Digital Commons Network^™

The Human Connection Of Travel: Why Air Travel Will Never Go Away, Maimunah Qureshi

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Advancements in communication and environmental technology may mark the end of aviation as we know it. Numerous people who were forced to remain at home during the pandemic have gotten a taste of a life in which they spend more time with their immediate families and are just as productive at work. Many meetings that individuals used to travel across the nation to attend are now more commonly streamed online for their convenience. Not only that, but the ability to communicate with loved ones who live far away via Facetime and other video-calling technologies has made it possible for us …

Racism In Barnstable County’S Judiciary System, Olivia Brown

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This research outlines how racism is prevalent in the court system in Barnstable County, Massachusetts. When looking at research of racism in Massachusetts’ courts, specifically from the Harvard Law Report titled, “Racial Disparities in Massachusetts Criminal System,” published in 2020, I became intrigued with the topic. This raised the research question of is racism prevalent in Barnstable County’s judicial system. This study consists of interviews with defense attorneys from Barnstable County, detailing their personal experiences and thoughts on racism in the courts. This study demonstrates that there is racism in this court, however it tends to go unnoticed due to …

Mitigating Covid-19 Infection Rates And Increasing Vaccination Rates For Children Ages 5-11: A Content Analysis Of How Two Hospitals’ Use Of Effective Social Media Engagement Helped To Influence A Healthier Public, Jacqueline Delorey

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The Covid-19 outbreak initiated an international public health crisis, altering our publics dependency on health organizations communication strategies and tactics. Immediate crisis communication and public health efforts were needed to mitigate panic and infectious disease across the globe. The digital marketing strategies utilized for social media began to reflect the value of accurate and timely information spread in correlation to a healthier targeted public for large health organizations. The significance of this thesis in the field of communications directly correlates to the health belief model, which is used to observe the motivation and decision-making processes that influence an individual’s choice …

Sex Differences In The Anatomy Of Mam E17 Treated Rats: A Developmental Model Of Schizophrenia, Cassandra Hartsgrove

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Enlarged ventricles and reduced cortical volume are neuroanatomical abnormalities correlated with schizophrenia and typically more severe in males. The MAM model of schizophrenia is a developmental disruption model that involves exposing animals to a teratogen, methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM), to reflect the neuroanatomical traits of schizophrenia. Rodents exposed to MAM on embryonic day 17 (E17) experience a reduction of cortical volume and increased ventricular volume. Measuring brain weight and ventricular volume can be used to inversely measure the severity of cortical reduction. The circling method was used to measure the lateral ventricles of a sample of 27 rodents; 8 MAM-females, 7 …

Blood Sugar: A Collection Of Essays On The Highs And Lows Of Diabetes, Annalisa Morganelli

Honors Program Theses and Projects

As soon as I began working on this thesis project, I knew that I wanted this collection to focus on the different aspects of my life that have been affected by me having type one diabetes. The diabetic experience is one that has been underrepresented—and arguably, misrepresented—in popular media. The four non-fiction essays in my collection aim to add my personal experience to the existing literature, showing that while diabetics may have similar experiences, these experiences can also be vastly individualistic. Additionally, while I share my own stories, I explore the general chronic illness experience and how ableism and misunderstanding …

Octavia E. Butler’S Earthseed And The God Of Change, Mercedes Alayna Reid-X

Honors Program Theses and Projects

It is my intention in this paper to define Butler’s Change God and illustrate how she created it to end oppression in all forms. It is important to start with a bit of background on Butler herself, sharing how her upbringing and experiences in life influenced her feelings about religion. These feelings are what encouraged writings such as the Parables, helping the reader to understand why Butler felt the need to create a new type of religion instead of making use of one that already existed. Next, I include an introduction to Butler’s journey as a Black science fiction writer. …

Multi-Species Multi-Seasonal Wildlife Occupancy Along An Urban-To-Rural Gradient In Southeastern Massachusetts, Bobbi M. Scully

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Documenting wildlife distributions along urban to rural gradients (URGs) creates opportunities to comparatively analyze wildlife habitat associations. In urban environments, wildlife diversity is expected to be impoverished and limited to invasive and generalist species while more diverse wildlife assemblages are expected in rural environments. Using motion-triggered game cameras I documented presence of the eastern gray squirrel (EGS), the coyote, and the white-tailed deer (WTD) along an URG in southeastern Massachusetts, to determine the effects of urbanization on their occupancy patterns. I used a multi-seasonal dynamic occupancy modeling approach to determine the overall occupancy probability of each study species along the …

