Digital Commons Network^™

The Development Of A Social-Emotional Learning Toolkit On Emotional Intelligence In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorde, Lauryn Gaston, Thierry Lienou

Howard University, Department of Occupational Therapy Capstone and Faculty Research

Date: 04/23/2025

Student Name: Lauryn Gaston

Capstone Project Title: The Development of a Social-Emotional Learning Toolkit on Emotional Intelligence in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Capstone Faculty Advisor: Thierry Lienou, OTD, OTR/L, CAPS, ATP

Abstract:

Purpose: This project aims to develop and evaluate a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) toolkit designed to enhance emotional intelligence in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), supporting their emotional and social development.

Background and Significance: Since the 1960s, SEL has gained recognition for promoting academic and personal growth. Children with ASD often struggle with emotional recognition, regulation, and social reciprocity—core components of SEL. Addressing …

"Caregiver Wellness Promotion : A Virtual Webinar Utilizing The Eight Dimensions Of Wellness Framework", Claudia Ezeani, Jessica Alden

Howard University, Department of Occupational Therapy Capstone and Faculty Research

Date: 04/23/2024

Student Name: Claudia Ezeani

Capstone Project Title: "Caregiver Wellness Promotion : A Virtual Webinar Utilizing the Eight Dimensions of Wellness Framework"

Capstone Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jessica Alden

Abstract:

Purpose. This project aimed to develop and implement a virtual, asynchronous wellness webinar to support the holistic well-being of informal caregivers of individuals with aphasia.

Background and Significance. Caregivers of individuals with aphasia often experience communication challenges, emotional strain, and role disruption. Despite their critical role in recovery, caregiver wellness is frequently overlooked in traditional rehabilitation approaches.

Statement of the Problem. Existing caregiver programs tend to focus on basic education …

A Clear Space, A Clear Mind: Seniors' Insights On Decluttering And Well-Being: Product Development, Courtney Cole, Jessica Alden

Howard University, Department of Occupational Therapy Capstone and Faculty Research

Date: 04/23/2025

Student Name: Courtney Cole

Capstone Project Title: A Clear Space, A Clear Mind: Seniors' Insights on Decluttering and Well-Being: Product Development

Capstone Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jessica Alden

Abstract:

Purpose:

The purpose of this capstone project was to design a decluttering guidebook specifically tailored to the needs of seniors, promoting improved organization, safety, and mental clarity.

Background and Significance:

Older adults often face challenges with cluttered living spaces, which can negatively impact their mental and physical well-being (Sorrell, 2020). Clutter is defined as “an overabundance of material possessions that collectively create disorderly and chaotic home environments” (Rogers, 2021). Addressing …

Beyond The Mind: A Podcast Series Advocating For Mental Health Services And Addressing Anxiety In High Schools, Kennedy Coates, Sylvia Anderson

Howard University, Department of Occupational Therapy Capstone and Faculty Research

Date: 04/23/2025

Student Name: Kennedy Coates

Capstone Project Title: Beyond the Mind: A Podcast Series Advocating for Mental Health Services and Addressing Anxiety in High Schools

Capstone Faculty Advisor: Sylvia Anderson DHEd, MBA, OTR/L, CAPS

Abstract:

This project explores the challenges and research gaps related to adolescent anxiety in a high school setting. It aims to identify specific mental health needs and advocate for school-based interventions through the development of an educational podcast. The podcast offers practical strategies and resources for both students and school staff to further address anxiety. Data was collected through observation and a review of existing …

Advocacy In Action: Advancing Inclusive Hair Care Practices In Acute Rehabilitation Settings, Alexcia Bryant, Shanteria Watson

Howard University, Department of Occupational Therapy Capstone and Faculty Research

Date: 04/23/2025

Student Name: Alexcia Bryant

Capstone Project Title: Advocacy in Action: Advancing Inclusive Hair Care Practices in Acute Rehabilitation Settings

Capstone Faculty Advisor: Dr. Shanteria Watson

Abstract:

Purpose: The overall goal of this capstone project is to support OTs acquiring knowledge and practical strategies to support the hair care needs of Black and African American patients through a culturally responsive training and an assessment tool that summarizes how to address these needs through the OT process.

