Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Pre-Columbian Use Of Psychotropic Plants In The South American Andes: Tobacco, Coca, And Ayahuasca, Jalayne Allison

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

This thesis offers a literature review that traces the origins and variations in the use of tobacco (Nicotiana sp.), coca (Erythroxylum coca spp.), and ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi) in the Andean highlands and Amazon region along the western coast of South America. This mountainous region stretches across seven countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Diverse South American Indigenous groups and ancient civilizations, such as the Inca Empire, have inhabited this area. This review delves into key concepts of Andean cosmology, especially those related to ecology and hydrology as interpreted through Inca beliefs. These concepts are pivotal in the application …

Physiological Leptin Replacement Does Not Reverse Metabolic Adaptations To Starvation In Sprague Dawley Rats, Sydney Junot, Layla Deprimo, Camille Meaux, Arline Narez, David Mcdougal

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Historically, low insulin levels were the signaling event considered responsible for metabolic adaptations to starvation, such as increased sympathetic outflow and increased serum levels of ketones, glucagon, and free fatty acids. Leptin, a hormone produced by adipose tissue, is known to decrease in response to caloric restriction. Recent work in the field suggested that leptin infusion in the final hours of a 48-hour fast reversed all metabolic adaptations to starvation, thus raising questions about an underappreciated role of leptin in the starvation response. This study tested whether physiological leptin replacement, maintaining fed plasma leptin concentrations, during a 72-hour fast in …

Passing In Plain Sight: Visibility, Activism, And Identity, Rei Zimmerman

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

The act of passing would seem to be the opposite of activism because it is an act meant to avoid detection. While the language of passing is, itself, problematic, African-descended people passing as white might be read as attempting to capitulate to a racial binary. Similarly, trans people passing as cis or cishet might be read as attempting to capitulate to the gender binary rather than challenging it. But this paper explores the potential for reading passing as a surprising act of activism that foregrounds resistance, resilience, and solidarity rather than disappearance. I focus on Leslie Feinberg’s groundbreaking trans novel …

Semantic Control In The Prefrontal Cortex: An Ale Meta-Analysis, Francesca Thomassee, Christopher Cox

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Semantic control is the ability to manage our knowledge about the world to ensure that the information produced is appropriate to a given context (Lamdon Ralph et al., 2017). While the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) has been found to be significantly involved in semantic control (Jackson, 2021), it remains unclear if there is a region of the LIFG that is specific to semantic control and is not involved in any other executive tasks. To investigate this, we employed an activation likelihood estimate (ALE) meta-analysis of prior PET and fMRI research including strong-weak association and feature selection tasks. Based on …

Anxiety Disorders Do Not Modulate Performance Monitoring During Visuomotor Learning, Olivia Perry, Leo Barzi, Kaylie Grimm, Leah Charles, Christopher Hill

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Humans experience different levels of anxiety throughout their daily lives. Some individuals even experience chronic, unprovoked anxiety that leads to a diagnosis of a psychological disorder known as generalized anxiety disorder. Many neurological diseases develop anxiety as a comorbidity and hinder therapeutic interventions. However, we don’t understand how anxiety disorders may affect the development and learning of new motor skills. Thus, the purpose of this study is to evaluate how different levels of anxiety may affect your ability to learn a new skill. We recruited physically healthy, right-handed young adults with and without a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder. Participants …

Imposter Syndrome And Coping-Motivated Cannabis Use: The Impact Of Race, Lan Qiu, Katharine Thomas, Julia Buckner

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Cannabis use among college students has become increasingly prevalent, with coping being
one of the primary motives for use. Imposter syndrome, characterized by persistent self-doubt
and fear of being exposed as a fraud despite evidence of competence, is particularly common
among students. Given its association to social anxiety and social anxiety’s relation to coping
motives and cannabis-related problems, imposter syndrome may contribute to coping-motivated
cannabis use and related problems. Yet, no known research has examined the impact of race
on the relation of imposter syndrome and cannabis use behaviors among Black and non-
Hispanic/Latine White students. The current sample included …

Action Research In Action: How Lab Findings Informed Change In Baton Rouge’S Math Classrooms, Brookelyn Pasipanki, Avery Ned, Colleen Sinclair

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

In a 3-year collaboration with the East Baton Rouge Parish School System (EBRPSS), we conducted semi-annual surveys of student motivation to see if we could identify key psychological factors underlying math performance. We developed the Math Mind Measures (MMM) to assess 10 distinct motivational factors. Analyses revealed that math anxiety and math self-efficacy were the strongest predictors of end-of-year standardized test scores. We shared our findings with students and teachers, via focus groups, to shape a Teacher Action Checklist. This checklist aims to inform practice by enhancing motivation and decreasing demotivation. EBRPSS also implemented professional learning trainings to capitalize on …

