Digital Commons Network^™

Environmental, Social, And Governance (Esg) Teaching Resources For Use In Any Accounting Class, Misty Newby

Student Scholar Symposium

With current and future Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting regulations, industry pressures, and stakeholder expectations, many organizations integrate ESG goals into business strategy. To aid accounting faculty in their goal of preparing students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to create, review, and audit ESG reports, this flexible, three-part ESG teaching module can be used in whole or in part in any accounting course. This teaching resource provides lecture files (Google Slides), lecture notes, and student assignments and can be scaled up or down to fit the lecture needs. Topics covered in the modules include Sustainability, Climate Change, and …

Importance Of Sustainability Within Children’S Hospitals, Ashley Newby

Student Scholar Symposium

Author: Ashley Newby

Presentation Type: Poster

Faculty Mentor: G. Dodd Galbreath

Discipline: Sustainability and Pediatric Nursing

Importance of Sustainability within Children’s Hospitals

Sustainability is an important aspect of every environment that one encounters. For pediatric patients entering a children’s hospital, it is probably not something that is important and at the top of their list when looking for healthcare. However, sustainable children’s hospitals have not only their patients as their first priority, but they also take the earth into account. Some might not realize that they are walking into a sustainable children’s hospital unless someone tells them.

Topics include:

-Look …

Making Robotic Reinforcement Learning More Efficient: Analyzing The Serl Framework, Faris Jugovic, Cleiver Ruiz-Martinez, Ryan Vander Stelt

Student Scholar Symposium

Teaching robots through reinforcement learning (RL) has made great progress, but real-world training is still difficult. Robots need lots of practice to learn, rewards can be hard to define, and resetting the environment after each attempt is often a challenge. The Sample-Efficient Robotic Reinforcement Learning (SERL) framework helps solve these issues by offering a ready-to-use, open-source software package that makes RL more practical for real-world robotics.

This project explores SERL and how it improves robotic RL by making learning faster and more efficient. SERL includes smarter ways to reuse training data, automatic methods for understanding rewards from images, and a …

Challenges And Opportunities In Adult Group Piano Pedagogy, Sarah Faulk

Student Scholar Symposium

Poster presentation describing one teacher's experience and observations of adult group piano teaching. This addresses challenges and making the most out of the opportunities presented.

Discussion Of The Collatz Conjecture, Morgan Hayes

Student Scholar Symposium

The Collatz conjecture was introduced in 1937, but, despite the efforts of many mathematicians, it has yet to be proven. It appears to have very little connection to other areas of mathematics, although some aspects of it allude to questions similar to those asked in studies of prime numbers and the Riemann Hypothesis. The nature of the Collatz sequence allows it to be useful in cryptography and semi-random number generation. Some, including Craig Alan Feinstein, believe a formal proof of the conjecture is not possible. Others believe mathematics has not been developed enough to resolve the issue. To enter into …

Divinely Woven, Lily Robinette

Student Scholar Symposium

The relationship between science and faith has often been viewed as contradictory, with individuals typically aligning with one perspective or the other. However, a deeper examination reveals that these two ideologies are not independent but are interconnected parts of the greater tapestry of life. This paper takes the audience on a journey through the thought process of a chemistry student of the spiritual and physical being affirming of each other rather than competing ideas. It delves into the concept of complex interactions of atoms and the purposeful design of life that suggest that the universe is not a product of …

Trauma Severity And Religious Detachment In Women Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence Within A Religious Context, Trevor Hulan, Trevor Glenn Hulan

Student Scholar Symposium

Intimate partner violence is often a traumatic experience that impacts all aspects of a person’s life, including their spiritual well-being. The goal of this research is to study the intersection of psychology and religion. This study assesses the severity of trauma and religious detachment in women who have experienced intimate partner violence within a religious context. The study utilizes the PTSD Checklist (PCL-5) and the Spiritual Harm and Abuse Scale (SHAS) to examine the relationship between PTSD severity and religious detachment in participants. It is hypothesized that women who have experienced intimate partner violence within a religious context will score …

Exploring The Effects Of Indoor Plants On Executive Function, Jose Romero

Student Scholar Symposium

The link between greenery in schools and cognitive performance is underexplored, even with evidence of its benefits in other settings. Research indicates that adding green plants to an office can improve mood and lower stress (Bergefurts et al., 2021). This study explored the factors behind the psychological benefits of indoor plants on executive function in college students. The study proposed two competing hypotheses based on Attention Restoration Theory (ART) and Enrichment Theory. The study is a 2x2 between-subjects factorial design, in which participants were exposed to environments with or without plants and with or without organizational enrichment. Participants were undergraduate …

Intersecting Physics And Medicine Through Computed Tomography, Christopher Wengert, Madouna Barsoum, Dominick Dingus

Student Scholar Symposium

Computed Tomography (CT) imaging is a cornerstone of modern medicine. Enabling detailed internal imaging for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. This project explores the physics underlying CT imaging, highlighting how fundamental principles of physics integrate seamlessly with medical advancements. We will examine X-Ray generation, attenuation, and image reconstruction, demonstrating how varying tissue densities influence scan results. The role of mathematical algorithms, such as filtered back protection and iterative reconstruction, will be discussed in relation to image clarity and radiation does optimization.

