Engineering Commons^™

The “East Side” Of Las Vegas: A Latinx Historical Framework, Nathalie Martinez

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

Spanish heritage speakers in the United States are a reflection of everchanging linguistic and sociolinguistic pressures that result in myriad varieties across generations. This paper provides a preliminary historical framework to fill this gap of linguistic knowledge in the Spanish-speaking community of Las Vegas, Nevada. The goals were two-fold: (1) highlight the largest Spanish-speaking communities in Las Vegas and (2) explore the significance of the East Side in the history of the Latinx population of Las Vegas. Through the analysis of oral histories and historical works, the investigation highlights the Mexican, Salvadoran, and Cuban populations of Las Vegas and their …

Qualitative Review Of Educational Interventions For Improving Physical Activity Behaviors In Older Asian Americans In The United States, Raisa Kabir, Manoj Sharma, Sayeda Tazim Zaidi, Chia-Liang Dai

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

Physical activity (PA) provides numerous health benefits and minimizes chronic diseases and mental health issues, especially in older adults. The national survey data indicated that only 27.3% to 44.3% of older adults meet the recommended PA guidelines of 150 to 300 minutes/ week. There is limited data on PA behavior among older Asian American (AA) adults as very few to no local/national surveys have targeted these marginalized subgroups. This comprehensive review aims to identify existing PA intervention strategies and to update current knowledge on the effectiveness of these interventions to improve PA behavior among aging AA in the US. The …

The Future Of The Live Entertainment Tax In Southern Nevada, Katie M. Gilbertson

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

The Live Entertainment Tax (LET) in Nevada generated nearly one billion dollars during the 2019-2020 fiscal year. LET revenue all goes to the State General Fund, even though 97 percent of LET revenue is generated in Clark County. Nevada is experiencing an economic crisis, particularly in the tourism industry. Solutions from various fields suggest the best way to boost the local economy is to reinvest revenue in its original county. One policy solution Nevada policymakers should consider is to carve out a percentage of revenue generated by the LET to return directly back to Clark County to revitalize tourism.

Diabetes Mellitus Affects Working Memory, Dylone C. Braganza, Emmanuel Flores, Lauren A. Crew, Ryan A. Wirt, Andrew A. Ortiz, Adam M. Mcneela, Jefferson W. Kinney, James M. Hyman

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) degrades the brain’s ability to remember, think, and carry out tasks. The exact cause is not known, but several risk factors have been identified, including diabetes mellitus (DM). DM causes elevated blood sugar levels due to reduced insulin production in the pancreas. The linkage between elevated glucose levels and the behavioral impairments are not fully understood, which was the focus of this study. Rats were trained to alternate directions in a maze to receive a reward on consecutive trials. After training, five rats were injected with streptozotocin (STZ), which induces hyperglycemia by injuring pancreatic beta cells. Three …

A Timeline Of Discovery And Current Research On Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma And Emergence Of Potentially Permanent Treatment Solutions, Yonosuke Dejesus, Guadalupe Moreno Ceballos

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

This research examines the timeline of the discovery and research of Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma (POAG). By reviewing the literature on genetic and molecular mechanisms, we aim to emphasize a long-term treatment solution (iSTENT) to mitigate intraocular pressure (IOP) related to POAG etiology and disease progression. POAG is a multifactorial, autosomal dominant, adult-onset eye disease wherein the optic nerve cells become damaged due to a buildup of excess aqueous humor, resulting in increased IOP. Consequently, POAG leads to progressive loss of peripheral vision and is the leading cause of blindness in the US. Due to the multifactorial nature of glaucoma’s inheritance …

Racial Profiling: Understanding The Practice Of Stop-And-Frisk In New York City, Lisa Ly

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

Racial profiling has become a prominent issue in modern policing today. Instead of being based on individual suspicion, racial profiling embodies a belief that people of color are continuously singled out by the police for scrutiny and harassment. Policies and procedures make the Black community vulnerable to police discrimination and racial profiling. Floyd et al. v. City of New York et al. (2013) declared that the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) practice of stop-and-frisk was racially profiling Black civilians. This study sought (1) to determine if the NYPD post-Floyd is still engaging in racial profiling towards Black civilians; and (2) …

Ronald E. Mcnair Scholars Program Profiles And Abstracts 2021, Mcnair Scholars Program

McNair Symposium

This is the complete event program and provides presentation abstracts and biographies of McNair scholars and their mentors.