Feelings And Futures: Social Design Addressing Identity And Engagement Of Adolescent Girls In A Community-Based Organization, Eseoghene Mukoro

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Community organizations can provide numerous benefits to adolescent youth in various aspects of their lives—socially, psychologically, and physically, to name a few. Unfortunately, many youth-serving organizations aim to serve youth without directly involving their perspectives in the creation of their respective programs. At the Gardere Initiative, adolescent girls appear to have low levels of engagement and belonging, while their male counterparts enjoy activities and spaces catered to them. This poses a question of how this community organization might better serve the desires and life context of these adolescent girls.
Social Design is the practice of designing an intervention (product, service, …

Memory For Everyday Chores In Younger And Older Adults, Cameron Mccleary, Katie Cherry

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

This study examined episodic memory performance for everyday household chores in younger (18-32 years) and older adults (65-79 years). With the increasing older adult population in the United States, understanding age-related memory differences and identifying strategies to enhance memory performance in later life is needed. Building on previous research demonstrating the pictorial superiority effect and benefits of semantic encoding across the adult lifespan, this study utilized a 2 × 2 × 2 between-groups factorial design to investigate the effects of age group (younger, older), encoding task (standard intentional learning, semantic elaboration), and stimulus format (text only, text with pictorial illustrations) …

Relearning Language: A Meta-Analysis Of Syntactic Priming In Aphasia, Ally Miller, Willem Van Boxtel

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Background: Despite the importance of grammatical skills for participation
in daily life, treatments for sentence–level abilities in aphasia
are comparatively scarce. The psycholinguistic paradigm of syntactic
priming has recently been advanced as a potential assessment and
treatment for grammatical skills, and existing evidence on priming in
aphasia is highly promising. Nevertheless, a comprehensive analysis of
the strength of priming effects in aphasia, as well as treatment components
which might amplify these effects, has not been reported.
This meta–analysis synthesizes existing findings on syntactic priming
in aphasia, aiming to provide a comprehensive picture of priming
effects and their potential application for …

Motor Planning And Execution During Feeding In Autistic Children, Iresa Lincoln

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Autism is one of the most common pediatric developmental disability diagnoses, diagnosed in approximately 1 in 31 children in the U.S. and 1 in 100 children globally. Autism is often characterized by differences in social communication and repetitive patterns of behavior, activities,
or interests; however, prevalence of clinically significant motor differences in autistic individuals is between 50-95%. These motor differences often interfere with activities of daily living and community participation. Research assessing motor control in autism has yielded mixed findings as to whether the motor differences observed in autistic individuals are associated with differences in motor planning or motor execution. …

Relevant Responses Are Retrieved Faster In Familiar Contexts, Meghan Garcelon, Stanely West, Christopher Cox

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Determining which aspects of knowledge are relevant depends on current context and task demands. Familiar contexts may proactively reshape our brain’s knowledge repository to make context-appropriate information more accessible, increasing response selection speed. To test this, participants were asked to perform a word association task while imagining playing a game with a peer or child (contextualized conditions) or to produce short or creative responses (rule-based conditions). Participants were only assigned to only one of four conditions. We expected the context of playing a game with a peer or child would result in faster response times than making responses adhering to …

Analyzing And Understanding America’S Involvement In The Global War In Terror Through The Oral Histories Of Its Veterans And Other Sources, Bryce Edwards

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

From 2001 to the early 2020s, the United States and its allies have consistently engaged in political, military, counterinsurgency, and nation building operations in nations such as Afghanistan and Iraq. The efforts of this coalition first rallied to combat the threat of global terrorism after September 11th, yet it would then develop in decades-long assignment to rebuild these countries and their institutions with fundamental (and foreign) western values. This thesis intends to examine the conflict by conducting oral histories of its many veterans, to better understand their lived experience. These interviews will be supported by scholarly works from those involved …

Agricultural Evidence Synthesis At A Critical Juncture: Quality Gaps And Implications For Evidence-Based Agriculture, Chao Cai, Jane Yatcilla, Justyna Czader, Sylvie Brouder, Jeffrey Volenec

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses have become essential tools for synthesizing evidence to guide agricultural policy and practice, yet whether these syntheses are themselves conducted with sufficient rigor has rarely been systematically assessed. This study provides a field-wide assessment of reporting quality in agricultural evidence synthesis, examining whether existing reviews are conducted with sufficient transparency and rigor to support the policy and practice decisions they are meant to inform. We drew a random sample of 244 systematic reviews and meta-analyses from a bibliometric dataset of 1,709 articles published between 1997 and 2023, evaluating reporting quality using a 12-indicator rubric across four …

Practicing Contemporary Documentation: An Analysis Of Historic Influences And Personal Inspirations, Zoee D. Rasso

