Digital Commons Network^™

Factors Associated With Advance Care Planning Engagement In Healthy Young Adults, Pablo J. Vasquez

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) is a process that supports individuals at any stage of health in understanding and sharing their personal values and goals pertaining current or future medical needs with their families and healthcare providers. Although ACP is applicable to adults of any age and any stage of the health continuum, it is widely associated with older or terminally ill populations, and the need for end-of-life (EOL) planning in healthy young adults is generally found unnecessary. The National Institutes of Health supports the expansion of ACP research in understudied populations. Investigating ACP in healthy young adults support such …

2022 Spring Undergraduate And Graduate Commencement, Lindenwood University

Commencement Programs

Lindenwood University Commencement program.

Feed-In Tariffs And Sustainable Energy: Why Different Oecd Governments Support Sustainable Energy At Different Rates Through Feed-In Tariffs, Joshua M. Grahame

Business and Economics Honors Papers

Why is it that different governments in the OECD support sustainable energy at different rates? In the effort to explain this difference, Feed-in-Tariffs (FITs) will be closely examined to see if it can explain the significant portion of the variation among countries. This project serves as a continuation of previous scholars' works, to better understand the variation between countries in adopting renewable energy, even though all members of the OECD have pledged that by 2030 half of their energy will come from sustainable energy. Whereas previous research considered data ending in 2012 and looked at countries outside of the OECD, …

Introduction: Human Rights Subjects, Microhistories, And Assemblages In Colombian Cultural Production, Carlos Gardeazábal Bravo

Books and Book Chapters by University of Dayton Faculty

Table of contents, front matter, introduction

Climatic Influences On Summer Use Of Winter Precipitation By Trees, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Scott T. Allen, Sabine Braun, Rolf T. W. Siegwolf, James W. Kirchner

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Trees in seasonal climates may use water originating from both winter and summer precipitation. However, the seasonal origins of water used by trees have not been systematically studied. We used stable isotopes of water to compare the seasonal origins of water found in three common tree species across 24 Swiss forest sites sampled in two different years. Water from winter precipitation was observed in trees at most sites, even at the peak of summer, although the relative representation of seasonal sources differed by species. However, the representation of winter precipitation in trees decreased with site mean annual precipitation in both …

Plant Protein-Based Nanocomposite Films: A Review On The Used Nanomaterials, Characteristics, And Food Packaging Applications, Shima Jafarzadeh, Mehrdad Forough, Sajed Amjadi, Vahid J. Javan Kouzegaran, Hadi Almasi, Farhad Garavand, Masoumeh Zargar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Consumer demands to utilize environmentally friendly packaging have led researchers to develop packaging materials from naturally derived resources. In recent years, plant protein-based films as a replacement for synthetic plastics have attracted the attention of the global food packaging industry due to their biodegradability and unique properties. Biopolymer-based films need a filler to show improved packaging properties. One of the latest strategies introduced to food packaging technology is the production of nanocomposite films which are multiphase materials containing a filler with at least one dimension less than 100 nm. This review provides the recent findings on plant-based protein films as …

Charles Peirce And The Community Of Philosophical Inquiry, Maughn Rollins Gregory

Department of Educational Foundations Scholarship and Creative Works

Introduction: "We individually cannot reasonably hope to attain the ultimate philosophy which we pursue; we can only seek it, therefore, for the community of philosophers." Charles S.Peirce, 1868 (5.265).

Since the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) originated the idea of a ‘community of inquiry’ to describe and promote the norms of scientific inquiry, that idea has been used to characterize a wide variety of educational programs, academic disciplines, and institutional, governmental, and political practices. The first purpose of this essay is to establish that the precise phrase ‘community of inquiry’—which does not occur in Peirce’s writings—was coined in 1978 …

Breaking The Cycle: An Analysis Of The Reduction Of Single Women In The Homeless Community, Luisa J. Lamagra

Honors Projects

An analysis of homelessness with particular attention to King County and a focus on single women. This paper aims to address gender disparities in housing prioritization and homeless reduction solutions while suggesting gender-conscious policies and programs. The current system of housing prioritization is aiming to be neutral; yet it falls to the side of white, cisgender, heterosexual men. Single women without children have specific needs that are not met because the absence of children in their lives makes them insignificant, which feeds into the cyclical nature of chronic homelessness. By analyzing the specific pathways that women take into homelessness, this …