Marvel-Ous Women: Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, And The Representation Of Female Superheroes, Alexis Lee Tavares

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The goal of this project is to determine the manner in which female superheroes Natasha Romanoff and Wanda Maximoff are portrayed by Marvel Studios’ depictions. These portrayals will help us understand if Marvel reinforces or challenges sexism placed upon female superheroes, given that their role as leaders in the industry influences other media. The following questions guided my research process: What does the physical appearance of this superhero say about her character? How does her appearance speak to how she is viewed as a woman? What is in the significance of the relationships this hero has with others? How does …

Using Optical Tweezersto Probe Dna Polymerase Kappa’S Binding Mechanism To Dna, Joshua Watts

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The integrity of our DNA is constantly under threat from many internal and external factors. If the cell cannot properly protect the integrity of DNA, errors (lesions) in DNA may form which can lead to cancer. Most of these lesions serve as a roadblock to the protein, DNA polymerase (Pol), that replicates the DNA during cell division. The mechanism that is employed to read through these errors is called translesion DNA synthesis (TLS). During this process, a special class of DNA polymerases known as TLS DNA Pols that can tolerate and bypass the lesions in DNA are employed by the …

Microplastics In The Marine Environment And Deep-Sea Sediment Contamination: A Review, Elizabeth Sangiolo

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This review discusses what microplastics are and how they are continuously impacting the marine environment, and ultimately, human life. Plastic has been the number one used material for decades for industrial and recreational purposes. Its cost effectiveness, durability, and lightness are what manufacturers and consumers desire most, making plastic the most abundant pollutant in the world. Understanding how plastic pollution is broken down into microplastics and how these fragmented pieces of waste are classified can help researchers identify ways to prevent the additional input of microplastics in the marine environment. These microscopic particles of debris have been sampled from deep-sea …

Vertex-Magic Graphs, Karissa Massud

Honors Program Theses and Projects

In this paper, we will study magic labelings. Magic labelings were first introduced by Sedláček in 1963 [3]. At this time, the labels on the graph were only assigned to the edges. In 1970, Kotzig and Rosa defined what are now known as edge-magic total labelings, where both the vertices and the edges of the graph are labeled. Following this in 1999, MacDougall, Miller, Slamin, and Wallis introduced the idea of vertex-magic total labelings. There are many different types of magic labelings. In this paper will focus on vertex-magictotal labelings.

The Magazine Industry: How The Internet Has Changed It All, Marissa Bradstreet

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The goal of this thesis is to understand the changes the magazine industry has seen through the emergence of digital technology. This project can help us further understand the role of online magazines, and how their reading experience differs from reading the traditional print magazines. This project can help consumers and producers understand what magazine readers are looking for in their magazine experience and what factors make them choose to read magazines from one platform to another. This is important for producers and publishers because it helps decide what content is worth creating based on the wants of consumers.

Cruel To Be Unkind, Michelle Landry

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Overall, the goal of my campaign is to educate but I tried to put the focus on the facts rather than demanding anything from the viewers. Companies such as PETA often turn viewers away with their demanding and extreme media in hopes to guilt them into changing their ways. Rather than guilting people, I want to make people aware that this is still an issue in our country and educate them on the topic. With these intentions, I created my campaign known as Cruel to Be Unkind.

The Changing Motivations Of First-Generation College Students, Jessica Lynch

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Past research has clearly indicated that first-generation college students are a unique cohort facing specific obstacles on their journey through higher education. That said, it is crucial to understand their motivations for pursuing a college degree in order to better help guide them throughout their studies. Furthermore, comparing these motivations and motivation changes to those of continuing-generation college students provides further insight regarding the uniqueness of first-generation college students. In Study 1, we studied this by asking students to recall their past motivations for enrolling in college and cite their present reasons for being in college. In Study 2, we …

Microbial Dimension Of Symbiosis And Dysbiosis In Fungus–Gardening Ants, Blake S. Bringhurst

Biology Theses

With symbiotic partners, the means by which a host obtain a symbiont influence the specificity between the host and the symbiont. One such system where symbiont specificity is seen to varying degrees is with higher attine ants. Higher attine ants have symbiotic relationships with the fungal cultivar they grow and the bacterial symbionts in their microbiomes. Among the higher attines, there are two broad groups of fungi. Most ants in the genus Trachymyrmex tend to grow Clade–B fungi, which are a group of undescribed Leucocoprinus species, while leaf–cutting ants in the genera Acromyrmex and Atta tend to grow Clade–A fungi …

