Digital Commons Network^™

Implementing Nonlinguistic Representations In Language Arts, Joy Ondrak

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This capstone project analyzes the use of nonlinguistic representation as both instructional and assessment strategies in a Language Arts unit. The project reports the effectiveness of nonlinguistic forms of representation that were integrated into a persuasive unit that focused on students’ comprehension of the modes of appeal, specifically in advertising. The persuasive unit included 12 lessons that were taught over a four-week period. This project analyzed the effectiveness of the implemented instructional and assessment strategies on student’s learning based on pre- and post- assessment scores. Following analysis of the pre- and post- assessment data, I discovered that nonlinguistic forms of …

The State And Use Of Virtual Tutors, Thomas Anthone

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Virtual tutoring is the process by which students and teachers participate in the learning experience in an online, virtual, or networked environment. This process can not only separate the participants from each other in a physical space, but it can also separate them by time. Virtual tutoring can take the form of the group of students coming together synchronously in an online setting and receiving lessons from a single tutor, or by asynchronous learning in which the teacher pre-plans lessons in advance that the students consume on their own time. The advent of online learning technologies and virtual learning environments …

An Unfiltered Reality: The Impact Of Social Media Usage On Personal Satisfaction, Jack Cosgrove

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of social media use on the personal life satisfaction of emerging adults (ages 18 to 25). All told, 172 participants completed a survey that asked them to report their social media usage, social media habits, and their personal satisfaction with life. The social media use variables were reduced using exploratory factor analysis. This allowed a greater breakdown of the effects of social media habits across age and gender. Some gender differences emerged, but overall, social media use was negatively related to satisfaction with life. Additionally, other significant effects were …

Teaching Time And Graphs With Differentiated Instruction And Assessment Strategies, Catie Tangeman

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This capstone reports the effectiveness of using differentiated instructional and assessment strategies to improve student performance in math. Based on pretest data, instruction was planned and implemented to best meet the needs of each student to help them succeed. This unit started with a pretest, had ten days of lessons and instruction, and then concluded with a post-test. Based on student data, student performance and learning increased by using differentiated instruction and instructional strategies that were adapted to help each student. Using feedback, nonlinguistic representations (a big piece of assessment), think-pair-shares, and physical models/manipulatives, students successfully showed the increase in …

Analyzing The Effectiveness Of Graphic Organizers In An English Classroom, Alexandra Espinoza

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The use of graphic organizers has risen in classrooms over the past few decades. However, it is essential to assess whether they lead to improved student learning, as some trending instructional strategies are not well-backed by quality research. The purpose of this study was to analyze if graphic organizers are indeed effective to use in a high school English class. This study took place in a secondary school setting for a weeklong unit. For this project, students completed three graphic organizers throughout the unit in order to better understand selected topics relating to the unit’s nonfiction text including inferences, characterization, …

Accountng Analysis Of A Goodwill Industries International, Elizabeth Howard

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Goodwill Industries International has clean financial health. They are liquid after COVID but plan to invest in different services directed at digital skills. They have no long-term debt, which frees up cash for services and can be considered a strength. Weaknesses in the financials directly attributable to COVID were: a cancellation of 2 million dollars’ worth of pledges in 2020, a decrease of 40 million dollars of program expense over two years, and a drop in investment return to 2.88%. Program expense ratio and Fund-Raising ratio are excellent at 91% and 2.2% respectively in 2021. Weaknesses I find are mostly …

Teaching The Processes That Shape The Earth Through Note-Taking, Summarizing, And Collaborative Sharing, Marisa Kilzer

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This capstone project is on the effectiveness of research-based instructional strategies and assessments implemented in a fourth-grade science unit. The science unit required students to comprehend and explain the scientific processes that shape our Earth. The unit included 7 lessons taught over 2 weeks, involving science experiments and a pre- and post-assessment. The methods and materials, as well as the effectiveness of the strategies on students’ learning, were documented. After collecting and analyzing the data from the unit, it was found that notetaking and summarizing, and collaborative sharing, are effective strategies for instruction and assessment

Investigating Novel Chemotherapeutics Against The Parasite Toxoplasma Gondii, Braydon Dreher

