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Towards Erasing The Distinction Between The Computational And Syntactic Accounts Of Scientific Theories, Timothy Luft

Theses

One of the main goals of philosophy of science is to give a proper account of scientific theories and their structure. One way that accounts of the structure of scientific theories can be distinguished is by the mathematical or logical structures that they involve. For instance, syntactic accounts of scientific theories hold that theories are axioms in a logical framework, whereas semantic accounts are more liberal in the range of mathematical and logical structures they take as pertinent to the structure of scientific theories. Paul Thagard (1988) offers a computational account of scientific theories, which holds that theories are complex …

Between Fodor And Sellars -- A Middle Ground For Language-Like Neural Representations, Hanzhe Dong

Theses

The recent resurgence of the language of thought (LOT) hypothesis has drawn much attention. The history of philosophy and cognitive science has provided us with various versions of LOT. From Sellars to Fodor, theorists have offered us considerations on the vehicles, content, and functions of such a representation format. However, it’s been more than 50 years since Fodor’s publication on LOT (1975), and the resurgence suggests that we need a modern iteration of LOT to fit with recent developments in the study on cognition. Therefore, in this paper, I argue that we need a middle ground between Fodor and Sellars’s …

New Vertebrate Microfossils Expand The Diversity Of The Chondrichthyan And Actinopterygian Fauna Of The Maastrichtian–Danian Hornerstown Formation In New Jersey, Zachary Boles, Paul V. Ullmann, Ian Putnam, Mariele Ford, Joseph T. Deckhut

School of Earth & Environment Departmental Research

The abundance of shark and actinopterygian fossils in the Cretaceous and Paleogene strata of the Atlantic Coastal Plain is well documented; but much remains unknown about the survivorship patterns of these major components of shallow marine faunas in the western Atlantic through the K/Pg mass extinction. To shed light on this subject, we describe an assemblage of new actinopterygian, chondrichthyan, and reptilian microfossils recently recovered from the Maastrichtian Navesink and Maastrichtian–Danian Hornerstown formations at the Jean and Ric Edelman Fossil Park at Rowan University in Mantua Township, New Jersey. The new microfossils clarify extinction patterns across the K/Pg, create temporal …

Where There’S An Electronic Will, There’S A Way: Evaluating The Potential Power Of Electronically Executed And Stored Wills For Appalachian Communities, Grace Keel Buchanan

Lincoln Memorial University Law Review Archive

Based on the rise of electronic media and the difficulty for lower-income communities, specifically rural Appalachia, to build intergenerational wealth, some states have enacted statutes allowing courts to hold electronically created and stored wills to be held valid. By analyzing the current precedent in the United States and beyond concerning electronic wills and the socioeconomic state of Appalachia, the note argues that states should enact legislation to change the Wills Act to give electronic wills in multiple forms full effect by probate courts as long as they are appropriately attested to electronically. The court should recognize the electronic will as …

Hear All About It: Health Literacy And Pediatric Ototoxic Chemotherapy, Sarah Belton, Abigail Jones

Theses & Honors Papers

This study examined the accessibility of informational health documents about ototoxic chemotherapy provided to caregivers of pediatric cancer patients. Hearing loss as a result of chemotherapy can result in financial, social, and developmental consequences for these patients. Caregivers are an integral part of the medical team, and their knowledge of procedures and treatments directly impacts their ability to make informed decisions for the patient.

This study qualitatively analyzed informational health documents about chemotherapy, acquired from the websites of National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated cancer centers using federal guidelines put into place by the Plain Writing Act of 2010 and the …

Generations Of Abuse: Exploring The Sexual Assault Epidemic On Native Land, Carly White

Lincoln Memorial University Law Review Archive

The United States government has a long history of extending its reach into the affairs of Native people. Yet, it has consistently failed to protect Native women from rampant violence and abuse. Native American women have the highest rates of sexual abuse in the country. The federal government has the decision to either mend its long-standing indifference toward Indigenous women or allow them to continue to suffer under the current system. This note explores the sexual assault crisis on Indian land and seeks to bring positive change to historically marginalized women. Specifically, this note highlights the need for Congress to …

The Santa Clara, 2024-04-12, Santa Clara University

The Santa Clara

No abstract provided.

British Colonization Of New Zealand In The Nineteenth Century, Brock Hueber

23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024)

Abstract not available. On poster:

Thesis: The main goal of the British government in New Zealand was to assimilate the ingenuous Maori population through institutions such as the legal and educational systems. While the Maori by and large did adopt western clothing, housing, language, and property laws; they also retained a large amount of their culture.

