play a significant role in selecting which method would bring the best results. The December 2013 Spuyten Duyvil derailment and Tottenville, Staten …

Developing A Method To Study To Examine Lookism On Social Media, Shana Ramnarain, Alyssa Dana Adomaitis

Publications and Research

“Lookism” is a term to describe appearance discrimination or “the practice of discrimination on the basis of physical appearance in the workplace” (Ghodrati, Joorabchi, & Muati, 2015, p.1). In popular literature, it has been called “beauty prejudice” (Etcoff, 1999, p. 1). The notion that a pleasing appearance results in favorable outcomes (e.g., higher wages, promotions) from others is not necessarily new, as literature on physical attractiveness is rather extensive. The Washington Post Magazine first used the term “lookism” in 1978 (e.g., Ayto, 1999), however, the term “lookism” was first recognized as a form of discrimination by authors of the Oxford …

Classification Of Normal Versus Pneumonia From Chest X-Ray Using And Ai Model, Tassadit Lounes

Publications and Research

Hypothesis: Deep learning (DL) algorithms, in particular convolutional neural networks (CNNs), have recently been used to address a number of medical-imaging problems, such as pneumonia detection using chest X-ray, and determining the aggressiveness prostate cancer using magnetic resonance images (MRI). They have become the technique of choice in computer vision and they are the most successful type of model for image analysis.

New Gender Identity In The Fashion Global Workforce, Malik Lee

Publications and Research

In the new global workplace, there is an estimation of at least 40% of employees do not identify as either male or female but rather transgender meaning non-binary, not identify as either male or female (Inclusion, 2023). While there is some acceptance of non-binary employees in the workplace, there are still challenges these individuals face from other LGBTQ employees. It is important that inclusion and diversity are among the human resources practices for all genders. In the United States, the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) was created as part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which as an effort to …

Copyright, Fair Use, And Open Licensing - Spring 2023, Mindy Tomlin

OER Café

So you’ve made the plunge and committed to creating or adapting OER materials for your classroom. Great! But how do you properly handle using another scholar’s work in your class? This session briefly breaks down traditional copyright, fair use, and open licenses and discusses how these issues impact Open Educational Resources.

Note: recording of this session is not available.

Exploring Sikhism: History, Culture, & Traditions, Vernon Porio

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

This presentation will provide an overview of Sikhism's vast culture and history to embed a deeper understanding of this religion in its participants. By delving into the history of Sikhism, from its founding to its core tenets and traditions, the audience can gain a perspective on living a moral life. Through the interviews held with individuals from the Devon Gurdwara Sahib of Chicago regarding their personal experience with their faith, participants will have acquired insight into the unique practices and beliefs of Sikhism, and how such core influences have shaped the Sikh community over time.

Women In Entreprenuership: A Social Media Content And Discourse Analysis, Caitlin Asantewaa Osei

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

How do women entrepreneurs use social media? Women face unique challenges in the workplace in balancing career and family. Literature shows that women do not fit the traditional mold of entrepreneurship (McAdam 2012). However, the research identified three dominant discourses that shape women's entrepreneurship through media communications: community building, gendered space-making, and authentic communication. Across all the data, women were rarely discussed in the context of business but rather in the context of their gender identity.

Enhancement Of Pcb Uptake In Zebrafish By Different Microplastics, Heba Hussain

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Plastic debris is widespread in aquatic environments. The goal of this study is to determine how the structural differences of the polymers in plastic will affect the transfer of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) absorbed on the surface to zebrafish. We have exposed zebrafish to three types of plastic (polyethylene, polymethylmethacrylate, and polycellulose) to determine how the chemical structure of the plastic affects the uptake of PCBs by the fish. Fluorescence analysis shows that the fish do not retain a significant amount of plastic beads. We are analyzing zebrafish tissue to determine which plastic better transfers PCBs to the fish.

Plastic Mediated Photolysis Of Halogenated Flame Retardants In Aqueous Solutions, Nikolas Jeffries

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Aqueous Plastic debris is known to absorb persistent organic pollutants Previous work done in our lab shows that triclosan and methyltriclosan will undergo photolysis 25X faster on the surface of plastics compared to them in water. We are studying the photolysis of different aromatic flame retardants in the presence of plastic beads and other types of debris. We have found that the photolytic degradation of the flame retardants occurs via the displacement of halogen atoms by hydroxide ions in solution. The rate of this nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction is faster on the surface plastic than in water alone. We are …

Insight Into The Regulation Of Adp-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase: Importance Of Homologous Serine/Threonines In The Allosteric Site, Thomas Bennett

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

The enzyme ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (ADP-Glc PPase) is responsible for the production of ADP-glucose, the fundamental molecule in the production of starch in plants and glycogen in bacteria. This enzyme is regulated allosterically by various sugar phosphates specific to each model organism. Past studies have sought to better understand this enzyme by exploring different amino acid residues within the enzyme and how they affect its activity. Therefore, in our study we investigate the homologous residues Thr79 in E. coli and Ser65 in Melainabacteria to determine if they are critical for allosteric activation as we suspect them to be.

