Digital Commons Network^™

Social Exclusion : How Inhibition And Excitation Of The Dorsal Lateral Prefrontal Cortex (Dlpfc) Influences Feelings Of Social Exclusion, Anthony Minervini

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Social exclusion refers to the experience of rejection by one or more people during a social event. Cyberball, a computer program, is one of the most common tools for analyzing social exclusion. Cyberball simulates a game of catch in which any number of individuals or computer- generated players can pass a virtual ball to one another. Regions of the brain that underlies pain perception include networks lined to the Dorsal Lateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC). Direct manipulation of this area may provide a better understanding of how the DLPFC can influence the perception of social exclusion. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was …

Effects Of Time, Temperature, And Cooking Vessel On Antioxidant Potential, Ph, And Degrees Brix In The Processing Of Black Garlic, Victoria Gargano

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Garlic, from the allium family, is known to contain organosulfur compounds. These compounds contain antioxidants, which provide a plethora of potential health benefits. Black garlic is created by processing regular garlic at temperatures ranging between 60-90°C, with high humidity for upwards of one month. The process of making black garlic alters these components, potentially increasing the antioxidant capacity. This end product yields a garlic that is a deep black color with a sweet flavor, pungent aroma, and a soft malleable texture. Black garlic is increasing popularity within the culinary world with more products making it to market shelves. PURPOSE: To …

The Role Of Attentional Control And Social Influence In Risky Decision Making, Samantha Salernitano

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

People often are required to make decisions in a collaborative environment, including decisions that deal with risky or uncertain outcomes. The present thesis investigated the role of both social influence and individual cognitive factors (attentional control) in risky decision making. Two measures of attentional control (a Stroop task and a Go/No-go task) were completed by participants. Risky choice was then measured through a hypothetical monetary gambling task where participants made choices between a smaller-guaranteed reward or a larger-risky reward. Three blocks of the risky-choice task were completed. Participants in the individual condition completed all three blocks of trials individually. For …

Potential Of Increased Thermal Tolerance As A Response To Acute Heat Stress In A Disease-Transmitting Mosquito Species, Nicole Ashley Scanlon

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Each year hundreds of millions of people are infected with mosquito-borne illnesses. West Nile Virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne diseases in the United States (McDonald et al., 2021). The first case of West Nile Virus was detected in the United States in 1999 (Sejvar, 2003). Since that time the number of cases has dramatically risen. Mosquitoes are ectotherms which means their body temperature is dependent on the thermal conditions outside of their body. Because of this they are very sensitive to changes in their environment. The Earth’s average temperature has been slowly but steadily rising. This small but …

How Race And Gender Moderate The Effect Of Facial Trait Inferences On Leadership Perception, Calista Wong

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Research on first impressions suggests that facial trait inferences guide judgments in many domains, including perceptions of leadership ability. This study explored the extent to which race and gender moderate such inferences on the perception of leadership. A total of 179 participants rated facial stimuli on one of three traits: leadership ability, dominance, and warmth It was hypothesized that perceived warmth would benefit Black male targets more than White and Asian male targets, and perceived dominance would benefit male White and Asian male targets more than Black male targets. No strong hypotheses were specified for female targets, as research on …

The Language Of Mechanical Support In Children: Is It ‘Sticking’, ‘Hanging’, Or Simply ‘On’?, Julia Marie Hauss

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Research has found that children begin to differentiate in the terms they use to encode support. In English, BE on, the Basic Locative Construction (Levinson & Wilkins, 2006; “put on” in dynamic events) tends to encode support-from-below (e.g., cup on table), whereas lexical support verbs (e.g., hang, stick, tape, glue, etc.) tend to encode mechanical support. We see this differentiation in semantic space by six years of age (Johannes et al., 2016). Although this differentiation occurs, we can still use BE on to encode all types of support, just as we can use a variety of lexical verbs (e.g., the …

Curriculum Connectivity In Montclair State University’S Undergraduate Mathematics Program, Ana G. Da Silva Jesus

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

According to Piaget’s cognitive development theory and the constructivism learning theory of education, real learning occurs when students establish long term connections between disciplines by either adapting or redefining previously acquired knowledge. These ideologies have important teaching and learning implications that directly influence curriculum development and the design of a course of study. This thesis explores the interconnectedness of the subjects required for the successful completion of an undergraduate math program at Montclair State University. More specifically, it models students’ unique connections through a learning network and investigates the correlation between the interconnectivity of subjects and students’ overall performance. Results …

Black Garlic Extract As An Antiviral For Herpes Simplex Virus-2 In Lung Cells, Jenna Rose Horowitz