Diversity Of Bees In Trees On An Urban College Campus, Aidan Castricone

Biology Student Scholarship

It is well known that insect pollinator populations are declining and a lack of nutrients (i.e flowering plants) may be a contributor to this decline. Insect pollinators forage for pollen and nectar, which provides proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, from flowering plants. Current research on pollinator foraging behavior focuses on pollinators that forage on the ground thus overlooking those that forage in trees. Trees such as Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa) and crabapple (Malus sp.) bloom in early Spring, even before herbaceous perennials and forbs. Thus trees are likely the only places for early flying pollinators to find food. …

Collateral Damage: Anticoagulant Rodenticides Pose Threats To California Condors, Garth Herring, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Rachel Wolstenholme, Alacia Welch, Chris West, Barnett A. Rattner

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are widespread environmental contaminants that pose risks to scavenging birds because they routinely occur within their prey and can cause secondary poisoning. However, little is known about AR exposure in one of the rarest avian scavengers in the world, the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus). We assessed AR exposure in California condors and surrogate turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) to gauge potential hazard to a proposed future condor flock by determining how application rate and environmental factors influence exposure. Additionally, we examined whether ARs might be correlated with prolonged blood clotting time and potential mortality …

Assessment Of Population Size, Survival, And Movement Behavior Of The Rare Frosted Elfin Butterfly, Breelyn Gilbert

Biology Student Scholarship

The frosted elfin butterfly (Callophrys irus) is a locally rare Lycaenaid with spotty distribution throughout the eastern United States. As host plant specialists, frosted elfins only lay eggs on two plant species. Yellow wild indigo (Baptisia tinctoria), one of the host plants for this species, is found in abundance at Gavins Pond (Foxboro MA). Since 2000, Massachusetts Butterfly Club members have been informally monitoring the frosted elfin population at this site; however, no systematic population surveys have been done. Using their data, I estimated annual population size from 2000 to 2022. In 2022, I also performed …

2022-August-18-College Of Pharmacy Early Admission Pathway, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY (August 18, 2022) – Olivia Long knew when she was in eighth grade that she wanted to be a pharmacist. She later found a way to get a jump on that career through the Early Admission Pathway at the East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy.

Through this arrangement, the Mount Juliet native is concurrently working toward her bachelor’s degree in pharmacy studies and her Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. The idea of pharmacy was first suggested to Long by her mother, who is a nurse, and she followed up by investigating the career in her …

Transgressing Time: Life And Death In The Portraiture Of Paula Modersohn-Becker, Elizabeth Ezekiel

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Paula Modersohn-Becker, 1876-1907, had a short, intense life – one in which death remained close by. This closeness is due to a high number of tragedies her family incurred, as well as her (correct) belief that she would die young. This apprehension for death, among other reasons that will be explored in this thesis, led her to be inspired by the Fayum mummy portraits, an ancient funerary art form dating back to 30-40 CE in the Greco-Roman period of Egyptian history. Aside from the exhibition entitled Paula Modersohn-Becker und die ägyptischen Mumienportraitsat the Museen Böttcherstraßethere there remains no scholarship directly …

Blood Quantum? Native Dna? Indigenous Lineage? The Complexities Of Native Authenticity And Identity, Grace Thayer

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Unlike any other ethnic minority in the US, Native Americans are required to authenticate their Indianness, or their relation to Native peoples, in order to qualify for tribal citizenship and justify their identity as Indigenous peoples. In order to become citizens of a Native nation, or to even be considered Indigenous in the eyes of the United States government, Native peoples are often required to prove their Indigeneity, or Nativeness, through blood, DNA, and other seemingly quantifiable measurements. No other minority group is forced to prove their legitimacy to be a citizen of their community in the United States, yet …

Beyond Bostock: Title Ix Protections For Transgender Athletes, Joseph Brucker

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal (1994 - )

No abstract provided.

Civic Virtue In America During The Gilded Age, Daniel Gregory Lundstedt

Masters Theses

This study will seek to reevaluate the era which historians have traditionally labeled as the Gilded Age. It will do this through an examination of the state of civic virtue in the United States during this period. This will be accomplished through an interdisciplinary foray into America’s past. From it, hopefully some fresh understandings of what America is, and where it is going, can become apparent. This project falls within the broader exploration of the relationship between the citizen and society and will thus hopefully contribute to that set of literature. This project will be a convergence of several subdisciplines …

Study On Aging Characteristics Of Bio-Asphalt Modified By Rubber Powder, Zhou Chao

