Digital Commons Network^™

The Future Of Sound: A New Methodology For The Production Of Modular Synthesizer Music, Darius Holweg

Liberty University Research Week

Modular Synthesizers have been experimented with for musical purposes since their inception. In recent years, there has been an interest in utilizing the versatility, flexibility, and self-generative nature of modular synthesizers to innovate in music in a way that other synthesizers and modern musical tools cannot. There is much space for improved mixing and recording techniques to maximize the sonic quality and commercial viability of modular synthesizer music, compared to the way that modular synthesizer based music is typically recorded. This paper explores the necessity for, and implementation of an improved commercial model for multitrack recording and mixing modular synthesizers, …

The Advancement Of Genome Editing Tools - A Blessing Or A Curse?, Haeun Tae

Liberty University Research Week

Just over a decade ago, the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR-Cas) system was identified in prokaryotes. The emergence of this system has expanded the potential of genome editing, bringing what were once thought impossible into reality in the fields of biotechnology, agriculture, and medicinal research. Recently, a eukaryotic CRISPR-Cas-like system, Fanzor, was reported under a novel class of the RNA-guided DNA cleavage system termed OMEGA. Thus, it was the goal of this thesis to share the history of genome editing tools, compare the structure and functions of reported RNA-guided DNA cleavage systems, review their current and prospective applications, …

Improving Student Engagement Despite Lowering Attention Spans In The Classroom, Kaycee Lee

Liberty University Research Week

Attention spans have been decreasing throughout society for many years, partially due to the constant increase of technological advances. The average human attention span of eight seconds is particularly concerning to teachers and others in the classroom. It does not seem that the average attention span is ever going to increase, so teachers must implement intentional methods and strategies within their classroom to keep their students’ attention. Physical activities, technology and hands-on lesson supports, small group instruction, shorter lesson times, flexible seating, and differentiated instruction are all strategies supported by research to improve student engagement within the classroom. Every classroom …

The Looking Glass Self In Film: The Effects Of A Positive Self Image, Rebecca Kicinski

Liberty University Research Week

The theory of the Looking Glass Self suggests that an individual’s self image is socially constructed through interactions with others. Numerous studies support this theory, finding the significance of self image in individual lives as well as the impact that people, or outsiders, around the individuals can have on their self image. Generation Z in particular struggles to maintain a positive self image in the face of others. A close textual analysis of the films It’s a Wonderful Life (1947) and Hugo (2011) will show clearly that the Looking Glass Self is not only relevant despite its age, but also …

Advisync: A Dynamic Academic Course Scheduler, Spencer M. Anderson, Wilson Escobar, Devin Scott Sandlin, Nathan Patrick Doyle

ATU Scholars Symposium

Academic advising at universities can be a tedious and disorganized process for both students and advisors. Each advisor may have several dozen advisees to manage each semester, and each individual student has unique sets of classes they need to take to graduate. This might lead to scheduling errors. These errors can put the student behind in their degree, thus extending the time it takes for them to graduate past financial aid periods and delay their entry into the workforce. To address this issue, we create AdviSync. It is a tool for both students and advisors that aims to provide a …

Documenting Wonderland: Conducting A Collection Survey To Inform Collecting Policies, Sara Pettinger, Anne L. Foster

Journal of Western Archives

Collection surveys and collecting policies have become standard for effective archival collection management. But in recent years, surveys have most often been used to establish processing and preservation priorities and collecting policies are often considered static documents that, once established, change little as the collections grow. The Yellowstone National Park Archives, with a mandate to update its collecting policy and limited space and resources, developed a project to survey its collections in order to inform an updated policy. With a more granular focus on analyzing collections than previous surveys have undertaken, this case study focused on defining success and fulfillment …

Visualizing Nfl Player Metrics, Jayson Rhea

Campus Research Month

This project is dedicated to reshaping the exploration of NFL player data. Tailored for sports analysts and fantasy football managers, the goal is to deliver convenience through seamless data navigation and precise filtering through an interactive dashboard. In contrast to the static formats found on the NFL website and ESPN, this dynamic interface offers interactive visualizations, empowering users to effortlessly compare data. These comparisons can be used draw quick conclusions about player performance.