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Allicin, a sulfur compound, is known for providing garlic with its unique fragrance and taste, as well as for its antimicrobial properties. This is one of many antioxidant compounds found in garlic, along with polyphenols and flavonoids. When raw garlic is aged using high temperatures and high humidity levels, it develops a black color and a sweeter taste. Garlic in this form, referred to as black garlic, contains higher levels of antioxidants than fresh garlic. Antioxidants play a vital role in alleviating cellular stress during viral infections. Once a virus particle attaches and enters a host cell, a slew of …

The Interconnected Roles Of Residues N189, E168, And S220 In M. Tuberculosis Indole-3-Glycerol Phosphate Synthase Catalysis, Erik Domlija

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis that primarily attacks the lungs. Drug resistance for M. tuberculosis is emerging and therefore new drug targets need to be identified. One way to target TB is through the inhibition of the tryptophan biosynthetic pathway of M. tuberculosis since production of tryptophan is essential for the replication of M. tuberculosis. The enzyme Indole-3-glycerol phosphate synthase (MtIGPS) was chosen as a potential drug target due to its role in tryptophan biosynthesis. Residue N189 interacts with active site residues E168 and S220. It is inferred from previous studies done with …

The Identification Of Rogue Access Points Using Channel State Information, Irene Mcginniss

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Today's wireless networks (Wi-Fi) handle more significant numbers of connections, deploy efficiently, and provide increased reliability and high speeds at low cost. The ability of rogue access points (RAPs) to mimic legitimate APs makes them the most critical threat to wireless security. APs are found in coffee shops, supermarkets, stadiums, buses, trains, airports, hospitals, theaters, and shopping malls.

Rogue access points (RAP) are unauthorized devices that connect to legitimate access points and networks and bypass authorized security procedures. RAP detection has been attempted using hardware and software-based solutions requiring the developing of dedicated tools or beacon frame modification. (Arisandi, 2021). …

The Construction Of A Static Source Code Scanner Focused On Sql Injection Vulnerabilties In Java, Carla Zurita Rubin De Celis

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

SQL injection attacks are a significant threat to web application security, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands and gain unauthorized access to sensitive data. Static source code analysis is a widely used technique to identify security vulnerabilities in software, including SQL injection attacks. However, existing static source code scanners often produce false positives and require a high level of expertise to use effectively. This thesis presents the design and implementation of a static source code scanner for SQL injection vulnerabilities in Java queries. The scanner uses a combination of pattern matching and data flow analysis to detect SQL injection …

The Effects Of Ketamine On Performance In The Progressive Ratio Task And Nucleus Accumbens 5-Ht1b Receptor Expression In Wistar-Kyoto Rats, Andriy Fomin

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In the present study, we integrated the recent findings about rapid antidepressant action of ketamine and possible involvement of the serotonergic system, and 5-HT_1B receptor in particular, in the pharmacodynamics of this drug. We modeled anhedonia, a prominent symptom of depression, using the progressive ratio test in Wistar Kyoto rats. This strain of rat is reportedly an endogenously stress-reactive organism that displays an anhedonia-like endophenotype. We hypothesized that Wistar-Kyoto rats’ performance would be impaired, compared to Wistar-Han controls, on this reward- and motivation- related task and that the treatment with 1o mg/kg ketamine 24 hours prior to testing will …

Exoskeleton Gait Training To Improve Walking Adaptability In Persons With Multiple Sclerosis, Alfonse Gaite

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

There have been numerous research studies investigating the feasibility and effectiveness of exoskeleton-assisted gait training as a treatment for lower extremity motor rehabilitation in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, while most of the research on exoskeleton- assisted gait training investigate its impact on general gait and balance during ambulation, investigating the effectiveness of exoskeleton gait training in improving walking adaptability remains underexplored. The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of exoskeleton- assisted gait training compared to traditional gait training on improving walking adaptability in persons with MS. The study is a secondary analysis using data from a Kessler …

Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory: An Analysis Of Teen Court Decision-Making By Youth Jurors And Adult Volunteers, Colette Briana Harris

All Dissertations

Few studies have explored the effects of emotional or rational stimulations concerning juror verdicts. There has yet to be a study to examine the impact of cognitive or experiential processing on teen juror decision-making in teen courts. The survey of teen court participants after the completion of teen court jury trials was used to gauge whether rational processing or experiential processing was triggered in selecting a verdict. Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory (CEST) and juvenile decision-making theories and perspectives (The Focal Concerns Theory of Sentencing, Attribution Theory, and Formal Legal Perspective) were used to explain teen jurors’ decision-making. A sample of 107 grade, …

Flood Fatalities In Eastern Kentucky And The Public Health Legacy Of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining, W. Jay Christian, Beverly May, Jeffery E. Levy

UK CARES Faculty Publications

Heavy rains at night caused severe flooding in eastern Kentucky on 28 July 2022, resulting in 39 deaths. Using publicly available information, we assembled a database of these fatalities, including demographic characteristics and location of death. We perturbed fatality locations and plotted them on a topographical map highlighting mountaintop removal mining with valley fill sites, where mountaintops were excavated to mine thin seams of coal. This map reveals many flood fatalities occurred along rivers or streams near such sites. Previous research suggests that surface mining has contributed to the majority of land cover change in this region, and this has …

"The Moonlit Path": Reading Marie Howe In Early Motherhood, Alice Hodgkins Courtright

Yale Divinity School Theses

No abstract provided.