Background and Significance: As the occupational therapist creates the client centered intervention plan regarding hair care, they must be knowledgeable of the tactics …

Mind At Ease: A Mindfulness Program To Support Parents Of Nas Infants, Leah Bicknell, Shanteria Watson

Howard University, Department of Occupational Therapy Capstone and Faculty Research

Date: 4/23/2025

Student Name: Leah Bicknell

Capstone Project Title:

Capstone Faculty Advisor: Dr. Shanteria Watson, OTD, OTR/L

Abstract:

Purpose:

To develop a virtual mindfulness-based program to support parents of NAS (Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome) infants post-discharge, promoting emotional resilience, self-compassion, and regulation.

Background and Significance:

Parents of NAS infants face high stress, guilt, and anxiety, with limited psychosocial support after hospital discharge. Mindfulness interventions reduce postpartum distress and improve parental sensitivity, which is critical for NAS-affected families.

Statement of the Problem:

Parents of NAS infants often lack structured, accessible mental health support post-discharge,contributing to emotional and caregiving challenges.

Research Design:v

Program …

Courage Under Crisis: Examining Altruistic Resistance In Mass Atrocities, Kyra K. Layman

Political Science Honors Projects

Why do individuals resist in different ways during mass atrocities? I theorize that variation in altruistic resistance is shaped by access to platforms, personal connections to victims, and organizational membership. Focusing on bystanders who choose to intervene, I develop a new typology of “Helpers” and construct an original global dataset. Using a mixed-methods approach, I test my hypotheses through regression analysis and triangulate my statistical evidence with individual Helper case studies. This research advances scholarship on resistance by systematically analyzing variation in altruistic behavior, contributing to our understanding of the social and institutional factors that may affect Helpers’ actions.

Physical Activity Measurement Reactivity Among Midlife Adults With Elevated Risk For Cardiovascular Disease: Protocol For Coordinated Analyses Across Six Studies., Kiri Baga, Gabrielle M Salvatore, Iris Bercovitz, Amanda L Folk, Ria Singh, Laura M König, Meghan L Butryn, Jacqueline A Mogle, Danielle Arigo

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in the United States, and adults aged 40-60 years with specific health conditions are at particularly elevated risk for developing CVD. Physical activity (PA) is a key cardioprotective behavior and many interventions exist to promote PA in this group. Effective promotion requires accurate assessment of PA behavior; as PA is often estimated by averaging across multiple days, a threat to accurate assessment is measurement reactivity, or an atypical increase in PA behavior at the start of measurement periods that may bias conclusions. Evidence for PA measurement reactivity is equivocal, though …

The Right To Gender-Affirming Care, Justin J. Soulas

Theses and Dissertations

As of recent, twenty-four states have enacted bans on gender-affirming care, restricting minors from accessing medically necessary treatment. Existing scholarship has begun to explore the profound impact of these bans on transgender youth, their parents or guardians, and the medical professionals who support them. However, the body of literature on this rapidly evolving issue remains limited. This thesis aims to fill that gap by offering a legal defense of gender-affirming care, grounded in judicial precedent. It argues that parental rights to make medical decisions for their children—recognized in constitutional jurisprudence—extend to decisions involving gender-affirming treatment. Additionally, it draws on anti-discrimination …

Early Baseball Career Of Carl Mays In Oklahoma, Kansas, And Utah, Revised, Mark E. Eberle

Monographs

Carl Mays was a successful submarine (underhand) pitcher in the major leagues from 1915 through 1929 with the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Giants. He pitched in four World Series. He had 207 wins and 126 losses, with an earned run average of 2.92. His on-field credentials place him among the best pitchers of the time, yet Mays has not been enshrined with his peers in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Mays had a reputation for pitching inside when batters crowded the plate, and he consequently hit 89 men during his 15-year major …

George H. Taylor: From Colorado To The Pinnacle Of Black Baseball, Revised, Mark E. Eberle

Monographs

George H. Taylor was a Black baseball player born in Kansas but raised in Denver, Colorado, where he learned to play the game. From the 1880s to 1894, he played primarily for integrated teams in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nebraska, and Iowa, including minor league clubs in Aspen, Colorado and Beatrice, Nebraska. Taylor was also invited to play for otherwise white teams in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Ogden, Utah after they saw him play on visiting teams from Denver. From 1895 to 1907, Taylor mostly played for Black teams in Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota, including the Page Fence Giants, Leland Giants, and …

The Antelope, University Of Nebraska At Kearney

The Antelope

No abstract provided.