Conclusions: British colonization was largely effective, but the Maori retained a large amount of their culture.

Influence Of Nanoparticle Chemical Composition On In Situ Hydrogel Friction, Connor Bovia, Griffin Gleeson, Lauren Buckley, Brianna Couturier, Morgan Platz

23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024)

The prevalence of osteoarthritis, alongside the associated pain and limited mobility, has resulted in numerous treatment strategies including the use of nanoparticles as drug-delivery systems in joints. However, the concerted mechanical-chemical effects from joint sliding in the presence of nanoparticle additives are not well understood. This work aims to understand chemically controlled sliding behavior of a soft material like cartilage in the presence of nanoparticles. To mimic cartilage-like features, well-studied polyacrylamide hydrogels were used as a model platform. Focusing on the interactions between nanoparticles that might be used for drug delivery and the hydrogel surfaces, in situ sliding tests were …

The Breaking Of Carbon-Carbon Bonds In Alkyl Ketones, Jenna R. Mustapha, Jordan K. Montgomery, Karen M. Nimtz, Ainsley G. Vandenbrink

23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024)

The breaking of carbon-carbon bonds holds great promise for organic chemistry synthesis. This project specifically looks at using a rhodium catalyst to perform a decarbonylation. The focus is to observe the outcome of a variety of different alkyl groups attached to ketones as they undergo decarbonylation reactions. Depending on the alkyl ketone, the reaction can proceed via direct decarbonylation and/or beta-hydride elimination. The goal of this project includes controlling the selectivity of these reactions for the desired product and expanding the library of successful ketones containing alkyl groups used for the reactions.

Phighting Phosphorus: The Effects Of Sedimentary Phosphorus On The Macatawa Watershed, Elizabeth Kelley, Rachel Fusik, Jake Lyon

23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024)

Lake Macatawa experiences severe eutrophication and algal blooms that negatively impact the native species and recreational usage of the lake. There have been several previously completed studies on phosphorus pollution in the water by the Hope College Day1 Watershed Group. However, these measurements do not include lake sediments, which could also be a significant reservoir of phosphorus. Our research group decided to test the sediment at the same three lake locations tested by the Watershed Group, taking two core samples at each location. These samples were dried, combusted in a muffle oven, weighed, digested from solid to liquid, and then …

Material Characterization For Industrial Processes Of Thin Titanium Nanotube Films, Nathaniel Jobson, Jacob Walther, Justin Rink, Wil Pinkerton

23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024)

Material characterization is an important step in the experimental processes. This step ensures that the samples' processing yields the intended results. This work outlines the process taken to analyze and characterize a set of industrial thin films. Our characterization starts with an elemental baseline from scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The composition is verified by SimNRA (Simulation Nuclear Reaction Analysis) calculations fitting Rutherford Backscattering (RBS) data collected from a silicon surface barrier (particle) detector.

Role Of Intermolecular Interactions Between Nanoparticle Capping Ligands And Hydrogel Surfaces During Sliding, Lauren Buckley, Connor Bovia, Griffin Gleeson

23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024)

Modern treatments for osteoarthritis increasingly involve the use of nanoparticles as drugdelivery systems, but there is little known about the influence of nanoparticle chemical composition and surface chemistry between nanoparticles and soft materials in sliding contact. This work implements cartilage-mimicking polyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogels as a well-studied, fundamental platform. In situ (in a fluid environment) macroscale friction tests as a function of shear rate were conducted with a rheometer with a tribology adapter, controlling for contact pressure. Comparing different nanoparticle compositions, citrate capped metal (gold) nanoparticles exhibited a 50% increase in friction relative to water. With no difference in solution viscosity, …

Former College Athletes' Experiences Of Post-Sport Exercise: How Institutions Can Do Better, Samantha M. Vermeesch, Keegan J. Dekuiper, Madelynn Struck, Christian Clark

23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024)

Former college athletes (FCAs) can exhibit detrimental changes to physical and mental perceptions following sports retirement. Because FCAs no longer engage in regular sports training, they also experience a loss of social support through teammates and coaches, and struggle with enacting their newfound autonomy to exercise. To understand how to help FCAs maintain exercise and health long-term, the purpose of this study is to explore former Division III (DIII) athletes' experiences with exercise maintenance following retirement from sport and graduation from college, and understand their opinions on how their institution could have better prepared them for this transition. Fourteen former …

Development Of Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines For Pediatric Patients At Risk Of Emergence Delirium, Christina Bensley