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Toxoplasma gondii, an intracellular protozoan, is a globally prevalent parasite due to the infectivity of T. gondii with nearly 2.5 billion people affected worldwide. Toxoplasma gondii can cause toxoplasmosis, which is a disease acquired through the consumption of undercooked meat or found in the feces of felines, and often leads to profound neuropathology and potentially death. Currently, acute toxoplasmosis is treated with pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine, which is a combination of an antiprotozoal and a sulfonamide. This combination of drugs directly targets the acute stage of infection but has failed to eliminate or impact the chronic carriage of bradyzoites while …

A Queer History Of Seattle Pacific University: Reconciliation And Recovery In Oral History Management And Special Collection Creation, Rebecca Cavanaugh

Honors Projects

In order to deconstruct the process and product of the two-year long SERVE Grant funded research project, “A History of Queer Student Presence and Activism at Seattle Pacific University: 1990-2019”, I analyze it through the acts of knowledge recovery and reconciliation. As an act of knowledge recovery, this project sought to uncover the unacknowledged history about SPU’s queer community through the use of The Falcon and oral history interviews as primary sources. To properly commit to this act of recovery, the project also created a historical narrative, timeline, Special Collection, and website to preserve these findings and make them available …

Are Third Parties Creating A Loophole For Police Investigations?, Alexandria N. Short

Northern Illinois Law Review Supplement

This article discusses the current case law and statutory law related to the privacy of information collected by third parties. At times, we see the private sector and law enforcement working together to solve crimes. However, that may not always be a good thing. This article offers a solution to these problems of uncertainty by suggesting a uniform code to regulate the private sector, or, in the alternative, a change to the Fourth Amendment that encompasses a more modern interpretation of the information that law enforcement should have access to.

Vol. 13, No. 2, Spring 2023: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review Online Supplement

Northern Illinois Law Review Supplement

No abstract provided.

Nearly-Lossless-To-Lossy Medical Image Compression By The Optimized Jpegxt And Jpeg Algorithms Through The Anatomical Regions Of Interest, Zhongqiang Li, Alexandra Ramos, Zheng Li, Michelle L. Osborn, Waleed Zaid, Xin Li, Yanping Li, Jian Xu

Faculty Publications

Currently, plenty of image data is generated that complicate storage and image transmission. Great efforts have been attempted on how to increase compression ratio (CR) without loss of critical diagnostic information. In this study, we designed two optimized JPEGXT (JPEGXT_OPT) and JPEG (JPEG_OPT) approaches by amplifying discrete cosine transform coefficients and using the entire anatomical region as ROI (region of interest). We found that ROI percentages have a great impact CR: smaller ROI percentages (10–30 %) could obtain a larger CR. Under the near-lossless compression, JPEGXT_OPT could have CRs up to 4.0 under small ROI percentages (10–30 %), while only …

Act I, Scene 3 - Int. Bedroom, Victoria De Dios

A Midwestern Review: A Magazine of the Arts and Issues at DePauw University

No abstract provided.

Airline Quality Rating 2023, Brent D. Bowen, Dean E. Headley

Airline Quality Rating Report

The Airline Quality Rating (AQR) was developed and first announced in early 1991 as an objective method for assessing airline quality on combined multiple performance criteria. This current reporting, the Airline Quality Rating 2023, reflects monthly Airline Quality Rating scores for calendar year 2022. AQR scores for 2022 are based on 15 elements in four major areas that focus on airline performance aspects important to air travel consumers over the calendar year of 2022.

The Airline Quality Rating 2023 is a summary of data for U.S. airlines that are required to report performance by virtue of having at least 0.05% …

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between K-12 Public Education Spending And Student Academic Achievement In Iowa [Paper, Bolton Award Version], Lydia Berns-Schweingruber

Mary Ann Bolton Undergraduate Research Award

Student academic achievement in Iowa is on the decline (U.S. Department of Education 2022). Some politicians propose increasing public education spending in order to address worrisome trends in academic achievement (Richardson 2022). Prior studies disagree about we whether there is a relationship between school spending and student outcomes (Betts 1995; Card and Krueger 1996; Card and Payne 2002; Coleman et al. 1966; Downes and Figlio 1997; Greenwald et al. 1996; Hanushek 1986; Jackson et al. 2015; Lafortune et al. 2018; Martorell et al. 2016; Miller 2018; Rajpal 1969). The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a …

