Digital Commons Network^™

Synchronized Bionic Hand: Harmonizing Robotics With Rhythm, Deven Ayambem , '24

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

This report explores the therapeutic potential of rhythmic movement to music, focusing specifically on the "wave dance" movements of the human hand. Utilizing a mechanical analog, the study models the hand as a system of five interconnected mass-spring-dampers to simulate the dynamic and kinematic responses of the hand's joints to rhythmic stimuli. Through a combined approach of MATLAB simulation and physical modeling with servo motors controlled by Arduino, the project aims to quantify and visualize the effects of rhythmic movements on joint dynamics. The simulation employs the mass-spring-damper system to represent each joint and uses an impulse response approach to …

Myoelectric Robotic Hand To Play Guitar, Oliver Garcia , '24

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

Around 5.6 million people in the US have had an amputation or were born with limb difference. Some of these people find prostheses to be useful devices that allow them to perform desired activities that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to carry out. One form of prosthetic that, as far as I have found, has not been developed, is one for fretting chords on a guitar. Such a prosthetic would require multiple degrees of freedom for each finger, fine motor control, as well as quick actuation and signal interpretation. Most general purpose robotic prostheses today are either far too …

Small Scale Wave Energy Convertor For Remote Applications, Rafael Torres Rodriguez, John Stephenson, Max Mailloux-Beauchemin, Brandon Nguyen, Ryan Chang

Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses

The following thesis showcases the yearlong culmination of a senior design project focused on the development of a small-scale wave energy generator intended to provide consistent and sustainable energy for remote marine environments. This project’s main customers include, but are not limited to, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, and scuba diving sites worldwide. Based on these identified customers and their needs, a target power output of 50 watts was determined. Beyond this power requirement, the generator is required to resist corrosion, withstand rough marine conditions, and be modular as well as requiring low maintenance. …

Autonomous Humanoid Soccer Robot With Ml Applications, Zichen Huang, Wesley Tu

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

As the sports industry increasingly incorporates technological advancements, robotics has found a unique application in the field of soccer, traditionally dominated by human players. This transition has sparked significant interest in examining the performance and dynamics of robots in athletic contexts. In this senior design project, we focus on the development of autonomous movement, ball control, and game strategy algorithms for the NAO humanoid to play soccer. Utilizing an array of sensors and actuators, the robot is designed to perform fundamental soccer skills such as dribbling and shooting. The robot is able to identify both the goal and the ball …

From Doctoral Student To Professor: The Professional Socialization And Career Development Of International Counselor Educators, Ayla Martine Ludwig

Dissertations

Becoming a counselor educator is a complex and rigorous process wherein students grow both personally and professionally (Dollarhide et al., 2013). Throughout this process, students develop in accordance with doctoral competency standards (CACREP, 2021) which help socialize them into the role of professor. For international learners, their education has historically included unique challenges such as language barriers (Behl et al., 2017; Hegarty, 2014; Jang et al., 2014; McDowell et al., 2012; Ng, 2012; Pollock et al., 2017; Sato & Hodge, 2015; Sherry et al., 2010), cultural adjustment (Jang et al., 2014; Kuo et al., 2018; Woo et al., 2015), and …

Longitudinal Evaluation Of Vitamin D Concentrations In Relation To The Onset Of Type 2 Diabetes In American Adults: A Secondary Data Analysis, Kathryn Michelle Schurr

Dissertations

Background: Prior research has suggested that low levels of Vitamin D may have negative effects on various biological functions, including Type 2 diabetes. The relationship between Vitamin D and the risk of Type 2 Diabetes has not yet been fully investigated. The objective of this research is to examine patients’ laboratory test data longitudinally to determine how vitamin D and other covariates of interest affect Type 2 diabetes status over time.

Methods: This study used retrospective data review from Quest Diagnostics from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2022. Patients included in the study were required to have consecutive test …

Establishing Practical Equivalence Of Factor Loadings In Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Christopher Edward Shank

Dissertations

This dissertation compares the performance of equivalence test (EQT) and null hypothesis test (NHT) procedures for identifying invariant and noninvariant factor loadings under a range of experimental manipulations. EQT is the statistically appropriate approach when the research goal is to find evidence of group similarity rather than group difference; despite this, the conventional approach to measurement invariance analysis relies upon NHT. EQT has proved effective for invariance detection using global model-data fit statistics in simulated and real-world data (Counsell et al., 2020) but its use in partial measurement invariance (PMI) analysis for evaluation of factor loading differences between groups has …

Interaction Between Continuous Pack-Years Smoked And Polygenic Risk Score On Lung Cancer Risk, Meredith S. Duncan, Hector Diaz-Zabala, James Jaworski, Hilary A. Tindle, Robert A. Greevy, Loren Lipworth, Rayjean J. Hung, Matthew S. Freiberg, Melinda C. Aldrich