Theses and Dissertations

For my Honors Thesis, I proposed and created a solo exhibition of my artwork, researching the inspiration behind this work to determine its place within in the context of contemporary art history. My work as an artist centers on stylized, psychologically charged portraits of birds. Looking at art history, birds as artistic subjects are historically rooted in documentation, from scientific illustrations and game paintings to ukiyo-e. Analyzing my own creative influences such as James Audubon, Walton Ford, and Safet Zec, this Thesis explores my artistic background and influences, examining how I have developed as an artist over my tenure at …

Analysis Of Risk Factors And Current Programs For Addressing Injuries In Children And Adolescents, Jahfel Nial Jones Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Unintentional injuries are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children and adolescents in the United States. These injuries result from various causes, including motor vehicle crashes, falls, suffocation, and poisoning. This capstone project examines the prevalence, risk factors, and prevention strategies for unintentional injuries among infants, children, and adolescents. Using a public health approach, this research explores evidence-based interventions and community-based programs that effectively reduce injury-related mortality. The project also incorporates data and insights from the Safe Kids Columbus program at Piedmont Columbus Regional, where various injury prevention initiatives have been implemented.

Findings revealed that motor vehicle crashes …

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia: A Case Report, Keira Martin

Bachelor of Science in Diagnostic Ultrasound Projects

The Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia is an uncommon fetal defect of the diaphragm discovered in utero, where it does not complete development, allowing abdominal viscera to herniate into the thorax. This case study describes the procedure of using ultrasonography on a 41-year-old female who is pregnant with a fetus with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. The procedure completed was a detailed anatomy scan, which is a transabdominal ultrasound to rule out pathology of the fetus, uterus, cervix, and ovaries. The ultrasound discovered a defect in the left side of the fetal diaphragm, allowing the stomach and a portion of the left liver …

Increasing Occupational Therapy’S Visibility In College Sports Medicine In Student-Athletes With Season-Ending Injuries, Mickaela H. Buzzy, Bonnie Fischer-Camara

Post Professional Occupational Therapy Doctoral (PPOTD) Student Capstone Projects

Sport is an essential part of a student-athlete’s life. Many student-athletes gain a strong “athletic identity” in their sport. When a student-athlete is faced with an injury, specifically a season-ending injury, they are at risk of facing a significant sense of loss of identity and adverse psychological effects on their mental health. In the collegiate athletic setting, athletic trainers are often the first to notice signs of psychological distress of student-athletes; however, they frequently report limited education, training, and confidence in providing necessary psychosocial interventions. The purpose of this capstone project was to increase occupational therapy’s visibility in the collegiate …

Advancing Occupational Therapy In Sports: Bridging The Gap In Mental Performance, Gianna N. Scarantino

Occupational Therapy Student Scholarship

Occupational Therapy’s (OT’s) role in sports mental performance remains an underrecognized and emerging area of practice, with limited awareness among OTs, a lack of available educational resources, and currently no established pathway into the field. The purpose of this doctoral capstone project was to increase awareness of OT’s role in sports mental performance through the development and evaluation of a comprehensive educational resource. The educational resource included a digital portfolio, recorded PowerPoint lecture, educational Instagram content, and a Linktree that organized all project materials into one accessible location. Four licensed OTs completed a Qualtrics pre-resource knowledge checklist, reviewed the educational …

Connecting Through Art: A Collaborative Art Program For The Deaf Community, Andrey Meg Bacal, Cristina Dumitrescu, Gary Dennis, Regina Brejda, Maija Vizvary, Jacie Schneider

Occupational Therapy Student Scholarship

This doctoral capstone project developed, implemented, and evaluated a Deaf-centered, ASL-accessible community art program at the Jessye Norman School of the Arts in Augusta, Georgia. The project addressed communication and environmental barriers that may limit participation in meaningful leisure and community-based occupations. Two ASL-interpreted art sessions and a community art show were completed, with evaluation using adapted PROMIS-based survey items, implementation observations, and quality improvement feedback. Because only two usable anonymous survey responses were available at each time point, findings were summarized descriptively and interpreted as feasibility and implementation information rather than evidence of effectiveness. The project supported the feasibility …

School-Based Sensory Room Education Program: An Occupational Therapy Approach, Makenzie Stiles, Bonnie Fischer-Camara, Tracie Ostrander, Elizabeth Young, Sophia Theodorou, Jacie Schneider

Occupational Therapy Student Scholarship

Sensory rooms are commonly used within school settings to support students' self-regulation, behavior, and participation in educational activities. However, evidence suggests that special education teachers and teacher aides often receive limited training on the appropriate use of sensory rooms, including identifying students who may benefit and selecting activities based on individual sensory needs. The purpose of this mixed-methods, pre-experimental capstone project was to develop, implement, and evaluate a school-based sensory room education program for special education teachers and teacher aides at Deposit Central School District. Guided by Ayres Sensory Integration® and Adult Learning Theory, the project included a needs assessment, …