Is Hindsight 20/20? Reconsidering Popular Perceptions Of Civil War Surgeons, Miller Bacon

History Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper provides a cursory examination of the history and truth of the modern “butcher” stereotype associated with Civil War surgeons. Beginning with a review of modern examples of the stereotype in cinema, educational materials, children’s literature, and academic literature, this thesis further provides a detailed historical analysis of the source of this stereotype in the nineteenth century. This analysis completes the cultural analysis present within the paper by demonstrating the presence of the “butcher” stereotype in Civil War era newspapers and literature.

Finally, after the cultural analysis of the modern stereotype and its historical roots in the nineteenth century, …

Masthead

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Stories From The Negative Spaces: United States V. Thind And The Narrative Of (Non)Whiteness, Joy Kanwar

Mercer Law Review

In the years following September 11, 2001, hate crimes and violent incidents against Sikh people in America rose dramatically. Most of these incidents involved individuals who targeted Sikh people—often men—because of their turbans and beards, which the attackers conflated with their own imagined versions of “9/11 terrorists.” Although the Sikh faith had no relationship to whom these attackers thought they were assaulting, very often someone they believed to be from the Islamic faith, the “visual” told the story—the victim was an outsider, someone who did not belong here and someone who was dangerous for America.

One particularly poignant moment resonated …

Burning Questions: Changing Legal Narratives On Cannabis In Indian Country, Sam J. Carter, Robin M. Rotman

Mercer Law Review

In the not-so-distant past, thoughts of Cannabis legalization in the United States were radical. In the present day, the narratives around Cannabis are changing. The term “present day” affixes this Article to early 2023, a snapshot in time. To understand the current legal narratives surrounding Cannabis, and what they might become in the future, it is important to examine the history of Cannabis law and policy in United States. This Article begins by discussing Cannabis regulation in the United States, from the rise of federal regulation to the gradual deregulation by states with tacit federal consent. The Article then examines …

Surviving Castro-Huerta: The Historical Perseverance Of The Basic Policy Of Worcester V. Georgia Protecting Tribal Autonomy, Notwithstanding One Supreme Court Opinion’S Errant Narrative To The Contrary, John P. Lavelle

Mercer Law Review

Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta is an unprecedented attack on the autonomy of Native American nations in the United States. The Supreme Court held that Oklahoma had jurisdiction over a crime committed by a non-Indian perpetrator against an Indian victim within the Cherokee Reservation’s boundaries. The decision posits that states presumptively have jurisdiction, concurrent with the federal government, over crimes by non-Indians against Indians in Indian country. But this proposition is at war with a bedrock principle of Indian law, namely, that reservations are essentially “free from state jurisdiction and control,” a policy that “is deeply rooted in the Nation’s history.” That …

The Eleventh Circuit Is The Captain Now: The Discovery Of A Lost Sixteenth-Century French Royal Navy Shipwreck Sails France Into Litigation, Kirsten Ehlers

Mercer Law Review

X marks the spot! The quest of uncovering historic shipwrecks that were lost at sea and recovering their treasures seemed like an exciting movie script until a sixteenth-century shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2016. That finding later caught the attention of the Republic of France (France) when Global Marine Exploration, Inc. (GME) attempted to salvage the shipwreck France believed to be its sovereign property. That ship was the flagship of the 1565 Royal Navy of France Fleet, la Trinité.

Up To University Standards? The Eleventh Circuit Creates Novel Standard For Determining Universities’ Title Ix Violations In Disciplinary Hearings, Bailey Hankins

Mercer Law Review

One of the crowning achievements of a young adult’s life is graduating college. As enrollment in higher educational institutions has become more accessible, the number of enrolled students has increased. In 2020, 40% of young adults were enrolled in college, which amounted to approximately 17,500,000 college students in the United States. Accompanied by these massive student populations, universities are put under pressure to ensure the health and safety of those enrolled young adults. One of the major issues placing pressure on universities is sexual assault. ...