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Background: Lung cancer risk attributable to smoking is dose dependent, yet few studies examining a polygenic risk score (PRS) by smoking interaction have included comprehensive lifetime packyears smoked. Methods: We analyzed data from participants of European ancestry in the Framingham Heart StudyOriginal (n = 454) andOffspring (n = 2,470) cohorts enrolled in 1954 and 1971, respectively, and followed through 2018. We built a PRS for lung cancer using participant genotyping data and genome-wide association study summary statistics froma recent study in theOncoArray Consortium. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to assess risk and the interaction between pack-years smoked and …

A Multiple-Site Case Inquiry To Identify The Attributes Of Socio-Academic Culture In Successful Entry-To-Practice Respiratory Therapy Programs, Thomas D. Jones

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Background: Organizational structure and culture have been explored extensively in higher education. Nonacademic factors influence student engagement, motivation, and success. Research describing socio-academic culture in health professions programs is limited. Achievement of fundamental social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies empowers students to learn and achieve educational goals. SEL has not been established as a theoretical framework in health professions education. SEL competencies closely align with respiratory therapy (RT) learner needs and essential professional skills. Attributes of socio-academic culture in successful RT programs and their impact on student success are unknown. Objective: To identify the attributes of socio-academic culture in successful entry-to-practice respiratory …

Deciphering The Functional Connections Between The Nuclear Paraspeckle And Rad51 Homologous Recombination Proteins Using A Yeast Protein Interaction System, Eric J. Nutz

Senior Theses

Homologous recombination (HR) is a repair pathway for DNA double-stranded breaks. Mutations in HR genes contribute to genomic instability and increase the prevalence of cancer. Exploiting HR deficiency in tumor cells has led to improved synthetic lethality outcomes. RAD51 paralogue protein complexes are known to be involved with HR. Proteomic analysis of RAD51 paralogues reveals a connection to the nuclear paraspeckle. A paraspeckle is a little-known, specialized organelle found in the interchromatin space of the nucleus in mammalian cells. Its three central protein components include SFPQ, NONO, and PSPC1. RAD51D is an HR protein shown previously to interact with SFPQ …

A Third Way: Christian Philosophy Of Music, Eric S. Gardner

Senior Theses

Philosophers have posed many difficult-to-answer questions regarding music. For example, what counts as beautiful music? Can beauty be objectified, or is beauty in the eye of the beholder? What counts as a performance of a piece of music? Besides, what counts as music anyways? Where does the noise stop, and where does the music begin? In this thesis, I want to show that the Christian worldview offers the philosophical building blocks to answer these questions. By working with biblical truths and Christian presuppositions, I hope to show that the Christian worldview can offer satisfying answers to these philosophical questions.

The Sentiments Of Drag Performers On Anti-Drag Legislation: A Thematic Analysis, Brian D. Briggs

Senior Theses

Since 2022, at least 21 states have considered, filed, or passed legislation with the goal of banning or limiting drag performances in public spaces or in the presence of minors. These pieces of legislation seek to suppress drag performances on the grounds that they appeal to sexual interests, and they even go as far as to claim that drag performers aim to groom and assault children at their performances. These claims are baseless and vastly misrepresent the true breadth of drag as a performance art and the positive messages it promotes, as well as suggest that bias against the LGBTQ+ …

The Arabic Influence On The Spanish Language: Sociocultural Mechanisms Of Language Change Under Islamic Rule In The Iberian Peninsula, Reagan Borland

Senior Theses

After Latin, which makes up about 75-80% of the Spanish lexicon (Comparán Rizo, 2006, p. 17), Arabic is the most important linguistic contributor to the branch of Romance languages that would come to be known as Spanish or Castellano (Castilian), surpassing Germanic influence and that of other contributors such as French and Celtic languages. The broad range of Arabisms found in Spanish can be attributed to certain cultural and social changes that took place under Arab-Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula between 711 and 1492 and during the period following the so-called “Reconquista” of Spain by the Christian kingdoms to …

The Individuality Of Bereavement: A Phenomenological Analysis Of Sudden Loss Trauma On Young Adults, Teaghan B. Brosokas

Senior Theses

While death of a loved one or peer is likely experienced by everyone at least once in their lifetime, bereavement is far from a universalized experience. Just as no two people are alike, no two relationships are alike. Thus, no two losses breed the same after-effects. Multiple factors influence the individual characteristics of bereavement, such as mode of loss, relationship to the deceased, and possible societal barriers. This study explores the impact of a sudden unexpected death on young adults based on their relational closeness to the deceased, including plausible reasoning behind reactions and influences on post-loss adjustment. Young adults …

A Comparison Of Health Outcomes In Bare-Metal Stenting Versus Drug-Eluting Stenting, Ryan Hill

Senior Theses

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is an epidemic in the United States and around the world, with millions falling victim to CAD and other forms of heart disease annually. There are both many causes and many treatments to these aforementioned heart diseases. Some of these causes and comorbidities include the usual suspects: obesity, diabetes and smoking. However, the component I am more interested in is the multitude of different procedures and technologies that can serve to treat cases of CAD.

