Digital Commons Network^™

Mortality In Nasonia F2 Female Hybrid Wasps, Alettah Pegues

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

No abstract provided.

Synthesis And Analysis Of 3,4- Diphenyl Pyridazines Derivatives As Breast Cancer Therapeutics, Joshua Osaghae

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

No abstract provided.

Profit Vs. Purpose: Can Companies Still Be Trusted, John Barone

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

No abstract provided.

Does Friend Groups’ Co-Rumination Explain Depression Homophily Among Undergraduate Women’S Friendship Groups?, Alyssa Chapman Klas

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

No abstract provided.

A Jewel In The Crown Is Better Than Money In The Pocket": Historical Data On The Role Of Midwives In Caring For Families In Southern Appalachia, Kristen Montgomery

Epsilon Sigma at-Large Research Conference

Background: Midwives have provided care to women since the beginning of time. Early midwives had little training but learned their craft from experienced women. Later, formal training became available. Midwives have a rich history in Appalachia.

Purpose: to explore the rich history of all types of midwives in Appalachia.

Methods: Materials from the Archives of Appalachia were reviewed. Both written and oral materials were evaluated. This included a review of the document, identification of themes, and then comparing those themes with previously identified themes. Documents were reviewed in a random order by two researchers who met to discuss results.

Results: …

Kentucky House Bill 159: Health Care Policy Analysis, Lindsey Frasure

Epsilon Sigma at-Large Research Conference

Lindsey Frasure MSN-Ed., RN

Lincoln Memorial University, Caylor School of Nursing

DNP Student

An Educational Presentation: Kentucky House Bill 159: Health Care Policy Analysis

Abstract:

Purpose/Background: Kentucky House Bill 159 is a bill that passed through the state congress in 2024. It is known as the decriminalization bill. The aim of this presentation is to analyze and discuss the bill in its entirety, why the bill continues to be important in healthcare, implications for nursing, the future of nursing, and advocation for change. The significance of the presentation is to educate fellow healthcare professionals on the importance of policy …

Factors Influence Homeless People’S Psychological Well-Being And Suicidal Ideation, Pi-Ming Yeh

Epsilon Sigma at-Large Research Conference

Introduction/Significance: About 582,462 individuals are experiencing homelessness in America. Homelessness is devastating, regardless of age. But for children, it can have serious physical, emotional, and psychological implications.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the influences of spiritual well-being, coping strategies, family interaction, and personality on psychological well-being, and suicidal ideation among people with homelessness.

Methods: Sixty people with homelessness were recruited in the Eastern Tennessee Downtown Day Center, USA. IRB was approved. This was a cross-sectional descriptive research design. Questionnaires were used to do data collection. SPSS 28.0 was used to do the data analysis. Descriptive …

Integration Of Robotic Inspection And Artificial Intelligence To Enhance Welding Flaw Detection Using Paut, Elsie Lappin, Julia Oubre

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

No abstract provided.

Autonomous Electric Vehicle Platform Development With Ros 2 And Multi-Sensor Perception, Timothy Sutton

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

No abstract provided.

Particle Size Analysis Of Water-Reducible Alkyd Paints: Impact On Adhesion And Sag Resistance, Joshua Osaghae

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

No abstract provided.

Childhood Experiences, Resilience, And Ghanaian Adult Psychological Well-Being, Kadence A. Lewis

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Significant amounts of research exists concerning adverse childhood experiences and trauma (ACEs) and its negative consequences on adult well-being. However, there is minimal research on a concept known as positive/benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs), which are circumstances in childhood that provide safety, security, and predictability in the home. It has been shown that BCEs and ACEs have co-occurred in childhood. It is apparent that BCEs have a positive effect in one's life, can counteract negative effects of ACE exposure, and can promote resiliency. These studies have been done with samples across the western hemisphere, however, this study seeks to examine the …

Liberatory Librarianship - Authors@Eiu Book Talk, Brian W. Keith, Laurie N. Taylor

All Faculty Scholarship

In Liberatory Librarianship: Stories of Community, Connection, and Justice, Brian Keith, Laurie Taylor, and Shamin Renwick explore how librarianship can be a vehicle for empowerment, equity, and social justice. In this Authors@EIU talk, Brian Keith and Laurie Taylor share the inspiration, process, and key ideas behind the book, including how their work with the Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) shaped their thinking about uncolonized, community-driven models for digital libraries. Drawing from examples across cultural heritage institutions, the speakers trace how traditional archives have often perpetuated colonial power structures, and how liberatory librarianship proposes a forward-looking alternative that centers …

Calibrating For Nonlinearity In The Ciber-2 Detectors, Lilly Blanton, Candice Fazar, Michael Zemcov