Additionally, we will address the balance between image resolution and patient safety, emphasizing the importance of minimizing radiation exposure while …

Using Feynman's Technique To Evaluate Non-Elementary Integrals Used In Physics, Dominick Dingus, Christopher Wengert, Madouna Barsoum

Student Scholar Symposium

In numerous physical applications, such as those in the fields of optics and thermodynamics, the quantitative description of various phenomena requires evaluating certain definite integrals whose antiderivatives cannot be expressed using elementary functions. As a result, these integrals are typically evaluated numerically using a suitable program. However, it is possible to evaluate some of these types of integrals using a strategy known as Feynman’s Technique, an approach named after Richard Feynman, the American physicist who popularized the method during the mid-20th century. This project aims to highlight the usage of Feynman’s Technique for evaluating some of these integrals while applying …

Innovation In Circular Products For Healthy People, Planet, And Profit, Allison Golata, Misty Newby, Audrey Roberts, Dodd Galbreath

Student Scholar Symposium

Innovation in Circular Products for Healthy People, Planet, and Profit In our consumer-driven economy, companies tend to prioritize manufacturing efficiency to keep up with demand. While current practices can create short-term profits, there are financial and non-financial impacts on people, the planet, and profit. Innovation in circular products can create a win-win for businesses and consumers while meeting the needs of today and promoting future success. In this session, we will discuss the impact of current business processes and consumer practices on people, planet, and profit; explore how circular products can create long-term, sustainable value for business by designing products …

Utilizing Hot Water Treatment Methods On Shallow Rooted Herbaceous Invasive Species In Temperate Deciduous Forests, Ana Manning

Student Scholar Symposium

Abstract

People have been searching for new and innovative ways to control

invasive plant species for centuries. These methods have been categorized into three sections: mechanical,

biological, and chemical. The changing landscape of invasive plant management requires industry professionals to consider innovative technologies when developing their integrated pest management plans. The hypothesis of this research is that utilizing hot water treatment methods on shallow-rooted herbaceous invasive species in temperate deciduous forests will produce equal or better results than traditional integrated pest management methodologies. Six research plots in two locations were developed to test the Heatweed® hot water treatment tool on …

Assessing The Electrical Efficiency Of The Thompson Coil, Christopher Wengert, Dominick Dingus, Madouna Barsoum, Jacqueline Ceballos, Michael Ent, Jackson Stephens

Student Scholar Symposium

The Thompson Coil is a well-known system used in undergraduate electromagnetism courses to demonstrate electromagnetic induction. Traditionally, the system employs a “jumping ring” to visualize induced currents. This project seeks to repurpose this phenomenon for practical energy transfer by replacing the jumping ring with a wire coil, allowing the measurement of the power delivered to an electric load. Using Faraday’s Law of Induction, 𝜖 = −𝑑Φ𝐵 /𝑑𝑡 , where Φ𝐵 represents the magnetic flux, the induced electromotive force (EMF) in the receiving coil is determined. Finally, the system’s power transfer efficiency is evaluated using the formula 𝜂 =𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡/ 𝑃𝑖𝑛 ×100% …

Every Drop And Every Breath Poem Abstract, Isabella Gautsche

Student Scholar Symposium

Every Drop and Every Breath Poem Abstract For the poem, “Every Drop and Every Breath,” I aimed to create an artistic interpretation of the relationship and connection between at least two different body systems within the human body. The approach taken with this goal in mind was a poem describing the crucifixion and sacrifice of Jesus, but through an anatomical lens. To write this piece I researched the crucifixion process and how it affects the body. Then, I connected that with what is described in the Bible and the anatomical processes that would likely be happening, such as sweating blood. …

Sincerely Yours: A Therapeutic Writing Approach To Grief, Raegyn Oliver

Student Scholar Symposium

Grief is a response to a traumatic event, which can include loss, abandonment, abuse, suicide, or any other experience that affects an individual emotionally or physically. Too few evidence-based interventions acknowledge the unique and individualized experiences of grief (Stroebe, 2017). Writing can help individuals explore the depths of their grief and traumatic experiences (Larsen, 2022). This project explores different writing interventions that have been used for coping strategies. Then, it proposes a therapeutic writing tool that can account for individual differences in grief and describe considerations for its application in clinical and non-clinical settings. The online letter-writing program, “Sincerely Yours,” …