Read This: A Content Analysis Framework For Book Recommendation Applications, Cypress S. Payne

Honors Projects

Book recommendation applications combine word-of-mouth recommendations with algorithms that can suggest books based on a user’s account activity, creating a robust system for finding new books to read. Current research on recommendation systems is purely quantitative, focusing on the efficacy of the system, and content analyses are only just beginning to be performed on mobile applications. I use previous content analyses on applications as a basis for creating a content analysis framework for book recommendation applications. This framework can be used to analyze what users find important in book recommendation apps and inform app creators about their users’ wants and …

Movement In Math - Integrating Movement-Based Activities Into Kindergarten Math, Katelyn Belch

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

Gross-motor movements have shown promising effects on student academic achievement and engagement especially in kindergarten classrooms. The purpose of this study was to examine what happens when movement-based mathematical activities are introduced into a kindergarten math curriculum and its implications on how kindergarteners engage during math time. Using surveys, observational and reflective data, and semi-structured interviews of students and my cooperating teacher, this study aimed to examine student and teacher perceptions of incorporating movement-activities. When movement activities were introduced into math time, the students were more engaged in math. The movement activities served as form of play-based learning and relied …

Preparing Nurses For The Transition To Practice With Virtual Simulation, Jennifer Holm

Doctoral Projects

This project assessed the clinical reasoning objectives of first-semester nursing students who had up to 75% of their clinical time using virtual simulations compared to those who primarily had traditional direct-care clinical experiences with up to 12% of their time in simulation. The principal investigator reviewed clinical reasoning measures within student evaluations from the Fall 2019 and Fall 2021 cohorts of an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program. The results of a two-tailed independent samples t-test demonstrated a slight reduction in the clinical reasoning abilities of the cohort with a higher proportion of simulation. However, there were several possible confounding …

Champions For Justice 8th Annual, May 6, 2022, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Smart Intersections: Cooperative Traffic Control For Longer Battery Life Of Communicant Autonomous Vehicles, Fushata Andani Mohammed

Master of Science in Civil Engineering Theses

Abstract

The recent advances in information and communication technologies have enabled cooperative traffic control at signal-free intersections, which can significantly improve safety of the roads and performance of urban networks. The impacts of cooperative control of traffic on the battery life of communicant autonomous vehicles (CAVs), however, are not necessarily positive. This research develops an analytical model for the battery-capacity loss rate of CAV platoons coordinated to pass through signal-free smart intersections with no interruption. The main objective of the research is to demonstrate the importance of adjusting the macro-level setting of the cooperative control system for enhancing the battery …

The Knives I Used, Katelin Carsrud

Master's Theses

The Knives I Used is a collection of short stories written between August 2020 and April 2022, while the author was a student at The University of Southern Mississippi. This thesis contains stories joined by the thematic thread of self-harm and demonstrates the spectrum of ways it presents itself in individuals.

Food Insecurity In Collegiate Athletes During Covid-19, Elizabeth Swindell

Honors Theses

A study done by Georgetown University in 2019 found that one-fourth of NCAA, D1 collegiate athletes experience food insecurity. The study purpose was to examine food security levels in student athletes at a southern university and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security in these students. A survey was completed by student athletes to determine their food security levels during the 2020 academic year at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey included questions relating to food security based on the USDA’s food insecurity module as well as questions specifically related to the impact of food security …

A Series Of Accounting Case Studies, Grace Anne Jones

Honors Theses

The following thesis consists of a variety of case studies surrounding accounting and related topics. Each case contains an introduction to the case and key takeaways from completing the case. Through completing these cases, I gained valuable knowledge regarding current accounting issues a developed a more robust understanding of the profession. The case studies were completed during the 2020-2021 academic year under the direction of Dr. Victoria Dickinson in fulfillment of the requirements for the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.