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Postoperative emergence agitation or emergence delirium (ED) is a phenomenon that can occur in patients who have undergone surgery requiring the administration of inhaled anesthetics. ED is a postoperative side effect of general anesthesia commonly experienced by pediatric patients that negatively impacts a patient’s overall postoperative experience. There is a lack of consistent standardized clinical practice guidelines for general anesthesia in pediatric or adult populations. The primary goal of this scholarly project is to develop and implement clinical practice guidelines focusing on the occurrence of postoperative ED and select adverse clinical outcomes in pediatric patients undergoing general anesthesia. The project …

Notes From The Past Show How Local Variability Can Stymie Urchins And The Rise Of The Reds In The Gulf Of Maine, Jarrett E. K. Byrnes, Andrea Brown, Kate Sheridan, Tianna Peller, Jake Lawlor, Julien Beaulieu, Jenny Munoz

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

The impacts of global change—from shifts in climate to overfishing to land use change—can depend heavily on local abiotic context. Building an understanding of how to downscale global change scenarios to local impacts is often difficult, however, and requires historical data across large gradients of variability. Such data are often not available—particularly in peer reviewed or gray literature. However, these data can sometimes be gleaned from casual records of natural history—field notebooks, data sheet marginalia, course notes, and more. Here, we provide an example of one such approach for the Gulf of Maine, as we seek to understand how environmental …

Curling Clubs As Accessible Places For Everyone, Scott Piroth

ICS Fellow Lectures

Dr. Scott Piroth, teaching professor in the BGSU Department of Political Science, will discuss the social benefits of curling clubs and the challenges clubs face when reaching out to diverse communities. In addition to discussing his experiences in the curling community, Dr. Piroth will present results from two surveys that he conducted of curlers in the United States and Canada.

Final Scholarly Project: Clinical Guidelines For The Perioperative Management Of Patients With Opioid Use Disorder Requiring Anesthesia, Jessica Kayla Joos

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Opioids have highly addictive properties that allow for high levels of misuse. Since the early 1990s, the misuse and deaths rates related to narcotics have steadily risen in the United States. Efforts to identify individuals using opioids prior to surgery have proven difficult. The number of patients misusing opioids and reporting for surgery can only be estimated due to under-reporting related to fear and self-stigma. With 50 million surgeries in the U.S. annually and 3.32 million people misusing opioids monthly, the chances of a patient with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) presenting for anesthesia are exceptionally high. Moreover, patients who rate …

Guidelines For Non-Anesthesia Providers Performing Point Of Care Ultrasound (Pocus) For Airway Assessment In The Emergency Room, Shannen Steinbrunner

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Effective airway management is critical for nurse anesthetists, encompassing tasks such as anesthesia administration, airway establishment, and patient safety, particularly in challenging cases where airway difficulties may arise. The subjectivity in airway assessments poses challenges for clinicians when accurately predicting difficult cases. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has emerged as a valuable tool for quantifying airway parameters, providing objective data to guide decision-making. This project aims to establish evidence-based guidelines for managing the airway in unconscious trauma patients requiring intubation using POCUS. By quantifying parameters such as PEP/E-VC ratios, hyomental distance, thyrohyoid membrane thickness, and anterior neck thickness, healthcare providers can make …

Final Scholarly Project: Implementation Guidelines Of Ultrasound-Guided Regional Anesthesia In Pediatric Cardiac Surgical Patients, Matthew Hall

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

In the United States, around 40,000 surgeries are conducted on pediatric patients yearly to address congenital heart disease. These surgeries involve a variety of complications beyond cardiovascular problems, including pain management. Traditional pain management involving intravenous opioids has drawbacks such as sedation, respiratory depression, and prolonged recovery times. As the healthcare industry moves away from opioid-centric pain management, the use of multimodal analgesia, including ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia, is being utilized. Regional anesthesia techniques, such as the transversus thoracis muscle plane block and the thoracic erector spinae block, are being considered for the ability to provide adequate pain relief while reducing …

An Ecology Against The Right. Learning Uncertainty And Humility From Ecosystems, Pierre L. Ibisch, Mona Eikel-Pohen, Elias Iceman, Jake Snelling

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

This article is a translation from the German to English. The title of the original is:

Ibisch, P.L. (2020): Eine Ökologie gegen rechts. Von Ökosystemen Unsicherheit und Demut lernen. In: Leitschuh, H., A. Brunnengräber, P.L. Ibisch, R. Loske, M. Müller, J. Sommer & E.-U. v. Weizsäcker (eds. J. Sommer, P.L. Ibisch, A. Brunnengräber): Ökologie und Heimat. Jahrbuch Ökologie 2021. Hirzel-Verlag, Stuttgart, 191-205.