From Judgment To Action : Moral Cognition And The Tenuous Link To Moral Courage, Nathan Kemper

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Though specifics differ across cultures and even across individuals, research has shown surprising consensus as to what constitutes immoral behavior across societies (e.g., murder, theft). Even though much research has broadened our understanding of moral cognition, comparatively few studies have investigated moral action. There are real-world examples of people trying to intervene against immoral behavior, a behavior known as moral courage. This dissertation, comprised of a total of six studies across three manuscripts, seeks to add to the corpus of moral psychology by bridging the gap in knowledge regarding how connected moral cognition and action are. In the two studies …

The Changing Role Of The Judiciary In Antebellum New York State, Joanne Elizabeth Barker

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract From its first constitution adopted in 1777 in the midst of the Revolutionary War to the constitution adopted in 1846, New York State’s elected officials argued about the structure and role of the judiciary in state government and its application of the rule of law. Two constitutional conventions held in 1821 and in 1846 each produced a constitution that substantially reorganized the state judiciary. The delegates to these conventions debated what roles of the courts, the judges, and the legal profession and the rules of law that they applied would be appropriate to a republican form of government. These …

Age-Of-Acquisition (Aoa) Impacts Spelling Error Detection : Evidence From An Online Proofreading Task, Madison Laks

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

During reading, words are processed faster if they are rated as being acquired early in life compared to later in life (i.e., age of acquisition effects; AoA). Given that the task demands for proofreading differ from reading, we investigated if AoA effects extend to an online proofreading task. Specifically, early- and late-acquired target words were embedded in sentence frames after being matched for a variety of potentially confounding variables, including word frequency, length, imageability, OLD-20, and familiarity (using the stimulus set from Juhasz & Sheridan, 2020). The participants rapidly proofread these sentences for spelling errors, and our results showed that …

A Comparison Of Approaches To Closing The Achievement Gap In Public, Charter, And Catholic Urban High Schools In New York State, Kiante' Eli Jones

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Throughout the history of the United States there have existed gaps in the educational achievement outcomes of different groups of students. One of the most well-known and persistent achievement gaps is seen in the academic performance of Black versus White students, which is also known as the Black-White student achievement gap (BWSAG). The BWSAG is manifest in data such as grades, standardized test scores, course selection, school dropout rates, and college completion. This study examines how three schools with significant Black student populations, including an urban traditional public school, a Catholic school, and a charter school narrow the BWSAG among …

An Ex-Post Theory Of Change Assessment Of Foster Care Alumni Support Services Within A Higher Education System, Leandra A. Harris

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Foster Care Alumni (FCAs), or individuals who left the foster care system either by aging out, adoption, or returning to their family of origin, typically make up a small, fragmented portion of the student body at higher education institutions. This group is increasingly referred to as Foster Scholars on higher education campuses. FCAs tend to have unique and significant challenges like lack of support, need for mental and emotional health services, financial needs beyond tuition and campus fees, and the need for enhanced academic support. This dissertation provides an understanding of FCAs and their academic, emotional, and social needs. It …

Bleeding Green, White, And Red: The Relationship Between Separation And Assimilation, Trends In Italian American Political Radicalism, 1927-1969, Andrew V. Nicolella

History Honors Program

This thesis explores the experiences of Italian American political radicals from 1927 to 1969, a time when Italians moved from the shadows and into the mainstream of American society. Through an analysis of the lives and actions of Italian American political radicals, I argue that these individuals included in this study utilized their sense if Italian heritage to varying extents in shaping the character of their radicalism. This thesis focuses on historical contexts that shaped their political radicalism. The individuals addressed actively engaged in political movements, participated in the labor force, ran for public office, and fought to protect their …

Acquitted By Reason Of Paroxysmal Insanity? Science And Gender In The Nineteenth-Century Murder Trial Of Mary Harris, Emmalee Morgan

History Honors Program

The acquittal of Mary Harris in 1865 demonstrates the culmination of new social and scientific ideologies through the strategy of her defense counsel and the utilization of expert medical witnesses. While at the same time, the prosecutorial strategy embodied the opinions of gender and insanity that were being phased out.

