Digital Commons Network^™

A Retrospective Look At Self-Reported Mental Health Prevalence In Division Iii Student-Athletes, Jacob F. Neri

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

Mental health concerns among collegiate athletes have gained increased attention, but there has been limited research focus on Division III student-athletes. This study aimed to examine the self-reported prevalence of anxiety, depression, anger, stalking/harassment, abuse/assault, alcohol/substance abuse, self-harm, suicide ideation, and suicide attempt to identify contributing factors amongst this population. A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted looking at data collected from the student-athlete mental health history & well-being questionnaire that was administered as part of their pre-participation exam (PPE) prior to the beginning of each academic year. A total of 554 Division III student-athletes were included in the study. Results …

The Mind Behind The Art: A Process Of Creative Intention, Dana Chorley

Student Projects

My capstone captures the different processes behind creative visual development through the creation of conceptual art and character design. The layout of this kind of work begins with a cognitive construction of an idea, usually a narrative to be told that must be done so through visual means, as understanding an idea of the bigger picture of a project helps enlighten pathways of how to approach the beginning creation phases. Next comes the research process, from searching up history that might pertain to their project or simply finding guidelines or references to help structure the design. My process here took …

Machine Learning For Handwritten Character Recognition, Hannah Freitag

Honors Capstones

Handwritten character recognition remains a challenging problem in machine learning due to the high variability of handwriting across individuals and the visual similarity between certain character classes. This project explores whether Singular Value Decomposition (SVD)-based dimensionality reduction can serve as an effective preprocessing step for a fully connected neural network trained on the EMNIST Balanced dataset, a 47-class benchmark of handwritten digits and letters. By projecting 784- dimensional pixel inputs onto the top 70 principal components, approximately 90% of the total variance is preserved while reducing input dimensionality by 91%. The resulting SVD-based model achieves approximately 94% test accuracy, outperforming …

Enhancing The Diversity And Number Of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists: A Proposed Pipeline Program For Underrepresented Students, Alexis Lamoreaux

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

The underrepresentation of minority groups in the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) profession impacts healthcare providers’ diversity and cultural competence. This Final Scholarly Project (FSP) proposes a pipeline program to increase diversity within the CRNA field by providing academic support, mentorship, and clinical exposure to students from underrepresented backgrounds. Given the shortage of anesthesia providers, especially in underserved areas, improving access to the CRNA profession for minority students is critical for enhancing patient outcomes. This FSP suggests establishing mentorship and skill development concepts through a 12-month structured program that targets minorities, first-generation college students, or those from rural backgrounds. The …

A Case Comparison Of Vo₂Max And Lower Extremity Injury In Collegiate Wrestlers, Kole J. Kendall

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

ABSTRACT

A CASE COMPARISON OF VO₂MAX AND LOWER EXTREMITY INJURY IN COLLEGIATE WRESTLERS

Kole Jacob Kendall

Otterbein University

Westerville, OH

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between preseason aerobic capacity (VO₂max) and lower extremity injury prevalence in Division III collegiate wrestlers. In this two-participant case comparison, Participant 2 sustained a lower extremity injury and demonstrated the lower VO₂max value (37.5 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹), whereas Participant 1 remained uninjured and demonstrated the higher VO₂max value (40.8 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹). Although statistical analysis was not feasible because of the limited sample size, this pattern suggests a possible association between lower aerobic capacity …

Assessing The Risk Of Low Energy Availability In Ncaa Division Iii Female Soccer Players, Emma C. Sturts

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

Low Energy Availability (LEA) can occur when an athlete’s energy intake is insufficient to meet the physiological demands of training as well as normal physiological functions. Female soccer players may be at an increased risk of developing LEA due to the high exercise energy expenditure paired with decreased energy intake. The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence of LEA among Division III female soccer players. Division III female soccer players (n = 11) completed the Low Energy Availability in Females Questionnaire (LEAF-Q). 45.5% (n = 5) of the participants were classified as “At Risk” for LEA. Of …

Prevalence, Perceptions, And Risk Of Nsaid Use Among Division Iii College Athletes, Alyssa C. Lewis

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

A preliminary study utilizing a Division III Midwestern athletic conference to determine the perceptions, prevalence, and risk of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) was conducted. The study includes athletes that were 18 years of age or older and those who hold an active roster spot. The study utilized a non-standardized survey previously used in Christopher et al. (2020) to examine NSAID use and behaviors across multiple demographics (e.g., gender, academic year, sport, and ethnicity). The survey did not require any identifying information to allow participants to remain anonymous.  Data collection occurred over two waves through emailing both coaches and athletic directors. …

Investigating The Prevalence Of Eating Disorder Risk And Body Image Dissatisfaction Among Division Iii Track And Field Athletes, Ravyn S. Goodson

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

Context: Eating disorder (ED) risk, and body image dissatisfaction (BID) are increasingly recognized concerns in collegiate athletes due to sport-specific and sociocultural pressures. However, limited research has looked at these factors within NCAA Division III track and field athletes.

