Digital Commons Network^™

School Of Stem Poster Session, Keith Schimmel

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Location: Reed 2^nd floor Tech Center and lobby

This poster session will include displays of work from the School of STEM - Engineering Senior Design and Freshman Design Projects along with Undergraduate Research.

Senior Design Projects

(1) Holland - Shear-Die [Nathan Marks, Nolan Paape, Seth Beyer]

(2) Aginno - Solar-Powered Fish Pond Aeration System [Hoai Do, Bella Lopez, Kendyl Clark, Megan Schroeder]

(3) Peddinghaus - Tube Conveyor [Carson Caldwell, Alisha Wright, Michael Rollberg, Rebecca Witvoet]

(4) American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Student Design Problem [Marissa Anderson, Brady Chambers, Cam Steele]

(5) Kankakee Elks Country Club and Golf …

The Italian Domatic Number On Varying Graph Families, Keith Gallegos

Scholar Week 2016 - present

See file download option for presentation.

.pdf of abstract, which contains mathematical formulas, is available as a "Supplemental File" below.

The Effect Of Masks On Allergic Rhinitis Symptoms Related To Ragweed And Its Influence On College Students, Katherine Knutte

Scholar Week 2016 - present

BACKGROUND: This study explored the effect of masks on allergic rhinitis related to ragweed. Research has been shown that surgical and KN95 masks reduce allergic symptoms due to dust, pollen, and ragweed. A study in Israel found a strong correlation was between wearing a KN95 and reducing severe allergic rhinitis symptoms related to nasal symptoms and another study focusing on pollen supported this finding. Lastly, a previous study on ragweed found that all nasal symptoms improved, and ocular symptoms remained unchanged.

METHODS: This was a qualitative study involving twenty college students aged 18 to 25 from Olivet Nazarene …

Evaluating College Students’ Health Literacy And Its Effects On Their Perceptions Of Information Concerning Mask-Wearing In The Covid-19 Pandemic, Hannah Ketchum

Scholar Week 2016 - present

BACKGROUND: Mask-wearing was a controversial and polarizing phenomenon during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beliefs concerning mask-wearing differed, depending on sources of information concerning the pandemic, levels of health literacy, political leaning, demographics, or other factors. This project attempted to connect college students’ level of health literacy to their understanding of and adherence to mask-wearing in the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a gap in research connecting health literacy to understanding information concerning pandemics, and an even bigger lack of studies conducted that relate college students’ health literacy to their perception of illnesses or pandemics. It is important to understand the impact of …

Analysis Of The Population Structure And Migration Habits Of The Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates Pipiens) At Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Gretchen A. Brinkman

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Massive amphibian declines of recent years have pushed researchers to pursue population genetics surveys and to assess the status of these essential components of many ecosystems. The Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens) has been continuously experiencing population declines across the continental United States due to a combination of habitat loss and environmental change. Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie houses a considerable portion of Northern Leopard Frog (L. pipiens) in Illinois, and within this location, two creeks provide ideal conditions to support these animals. Because this prairie restoration project is a relatively recent development, further assessments on the …

The Effect Of Education On Support For Tnr As A Method Of Feral Cat Management, Katie Bishop

Scholar Week 2016 - present

A feral cat is a cat that is untamed and not suitable for placement in a home. Through their naturally high rate of reproduction and lack of population management, feral cat populations have grown exponentially leading to overpopulation. Feral cats effect their communities through their impact on wildlife, financial burden, and health risk to both humans and other animals. Due to the impact feral cats place on their communities, multiple management methods have been suggested. Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is a humane, effective method of management; however, controversy surrounds the use of this method. Existing studies have determined that things like age, …

The Effect Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On The Self-Esteem Of College Students, Maggie Van Heemst

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are known to predict negative health and mental health effects later in life. One in two Americans has experienced at least one ACE. This issue is prevalent across class, race, and ethnicity. However, little is known about ACEs and the young adult population.

Methods: A survey was conducted to measure ACEs and self-esteem in fifty college students. The hypothesis was a negative correlation between ACE and self-esteem scores.