Gene Annotation Of Akt In Drosophila Persimilis, Julia Kaniuk

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Examining gene conversation across many species is an important tool for observing divergence patterns in vital cellular processes. The main goal of this project, which contributes to the Genomics Education Partnership Pathways Project, is to determine how well members of the insulin pathway are conserved across Drosophila species. Drosophila persimilis, the primary species investigated in this project, diverged from the melanogaster group about 25 mya, implying increased divergence between D. melanogaster and D. persimilis. Using synteny to the well-characterized D. melanogaster genome and D. persimilis sequencing data, we were able to map the likely location of Akt in D. persimilis. …

Assessing The Impact Of Investments In Community-Based Organizations As A Method Of Promoting Equitable Economic Recovery From The Covid-19 Pandemic In Chicago's South And West Sides, Sean Cunnane

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

The Covid-19 pandemic had a negative economic impact on many marginalized neighborhoods in Chicago which have already suffered from years of lack of investment. The Chicago Community Trust, aiming to help these communities not only recover to pre-pandemic economic levels, but to reach more equitable economic conditions, has begun investing through its We Rise Together initiative in neighborhood anchor sites. CURL, in collaboration with MAPSCorps, the Quinlan School of Business, and the Institute for Racial Justice, is assessing the impact of these investments using community-engaged evaluations, secondary economic data, and stakeholder engagement. Thus far in our research, it is increasingly …

Characterizing The T352v Mutation Of Beta-Glucosidase B, Olivia Hodge, Renee Stanec

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

We performed this experiment to contribute data to the D2D Project, which seeks to determine if enzymatic function can be predicted based on primary structure of an enzyme (Beta-glucosidase B/BglB). To make this prediction, we created a T352V mutation for BglB. We hypothesized that BglB T352V mutation will demonstrate decreased catalytic efficiency and/or thermal stability compared to wild-type because increased local and overall scores signify that BglB has become less stable. In this experiment, we prepared and purified plasmid containing mutated Bgl-B gene, expressed and purified BglB, and performed enzymatic assays to determine catalytic efficiency of the mutant T352V Bgl-B.

Aspire Scholarship: Spring 2023 Internship With Congresswoman Schakowsky's District Office, Clarissa Steinbrecher

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Clarissa Steinbrecher was awarded the ASPIRE Scholarship for her unpaid academic internship in the spring of 2023. Clarissa will present her experience with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky's Chicago and Skokie District Office, and discuss her role as a casework intern.

Violent Mediation: A Study Of The Impact Of Terrorism In Us Diplomacy, Addison Emig

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Between 1970 and 2019, the Global Terrorism Database identified 555 terrorist attacks against U.S. diplomatic missions. Using qualitative and quantitative techniques, I analyze this data to address why terrorists target U.S. diplomatic missions, the security impact these acts of terror have on those missions, and how terrorists respond to the changing security environment. I find terrorists strategically targeted U.S. diplomats between 1970 and 1998 because they are softer targets than military options yet still high profile. In response, the U.S. slowly improved diplomatic security with the 1998 East African Embassy bombings serving as a major turning point. Terrorists responded to …

Immigration And Naturalization At Catholic Charities, Abigail Alvarez

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

I am an intern for the Immigration and Naturalization Program at Catholic Charities. This program provides assistance to immigrants who are currently seeking legal assistance in their immigration process. As an intern, I have been assisting victims of domestic violence and assault by writing and translating their personal statements. These statements are crucial to their application because they determine whether the applicant obtains legal status or not. I am also in charge of reviewing cases and making sure that prior documentation (police reports and applications) reflects the new documentation. I work alongside very skilled lawyers, who have kindly guided me …

Single-Molecule Fret And Computational Modeling Of Distinct Conformations By Repetitive Dna Junctions, Benjamin Ward, Sarah Michael Murczek

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Numerous genetic diseases arise from repetitive DNA sequences, such as CAG, that induce non-helical structures, which interfere with normal DNA processing and promote the disease state. Here, using a combination of single-molecule fluorescence microscopy and coarse-grained computational modeling, we have developed a workflow to identify the connection between the non-helical topology induced by repetitive sequences and the intrastrand interactions that specify the detected topologies. DNA three-way junctions (3WJs) were designed with two arms as helical domains and one arm consisting of a defined number of trinucleotide repeats of the sequence CAG. These DNA constructs were labeled with fluorescent dyes for …

Exploring How Schools Support Newcomer Students And Parents, Elani Williams

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

The purpose of this study is to investigate how schools support newcomer families through mixed-methods analysis. Qualitative analysis was conducted with parent and student interviews. Quantitative analyses will be conducted with student surveys. Mixed-method approaches will be used it integrate overall findings of support among newcomer families after resettlement.