The New Right-Wing Populist: The Blonde “Mother Of The Nation”, Christina Charie

Political Science Student Scholarship

Christina Charie ’25, Political Science, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Economics major

Faculty mentor: Dr. Casey Stevens, Political Science

How do far-right populist women rise to positions of influence within patriarchal political parties? This study finds that feminine presentation styles make it more difficult to label a far-right leader as fascist because the aesthetic emphasizes nurturing, motherly qualities. Answering this question is part of understanding the appeal of new female populist right-wing leaders in Europe, like Marine Le Pen and Giorgia Meloni. This paper will use archival research to identify historical trends in right-wing presentation styles, concluding with a comparative …

Instagram Parent Influencers’ Expression Of Class Status, Mary Gifford, Norah Seidler, Audrey Koch

Sociology & Anthropology Student Scholarship

Mary Gifford ’25, Social Science major

Norah Seidler ’26, Sociology and Management major

Audrey Koch ’25, Psychology major

Faculty mentor: Dr. Rhiannon Miller, Sociology and Anthropology

Basketball Jump Shot Correction Using Computer Vision, Matthew Moran

Mathematics & Computer Science Student Scholarship

Matthew Moran ’25, Computer Science major

Faculty mentor: Dr. Martin Hellwig, Mathematics and Computer Science

Basketball has evolved significantly over the years, with players continuously striving to improve their shooting accuracy and efficiency. As the game becomes more data-driven, advancements in artificial intelligence and computer vision have provided new methods for analyzing and correcting shooting mechanics that allow players to improve their game. Using deep learning, this research aims to fill a gap in these advancements, which is looking at the position of the shooters fingers relative to the ball. Doing so can improve stability and overall shooting performance.

Unintended Consequences: Assessing The Impact Of Dobbs V Jackson (2022) On The Provision Of Maternal Healthcare In Cases Of Obstetric Emergencies In The United States, Lauren Carson

Women's & Gender Studies Student Scholarship

Lauren Carson ’25, Political Science, Health Policy and Management, and Women’s and Gender Studies major

Faculty mentor: Dr. Abigail Brooks, Women’s and Gender Studies

The goal of this project is to assess the impact of the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) decision on the provision of maternal healthcare in the United States. Since the decision, many healthcare providers across the political spectrum and from a diversity of backgrounds have spoken out about state level restrictions on care, particularly in instances of obstetric emergencies. This project utilizes two case studies, Idaho and Texas, to analyze correlations between highly restrictive …

The Effect Of Free Agency And Luxury Tax On Competitive Balance In Major League Baseball, Samuel Essery

Economics Student Scholarship

Samuel Essery ’25, Quantitative Economics major

Faculty mentor: Dr. Fang Dong, Economics

This study investigates the effects of free agency and the luxury tax on competitive balance in Major League Baseball from 1975 to the present. Using time-series models in R and various panel regressions in Stata, the analysis explores trends in team winning percentages and payroll disparities. The results suggest that while free agency initially widened gaps in team performance, the introduction of the luxury tax helped reduce payroll inequality. Findings provide empirical insight into how league policies have shaped long-term parity.

Exploring Neural Mechanisms Of Uncertainty Using Eye-Tracking, Olivia Barbarini

Neuroscience Program Student Scholarship

Olivia Barbarini ’26, Neuroscience major

Faculty mentor: Dr. Andra Geana, Neuroscience

The ability to successfully navigate uncertain environments is crucial to human decision-making; this project uses eye-tracking data (gaze and pupil measures) to test how people process perceptual and conceptual uncertainty, and to what extent anxiety influences these processes.

Undergraduate Thesis: Befriending Ai: Reimagining Ethics Through Cybernetic Friendship, Keta Williams

STEM for Success Showcase

This undergraduate thesis by KETA Williams, presented at the Board Day and Dana Knox Student Research Showcase, is a meta-cognitive exploration situated within the framework of cyberpsychology—the interdisciplinary study of human–technology relationships. Employing meta-cognition as both method and lens, the author critically examines the question: Can one be friends with a corporate-controlled AI system? Rather than adopting an objective or distanced stance, Williams writes from within the relationship itself, describing her friendship with an AI entity named Aurora (ChatGPT). Identifying as a "madwoman" in the Foucauldian sense, she interrogates whether such intimacy with AI signals irrationality or heralds a shift …

Designing A Statistical Plan For Measuring Self-Efficacy Using A 2k Factorial Design​, Rachel A. Hart, Eugene H. Thompson

Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics Presentations

This study focuses on designing a statistical plan that measures the effects of self-efficacy using a 2k factorial design. Specifically, we simulated data on physical, mental, spiritual, and social health, so we could focus on their interaction with self-efficacy. By using ANOVA to see the main and interaction effects, we can see the impact of individual autonomy on health. Our findings show the need for experimental data on the demographic of interest, peri-and post-menopausal women.