Results: A small negative correlation was found between ACEs and self-esteem in college students. The average ACE score was 3.9 and the average self-esteem …

[Phi Delta Lambda Sponsored Session] "Scholar Adventures": Bibliographic Detective Work As An Academic Librarian, Emily Spunaugle, Karen Knudson

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Academic librarians support the research of their college or university community, but also conduct their own research. This presentation focuses on the intersection of the two, featuring the presenter's experience solving bibliographic mysteries of unique 18th century pamphlets and tracking down books heisted from her library 30 years ago.

Emily D. Spunaugle is Assistant Professor, Humanities and Rare Books Librarian at Oakland University in Rochester, MI. Her research is at the intersection of book history and women's writings of the long eighteenth century and appears in Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, Romantic Circles, Libraries: Culture, History, and …

The Association Of Stress On College Student's Food Choices, Jaici Wright

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Background

College students experience school-related stress that may lead to coping mechanisms that manifest into poor food choices. The purpose of this current study is to explore what types of foods are eaten when college students are experiencing school-related stress.

Methods

A quantitative design was used. An online survey was sent out to 2,800 undergraduate students at a private Midwestern university. One hundred and twenty-six usable questionnaires were returned for data analysis. Two valid and reliable questionnaires were administered online; Perceived Stress Scale assessed stress levels and the NHANES Dietary Screener evaluated foods consumed over the past month. Using Spearman’s …

The Relationship Between Breakfast Consumption And Gpa Among University Students, Sarah Baxter

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Background

University students are not recognizing the correlation between breakfast consumption and academic performance. It is suspected that certain health behaviors such as consistent meal skipping and busy schedules cause students to view breakfast consumption as a low priority. If university students practice certain health behaviors, such as regular breakfast consumption, they should begin to see increased focus in the classroom and recognize the benefits of this important meal.

Methods

A quantitative design was used. One validated questionnaire, The Student Health Behavior and Academic Success was administered to all undergraduate students (N=2,800) at a small Midwestern university. One hundred and …

Social Media’S Influence On College Students’ Recognition Of Inaccurate Nutrition Information, Meghan Olthoff

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Background

Basch et al. (2018) found that 74% (n=190) of students indicated that they would often or always use the internet for health information. Nutrition literacy is an important aspect of health literacy. Health literacy is defined as the skills or ability needed to comprehend and apply nutrition or health information (Svendsen et al., 2021). Nutrition misinformation can be harmful to an individual’s wellbeing because of the fallible, misleading, and erroneous content (Wansink, 2006). The purpose of this study was to explore students’ knowledge as it pertains to the inaccurate nutritional information found within social media.

Methods

A …

Introducing Various Foods During Infancy And The Development Of Food Allergies During Toddler/Preschooler Years, Sara Digrazia

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Introduction: Children are developing food allergies that persist into their adult lives. Literature hypothesizes that introducing foods into a child’s diet late increases the risk of developing food allergies. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the relationship of introducing allergy foods within the first nine months to determine if allergen symptoms were observed by the age of two.

Methods: The FDA/CDC Global Opinion Panel Section C of the Infant Feeding Practices Survey was administered to 60 parents of children aged 2-5 participated. Twenty-two responses were returned and analyzed using a Chi-Squared Test of Independence. Parents were recruited …

Strategies For Supporting College Students Experiencing Grief, Rachel A. Guimond

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Grief and loss are a shared human experience. However, lacking cultural awareness of the impact of grief and insufficient social support can make managing the loss of a loved one very challenging for students. One strategy to support students who experience loss during college is the development of a course that addresses content related to the experience within supportive academic relationships. This presentation will explore research findings about student experiences of grief on college campuses and evidence-based practices for the development and implementation of an academic course on grief.