The inspiration for choosing the topic of CAD treatment for my senior thesis derives from my interest in the field of …

Plath Fostered It, Women Are Nurturing It: Cycles Of Existential And Confessional Women's Writing In The Mid-20th Century And Beyond, Sophie Elisabeth Conrad

Senior Theses

During the mid-20th century, a wide-ranging yet topically focused genre of women’s writing began to emerge in earnest, currently categorized as existential and confessional. Works like Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949) and Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963) offer explanations of why an ineffable feeling of malaise permeated the lives of 20th-century women and led them to adopt these methods of writing and thinking. However, existential feelings akin to that of the 20th-century female malaise have returned to stake their claim on the minds of 21st-century women, evidenced in popular contemporary works such as Otessa Moshfegh’s My Year …

A Covenant People: Providentialism In Seventeenth-Century New England And Its Impact On The Development Of The Salem Witch Trials, Gracie L. Vess

Senior Theses

This project explores the New English Puritan ideology of providentialism from the first settlement of New England in 1620 to the Salem Village witch trials in 1692. During this period New England watched its motherland experience civil war, the overthrow of the monarchy, the installation of a commonwealth, the failure of the Puritan Reformation, the restoration of the monarchy, and the Glorious Revolution. These events influenced the way New Englanders saw England’s relationship with God as well as the meaning behind their providential purpose by allowing them to believe God had turned his wrath on England, so the colonists needed …

Teacher Retention In Independent Schools, Charles Maddox Jr.

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Teachers in public and independent schools have left the field of education at a staggering rate. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand what factors kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers describe as influencing their decisions to remain in independent day schools in Florida. For the purpose of this study, independent education is defined as private schools. Five participants were interviewed for the study. The two themes developed in the study were differences from public schools and school leadership. The subthemes for differences from public schools were flexibility, teacher autonomy, and freedom from government control while subthemes for school …

What’S Your Story? Perceptions Of Diversity In Faith-Based Organizational Contexts, Martha N. Mcclure

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Organizations for the past several decades have made diversity a top priority. While diversity and inclusion can often be interpreted as synonymous terms, distinguishing between representative diversity and inclusive diversity is necessary for positive intergroup contact among working teams. The purpose of this quantitative study was to evaluate the effect of a missions training course on individuals' perceptions of what constitutes a diverse and inclusive work environment. Using the personal stories of diverse panelists and pre and post-test survey research, the effect on perceptions of four constructs of diversity: gender, race/ethnicity, age, and language were examined. While study findings did …

Analysis Of Pre-Employment Training Skills Needed By Persons With Autism Spectrum Disorders Or Intellectual Disabilities To Secure Employment, Cassandra D. Barlow

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this nonexperimental, quantitative study was to discover the pre-employment skills needed by persons with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or intellectual disabilities (ID) to increase their employment readiness and retention. The purposive sample comprised 41 people who have hired, worked with, or trained persons with disabilities (PWD) in various capacities. Participants were also recruited through snowball sampling by purposive participants who provided the link to take the survey. Data were collected using a 22-item questionnaire survey created in Google Docs by the researcher and subject matter experts. The study’s demographic variables were evaluated using descriptive statistical techniques. …

Clonal Selection In Mincane Hazelnut (Coryllus Avellana L.) Cultivar In Akçakoca District Of Düzce Province, Hülya Ünver

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Türkiye has dominated world hazelnut production for a long time and one of the most important hazelnut growing areas in the Black Sea region is Düzce province. Agriculture plays an important role in Düzce economy and hazelnut orchards occupy 45% of total agricultural areas. Mincane hazelnut cultivar widely grown in Akçakoca and shows variability particularly for nut characteristics. Thus, this study was aimed to select promising clones with superior features from the population of the Mincane hazelnut cultivar. In the selection study, some important nut characteristics were examined. According to a modified weighted ranking method results, 7 Mincane hazelnut clones …

Intelligent Food Packaging Design Based On Visual Communication And Multimedia Technology, Yumian Liu, Zekun Wang