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

To evaluate the effect of thermal oxidative aging on the performance of rubber powder-modified bio-asphalt, this paper adopted rheological evaluation indicators to analyze the high-temperature deformation resistance of bio-asphalt and rubber powder-modified bio-asphalt. Based on the rheological evaluation indicators, an aging kinetic model of rubber powder-modified bio-asphalt was built at different aging temperatures and times. The results show that the anti-aging ability of rubber powder-modified bio-asphalt is significantly better than that of bio-asphalt, and the larger rubber particles lead to stronger anti-aging ability. As the aging time is extended, the high-temperature deformation resistance of rubber powder-modified bio-asphalt increases non-monotonically. On …

Engl 3360 - Introduction To Language Studies, Régine Pellicer

Open Educational Resources - Books

Language studies cover a large variety of situations as language is embedded in every aspect of our lives. Finding a book that would study all the possible topics related to language is impossible. Therefore, with our UTRGV librarians, we have assembled a free book that covers the basic linguistics concepts you need to know for this course and other linguistics courses. Linguistics concepts such as phonology or language acquisition are not subject to last minute discoveries and the principles remain the same. We hope you enjoy learning more about linguistics thanks to this free resource.

Batok: The Exploration Of Indigenous Filipino Tattooing As A Resistive Collective Occupation, Chelsea Ramirez, Karen Mccarthy, Ana Cabalquinto, Carmela Dizon, Mai Santiago

Occupational Therapy | Faculty Scholarship

Batok (also known as Fatek/Burik/Tatak/Batek/Patik) is an Indigenous Filipino tattooing practice where the practitioner marks the skin by hand-tapping the ink using bone/wood implements. Previous research on tattooing from an occupational science perspective has considered European tattooing and its engagement and implication on the individual. This qualitative research explores how batok is experienced by the person and their identified community. Three Filipino participants with batok, and four family or community members were interviewed. Thematic analysis highlighted three themes recognized as Kapwa, Revealing One’s Batok, and Decolonization and Reclamation as a Cultural Practice. These themes are situated in the lens of …

Floral Nutritional Value And Plant-Pollinator Interactions In Providence, Rhode Island, Gracey Sorensen

Biology Student Scholarship

Bees obtain nutrients from flowers. Pollen provides proteins and fats; nectar provides carbohydrates and some amino acids. With recent decline in pollinator populations, conservationists are interested in providing nutritious plants for pollinators. Counterintuitively, urban areas have the green space for pollinator friendly plantings. On Providence College’s urban campus, I examined how floral abundance and pollinator interactions correlate to the nutritional value of plant species. Quadrat surveys were performed within 53 quadrats through the Spring and Summer for plant-pollinator interactions. Pollen was collected from all flowering species and analyzed for nitrogen and carbon content using an elemental analyzer. Nectar samples were …

Leaders And Restraints: Investigating How Attitudes Of School Leaders Predict The Number Of Physical Restraints, Sarah S. Ulmer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study investigates how attitudes of school leaders predict the number of physical restraints that occur in schools that serve students under IDEA. This study focuses on the attitudes of school leaders from the geographical regions of Virginia in public and private schools. The “Educational Leadership and Behavioral Interventions” survey was used to gather research from 33 schools within Virginia. After collecting the data through the survey, the data was analyzed using a predictive correlation research design. The bivariate linear regression was used to analyze the predictor and criterion variables using SPSS. Based on the results of the data analysis, …

Effects Of Strategic Communications Of Middle-Level Managers On Strategic Thinking And Organizational Performance: A Quantitative Study, Anthony Uwem Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study explored the relationship between Middle-Level Managers' (MLM) strategic communications, strategic thinking, and organizational performance. Pieces of evidence about strategic communications processes and strategic thinking supporting increased organizational performance are critical to an organization. According to researchers, when strategic communications and strategic thinking are not in the manager’s thought processes, any plans based upon such methods might fail to achieve the desired outcomes concerning organizational performance. While strategic communications and strategic thinking are essential to corporate performance, researchers have not fully substantiated their impact on the performance outcomes of an organization. Identifying to the highest Degree how a relationship …

Pandas: How To Recognize And Intervene, Trevor Brackney, Blaine Winters

Student Works

This research paper delves into pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcus (PANDAS). PANDAS causes rapid psychiatric changes in children ages 3 to puberty. These changes are most often obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and/or tics, however, anxiety, agitation, mood disorder, depression, oppositional defiance disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, hallucinations, memory/cognitive deficits, enuresis, and sleep disturbances have also been noted. Present-day estimations of PANDAS cases would likely prove to be understated if awareness of PANDAS increased (Centner, 2021). The purpose of this paper is to disseminate awareness and data of a disease that has gone relatively unnoticed in American medicine since being defined …