Esperanto: A Universal Or Minority Language, Anna Summerville

Student Scholar Symposium

When created languages develop a community and culture, they begin to imitate the elements of natural languages. Esperanto, a language created to unite the world under one lingua franca, demonstrates this process as it shifts from its original intention to a minority language in characteristic. “Esperanto: A Universal or Minority Language” explores the dichotomy between a language created to be spoken by all, and one that has isolated itself within its own community and customs. In discussing the history of Esperanto’s creation and structure, its evolving and loyal community, and its parallels with natural minority languages like Maori, this essay …

Why The Dancer Laughs, Anna Summerville

Student Scholar Symposium

The short story “Why the Dancer Laughs” explores the gradual mental and physical decay of a professional dancer, as she struggles to come to terms with a new life in which a chronic illness slowly takes the power from her legs. Weaving through her grief and regret in an introspective first person perspective, the story explores themes of change and holding onto the past, using a statue of a dancer in her family room as a foil between its preserved state and her deteriorating form. Overall, “Why the Dancer Laughs” aims to answer the question: How do we find the …

Complex Numbers And Phone Signals, Ava Barrett, Rebecca Brazeal, Javier Gutierrez

Student Scholar Symposium

Though widely used, complex numbers are often introduced in coursework without real-world context. Our team examines their application in electromagnetic waves and communication systems, focusing on how they help model and analyze phone signals. By connecting concepts from physics and math, we demonstrate their role in signal modulation and transmission. Through this project, we aim to highlight the practical importance of complex numbers in modern technology and provide a clearer understanding of their use in communication systems that power everyday devices like smartphones.

Intimate Partner Violence And Brain Injury In Women: Understanding Prevalence, Symptomatology, And Consequences, Jacob T. Perez

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Intimate partner violence (IPV) refers to physical, sexual, or psychological harm caused by a current or former partner. While IPV can affect anyone, women are particularly vulnerable and disproportionately affected. Physical IPV often includes experiences of repeated trauma to the head, face, and neck, including strangulation. These injuries can result in a range of consequences, including comorbid conditions such as depression, PTSD, anxiety, and cognitive impairments, along with neurological effects like reduced brain connectivity and white matter integrity. Common brain injuries associated with IPV include traumatic brain injury (TBI), which results from blunt force trauma; subconcussive/repetitive blows, caused by head …

Intergenerational Childhood Maltreatment: A Maternal Pathway Analysis, Carly E. Williams, Theresa A. Moore

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The purpose of this study was to analyze literature surrounding intergenerational violence through the maternal pathway and determine effective methods for assisting at-risk mothers with breaking the cycle of childhood maltreatment with their own children. The majority of research on cyclical violence has been focused on paternal perpetrators and physical or sexual abuse of children; it was not until the last few decades that studies focused on all forms of abuse such as physical, sexual or emotional, and even more recently, neglect. Researchers sum the vast concepts of abuse and neglect into one term: childhood maltreatment. The project reviewed the …

Visualizing And Evaluating Binary Classifier Performance With Contingency Space, Colin D. Kehoe, Azim Ahmadzadeh

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Traditional metrics for evaluating binary classifiers, such as Accuracy, F1 Score, and True Skill Statistic (TSS), often obscure the underlying tradeoffs between true positive and true negative performance—particularly in imbalanced or high-stakes domains. This poster introduces the Contingency Space, a two-dimensional representation of classifier behavior defined by true positive rate (TPR) and true negative rate (TNR). Within this space, scalar performance metrics become geometric surfaces, revealing how scores vary across the entire landscape of possible classifier outputs.

We present a Python package that implements this framework, enabling users to map model predictions into the Contingency Space, visualize metric surfaces …

Does Legal Cynicism Mediate The Relationship Between Parental Incarceration And Child Delinquency?, Elizabeth Rose Bishop, Theresa Moore

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Research has explored the extent of the prison boom from its origin in the 1970s to the present where the issue of high prison populations remains today. However, the inmates are suffering a multifaceted array of consequences to their actions. Directly they are serving a legal sentence but indirectly families that are left behind also suffer unforeseen aftermaths. Literature diving into the prison boom and wide array of implications of incarceration has only recently begun and, as it has increased over time, has begun to turn the lens to this vulnerable population that has been left behind. Families that are …

A Study On The Great Comet Of 2024: C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas) Via Radio Interferometry, Jesse Bier, Nathan X. Roth