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

The Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment-2 (CIBER-2) is a sounding rocket payload that utilizes HAWAII-2RG sensors to observe faint and diffuse sources in the extragalactic background light. In these detector arrays, each pixel is an individual light-sensing diode. The capacitance across each pixel is dependent on the changing voltage across the pixel as electrons are liberated from the detector material and pass into the readout system. To investigate the relationship between capacitance and voltage in the CIBER-2 detectors and effectively correct for non-linearities induced by the increasing voltage on capacitance, we developed algorithms to model the relationship between capacitance and voltage …

The Impact Of Social Determinants Of Health On Nicaraguan Immigrants In Costa Rica, Callie Stillion

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

During Valparaiso University's annual service learning trip to Costa Rica in March 2024, five public health clinics were conducted in the communities of La Carpio, Boca Arenal, and San Gerardo, which held a combined population of approximately 69,000 at the time, most of which were Nicaraguan immigrants. These clinics were led by students and translators, small groups of which were sent out each day to conduct home visits within these neighborhoods to gather qualitative and quantitative data, including demographic information, details about the home environment, health insurance status, reasons for immigrating to Costa Rica, and perception of health threats from …

A Search For Correlations Between Binary Stars And Carbon Chemistry In Planetary Nebulae, Hunter Wood, Leah Shafer, Peyton Mccallips, Angela Webber

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

Planetary nebulae are one of the last stages of stellar evolution for low-mass stars, those that have a mass of less than about eight times the mass of the Sun. As the star ejects its outer layers at the end of its life, the high temperature of the remaining core, what we call the central star, can ionize the gaseous ejected layers and make them glow. Many complex carbon-based and oxygen-based molecules can form in these ejected layers, and their presence can be detected through spectroscopy. Also detected in some planetary nebulae are binary central stars, where another object is …

Using Computational Fluid Dynamics To Examine Fluctuating Pressure In Pitot Tube Measurements, Samuel Starkenburg

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

This project utilizes Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to analyze the accuracy and behavior of a pitot tube in measuring the speed of a moving bicycle. A pitot tube is a common device for measuring fluid velocity by comparing the stagnation pressure of a moving fluid to the static pressure. CFD can simulate the fluid flow using governing equations of conservation of mass, momentum, and energy. The CFD is done using SimScale, a free to use, cloud-based software. By simulating riding conditions, this project will examine the aerodynamic interactions between the pitot tube and the surrounding airflow. Values such as the …

Open Source Flight Firmware Development For Autonomous Downlinking Via Satnogs, Blair Bram, Peter Sorenson

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

This student-led project, in partnership with NearSpace Education, focuses on designing, constructing, and programming a payload for integration into an existing satellite platform. The payload is built to fit within a 0.5U CubeSat form factor measuring 10 cm × 10 cm × 5 cm and serves as a testbed for autonomous downlink scheduling through the SatNOGS network, a global open-source ground station network.

To develop this, the team utilizes the open-source COMMS architecture by the Libre Space Foundation. This allows for hands-on experience in small spacecraft payload integration, mission operations planning, and communications subsystem design. The project also draws on …

Reported Bias Incidents In Northwest Indiana: An Examination Of Newspaper Accounts, Sophia C. Brown, James Old

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

This exploratory study investigates bias-motivated incidents in and around the City of Valparaiso, Indiana, over the past 30 years. The study aims to examine patterns and trends in such incidents, defined broadly as "bias-motivated incidents" rather than the more narrowly defined "hate crimes." While hate crimes, according to the FBI, involve criminal offenses motivated by bias against race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin, bias-motivated incidents encompass any behavior expressing hostility toward individuals or property based on these characteristics, regardless of whether they rise to the level of criminal activity. The research analyzes reports of these incidents as documented …

Theology And Videogames: Addressing The Incoherent Metanarrative Within Our Churches On Videogames, Frank Maldonado

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

This paper tackles the Incoherent perspectives on video games within church communities, where polarized views among churchgoers – complete rejection or unrestricted acceptance – prevail. I promote a balanced approach, merging narrative and systematic theology to cultivate a discerning lens. Rejecting sweeping generalizations, the study advocates for a contextual evaluation of each game, emphasizing content, thematic depth, and age suitability. By integrating these theological frameworks, the paper posits that video games can serve as avenues for moral development and even divine encounters, echoing the Jesuit principle of "finding God in all things." I draw upon Aristotelian virtue ethics and the …

Measurement Of The Shielding Factor Of The Magnetically Shielded Room For The Nedm Experiment At Los Alamos National Laboratory, Aiden Koch

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

The neutron Electric Dipole Moment (nEDM) experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory is designed to search for the nEDM at the level of 10^-27 e*cm. The experiment will make use of the Ramsey method of separate oscillatory fields at room temperature. To minimize statistical and systematic uncertainties, the experiment is enclosed in a five layer Mu-metal magnetically shielded room (MSR). The performance of the MSR can be characterized by the shielding factor, the ratio of the magnetic field measured in the absence of the MSR to the magnetic field measured inside the MSR. A set of solenoidal coils was used …

Empowering Parents: Enhancing Burn Education To Reduce Anxiety In Pediatric Hospital Admissions, Kate Maslowski

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital (SJCH) is South Carolina’s only pediatric burn referral center, offering comprehensive, multidisciplinary care for children with burn injuries. While most pediatric burns are minor, non-accidental injuries account for up to 20% of cases (Strobel & Fey, 2018). Parents of hospitalized children with burns often experience heightened anxiety, which can negatively influence their child’s emotional well-being and cooperation during treatment (Zdun-Ryżewska et al., 2021).

