Higher Education Commons^™

Ohiohealth Employer Services, John Groeber

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

Employer Services is one of the many divisions within OhioHealth. The division’s focus is to improve the health and wellness of different employers. This includes onsite clinics, health screenings, flu shots, fitness and nutrition programming, and tobacco cessation programs. OhioHealth offers biometric screenings to employers to determine how healthy employees are. The number of risk factors an employee determines their health insurance. OhioHealth’s 2 largest companies are Nationwide Children’s Hospital and OhioHealthy. Part of these biometric screenings includes screening for tobacco. These cotinine results are stored in a physical book that they bring to different biometric events. The majority of …

Oh, The Places You’Ll Go: A Journey Through Ohiohealth Home Care, Holly Williams

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

This project focuses on the OhioHealth Home Care Practicum with Heather McDavid the Director of Finance and Interim Director of HME (Home Medical Equipment). OhioHealth Home Care has five business lines. These include Home Health, HME, Palliative Care, Hospice, and IV infusion.

There are multiple Home Care locations that enable access to these resources. These locations include, The David P Blom Administrative Complex (The BAC), The Preserve, The HME Warehouse, Riverside Hospital, The Westerville Medical Campus, The Marion HME Offices, The Mansfield HME Offices, and The Dublin Methodist Hospital.

The purpose of this project is to understand processes and decision …

Groveport Recreation Center - "Freedom, Fun & Fitness", Matthew Wareti

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

The Groveport Recreation Center provides aquatics, a weight room with exercise equipment, two basketball courts, a fitness studio, a childcare area, senior center, a climbing wall, and an indoor track. Exercise classes, programs, and training sessions with personal trainers are available for members. People of all ages can find an activity that will benefit their mental and physical health.

Whether it be working with kids or adults, getting a group engaged and having fun during exercise is a large factor in getting maximum effort. Clear, open and honest communication between employees of the Recreation Center is essential to keep it …

Constraining Neutron Star Nuclear Equations Of State Based On Observational Data, Alexander Clevinger

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

This project analyzes recent observational data of neutron stars. It uses this to data to constrain nuclear equations of state proposed by Oter. et al. based on the maximum masses proposed by these equations of state. I do this by using numerical integration of the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkov equation to provide equilibrium states for each proposed EoS.

Leaping Streams: A Postmodern Epic And An Evaluation Of Becoming And Being, Allura Stevens

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Leaping Streams explores the ways in which an epic poem form can be revived and repurposed to subvert traditional vampire narratives and mythology. I have experimented with writing in the genre of epic poetry, and I will highlight an unnamed, ungendered vampire protagonist. In an attempt to stretch the boundaries of the classic epic, I strayed from the typical heroic journey plot in a way that the protagonist is unaware that they are on a quest to become a different version of themselves. I also subverted the traditional epic meter in favor of free verse. Similarly, through attempting to recreate …

Designing An Adjustable And Transportable Staircase, Allison Currey

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

People climb stairs every day, whether it is at work, a store, or at home; however, there are populations such as people who are elderly, with pathologies, with Parkinson’s disease, or have suffered from a stroke that see climbing the stairs as a challenging task and it decreases their mobility and quality of life. Factors such as muscle weakness, strategy, and balance have been previously investigated in these populations during stair climbing. However, few studies have researched how stair climb ability, balance, and perception of difficulty are influenced by step height. The objective of this thesis is to design a …

Environmental Factors' Effects On Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus Carolinensis) Infant Populations And Health, Jenny Mcfarland

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Ecosystem factors, both biotic and abiotic, impact all animal species. Temperature, rainfall, daylight, windspeed, mast production, competition and predation are integral to the ecosystem and thus affect the survival and overall wellbeing of the population. Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) infant intakes at Ohio Wildlife Center followed a pattern of more infants in the fall than in the spring, differing from the usual observation that more infants are born in the spring. Ecosystem factors were compared to monthly and annual intakes to see what influenced intake date, admittance condition and survivability rate of the Eastern gray squirrel infants. The results …

Antimicrobial Properties Of An Unknown Microorganism Isolated From The Local Environment, Danielle Duryea