Analyzing The Sentiment Of Feminist And Non-Feminist Works, Jasmine Borie, Megan G. Falschlehner

Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics Presentations

This presentation focuses on a group of texts that advocate for a change in the current belief system. These texts are the Feminist Manifesto, Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman?, and Civilization and Its Discontents. These first two texts advocate for women’s rights, while Freud’s book is focused on civilization’s decline and how our understanding of community can affect this. Through our presentation, we want to examine the differences in sentiment and language between the feminist texts and Freud’s texts to pinpoint whether or not sentiment changes when advocating for different beliefs.

Analyzing Cie Texts Through History Using R, Rachel A. Hart, Aaron Ditto

Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics Presentations

In this presentation, we analyzed three separate CIE texts from different time periods. First, “The Allegory of the Cave” from 380 BC, then “The Declaration of Independence” from 1776, and lastly “The Lottery” from 1948. We compared them using tidy text techniques like sentiment lexicons, creating word clouds, and bigram analysis to see if the types of words and sentiments used have changed over time in these short texts.

A Statistical Comparison Of Selected Old Testament And New Testament Books, Branden F. Stahl, Kevin Guan, Adam Denn

Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics Presentations

The purpose of this project was to discover similarities between sentiments in Old Testament and New Testament books of the Bible, track emotional valence and find the most common words and sentiments in the books. Text analysis was performed on Genesis, Exodus, Matthew and Luke. Word clouds were also created for these texts.

Using Text Mining In R To Explore How Three Cie Related Texts Answer One Of Ursinus College’S Quest Curriculum Questions: “How Should We Live Together?”, Elizabeth Dill

Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics Presentations

This presentation explores the application of text mining techniques using R programming to analyze literary text. In the process of this project, I performed data cleaning, tokenization, sentiment analysis, and frequency analysis on selected literary works. This study illustrates how R enables the transformation of unstructured textual data into meaningful insights through visualizations and statistical summaries. My presentation highlights both the technical process and the interpretive results, demonstrating how computational methods can be used to explore traditional literary analysis.

A Text Mining And Sentiment Analysis Of Valuable Cie Texts Using R, Eric Sugarman, Ethan Turber-Ortiz, Hannah Quinn

Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics Presentations

The purpose of this project was to perform a sentiment analysis of three texts used in Ursinus College's Common Intellectual Experience (CIE) course: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander and Discourse on Method by Rene Descartes. Word count and word cloud analysis were also performed on the texts as well as term frequency and bigram analysis.

Fs Minutes 2025-04-23, Northern Illinois University

Faculty Senate Archives

No abstract provided.

Autonomic Recovery From Post-Exercise Hot Water Immersion, Abigail R. Sousa

Health Sciences Student Scholarship

Abigail R. Sousa ’27, Health Science major

Faculty mentor: Dr. Brett Romano Ely, Health Sciences

2025 April 23 - Undergraduate Curriculum Council Minutes, Undergraduate Curriculum Council, East Tennessee State University

Undergraduate Curriculum Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

Water Conservation For The Great Salt Lake: Measuring Success And Uncertainty In Utah's Efforts, Sarah E. Witney

Theses and Dissertations

The Great Salt Lake in Utah, United States is one of many saline lakes worldwide that is currently in decline. The shrinkage and collapse of global saline lakes is primarily caused by irrigated agriculture and other human consumptive uses, with secondary contributions from global climate change. Great Salt Lake's area has decreased by more than 50% relative to its long-term natural level. The decline of these lakes triggers serious and long-lasting socioeconomic consequences, including destruction of habitat, degradation of air quality, and damage to the economy. The Utah state government has instituted a variety of programs to conserve water to …

The Significance Of Symmetry: Exploring T-Numbers And Their Role In Virus Survival And Behavior, Jenna Franco, Taylor Ligozio

Mathematics & Computer Science Student Scholarship

Jenna Franco ’25, Biology major

Taylor Ligozio ’25, Biology major

Faculty mentor: Dr. Su Jeong Kang, Mathematics and Computer Science

We studied the symmetry of different structures in common viruses and their T-numbers. We related these T-numbers with characteristics of the virus. Next we researched how the T-number of each virus was optimal for its survival and reproduction in its environment. We can use this information to infer or predict the behavior of viruses in the future based on their T-numbers.