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Intelligent food packaging has labels that cover a vast amount of information, but some labels may pop up a lot of information after scanning, which can easily cause interface confusion, and there may be a lack of single display channels, resulting in long search times for consumers. The aim of smart food packaging design research based on visual communication and multimedia technologies is to explore and develop innovative methods to improve the attractiveness, functionality and interaction with consumers of food packaging. These all can directly affect consumers’ purchasing intention. This article was based on visual communication and multimedia technology for …

Chitosan Application Improves Yield And Quality Of Rocket (Eruca Sativa), Ayşe Özkan, Hali̇me Ünlü

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of chitosan application on the yield and quality of rockets. “Bengi” rocket variety was used as a plant material and chitosan was applied to leaves at four different doses (0 (control)–75–150–300 ppm). The results revealed that the yield values varied between 1691–1914 g m-2, plant height between 24.33–27.92 cm, and leaf width between 4.56–5.71 cm among the applications. The total dry matter, chlorophyll, total phenolics, vitamin C, and antiradical activity values were determined to range between 7.71% and 8.68%, 34.15 and 36.68 SPAD, 104.67 and 180.84 mg 100 g–1, 126.63 and 143.51 …

Targeting Cholinergic Signaling In Glioblastoma, Sumyuktha Vijay Anand

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Primitive stem cell-like populations that are prone to malignant transformation reside in the brain throughout adulthood. My lab’s reports and many others have characterized subsets of glioma cells reminiscent of adult stem-like cells implicating them rational candidates for cell-targeted therapies. Emerging evidence suggests that the neurotransmitter microenvironment influences these stem-like cells during glioma progression providing an inroad to study neuromodulators in glioma. Some glioma stemlike cells share characteristics with adult tissue oligodendrocyte progenitor cells. Primitive cells of the oligodendroglial lineage express muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs), and their “stemness” is maintained by the acetylcholine (ACh) neurotransmitter. Here, I conduct transcriptomic, electrophysiological, …

On Adaptivity And Randomness For Streaming Algorithms, Manuel Stoeckl

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

A streaming algorithm has a limited amount of memory and reads a long sequence (data stream) of input elements, one by one, and computes an output depending on the input. Such algorithms may be used in an online fashion, producing a sequence of intermediate outputs corresponding to the prefixes of the data stream. Adversarially robust streaming algorithms are required to give correct outputs with a desired probability even when the data stream is adaptively generated by an adversary that can see all intermediate outputs of the algorithm. This thesis binds together research on a variety of problems related to the …

Timing Vocabulary Instruction For English Language Learners: Evaluating The Impact Of Pre- Teaching Vs. Post-Teaching Approaches On Steam Comprehension, Askin Topal

MATL Action Research Projects

No abstract provided.

Non-Urgent Use Of Emergency Departments By Rural And Urban Adults, Erika Ziller Phd, Carly Milkowski, Zachariah Croll, Yvonne Jonk Phd

Access / Insurance

This study, conducted by researchers at the Maine Rural Health Research Center, provides updated information and addresses gaps in knowledge about rural non-urgent ED use. Understanding the rates of non-urgent ED use among rural adults and the factors associated with this use can inform policy and practice efforts to reduce unnecessary and inappropriate use of EDs in rural communities.

Hospital emergency departments (EDs) serve a vital role in the US health care system, providing lifesaving, around-the-clock care to patients in acute health situations. However, use of the ED for non-urgent care is costly and reflects a suboptimal care setting, with …

The Financial Impact Of Health And Wellness, Owen Williams, Walter Fulton, Chad Vaughn, Keaton Spiegel

ENGL 1102 Showcase

This group anthology takes a deeper look into the cross section of health & wellness and business & finance sectors.

Hydrologic Impact Index For The Pinhoti Hiking Trail, Allie Field

Theses

Author note: The author of this thesis is also published under the name Allie Bobo.

This study aimed to identify flood-prone areas along the Pinhoti Trail and Chinnabee Silent Trail in the Talladega National Forest. Using the Hydrology Flood Index layer that was created using several essential data layers, the research aimed to provide campers, hikers, nature enthusiasts, and trail maintenance teams with information about areas at a higher risk of flash flooding. The Hydrology Flood Index layer rates the risk of flooding on a scale of 1 to 4, with level 1 indicating a low risk of flooding and …

Use Of Force In Policing: Do Female Police Officers Use Unjustifiable Force As Often As Male Officers?, Carma Dobson

Theses

Use of force (UOF) is a common practice in policing. My study focuses on the disposition of the use of unjustifiable force in policing. Utilization of pre-existing data with 5,771 use of force incidents from the New Orleans, Louisiana police department in the years of 2016-2021 produces an answer to the research question: Do female police officers use unjustifiable force as often as male officers? The chi-square test of independence results in my study indicates that there is no statistical difference between males and females.