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Bacterial species that cause disease can usually be combatted with antibiotics; but as the years pass, more and more bacterial pathogens are becoming resistant to these treatments. In fact, the Center for Disease Control has identified eighteen classes of bacteria ranging from urgent to concerning threats due antibiotic resistance (2019), warning the advance of an antibiotic resistance crisis in which untreatable bacterial infections will become a leading cause of death (Bennadi, 2014). The Small World Initiative is a program created in 2012 at Yale University to address the antibiotic crisis through a crowdsourcing effort where undergraduate students are encouraged to …

Probing The Function Of Perilipin 5b, Rebekah Dalton

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Many modern health issues arise from aberrant lipid metabolism, among these are type II diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. One commonality these diseases share is neutral lipid metabolism and storage. Regulation of neutral lipid metabolism is of vital importance in the body, and among the proteins responsible for such regulation are the perilipins. Perilipins are a family of five conserved proteins that are found on the surface of lipid storage droplets and play a central role in the regulation of cellular neutral lipid metabolism. Perilipin 5 specifically, is expressed in tissues with a high capacity for fatty acid oxidation …

News From The Graduate School - Education Spring 2020, Otterbein Office Of Graduate Programs

Graduate School

Newsletter that provides updates from the Graduate School and the Education Graduate Program.

News From The Graduate School - Nursing Spring 2020, Otterbein Office Of Graduate Programs

Graduate School

Newsletter that provides updates from the Graduate School and the Nursing Graduate Program.

News From The Graduate School - Allied Health Spring 2020, Otterbein Office Of Graduate Programs

Graduate School

Newsletter that provides updates from the Graduate School and the Allied Health Graduate Program.

News From The Graduate School - Educational Mathematics Spring 2020, Otterbein Office Of Graduate Programs

Graduate School

Newsletter that provides updates from the Graduate School and the Educational Mathematics Graduate Program.

News From The Graduate School - Masters Of Business Administration Spring 2020, Otterbein Office Of Graduate Programs

Graduate School

Newsletter that provides updates from the Graduate School and the MBA Graduate Program.

Graduate School News Highlights Spring 2020, Otterbein Office Of Graduate Programs

Graduate School

Newsletter that provides updates and highlights from the Graduate School at Otterbein University.

Faculty Achievements, April/May 2020, Otterbein University

Faculty Achievement Reports

No abstract provided.

The Howl - Spring 2020, Gwendolyn Derosa, Jerusa Cadorin Rovai, Andrea Pac, Kai Iwasaki, Tong Yu

The Howl

The Howl is a magazine that is planned, researched, written, photographed and designed by Otterbein University’s ESL and international students. The magazine serves to give them a safe space in which to use their voice to share their cultures, experiences and lives. If you are interested in submitting to the Howl, please e-mail your writing or photography to [email protected]. Enjoy Otterbein ESL’s contribution to the Otterbein community’s literary scene.

Scapular Stabilizer Muscle Force Output In Collegiate Softball Players Over The Course Of A Fall, Non-Traditional Season, Erin Taylor

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

There is a growing topic in research relating to softball and the injuries caused by the biomechanics of a windmill pitch. There have been articles released relating to stress caused by the windmill pitch compared to the stress of an overhead pitch in baseball. Many articles in the softball field also look at the biomechanics and hip strength of the windmill pitcher and how a decrease in hip strength can affect the biomechanics of the pitching motion. Despite having an increase in available softball articles, there have not been any studies conducted that focus solely on scapular stabilizer strength over …

Diversity Of The Major Histocompatibility Complex In African Penguins (Spheniscus Demersus) In Situ, Athena Schalk

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

The Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) is responsible for the immune response in all jawed vertebrates and protects individuals against a variety of pathogens and diseases. Maintaining genetic diversity within the MHC exons is critical to protecting endangered species. African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) are in danger of losing their MHC diversity in isolated populations due to reductions in population size associated with environmental changes and human activity. This study analyzes the diversity within the exons in the DNA encoding the MHC by amplifying the exons through polymerase chain reaction and identifying alleles through denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Wild populations of …