Assembling Ideal Actualization In Viennese Social Housing, Jack Day

Honors Theses

The central aims of this paper are to create a potential concept for what an ideal social housing program could look like and then to determine the extent to which the social housing program in Vienna, Austria has brought this ideal to reality. The social housing program in Vienna was chosen due to its popularity as a program and its generally positive reputation. The paper proceeds by first offering potential definitions for social housing, its ideals, and potential indicators for ideal fulfillment. Then, I take influence from the frameworks of assemblage theory and path-dependency theory to analyze the material, temporal, …

An Ipad For Everyone: A Case Study Of The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Digital Transition, Madeline Quon

Honors Theses

In a more technology-driven world, the industry of print journalism has been suffering. It has adapted in the past with the invention of the radio and television for broadcast news, but with the internet and social media, print journalism has been losing ad revenue and readers. Because of the advancements of journalism in the digital aspect, several newspapers have shut down over the past 20 years. Other papers changed their business models to make their content more social media oriented.

One newspaper took a more radical approach to not only stay afloat, but also thrive as a paper. The Arkansas …

The Role Of Age Ligand And Rap1a In Myofibroblast Signaling Cascade In Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus-Induced Cardiomyopathic Conditions, Camilla Puglia

Honors Theses

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, taking more than 90,000 lives annually. Type 2 diabetes mellitus-induced cardiac fibrosis is a common condition seen in diabetic patients. The AGE/RAGE signaling cascade has been strongly associated with this supposed cardiac fibrosis along with hyperactive myofibroblasts which excessively remodel extracellular matrix tissue, leading to damaged and enlarged heart muscle tissue. In diabetic patients, Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) are produced in abundance and accumulate in the extracellular matrix of heart tissue. To investigate the role of of the AGE ligand on fibroblast behavior, increasing amounts of …

It's Just Caring: Improving The Museum Experience For Visitors With Autism Through Social Narratives, Reagan R. Stone

Honors Theses

This project explores how museums can improve the visitor experience for visitors with disabilities, more specifically for visitors with autism. In general, museums are environments that have a specific set of rules, guidelines, and built-in social interactions that visitors are expected to understand and follow. These guidelines, as well as the sensory overload that exists within a new environment, can make visiting the museum a stressful, and even negative experience for individuals with autism and their families. A social narrative, a simple written and visual guide that explains characteristics of new environments and various aspects of social situations, is a …

Crying In Public, Sarah Mullen

Honors Theses

Crying in Public is the culmination of a deeply personal body of work that has acted as a sort of diary documenting my journey of growing up and self-discovery. Over the last few years, I have found that there is meaning to be found in the parts of ourselves that we seek to hide, as well as in the constructions that we build to conceal them. This work seeks to move outside of the binary of one’s “true inner self” to explore the tensions found in the space between who we are and who we wish we were. This work …

Autonomous Planetary Rover Team Final Project Report, William Whitfield, Jason Guenther, Jackson Robison, Davis Tucker

Engineering Senior Design Reports

This design team was tasked to develop autonomous movement, sensing, and navigation capabilities on a rover platform developed by a summer research team working under Dr. Kevin Nickels. The rover is comprised of four subsystems that strive to meet the requirements by establishing movement capabilities through power delivery and control, odometry feedback of the wheels, obstacle detection, and navigation. This report evaluated each design against the requirement they were intended to meet. The following report describes the final design of each of these subsystems, explains the testing performed on each subsystem, and evaluates the results of these tests against the …

Emergency Water Station 3.0 Final Project Report, Winona Menezes, Elyse Reynolds, Robert Swallow, Jacob Thweatt

Engineering Senior Design Reports

The South Texas Human Rights Center (STHRC) tasked our team, The Emergency Water Station 3.0 (3WS), with designing and implementing an emergency water station for migrants and refugees crossing the border between Mexico and Texas. The objectives of this project are to design, build, and test a prototype that can safely provide water to these migrants and refugees while communicating the water amount within the station back to the STHRC without hindrance due to weather or remote location. The following report outlines the features of our complete design, and details the primary functions of the main three subsystems that comprise …

Final Report On Humidification-Dehumidification Desalination Prototype, Kelli Jackson, Simon Jernigan, William May, K. Maui Oyala

Engineering Senior Design Reports

Freshwater available across the globe is decreasing daily due to population growth, climate change, and pollution. The growing scarcity of freshwater affects more than a billion people worldwide and has prompted increased research into desalination processes. Large desalination plants are already in operation but are very expensive to build. Not every community has the means to implement these large systems, advancing the need for smaller, more economical, and efficient desalination plants.