The aim of this project is to demonstrate the overlap and reciprocal influence of science, law, and society, with narratives of gender acting as consistent undertones in these three realms. The trial and acquittal seem to fall in line with the idea that the insanity plea is a sham — …

In A Pickle: African Americans Struggles With Racism And Progress In Mount Olive, North Carolina, 1930-1955, Devin Lamb

History Honors Program

This paper examines the experiences of African Americans living in Mount Olive, North Carolina during the 20th century. Life in Mount Olive afforded African Americans a multitude of opportunities such as economic, educational, and access to healthcare. Though African Americans' situation in Mount Olive was better than Black people living in other locations throughout North Carolina, an exodus still occurred in the latter half of the 20th century. I argue African Americans stayed in Mount Olive because of the stability and economic opportunities provided to them by staying post-great migration, but that the persistence of racism and segregation made living …

Civil War Journalism: Two Rough Drafts Of One History, Brianna Collora

History Honors Program

This paper addresses journalism in the Civil War by analyzing both Northern and Southern reporting. The severity of censorship changed throughout the duration of the war, with it less harsh in the Union by the end. Southern officials did not censor as much, both because their resources were scarcer, and their officials were more opposed to the use of censorship. While past historians have argued that the decrease in Northern censorship is because the Union began to have the upper hand in the war, I argue that the decrease in Union censorship was not only because the Union was now …

Legend Of Freedom: Rethinking The Role Of Robert The Bruce In Shaping The Scottish Identity, Deina Carbonara

History Honors Program

This paper explores the link between King Robert the Bruce and the evolution of the Scottish nation in the early fourteenth century. While many Scottish people today, and in the centuries since his life, believed that Bruce was the primary driving force of a consolidation of the Scottish nation and its independence, this paper will show that Bruce was only able to succeed to his position as monarch and to gain recognition of Scotland as a sovereign kingdom due to the actions of earlier peoples. Specifically, I examine the foundations of Christianity within Scotland and how the Church’s insistence to …

Rafael Trujillo Is Not Dead: The Role Of The Memory Of The 1937 Massacre In Reshaping Anti-Haitianism And Education In The Dominican Republic, Galilea Estrella Rosario

History Honors Program

In 1937, dictator Rafael Trujillo ordered the massacre of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent along the border dividing Dominican Republic and Haiti. This killing of over 20,000 people was informed by an ideology known as anti-Haitianism, which formed under the guise of Trujillo’s “Dominicanization” policy. After Trujillo’s death, his allies created a political dynasty that has helped to shift this anti-Haitian sentiment from a state sponsored ideology to a social norm that has prevailed to the present. This anti-Haitian sentiment is used to control and abuse immigrant Haitian sugar workers. It made thousands of people stateless as of 2013. …

Comedy, Contagion, And Confinement In Bo Burnham’S Inside, Zoe Barclay

English

Bo Burnham’s Inside was filmed by the former YouTube star, stand-up comedian, and director entirely alone in his guest house during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and released on Netflix. The comedy special is a mixture of skits, songs, and monologues loosely stitched together that question the role of comedy, provide a critique of the current socio-cultural moment, and give the viewer a glimpse into Burnham’s mind. Inside and The Inside Outtakes both engage with the themes associated with outbreak narratives and explore current social questions regarding privilege, accountability, consumption, and capitalism. Like other works of comedy, Inside takes …

Do U.S. And International Stock Returns Depend On The Presidential Election Cycle Year?, Paul Peragine

Financial Analyst

This paper aims to determine if U.S. and international stock returns are dependent on the U.S. four-year Presidential election cycle (PEC). Additionally, it expands on past literature by confirming past results and extending them to the present. It implements an economic integration variable, which is a measure of how correlated a country is economically to the U.S. The markets that are highly integrated with the U.S. follow a very similar pattern to that of the U.S. PEC, while weakly integrated countries are less likely to follow the U.S. return cycle. A Chow test confirms that economic integration status influences a …

Death And Dynasties: Using Family Communication Patterns Theory To Understand Individual Feelings Regarding The End Of Life, Erica Danielle Cecilia Strand

Communication

This research investigated how Family Communication Patterns Theory, one of the leading theories in the study of family communication, relates to parent-child communication regarding religion and outlook on the end of life. Using pairs of parent-child participants this research sought to connect the family type and style in which one was raised, with their likelihood to remain in the religion they were raised with, as well as their acceptance or fear regarding the end of life. This research seeks to close the gap between parenting styles/family dynamics and adult feelings, thoughts, and beliefs regarding religion and death. This research was …