Enhancing Ot Practice: A Podcast Approach To Improve Culturally Responsive Care, Tobin J. James

Occupational Therapy Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Perception Matters: A Case Study Exploring How Belief Systems Affect Family-School Partnerships And Family Literacy Initiatives In A Title I School, Kwtay Calvin

Dissertations

Family-school partnerships have been shown to have positive effects on students’ overall performance in school. However, in many instances schools have not used partnerships effectively to support literacy learning, particularly for Black families. Teacher bias, negative perceptions, and lack of cultural responsiveness hinder teachers’ effort to build meaningful relationships with Black families to best support family literacy. This qualitative study aimed to examine family-school partnerships through the experiences of school principals, teachers, and Black families to gain insight into the factors that impact collaborative relationships and family literacy support. This study is framed in critical race theory, the theory of …

A Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Multi-Tiered System Of Supports For Emergent Bilingual Students With And Without Disabilities, Ben Christensen

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Risques De Blessures Professionnelles Et Leurs Déterminants Parmi Les Jeunes En Emploi Au Québec Entre 2015 Et 2021 : Analyses Selon Les Parcours D'Emploi Et D'Études, Jaunathan Bilodeau, Marc-Antoine Busque, Martin Lebeau, Gabriel Beauchamp

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Les blessures professionnelles parmi les jeunes demeurent un enjeu de santé publique majeur. Bien que les jeunes soient considérés comme une des populations à mettre en avant pour la prévention de la santé et la sécurité du travail, les mécanismes et processus impliqués dans leurs blessures au travail demeurent à explorer. Cette étude vise ainsi à mieux comprendre les facteurs contribuant aux risques de blessures professionnelles et de leur récurrence parmi les jeunes âgés de 15 à 24 ans. Plus particulièrement, l’objectif consiste à (1) documenter l’association entre les profils de parcours professionnel ainsi que d’études et le risque de …

Characterization Of The Human Thnatomicrobiome By Decomposition Stage Through Bioinformatic And Meta Data Analysis, Ashton C. Laughlin

Biology Theses

Estimating the postmortem interval (PMI) is one of the most crucial factors in forensic death investigations. Recent advances in forensic microbiology have led to increased interest in using the study of the human postmortem microbiome, or “thanatomicrobiome,” to improve PMI estimates. In addition to current PMI estimation techniques, microbial community succession could serve as a valuable tool in estimating PMI. Further research is needed to develop a comprehensive understanding of the human postmortem microbiome. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the expansion of this tool by reviewing the current literature and analyzing previously published data using the …

Intermittent Versus Continuous Reinforcement: Which Is More Effective For Skill Acquisition In Children With Adhd Using Precision Teaching?, Samantha Pulling

Masters Theses

Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can experience challenges learning academic skills, possibly because of altered reinforcement and learning processes. Reinforcement is commonly used to support learning and adaptive behavior; however, research examining continuous and intermittent reinforcement schedules for children with ADHD has produced inconsistent findings. Precision Teaching (PT) is a fluency-based, data-driven instructional approach that emphasizes rate and celeration of behavior and has been shown to effectively support academic learning for individuals with ADHD. This study compared the effects of a continuous reinforcement schedule with a small reinforcer and an intermittent reinforcement schedule with a larger reinforcer on …

Risk Factors Of Child Sex Trafficking: A Gender-Based Scoping Review In The U.S. And Cross-Border Contexts, Peyton Forbes

Social Work Theses

Child sex trafficking is a major public health issue affecting the youth population of the United States and internationally. This scoping review examines risk factors on multiple levels including individual, family, community, and macro and digital contexts. A systematic search of databases identified 32 studies meeting inclusion criteria. Findings suggest that individual-level risk includes cumulative exposure to violence and trauma, substance use, mental health and behavioral problems, child welfare and justice involvement, runaway behavior, educational disruption, limited social support, and intersection demographic vulnerabilities (e.g., gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, disability). Family‑level risk reflects unstable or unsafe home environments characterized by substance use, …

“If You Can Do This Job, You Can Do Anything”: An Exploration Of The Lived Experiences Of Early Career Social Workers Engaged With People Living With Hiv/Aids, John J. Edwards

Bryn Mawr College Dissertations and Theses

The HIV/AIDS epidemic, now in its fifth decade, is one of the most consequential health, social, scientific, and political challenges of the modern era. Since its emergence, social work has played a critical role in service provision and advocacy on behalf of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Tremendous biomedical advancements over the years have fundamentally transformed HIV from an invariably fatal illness to a chronic and manageable condition. As the profile of HIV has changed over time, less is known about the contemporary experiences of social workers engaged with PLWHA. To address this gap, semi-structured interviews were conducted with early …