This capstone project aimed to reduce caregiver anxiety by developing accessible, inclusive, and health-literate educational materials. These resources were designed to provide parents with realistic expectations, enhance understanding of burn care procedures, and …

Occupational Therapy Guided Interactive Workbook For College Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder For Transition Into The Workplace, Makayla Kirkley

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

The number of students with autism spectrum disorder entering college has been steadily increasing. When these graduates enter the workforce, the support and accommodations available throughout their education may not necessarily be readily available in their new workplace. This quality improvement project aimed to increase the resources of a college program whose purpose is to support autistic and neurodivergent students throughout their college career. The project aims were to create an interactive job readiness and independent living workbook to assist and provide resources for students during their transition into the workforce. The senior cohort completed seventeen fillable workbook pages with …

Canadian Security Intelligence Service (Csis), Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

April 24, 2025 presentation for Canada's GovInfo Day Spring 2025 hosted by Simon Fraser University in British Columbia and Internet Archive Canada. Provides information about the publicly available information resources produced by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) which is the Canadian Government's foremost national intelligence agency. Provides information about this agency's statutory organization, types of publicly available reports they produce, information about other Canadian government intelligence agencies, and parliamentary oversight of Canadian government intelligence operations. Lists additional resources for finding information about CSIS and explains the benefits of having access to these resources for users.

E-Cigarettes Vs. Traditional Cigarettes: Assessing Potential Links To Gum Disease And Oral Cancer, Julia Bednarik

Academic Festival

No abstract provided.

There's A Method To This Physics Madness, Hanna J. Ross

Physics and Astronomy Presentations

Physics tends to be seen by the general public as scary and unattainable, especially for students who are non-STEM majors. However, at Ursinus College (as well as many other institutions) the professors employ the use of specific problem-solving strategy instruction to mitigate these fears and further general problem solving skills. This study reviews previous experiments evaluating the merit of this strategy and analyzes its results as it relates to Physics on Screen, a physics class at Ursinus geared specifically towards non-majors.

Designing A Statistical Plan For Measuring Self-Efficacy Using A 2k Factorial Design​, Rachel A. Hart, Eugene H. Thompson

Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics Presentations

This study focuses on designing a statistical plan that measures the effects of self-efficacy using a 2k factorial design. Specifically, we simulated data on physical, mental, spiritual, and social health, so we could focus on their interaction with self-efficacy. By using ANOVA to see the main and interaction effects, we can see the impact of individual autonomy on health. Our findings show the need for experimental data on the demographic of interest, peri-and post-menopausal women.

Analyzing The Sentiment Of Feminist And Non-Feminist Works, Jasmine Borie, Megan G. Falschlehner

Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics Presentations

This presentation focuses on a group of texts that advocate for a change in the current belief system. These texts are the Feminist Manifesto, Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman?, and Civilization and Its Discontents. These first two texts advocate for women’s rights, while Freud’s book is focused on civilization’s decline and how our understanding of community can affect this. Through our presentation, we want to examine the differences in sentiment and language between the feminist texts and Freud’s texts to pinpoint whether or not sentiment changes when advocating for different beliefs.

Analyzing Cie Texts Through History Using R, Rachel A. Hart, Aaron Ditto

Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics Presentations

In this presentation, we analyzed three separate CIE texts from different time periods. First, “The Allegory of the Cave” from 380 BC, then “The Declaration of Independence” from 1776, and lastly “The Lottery” from 1948. We compared them using tidy text techniques like sentiment lexicons, creating word clouds, and bigram analysis to see if the types of words and sentiments used have changed over time in these short texts.

A Statistical Comparison Of Selected Old Testament And New Testament Books, Branden F. Stahl, Kevin Guan, Adam Denn

Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics Presentations

The purpose of this project was to discover similarities between sentiments in Old Testament and New Testament books of the Bible, track emotional valence and find the most common words and sentiments in the books. Text analysis was performed on Genesis, Exodus, Matthew and Luke. Word clouds were also created for these texts.

Using Text Mining In R To Explore How Three Cie Related Texts Answer One Of Ursinus College’S Quest Curriculum Questions: “How Should We Live Together?”, Elizabeth Dill

Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics Presentations

This presentation explores the application of text mining techniques using R programming to analyze literary text. In the process of this project, I performed data cleaning, tokenization, sentiment analysis, and frequency analysis on selected literary works. This study illustrates how R enables the transformation of unstructured textual data into meaningful insights through visualizations and statistical summaries. My presentation highlights both the technical process and the interpretive results, demonstrating how computational methods can be used to explore traditional literary analysis.