Promoting Successful Discharges From Skilled Nursing Rehabilitation Units Among Older Adults, Melissa A. Tweet

Occupational Therapy Capstone Presentations

Older adults may face occupational limitations that serve as a barrier to maintaining independence in their homes for various reasons, including the onset of illness, injury, or age-related generalized weakness. When individuals are admitted to the hospital and require ongoing rehabilitation to improve their functional abilities, they require effective and client-centered discharge planning to promote a successful transition from the rehabilitation unit. There is a continued need to explore how occupational therapists can provide quality discharge planning throughout the patient’s therapeutic process and methods to facilitate the carryover of skilled interventions after discharge. This capstone project aimed to obtain in-depth …

Occupation-Based Sexual Health Education For Adolescents With Disabilities, Elizabeth J. Klocke

Occupational Therapy Capstone Presentations

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities experience barriers to learning about sexual health education even though there is documented interest in this subject. Additionally, caregivers of children with disabilities lack experience and knowledge of their children’s sexual developmental needs. My capstone project aimed to provide comprehensive sexual education to adolescents with disabilities and education on childhood sexual development to healthcare professionals, educators, and parents. The literature and needs assessment indicated a need for sexual health education for both students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and caregivers. Due to viewing clients in a holistic manner, occupational therapy is uniquely qualified to …

Interdisciplinary Approaches To Pediatric Aquatic-Based And Land-Based Therapy, Danielle E. Scheck

Occupational Therapy Capstone Presentations

With various injuries, diseases, and conditions continuing to grow and expand with our rising population size, so does the need for therapeutic intervention. To assist in the rehabilitation process, aquatic therapy may be used by multiple healthcare professionals to best benefit their clients through the aquatic medium's unique hydrodynamic and hydrostatic qualities. The aquatic medium is particularly beneficial to the pediatric population as water is usually naturally motivating and "fun." Occupational and physical therapists are among the professionals qualified to perform "aquatic-based" therapy in addition to or in place of more traditional "land-based" therapy. This project aims to expand on …

Digital Scholarship At Binghamton, Ruth Carpenter, Amy E. Gay

Library Scholarship

The following slides are part of a presentation at the 2023 CIT conference (SUNY's Conference on Instruction and Technology), where we talk about how digital scholarship has evolved at Binghamton and our work to bring SUNY Create (an organizational instance of Domain of One's Own by Reclaim Hosting) to campus for use as professional sites, digital projects, and class projects.

The Effects Of Mental Health And Burnout In Medicine In Relation To The Wilson Model Of Leadership, Kevin Beck

Senior Honors Projects

The purpose of this project is to determine the effects that burnout and poor mental health can have on the ability of health care professionals to effectively do their job and lead others in medicine. Burnout, as defined by Merriam Webster, is “the exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration.” This is a self-reported quantitative study analyzing information acquired via a survey to determine if there is a relation to burnout and poor mental health in medicine and the ability to effectively lead others and complete work tasks and this …

Community Donations To Help Fight Food Insecurity On Uri Campus, Rachel Colegrove

Senior Honors Projects

A very significant part of college is on-campus living and the aspect of food. Most college campuses have multiple dining halls and many different food spots for grab- and-go food, snacks, and pre-packaged meals. This can all be very exciting for incoming students as there is a huge variety of choices for each meal. However, the aspect of food on college campuses can also be very stress-inducing for students that are food insecure. Food insecurity on college campuses is unfortunately around 30% of students at 4-year universities. This can lead to significant problems for students academically, mentally, and physically.

Rhody …

Please Romaine Calm! A Multi-Disciplinary Investigation Of A Cyclospora Outbreak Among Hospital Employees, Jocelyn Love Mph, Amber Erickson Drph, Mph, Hope Dishman Mph, Carla Coley Bs, Rehs

Georgia Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Conference

Background

On July 8, 2022, North Central Health District (NCHD) was notified by a local hospital of a possible Cyclospora outbreak among hospital employees. The hospital noted the employees had eaten at the hospital’s cafeteria, particularly the salad bar. An investigation was conducted to test this hypothesis and determine which salad bar ingredients were the cause of illness.

Methods

An electronic survey was shared with all hospital employees through their email distribution system. Employees were asked to complete the survey regardless of illness or exposure history. Lab- confirmed cases were interviewed using the Cyclosporiasis National Hypothesis Generating Questionnaire. Environmental health …

The Discipline Of Information Literacy: Revitalizing The Conversation On Your Campus, Clarence Maybee, Karen Kaufman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This presentation is an overview to viewing information literacy as a discipline. The presentation is comprised of a background of information literacy as a discipline, elements of a discipline, and the disciplinary elements of information literacy. It concludes with a brief overview of teaching IL using the disciplinary lens.