Objective: To examine the prevalence of eating disorder risk and body image dissatisfaction among division III track and field athletes and explore differences based on gender and event group Design A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design

Setting: NCAA division III athletic program within the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), during the 2025-2026 competitive season.

Participants: A total of 32 NCAA Division III track …

Is More Better? The Influence Of Visual Entropy And Color On Brand Identity And Engagement, Maryana Kopyt

Honors Capstones

Brands in the beauty industry rely heavily on visual content to differentiate themselves and communicate their identity on social media. However, it remains unclear how visual complexity affects consumer engagement and perceptions, and limited research has combined visual entropy, sentiment, and engagement.

This project examines how three beauty brands: Glossier, Rhode, and Clinique, use color and visual complexity in their Instagram content and how these different strategies relate to emotional tone, brand identity consistency, and consumer engagement. A dataset of approximately 150 posts was collected, and deep learning-based visual analysis was used to extract the dominant colors and calculate visual …

Woodward Cuk Converter, Aditi Venkatesh, Jennifer Pereira

Honors Capstones

The purpose of this senior design project is to design and build a Cuk converter, a type of buck–boost converter. The project involves developing an analytical model and validating it through hardware testing. Cuk converters are important because they are widely used in everyday electronics, particularly in renewable energy systems such as solar power, power supplies, and electric vehicles. Their ability to increase, decrease, and reverse the polarity of voltage makes them flexible. The continuous input and output currents result in low ripple, reducing component stress and improving efficiency. To achieve these goals, simulations will be conducted using LTspice to …

Effect Of Exergaming Duration On Heart Rat And Caloric Expenditure In Healthy Older Adults, Kathryn Jade Johnson

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

Encore Ledger: Bridging The Gap Between Legacy And Modern Financial Software, Grace Sanner

Honors Capstones

Encore Ledger explores how modern financial web applications can be integrated with legacy programming systems to improve financial literacy and capability of both individuals and small businesses. Many banks, insurance companies, and government sectors still rely on COBOL for financial purposes, yet modern users expect intuitive web-based tools for tracking transactions and interacting with financial data. This project asks: How can modern web technologies be combined with COBOL functions to accurately process financial data while maintaining usability? To investigate the question, this project employs an iterative software development methodology. A .NET backend manages data validation and business logic, while a …

Comparing The Effectiveness Of Neb Precrtm Repair Mix And Nxgen T4 Dna Ligase For Repairing Degraded Dna For Pcr Forensic Applications, Karolena Zvokel

Honors Theses

This study investigated the comparison between using PreCRTM mix (New England Biolabs) and T4 DNA Ligase (New England Biolabs) to repair degraded forensic whole blood DNA samples for PCR amplification. Degraded DNA presents a significant challenge in forensic STR analysis due to reduced amplification efficiency and allele imbalance. Whole blood samples were extracted, quantified, and artificially degraded using UV exposure. Samples were introduced to multiple treatments, including no damage no repair (NDNR), damage no repair (DNR), PreCRTM repair, T4 DNA ligase treatment, and combined repair approaches. Amplified products were analyzed using capillary electrophoresis, and peak height ratios (PHR) were used …

A.I. And The Law: How Ethical Guidelines Affect The Use Of Artificial Intelligence In Legal Work, Andre Asher

Honors Theses

Artificial intelligence is a quickly growing industry that is beginning to integrate itself into various aspects of our lives. Regarding the legal portion, the American Bar Association has an extensive set of ethical guidelines which, although they themselves do not hold any disciplinary weight, have been adapted to many state grievance committees where sanctions can be imposed. The use of AI in the legal field has introduced a whole new set of ethical concerns, which the already existing rules of professional conduct must now adapt to. Looking at the ABA’s ethical rules 1.1: Competency, 1.3: Diligence, 1.5: Fees, 1.6: Confidentiality, …

Development Of Hybrid Self-Cleaning Coating Using Lanthanide-Based Light Spectral Response Material To Enhance Photovoltaic (Pv) Panel Efficiency In Operational Environment, Khishn Kumar Kandiah

Student Works (2020-2029)

The efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) panels is crucial, as solar energy has become an alternative energy source that meets today’s global energy demands. Hence, dust accumulation and spectral mismatch have major effects on the efficiency of PV panels, around 20 %, but in extreme situations, this can reach up to 64 %. Therefore, initiatives are underway to address these issues, including PV cooling systems, conventional cleaning methods, and various coatings to enhance efficiency. In this work, a novel coating is fabricated with high transparency, excellent self-cleaning properties, and good spectral-modifying properties. Two types of powder composites are employed in this …