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in deciding Doe v. …

Battery Design, Construction, And Characterization For Small Motor Use Focusing On Anodic Zinc For Electron Flow, Amber Veach

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explores the construction, characterization, and application of anodic zinc batteries for powering a small electric motor for the ChemE Car competition. Two zinc galvanic cell batteries were studied: zinc-carbon and zinc-air batteries. Prototype batteries were constructed and tested for voltage, amperage, and power production. In the zinc-carbon trials, a 3:1 mixture of manganese dioxide and graphite was determined to be the best cathode for power production. The size which allowed for sufficient power while maintaining the smallest footprint on the car was a zinc can six cm tall and two cm in diameter. Analysis of paper zinc-air battery …

Interactions And Phenomena Between Disodium Cromoglycate And Polyelectrolytes, Brandon Tipton

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The interactions between polyelectrolytes and oppositely charged macroions have been widely studied, but few reports have been made on the interaction between chromonic mesogens and polyelectrolytes. Here, we report on the formation of liquid crystalline coacervates achieved by the liquid-liquid phase separation of an aqueous solution of negatively charged liquid crystal and polycations. As well as the occurrence of tactoids that form in the absence of these interactions. The liquid crystal that is experimented with is disodium cromoglycate, better known as DSCG. This acts as a negative charge that is paired with a variety of positively charged polyelectrolytes. The first …

Generating An Alternative Thesis Pathway: Critical Reflection Of Coursework And Internships, Kendele Kramer

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Since internship experiences are recognized as high impact educational practices and the honors thesis is designed to be a gateway to work beyond the typical undergraduate degree, I helped develop a pathway for BENG honors students to use critical reflection to develop an honors thesis related to internship and class experience. Then, I wrote about my own experiences to serve as an example for future BENG students who want to pursue this pathway.

My objective for this example thesis was to describe the value of my engineering and technical internships and coursework and how they have shaped my future career …

Internship Thesis - Happy Egg Co., Annelise Koster

Data Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper outlines a data science internship at Happy Egg Co, a producer of free-range eggs committed to sustainable agriculture practices. The internship focused on analyzing customer data to uncover characteristics of Happy Egg Co's target market and identify potential new markets for expansion.

The internship spanned a period of 10 weeks and involved working with the company's marketing and data science teams to gain practical experience in data cleaning, analysis, and visualization. The focus was on uncovering patterns and trends in customer behavior, preferences, and demographics to inform marketing strategies.

The internship began with an introduction to Happy Egg …

Simulating Dielectric Barrier Plasma Actuators With Varying Geometries, Cass Wiederkehr

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The idea of Ionic Wind Propulsion has long been a topic of research for whether or not it can be used as a practical power source for flight. MIT researchers proved in 2018 that a plane with zero moving parts powered by Ionic Wind Propulsion was possible, and sustained flight could work with an internal power supply. However, due to the thin wire electrodes required to generate the ion cloud that made such propulsion possible, large amounts of drag rendered the plane extremely inefficient and impractical. Dielectric Barrier Discharge Devices (DBDs) are being investigated as to whether they can serve …

Characterization And Manipulation Of Double-Stranded Dna Using Atomic Force Microscopy, Lauren Skartvedt

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

An atomic force microscope (AFM) is used to scan high-resolution images on the nano scale. The lambda DNA used for this project are 48,502 base pairs in length and are double-stranded. This project utilizes the NanoSurf Core AFM in order to characterize and manipulate strands of lambda DNA which have been deposited on a mica surface. The deposition process of the DNA on the mica surface was developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado - Boulder. The AFM is used in imaging mode to scan the mica surface to locate the DNA. When …

A Systematic Study Into The Design And Utilization Of Burn Wire As A Means Of Tensioning And Releasing Spacecraft Mechanisms Through Applied Joule Heating, Chandler Dye

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The joule heating characteristics of Nichrome burn wires, often used as a thermal cutting device in mechanisms designed to fasten and release CubeSat deployables, are examined in the following thesis. Wires ranging from 0.125 inches to 2 inches long, and diameters of 30 Ga and 40 Ga, are investigated through analytical calculations and thermal simulations based on heat transfer due to joule heating, and through physical circuitry-based experiments. The temperature data is used to generate heating curves to predict the time it takes for Nichrome wires to fail under varying testing parameters. This research aims to catalog a series of …