The Bison, April 12, 2024

The Bison Newspapers

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of The Big Five, Mental Illness Stigma, And Crisis Intervention Training, Trista Wolfgram

Theses and Graduate Projects

The number of individuals incarcerated with mental illness continues to grow, and correctional officers may play a critical role in rehabilitation. A correlation analysis was conducted between Big Five personality traits and mental illness stigma to determine whether there is a significant relationship in a sample of state correctional officers who participated in Crisis Intervention Training. A mixed model ANOVA was also conducted to assess whether personality traits impacted levels of mental illness stigma following completion of the training. A moderate negative correlation was found between agreeableness and mental illness stigma. All other findings were not clinically significant, potentially due …

What Students Have To Say On Data Privacy For Educational Technology, Stephanie Choi

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

The literature on data privacy in terms of educational technology is a growing area of study. The perspective of educators has been captured extensively. However, the literature on students’ perspectives is missing, which is what we explore in this paper. We use a pragmatic qualitative approach with an experiential lens to capture students’ attitudes towards data privacy in terms of educational technology. We identified preliminary, common themes that appeared in the survey responses. The paper concludes by calling for more research on how students perceive data privacy in terms of educational technology.

Profiling Cybercriminals: Behavioral Analysis And Motivations Behind Cybercrime Activities, A'Shya Latrice Reynolds

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

The study of cybercriminal behavior and motivations is crucial for understanding and combating the evolving landscape of digital crime. This paper delves into the intricate realm of cybercrime profiling, employing a multidisciplinary approach to dissect the behavioral patterns and underlying motivations of cybercriminals. Drawing from psychology, sociology, and criminology, the research examines the intricate interplay of individual traits, social dynamics, and technological factors that shape cybercriminal activities.

Through analysis of case studies and research, this paper uncovers the diverse range of motivations driving individuals towards engaging in cybercrime. From financial gain and ideological extremism to thrill-seeking and revenge, cybercriminals exhibit …

A Case Study Of The Crashoverride Malware, Its Effects And Possible Countermeasures, Samuel Rector

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

CRASHOVERRIDE is a modular malware tailor-made for electric grid Industrial Control System (ICS) equipment and was deployed by a group named ELECTRUM in a Ukrainian substation. The malware would launch a protocol exploit to flip breakers and would then wipe the system of ICS files. Finally, it would execute a Denial Of Service (DOS) attack on protective relays. In effect, months of damage and thousands out of power. However, due to oversights the malware only caused a brief power outage. Though the implications of the malware are cause for researching and implementing countermeasures against others to come. The CISA recommends …

Investigating Vulnerabilities In The Bluetooth Host Layer In Linux, Jack Dibari

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

This paper investigates vulnerabilities within the Bluetooth host layer in Linux systems. It examines the Bluetooth protocol's evolution, focusing on its implementation in Linux, particularly through the BlueZ host software. Various vulnerabilities, including BleedingTooth, BLESA, and SweynTooth, are analyzed.

The Security Of Deep Neural Networks, Jalaya Allen

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

Our society has transitioned from our primitive lifestyle to soon, an increasingly automatic one. That idea is further exemplified as we shift into an AI era, better known as Artificial intelligence. Artificial Intelligence is classified as computer systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. However, a common thought or question that most might have is, how is this done? How does AI process information the way we want it to and have access to so much information? AI is trained by systems called AI models. These modeling programs are trained on data to recognize patterns or make …

High-Resolution And Quality Settings With Latent Consistency Models, Steven Chen, Junrui Zhang, Rui Ning

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

Diffusion Models have become powerful generative models which is capable of synthesizing high-quality images across various domains. This paper explores Stable Diffusion and mostly focuses on Latent Diffusion Models. Latent Consistency Models can enhance the inference with minimal iterations. It demonstrates the performance in image in-painting and class-conditional synthesis tasks. Throughout the experiment different datasets and parameter configurations, the paper highlights the image quality, processing time, and parameter. It also discussed the future directions including adding trigger-based implementation and emotional-based themes to replace the prompt.

The Role Of The Patient Liaison Nurse In The Ambulatory Care Context Of A Middle Eastern Teaching Hospital: A Practice Model, Mustafa Morris E. Bodrick

Dissertations

The commencement of the role of patient liaison nurse (PLN) in the ambulatory care context of a Middle Eastern teaching hospital was an organizational response to patient care concerns during the site absence of physicians and the healthcare team. The PLN consequently evolved as a functional role of the registered nurse (RN) in ambulatory care nursing. The core research question asked was: how can a model be developed to describe the PLN role? The related topics for research included (i) the lived experiences of nurses in the functional role of the RN as PLN, (ii) what the nursing management team …