Ruthenium Metal Complex Interaction With Dna Of Tumor Cells, Danielle N. Baca

Research & Creative Achievement Day

In this project, computational chemistry was used to dock variations of (p-Cymene)Ru(curcuminato)chloro (Ru-cur) in DNA strands to find the best affinity for potential anti-cancer drugs. The Ru-cur complex has been chosen as the metal anticancer complex because it is not very toxic, selective for cancer cells, and has ligand exchange kinetics similar to those of platinum. First the geometry of the Ru-cur complex was optimized via a quantum mechanical method. The GAMESS program was used for this portion. Once the geometry of the complex was optimized, docking programs were explored to find the best docking poses and binding energies for …

Allylic Rearrangement In Nbs Bromination Reactions, Devann J. Harris, Bryanna L. Wichner

Research & Creative Achievement Day

The allylic bromination of alkenes using N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) is a useful and selective substitution reaction, in which bromine radicals abstract hydrogen from the alkene to form a resonance-stabilized radical intermediate. However, allylic rearrangement can be a consequence of the intermediate's two resonance structures. Some literature sources imply that NBS bromination gives only one major product from asymmetrical alkenes, e.g., 2-hexene and 2-heptene, even when they should form equally stable but non-equivalent resonance contributors. In this research, bromination of trans-2-hexene was performed using cyclohexane as the solvent, and the products were analyzed using GC-MS to determine if only one product, 4-bromo-2-hexene, …

Evaluating The Importance Of Biosecurity In Swine Operations, Lindsey Lemley, Lilly Rogers, Austin Calhoun

ATU Scholars Symposium

Swine health is critical to maintaining a profitable and productive swine operation. Biosecurity and sanitation are important practices that help maintain herd health. This study aimed to discover how biosecurity protocols and management practices differ between swine operations of different sizes. With diseases such as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV), Brucellosis, and Porcine Circovirus type 2 (PCV2) being common in the swine industry, a strong biosecurity protocol protects swine farmers from financial losses associated with disease outbreaks. In 2004 alone, the estimated financial loss to PRRSV was over $761 million. Data concerning biosecurity and sanitation was collected from …

Microhabitat Use Of The Highland Darter (Etheostoma Teddyroosevelt) In The Illinois Bayou Watershed Of Arkansas, Colton W. Morris

ATU Scholars Symposium

Highland Darters (Etheostoma teddyroosevelt) are an Ozark regional endemic species, occurring in the Arkansas River and upper White River systems of Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. There have been very few studies on this species, specifically those that have quantified the habitat use of this species across its range. A new study was needed to fill in the knowledge gap of microhabitat use by the Highland Darter in Arkansas. We wanted to address this knowledge gap by assessing the microhabitat use of this species in the Illinois Bayou watershed in Arkansas. Highland Darters were observed during snorkel surveys at known …

Use Of Deep Learning In Content-Based Image Retrieval (Cbir), Angelina Das

ATU Scholars Symposium

In the world of computer vision and data retrieval, a crucial task is finding images within a database based on their visual content. This is known as content-based image retrieval (CBIR). As the number of digital images explodes across fields like online shopping, healthcare, and social media, the need for powerful and precise CBIR systems becomes ever more critical. Early CBIR methods depended on features crafted by hand, like color distributions, texture descriptions, and shape characteristics. However, these techniques often have difficulty capturing the true meaning of an image and might not handle very large datasets effectively. With the rise …

Incorporating Ai Into The Evaluation Of A Fishing Guide Business Plan, Payton J. Beyer, Joe W. Lothrop, Nicholas J. Mcnally, Sam W. Schultz, Sam R. Shutter, Trent B. Steuernagel

Research & Creative Achievement Day

This project explores the use of AI in determining the feasibility of a small business plan for a fishing guide service in Winona, Minnesota.  Findings describe prompt curation strategies relevant for specific chapters of a business plan, as well as the potential advantages and challenges associated with utilizing AI for this purpose.  Additionally, an analysis of the Bauer Angling Business Plan and its feasibility is included.

‘Opening The Future’ – A Reliable Funding Model For Open Access Monographs: Introducing An Innovative Approach To Publishing Oa Books Through Library Membership Funding, Kira Hopkins, Tom Grady

All Things Open

We outline the work of two university presses (Liverpool University Press and Central European University Press) who are, with assistance from Copim (Community-led Open Publication Infrastructures for Monographs), running an innovative revenue model to fund open access monographs. Called Opening the Future (OtF) this model builds on library subscription models: giving library members access to a highly-regarded backlist, with the revenue then used to make the frontlist openly accessible to all.