Empowering Voices: A Qualitative Exploration Of Shared Governance Among Healthcare Workers In Clinical Practice, Ayman Alhazaymeh

Doctoral Projects

This project intervention evaluated the implementation of shared governance (SG), focused on partnership council activities and staff perception. The shared governance framework has several pillars, such as Partnership, Equity, Ownership, Accountability, and Shared Decision-Making, to support the design of healthcare organizations for excellent patient care (Porter-O’Grady, 2009). To effectively evaluate the SG implementation and ensure the ongoing success of the SG process, the author investigated staff contributions and actively sought feedback. He provided templates and guidelines for the partnership council and collected staff feedback. Murray et al. (2016) stated that the partnership council reported empowering staff to implement innovative solutions …

Exploring Identity Through Clay: A Humanistic Art Therapy Case Study With A Blind Chinese Adoptee, Virginia Jade Leicht

Expressive Therapies Theses

This qualitative case study explored how working with clay in art therapy can help support a blind man’s identity exploration. This paper addresses the problem of many traditional therapeutic approaches within the art therapy realm: They rely too heavily on visual engagement, which can limit the accessibility and opportunities for self-exploration and identity development for those who are blind. The study was grounded in current research and foundational theories based on the humanistic art therapy approach. Clay is considered an accessible medium that engages multiple senses and allows for emotional exploration and meaning making, specifically through tactile and sensory-based engagement …

Arete - The Balance Of Nature: A Study And Creation Of Greek Tragedy From The Modern World, Grace Margaret Merrill

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the gender roles in ancient Greece through a creative lens. It aims to reach an understanding of the inequalities between men and women. Some of these inequalities involve women’s rights, abortion, and divorce. The main goal of this project is to reveal the discrimination women faced in ancient Greece. Once this is accomplished, I will then use the research to create a play inspired by the traditional Greek tragedy format. This play addresses controversial topics of the time and how individuals would have approached them. While there is ample research into the focus of my topic, there …

Forgotten In The Smokies, Diego G. Torres

Student Projects

The Great Smoky Mountains are riddled with old and forgotten places. The tree canopies shield abandoned buildings, structures can be found with their fireplaces and flooring still in place, just overgrown and cracking, cemeteries of people long since dead, still with flowers at their bases. At night, the woods hold you in place, too dark to venture out and many streets missing a streetlight. It's an old place full of rich and abundant history, it will however keep you in if you let it.

Diego Torres is a Chicago based photographer who leans towards horror-esqe photos inspired by artists like …

Age And Congressional Leader Success: Are They Getting Too Old, Edward N. Drinkwine, Scot Schraufnagel

Honors Capstones

Congressional leaders play a central role in shaping legislative agendas, maintaining party cohesion, and negotiating policy outcomes. Despite the important roles they play, our nation's congressional leaders continue to grow older, and research has rarely examined how age influences their effectiveness in these roles. This study asks whether older congressional leaders are less effective at advancing legislation than their younger counterparts. Using data on leaders serving in the U.S. House and Senate from the 93rd through the 118th Congress, the analysis compares leaders’ ages with their Legislative Effectiveness Score Ratios, controlling for legal experience, state legislative experience, elite education, ideology, …

The Business Of Music: Where Planning And Performing Meet, Mac Heelein

Honors Capstones

This project explores the intersection of business and music through the planning and execution of a collaborative recital featuring the NIU Viola Studio. In this process, I served as both the organizer and a performer, applying project management principles to handle logistics such as scheduling, venue coordination, and event promotion. The project required managing multiple moving parts while keeping both the artistic and organizational aspects aligned.

Through this experience, I found that while project management provides a strong structure, artistic settings require flexibility when unexpected challenges arise. This project also highlighted the importance of balancing organization with creativity to ensure …

Inbreeding And The Fall Of The Spanish Habsburg Dynasty, Kira L. Kent

Honors Theses

Inbreeding and the Fall of the Spanish Habsburg Dynasty examines how centuries of consanguineous marriages within the Spanish Habsburg family contributed to the dynasty’s decline and eventual extinction. Focusing on the reign and health of Carlos II of Spain, this study explores how dynastic marriage strategies, which were designed to consolidate political power and preserve royal lineage, ultimately produced severe genetic consequences. This thesis analyzes patterns of intermarriage beginning with Carlos I and continuing through the next four monarchs, highlighting the repeated marriages between close relatives. These practices significantly increased the likelihood of inheriting harmful recessive traits. In addition, this …

Evolving Art Therapy In Virtual Environments: Exploring Telehealth Art Therapy Within Gaming, Kathleen A. Wilber