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Our solar system is approximately 4.5 billion years old. Comets are remnants of its formation, serving as time capsules to give us an understanding of its natal heritage. Revealing our own solar system’s history allows us to gain insights into other young stellar systems and the potential for life elsewhere. C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) was a comet from the Oort cloud on its first and possibly only journey to the inner solar system. The comet grew in brightness until it was brighter than Venus on October 9^th, 2024, making it temporarily brighter than Venus and one of the brightest …

Pixel-Perfect Segmentation Of Solar Filaments, Jamie Harris

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The observation and classification of solar filaments has a drastic impact on the ability to predict solar-magnetic weather phenomena that threatens to put both satellite infrastructure and astronauts at risk. Using the Hɑ filter provided by the Global Oscillations Network Group (GONG), a network of six telescopes around the world dedicated to 24/7 surveillance of the sun, we are able to get images that clearly and prominently display filament activity. With the vast amount of images the GONG takes, it is not possible to manually analyze every image. Using the U-Net model for computer vision, we were able to train …

Face Value: A Computational Approach To Subjective Impressions Of Faces, Kevin Kpankou

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Various computational models of first impressions have been developed to uncover the mechanisms driving these judgments. However, the implicit notion of a singular ``human'' often overlooks meaningful individual differences in beliefs, attitudes, and associations, as well as culturally grounded group-level constructs. In this paper, we extend Cultural Consensus Theory (CCT) to estimate culturally shared beliefs about faces by incorporating latent constructs structured around interpretable facial features extracted via computer vision algorithms. We apply our model to a large-scale dataset of people’s first impressions of faces. Our approach reveals a robust mapping between facial features and culturally constructed impressions, allowing us …

Photoflow Synthesis And Characterization Of Cis- And Trans-N-Isohumulone, Gregory M. Giovine, Bradley Gallow, Trevor Smith, Bruce Hamper

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Previously published efforts by the Hamper group demonstrated the viability of photochemistry in the isomerization of n-humulone to n-isohumulone. Photochemical isomerization reactions of n-humulone performed under 400nm light over 8 hours resulted in high yields (84% reported) of largely trans-n-isohumulone (>95%). These promising results invited further examination of the photochemical process and the application of photoflow procedure. Herein we report the beginnings of a comprehensive slate of n-humulone isomerization reactions performed under iterative photoflow conditions.

Dying To Belong? The Impact Of Thwarted Belongingness Among Those Who Attempt Suicide In Jail, Dayana R. Escobedo, Mckenzie Wood

The Guardianship Journal

Suicide and attempted suicide remain a major concern in correctional facilities. Jail personnel have developed unique ways of responding to incarcerated individuals who display signs of suicidal ideation, but may be less equipped to identify who may be suicidal upon arrival at the facility. Among potential markers for suicidal behaviors are incarcerated individuals struggling with feelings of thwarted belongingness, or a feeling of disconnection and lack of closeness. Applying a quantitative methodology, this study utilized data obtained from a mid-sized jail in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. The data, retrieved from correctional officer reports and intake …

Influencing The Meteoric Rise Of Ai: Centering Ethics, Law, And Society In Urgent Policy Reform, Erin L. Shah Mspm, Heath A. Clark Mba, Xarlene B. Choi Bs, Garrett K. Chan Phd

The Guardianship Journal

Artificial intelligence (AI) represents a transformative technological advancement with the potential to yield extraordinary societal benefits while simultaneously introducing significant potential harms to individuals, governments, and society. The adoption of AI has outpaced the ability of society to collectively and cohesively respond through the implementation of adequate regulatory guardrails. While AI presents novel benefits and challenges, the broader dynamic of responding to new, uncharted technologies has historical precedence. The article's methodological approach employed empirical research using law articles and policies. As such, the article explores the benefits, challenges, and actual or potential harms in three business sectors: business and finance, …

Engaging Seminars: The Impact Of Storytelling In Public Safety Education, Mimi Gough, Glenn L. Walton

The Guardianship Journal

This paper examines the important role of storytelling in higher education as a technique for engaging students in course content and applies its relationship to the experiential learning theory (ELT) in which learners are actively seeking knowledge through authentic application. Storytelling can be a particularly effective method when used during live online seminars in public safety education, since this particular program of study often relies on verbally communicating realistic and credible information. Sharing various examples of actual encounters can help students better prepare for these types of situations when they face them in their future careers. Incorporating evidence to support …

Nature Naturing In And As Place, Edward S. Casey

Duquesne Studies in Phenomenology

In this brief article, I single out two distinctly different kinds of natural place, attempting to show how these not merely contrast with each other but display larger patterns or tendencies that are also found in many other sorts of place. This is to take one integral step to a larger ecology of places provided by the natural world and from which human and nonhuman beings draw life and motion that sustain and support many ways of existing on earth. Without such places, we—and every other form of life—would perish or would not even exist to begin with. It is …