Given the current global library environment and budget pressures, a consortial model of funding promises a cost-effective solution for OA that means no single institution bears a disproportionate burden. …

School Counseling Psychology Internship, Sarah S. Gathje

Research & Creative Achievement Day

This is a summary of my school counseling internship through the psychology program at WSU. I completed it on site at Caledonia Middle/High School under the supervision of school counselor Brent Schroeder. I was able to learn counseling techniques for individuals and groups of students, help teach character development lessons, attend meetings, and learn what goes on behind the scenes in the life of a school counselor.

Mussel Communities Of Two Impacted Tributaries In The Arkansas South Central Plains Ecoregion, Jimmy Hall, Seth Drake, Parker Brannon, Savannah Wise

ATU Scholars Symposium

Anthropogenic influences such as mining and water quality degradation from wastewater effluents and agricultural runoff heavily impact freshwater mussel communities. The South-Central Plains (SCP) Ecoregion in Arkansas contains the Smackover Formation, an area that has been exploited for its oil with high frequency of drilling. In 1922 the Smackover pool in Union County was found and quickly became one of the world's most productive oil sites. Hurricane Creek and Smackover Creek, two tributaries within the Ouachita River basin, have experienced negative impacts from oil exploration and mining. However, to our knowledge, mussel communities in these creeks have not been assessed …

A Comparative Study On The Effects Of Meishan And Duroc Teaser Boars On Farrowing Rates Of Two Individual Swine Operations, Allie Shewmake, Payton Ham

ATU Scholars Symposium

Effective use of certain teaser boar breeds in artificial insemination, a common assisted reproductive procedure, in swine production provides a surmountable outlet to increase farrowing rates, breeding outcomes, and economic gain within the swine industry. Previous studies have emphasized the importance of boar types in swine breeding outcomes; however, this study delves into the divergent characteristics of Meishan and Duroc boars and how their different attributes affect the farrowing rates of Yorkshire-landrace sows at two individual swine operations, a smaller independent facility, and a larger commercial facility. Data was garnered and contrasted for three-year (2015-2017) time spans from each operation. …

The Importance Of Program Collaboration To Educate Nursing Students In Bilingualism, Lindsey N. Voigt, Halle M. Wohlers

Research & Creative Achievement Day

Purpose: With a growing Spanish-speaking population, communication is becoming more important in the healthcare field. It is important to address the needs of this population and one of the ways this can be achieved is by increasing the number of bilingual nurses. The overall purpose of this project was to discover the impact of bilingual nurses in health care and use that information to inspire and educate current and future nursing students. The findings from our review of literature were synthesized along with a survey to create resources for nursing and Spanish double majors and minors at Winona State University …

Dashboard To Quickly Estimate The Cost And Duration Of An Nyc Green Taxi Trip, Isaac Braun

Campus Research Month

Before hailing a New York City (NYC) taxi, residents and tourists do not easily know how much the trip will cost them or how long it may take. Taxis are still heavily used, even with the increase of ride-hailing services like Uber, and a new system has yet to be built to provide customers with these two metrics before taking a trip. This project aims to give riders a quick way to estimate a ride’s cost and duration through an interactive dashboard that allows filtering by pickup and drop-off neighborhoods. This is accomplished by analyzing three years of public data …

Pyroscan: Wildfire Behavior Prediction System, Derek H. Thompson, Parker A. Padgett, Timothy C. Johnson

ATU Scholars Symposium

During a wildfire, it is of the utmost importance to be updated about all information of the wildfire. Wind speed, wind direction and dry grass often works as fuel for the fire allowing it to spread in multiple directions. These different factors are often issues for any firefighting organization that is trying to help fight the fire. An uncontrolled wildfire is often a threat to wildlife, property, and worse, human and animal lives. In our paper, we propose an artificial intelligence (AI) powered fire tracking and prediction application utilizing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to inform fire fighters regarding the probability …

Preventing Illness Though Nutrition, Olivia R. Mccarter

Research & Creative Achievement Day

This is a series of Tik Tok videos that were made to educate people on how to prevent certain illnesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, through nutrition. The series had different types of videos such as recipes and different grocery store items that aid in preventing illnesses while also teaching the benefits of heart healthy nutrients. Each video was sent to a registered dietitian to get further helpful information and approval of content.

Helping Authors Navigate Open Access Publication Funding Options: Growing Library Support To Meet Challenges And Opportunities, Anna R. Craft

All Things Open

With open access established as a sharing and publishing practice in many academic disciplines, authors are increasingly expecting and seeking assistance in identifying opportunities and funding for their open access publishing activities. But navigating this landscape can be challenging, and libraries can have an important role in educating authors to help them understand options, costs, and benefits. By contributing to this open access support work, Libraries can help meet the needs of their constituents while also developing their own skills and knowledge in this area.