The Desalinators researched and designed a humidification-dehumidification (HDH) desalination prototype that will convert saline water into potable water at a household scale (approximately 5-10 gal/day of freshwater). The sponsor, …

Monitoring And Alert System For The Mabee Organic Waste Solution Final Project Repory, Conner Terry, Evan Sturdivant, Emily Rosenbaum, Krishnan Castillo López

Engineering Senior Design Reports

Mabee Dining Hall at Trinity University has tasked the Mabee Organic Waste Solution team with the design and implementation of an in-vessel monitoring and alert device to monitor and report on the status of compost. This device is intended to provide running updates on important parameters - temperature, relative humidity, and oxygen concentration - in order to ensure production of successful, aerobic compost. If action must be taken by Mabee employees as a result of the values of these parameters falling out of an acceptable range, our device is capable of alerting the user and providing instruction to keep the …

Formula Sae, Carlos Bucheli, Patrick Hensley, Tristan Arias, Max Ulmer

Engineering Senior Design Reports

The Formula SAE senior design project was truly unique. This project had been a 5 year long process to design, build, and test a raceable car. The car was this team's prototype. While the original plan for the team was to develop an energy recovery system (ERS), this scope was altered because of the state of the car the team was left with. Upon examination, the car needed a lot of work before it was even going to start. Therefore, without a running car, there was no way of appropriately testing an ERS. Furthermore, had we developed a prototype for …

Remote Heart Diagnosis, Emma Miller, Edward Armitage, Gerald Daniels, Michael Marquez

Engineering Senior Design Reports

For those in impoverished communities or remote regions, obtaining adequate healthcare can be a burden. Furthermore, limited access to specialists like cardiologists can make curable conditions a death sentence by leading them to be identified too late. An essential factor in the identification of heart conditions is the use of an electrocardiograph to measure the signal of the heart. In this project, the Remote Heart Diagnosis Team endeavored to design and build a prototype capable of remotely collecting and analyzing an electrocardiogram and displaying the results to a cardiologist in any location for review.

The prototype is composed of five …

Stroke Recovery During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Position Paper On Recommendations For Rehabilitation, Suzanne Perea Burns, Talya K. Fleming, Sam S. Webb, Alice Sau Han Kam, Jaimee D P Fielder, Grace J. Kim, Xiaolei Hu, Mary Thelander Hill, Emily A. Kringle

Pediatrics Research and Scholarship

Health care delivery shifted and adapted with the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Stroke care was negatively affected across the care continuum and may lead to poor community living outcomes in those who survived a stroke during the ongoing pandemic. For instance, delays in seeking care, changes in length of stays, and shifts in discharge patterns were observed during the pandemic. Those seeking care were younger and had more severe neurologic effects from stroke. Increased strain was placed on caregivers and public health efforts, and community-wide lockdowns, albeit necessary to reduce the spread …

Hipersexualización E Infrarrepresentación: La Representación De Las Latinas En Jane The Virgin Y Modern Family, Laura Zarate

Honors College Theses

The Latinx community is one of the fastest growing groups in the United States and accounted for half of the total population growth from 2010-2019. Despite the increasing numbers, the statistics for Latinx representation in the media continue to be low. Numbers for Latinx writers, producers, and actors are significantly lower than their non-Latinx counterparts and Latinas, in specific, are one of the most underrepresented groups on television and often being portrayed as hypersexual in comparison to other groups of the same gender. While this underrepresentation has been researched in relation to women, there is limited discussion regarding the lack …

The Use Of Point Of Care Ultrasound To Assess Gastric Contents And Determine Aspiration Risk In The Obese Patient Presenting For Elective Surgery, Harry Senaldi, Mary Zerlan

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Pulmonary aspiration of gastric content is a potentially injurious and fatal complication of anesthesia. Obese patients with a BMI ≥ 35 presenting for elective surgery are at an increased risk of aspiration due to increased gastric pressure, delayed gastric emptying, and higher gastric volumes. Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) is a tool that allows the nurse anesthetist to assess gastric content and assign aspiration risk based on the scan results. A knowledge improvement project in the form of a lecture and hands-on tutorial focused on using POCUS to assess gastric content and assign aspiration risk was designed. This project was …