A Survey Of Patients With Congenital Orthopedic Conditions In Malawi: Factors That Influence Late Presentation, Brianna Wallis

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Staff at CURE International, a non-profit organization that provides orthopedic care in Malawi, noticed a high prevalence of patients with congenital orthopedic conditions who are presenting late for treatment. Late presentation results in prolonged pain or discomfort for the patient and has the potential for increased cost to the institution, longer duration of treatment, and decreased quality of outcomes. To identify the factors that influenced presentation delays, we surveyed the caregivers of patients with congenital conditions that were seen in out-patient clinics, in-patient wards, and mobile clinics across the country. Sixty-two caregivers were surveyed; forty-two patients had a diagnosis of …

Otterbein Towers Spring/Summer 2020, Otterbein Towers

Towers Magazine

Leading Through Crisis; Framing the Future: Otterbein's New Strategic Plan; Otterbein's Small Pieces of Armor; Highlighting the Helpers; A Different Viewpoint

A Reexamination Of The Freshwater Mussel Community Of The Little Miami River, Emily Davis

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Understanding the changes in biodiversity and local freshwater mussel populations is critical to mitigate the risks to these populations. Freshwater ecosystems continue to degrade rapidly. The freshwater mussel community of the Little Miami River is degraded and has been in decline for many years. The biodiversity contained within freshwater ecosystems is lost at unprecedented rates influenced by human activity. Freshwater mussels play a key role in understanding the effects of human activity on freshwater ecosystems as well as maintaining the health of freshwater habitats. However, they are also sensitive to changes and disturbances, in their ecosystems. This study involved monitoring …

The Effect Of Slow-Feeding Hay Nets On Post-Prandial Equine Salivary Cortisol Levels, Grace Simpson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Throughout its evolution, the Equus caballus, or horse, developed a physiological response to environmental alterations involving the synthesis and release of cortisol from the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, to regulate blood glucose levels, vascular tone and hormone release throughout the body (Ambrojo et al., 2018). With a hypothesis that changing a horse’s feeding method can alter salivary cortisol levels, the aim of this research project was to determine if feeding forage to horses in slow-feeding haynets would significantly reduce acute cortisol salivary level fluctuations, which would be valuable to minimize horses’ stress and increase overall welfare. Two feeding methods …

The Effect Of Hay Net Use On Cribbing Horses, Lauren Wesolowski

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Cribbing is a stereotypic behavior observed in horses, wherein the animal grasps a solid object with its front incisors and contracts its neck muscles to suck in air through its mouth, resulting in an audible grunt. Stereotypic behaviors such as cribbing are thought to be done in response to stress or insufficient stimulus in an animal’s living environment. Slow feeding hay nets can increase the amount of time horses spend eating daily hay rations. This research aims to use slow feeding hay nets to create a feeding process that is closer to natural grazing behavior and provide more stimulation for …

University Update- February 2020, Academic Affairs

University Updates & Communications from the University President

This is the Otterbein University monthly update to the faculty and staff from the university president. Within the letter, the president addresses relevant topics for the Otterbein community and gives updates on the budget, academic affairs, and student successes.

Faculty Achievements, February 2020, Otterbein University

Faculty Achievement Reports

No abstract provided.

February 2020 Board Of Trustees Meeting Report, Board Of Trustees

Board of Trustees

No abstract provided.

University Update - January 2020, Academic Affairs

University Updates & Communications from the University President

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Whole-Body Vibration On Thermographic Readings Of The Equine Back And Distal Forelimb, Megan Leclerc

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Modern horses are sophisticated athletes, which puts them at a high risk for injury. One therapy now being utilized is whole-body vibration. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of whole-body vibration on the distal forelimb and the back of the healthy horse using thermography.

Data were collected over a 30-day period. Test horses stood on the vibration plate (n=10) 3 days a week for 30-minute sessions with the plate vibrating at 30-40 Hz. The control horses (n=10) received no treatment during the study. Baseline thermographic images were taken for all horses, and post treatment images were …

Otterbein Towers Fall /Winter 2020, Otterbein Towers

Towers Magazine

No abstract provided.