This presentation will discuss library experiences in supporting open access publication funding at the University …

The Relationship Between Imposter Syndrome, Household Income, And Level Of Education, Miebaka Favour Roberts

Liberty University Research Week

Imposter syndrome has been documented in the literature as a challenge across all professional fields, for men and women. Imposter syndrome is defined as a state of high-performing individuals attributing achievements to luck and contingency rather than skill and merit. Those experiencing imposter syndrome often live in fear of being exposed as a fraud or losing credibility. Methods: The current study applies the Literature Matrix Method by Judith Garrad to aggregate and synthesize literature for three factors: Imposter Syndrome, household income, and educational level. Further, inclusion criteria for search terms included publication year (2019-2023), document type (Peer-reviewed), and language (English). …

Y Theory: A New Theory Of Teaching Composition, Sophia Jantomaso

Liberty University Research Week

This thesis proposes an original theory of teaching composition structured through the concept of empathy as a scaffold for technical and positively impactful writing. The full name of the theory is Writing in Empathy (WIE) which I then translate to the letter/shape symbol, Y, consequently, Y Theory. Y is a shape symbol which images my theory’s emphasis on writing as a means for human connection, showing how the three points of a traditional rhetorical triangle (communicator, audience, message) collapse in, connect at a shared middle space, and emerge from the shared space as the operation of these three elements. Y …

Ai, Domination And Control Of Humanity's Future, William D'Alessandro

Midwest Ethics Symposium

No abstract provided.

A Cyborgian Middle Way Between Ai Alignment And Ai Fairness, Zach Peck

Midwest Ethics Symposium

No abstract provided.

The Comparison Between Two Aerobic Capacity Tests On Vo2max In Ultramarathon, Garrett Toms

Liberty University Research Week

Ultramarathons consist of any distance greater than the standard marathon distance (26.2 miles or 46 kilometers) and participation has increased since the late 20th century (Hoffman and Fogard, 2011). Although popularity has increased, a gold standard for aerobic capacity testing is yet to be established. The purpose was to compare two aerobic capacity tests on VO2max in ultramarathon runners. Eight Ultramarathon athletes were recruited for the study (36.4years + 10.1 years, 179.1cm + 4.0cm, 77.3kg + 7.9kg, 15.4%BF + 5.8%BF), one participant was dropped from the study due to inability to complete the necessary protocols. Participants reported to the Human …

A House Divided And The Hills They Died On: Hussite Factions And The Hussite Wars, Maeghan Eggert

Liberty University Research Week

This paper looks at the followers of Jan Hus – the Hussites –, which is a story of conviction, division, and violence. Jan Hus was a figurehead of the Bohemian Reformation (or pre-Reformation as it occurred a century before Luther’s Protestant Reformation), and his teachings led to reforms in the Bohemian Church, his death, and a group of followers known as the Hussites. As the Hussites faced opposition from the Crown and the Church, they began to differ in their approaches to reform. The Hussites split into moderate and radical groups who fought the Catholic Church in the Hussite Wars. …

One Law To Rule Them All: Jurisdictional Conflicts In King Philip's War, Karen Jones

Liberty University Research Week

This paper looks to reveal legal roots to the most consequential conflict in colonial American history, King Philip's War, which marked the end of the New England native's resistance to English governance. While it is common for many to assume that the Puritans' behavior toward the natives directly fueled the flames of war, a conflict of this scale was fueled by an irreparable legal divide between the natives and English. Notwithstanding the social and religious differences, Native Americans and English were diametrically opposed in their legal views. The Puritans came from a highly ordered society governed by the rule of …

Shadow Mimicking The Darkness: Hans Asperger’S Relation To National Socialism, Dylan Cumbo

Liberty University Research Week

This paper looks at the personal and professional relationship between Hans Asperger, a psychiatrist during the Second World War in Nazi-controlled Austria, and the National Socialist movement. I argue that while Hans Asperger had a mixed relationship with National Socialism, he unarguably played a role in implementing its policies and was found to have been cooperative with the Nazi’s agenda by the SS. Influenced by his family, faith, and childhood experiences, Asperger’s background led him to become active within the medical field. During his time within the clinic at Vienna, Asperger rapidly rose the ranks thanks to the dismissal of …