Expressive Therapies Theses

The rapid expansion of virtual therapy following the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted art therapists to reconsider how creative processes can be facilitated through digital means. This capstone thesis explores how art therapy practices can evolve within virtual environments by exploring the video game The Sims 4 as a novel digital medium for virtual art therapy. A qualitative approach was used within an intensive outpatient program (IOP), including a preliminary peer session and two individual client sessions. The intervention involved therapist-facilitated gameplay, where the clinician acted as a “third hand,” guiding clients in an effort to support identity and values-based exploration. …

Returning To Play: Play-Centered Art Therapy With Parentified Adult Caregivers, Paola Andrea Mendez Carreno

Expressive Therapies Theses

This research investigates the impact of play-centered art therapy on parentified adult caregivers, focusing on how creative interventions utilizing elements of play can support identity development, self-compassion, and relational capacity. The literature indicates that childhood parentification leads to identity loss and burnout, but creative play can foster neuroplasticity and emotional processing by allowing adults to externalize harmful narratives that have been internalized. To explore these concepts, the author conducted four sessions over six weeks with an adult participant at a private outpatient practice in Massachusetts. Play-centered activities included free collaging, puppet-making, and clay modeling, often involving moments of parallel play …

Modulating The Plastisphere: Inhibiting Biofilm Formation Of Vibrio Spp., Kacian Clayton

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), approximately 19-23 million tons of plastic are released into the aquatic environment each year. Vibrio spp. are diverse gram-negative bacteria that inhabit these environments, capable of colonizing and forming biofilms on these plastic surfaces. In an age when anthropogenic activity exerts an undeniable influence on ecosystems, elucidating a way to regulate the interactions between plastic and vibrios is essential. In previous studies, Polymyxin B has demonstrated high efficacy against biofilm formation in gram-negative bacteria, including Vibrio cholerae. The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of cyclic lipopeptide antibiotics toward …

How Do Autobiographical Memory Abilities Compare With Other Cognitive Functions In An Adult Presenting With Hsam (Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory) And Autism? A Case Study., Emilia Rzeszutek, Dr. Jamie Mayer

Honors Capstones

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a condition widely researched in relation to social communication differences and challenges in areas such as memory and executive functioning. Many areas of research highlight ASD’s deficits, shortcomings, and risk factors. However, research has begun to recognize that autistic individuals demonstrate cognitive strengths that differ from typical patterns of functioning. An example of such ability is Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM), a rare phenomenon characterized by the ability to recall specific life events with remarkable accuracy and detail. This study was conducted on a 25-year-old male diagnosed with ASD and presents with characteristics of HSAM. …

Developing Engagement Programming To Increase Leisure Participation Among Individuals Living With Cognitive Impairments, Anthony Valentino, Bethany Horne Otd, Ms, Otr/L

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstones

Low-cost leisure activities are implemented at The Bridge Center to increase engagement and promote health and well-being. This program incorporates occupational therapy perspectives to promote engagement through meaningful activities to expand people with cognitive impairments opportunities. The results of this project will provide intrinsic benefits to people with cognitive impairments and aid the development of future projects at The Bridge Center.

The Efficacy Of An Educational Program On The Benefits Of Aquatic Therapy: An Occupational Therapy Perspective, Matile Kaplan, Kathryn Burke Otd, Otr/L

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstones

Aquatic therapy has been a therapeutic modality since 2400 B.C and offers multisystem physiological effects including cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, immune, gastrointestinal, and more. The aquatic environment offers buoyancy, hydrostatic pressure, resistance, and drag force to ease engagement and recovery. Individuals have a higher rate of participation in aquatic therapy compared to on-land therapy, although referral rates are low due to the existing perceptions and insufficient awareness of the benefits.

Educating Birthing Professionals About The Benefits Of Occupational And Physical Therapy In The Acute Postpartum Period, Jayde Monteiro, Kathryn Burke Otd, Otr/L

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstones

Purpose: Across all developed countries, the US has the highest maternal mortality rate. The acute postpartum period is considered the first 6 weeks after birth and is often the most prevalent time medical complications arise. Currently there is a trend of OT and PT referral after these complications have already happened negatively impacted patients. To bring awareness and relevance to acute postpartum OT and PT, birthing professionals need more education to gain knowledge on how therapy can produce successful recovery outcomes in their patients. The research question "How does online educational programming increase birthing professionals’ knowledge about the benefits of …

Choosing Your Line: Training Adaptive Ski Instructors How To Facilitate Occupational Participation For Individuals With Complex Communication Needs., Jordan E. Chizmadia, Monique Dawes Otd, Otr/L Cpam

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstones

The project will explore communication methods for individuals with complex communication needs (CCN) in adaptive skiing, focusing on alternative communication methods and the development of a Picture Exchange Communication System. A communication training program for ski instructors will be implemented. Findings will advance occupational therapy by highlighting the role of self-directed communication and autonomy in promoting occupational engagement for individuals with CCN.