Survey Of The Performance Of 5 Nm Gold Nanoparticles Within An Ssdna-Stabilized Biosensor For The Detection Of Hg2+, Madalyn Zagajowski

Scholar Week 2016 - present

The formation of a fluorescent biosensor complex consisting of 5 nm diameter gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) was conducted using a low-cost, efficient binding method. Furthermore, we assessed the analytical potential for the complex to detect mercury ions (Hg²⁺) in an aqueous solution upon collection of UV-vis and fluorescence spectrometry data for the AuNP-ssDNA complex. We aimed to investigate this potential due to the possibility that the nanoparticles formed utilizing this method would produce nanoparticles of too small a size to result in detectable fluorescence, thus the complex synthesized from this specific method was qualitatively evaluated …

The Use Of Aloe-Based Silver Nanoparticles As A Possible Treatment For Contaminated Water, Lozetta Davis

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Water contamination is a world-wide issue that causes the death of millions yearly. This comes from regularly tainted water with water borne pathogens, which is typically seen in undeveloped areas. As antibiotics are used more, more resistance is being seen, and thus newer methods of microbial contamination need to be developed. Silver nanoparticles have shown success in microbial contamination on petri dishes, but not in a water system. It was hypothesized that if silver nanoparticles were added to bacteria contaminated water they would be able to reduce the amount of bacteria present. Silver nanoparticles that are synthesized from plants such …

The Effects Of Creatine Supplementation On Muscle Synthesis And Fitness Levels In Drosophila Melanogaster Using A Model Of Muscle Atrophy, Kevin Williams

Scholar Week 2016 - present

This study examines whether an inhibited electron transport chain can be aided with supplemented creatine to make up for the challenged adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production mechanism. The differences between male and female flies and the supplementation of creatine at a 0.15% concentration was studied. The relationship between these components was studied over the course of two 3-week trials using a fly treadmill and Drosophila. The effects of creatine on a mitochondrial disease modeled Drosophila melanogaster were analyzed by tracking climbing speed, leg width, and body width. The research yielded largely minimal differences between supplemented and non-supplemented, mutated, and non-mutated …

It May Work In Practice, But Does It Work In Theory? Explaining The Trend Towards “Do-It-Yourself” Economics, Paul R. Koch

Scholar Week 2016 - present

In 1986, the late David Henderson, the former chief economist at the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), published a book entitled Innocence and Design: The Influence of Economic Ideas on Policy, which were based on his Reith Lectures from the previous year. In this book, he outlined the elements of a concept which he defined as “do-it-yourself economics,” which emphasized a case-by-case approach to economic policy, as opposed to one that was associated with a comprehensive vision or theory. Some of the following statements constitute examples of “DIY economics” at work:

• Industries or activities can be classified as …

Generation Z Cybersecurity Learners: The Identification Of Cybersecurity Instructor Strategies And Attributes That Maximize Student Engagement, Jeffrey Rice

Scholar Week 2016 - present

There exists a significant shortage of cybersecurity specialists in the workforce. Universities should endeavor to keep cybersecurity students engaged if they desire to be competitive and contribute graduates to the remediation efforts of this cybersecurity deficit. Instructors significantly contribute to student engagement and there is a correlation between student engagement and student retention. The purpose of this regional qualitative exploratory study was to identify attributes that Generation Z collegiate cybersecurity learners felt kept them engaged in their cybersecurity courses. The sample comprised 10 individuals identified as GenZ and used purposeful and snowball sampling to select participants. A semi-structured interview strategy …

Specifications Grading Has Improved My Courses!, Bruce J. Heyen

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Specifications grading is a way of "restoring rigor, motivating students, and saving faculty time" as stated in the title of Linda Nilson's book promoting this method. While there are many variations across disciplines, I will present how I am using specifications grading in my Organic Chemistry courses. I label course objectives as essential or non-essential, and students must master these with a quiz score of 80% or greater to obtain the points. Students are allowed multiple attempts to master course objectives.

Literature Review Of Practical Insights Into The Use Of Brain Science And Learning Technology To Enhance Stem Student Learning, Keith Schimmel

Scholar Week 2016 - present

In recent years, college students, including those at Olivet Nazarene University, have experienced an increase in mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression. Researchers think technology is a significant contributor to this trend with social media undermining a viewer’s dignity through constant comparison and ruthless competition for attention. However, social media and teaching/learning technologies also have the potential to enhance efficient, effective student learning. This paper will present the best practices for use of social media and teaching/learning technologies based on a literature review in these areas.

The literature review will seek to tie together knowledge and best practices …