Language As A Factor In Aviation Accidents And Serious Incidents: A Handbook For Accident Investigators Ed. 2, Elizabeth Mathews, Anthony T. Brickhouse, Joan Carson Ph.D., Enrique Valdes

Handbooks

The purpose of this handbook is to support accident investigators in the identification and consideration of possible language factors in aviation accidents and serious incidents. This handbook provides guidance, background information, and tools that will assist accident investigators in conducting a systematic review of possible language factors.

Rotten With Prediction, Serena Raquel Hicks

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This project focuses on the relationship between religion and technology as it is portrayed in Science Fiction (SF). This thesis explores the SF genre rhetorically by examining the 2002 movie Minority Report (MR), which signaled the importance of surveillance and the need to predict future crimes following 9/11. The events of 9/11 played a significant role in post 9/11 SF films, which reflect and critique our communal and cultural values. 9/11 created a new relationship between the U.S justice system, predictive technologies (PTs), and data gathering. Through the Bush Doctrine of “preemptive action,” the U.S government attempted to use Dataism, …

Designing Blended Experiences: Laugh Traders Design Fiction, Brian J. Okeefe

Frameless

The increasing ubiquity of interactions that involve complementary digital content, physical objects, and spaces, brings about new challenges for designers. There is a need to embed designs in legacy systems, whether those are existing physical structures or existing digital platforms. Traditional approaches to product design, interaction design, and user experience design often do not take this new context into account. Many systems do not consider how designers produce new digital and physical experiences that work harmoniously, while supporting new interactions and relationships with people (Imaz and Benyon 2007; Jetter, Geyer, Schwarz & Reiterer 2012). To address this, we propose the …

Stream Sediment Monitoring In Morehead Kentucky, Kristopher Krolikowski, Jen O'Keefe

2021 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Oral Presentations

Sediment loads in stream systems play a big role in how overall runoff behaves. Streams naturally transport sediment at various ratios depending on precipitation. When vegetation is removed in upstream environments, sediment loads on streams increase. Sudden increases of sediments in streams can cause many issues, such as flooding or stream re-direction. In Morehead, KY, large-scale logging operations on the ridge above Knapp Avenue and on the ridge above the north end of Allen Avenue have caused increased sediment load in a small stream called Oxley Branch. This stream flows south parallel to Knapp Avenue and along the eastern property …

Rattle Detection – An Automotive Case Study, Orla Hartley

International Conference on Lean Six Sigma

This case study showcases the use of statistical tools to develop an objective Squeak and Rattle (S&R) measurement and detection test for End Of Line (EOL) sign off in an automotive manufacturing environment. Audio Induced S&R is an unwanted vibration within the vehicle caused by the sound system, impacting on customer perception of vehicle quality. Testing for S&R in an automotive environment has a key challenge; how to robustly detect a rattle at the EOL and thus prevent plant escapes to the customer. The objective test developed used microphones and analysers in order to replace an e subjective listening test. …

Physically Based Rendering Techniques To Visualize Thin-Film Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Fluid Simulations, Aditya H. Prasad

Dartmouth College Undergraduate Theses

This thesis introduces a methodology and workflow I developed to visualize smoothed hydrodynamic particle based simulations for the research paper ’Thin-Film Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Fluid’ (2021), that I co-authored. I introduce a physically based rendering model which allows point cloud simulation data representing thin film fluids and bubbles to be rendered in a photorealistic manner. This includes simulating the optic phenomenon of thin-film interference and rendering the resulting iridescent patterns. The key to the model lies in the implementation of a physically based surface shader that accounts for the interference of infinitely many internally reflected rays in its bidirectional surface …

Eventhub Application: Sharing Medium For Popup Stores / Events, Coby Hong

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

Creation of Full Stack web application using technologies MongoDB backend, REST API services, and React.JS front end. Web application centered around providing a news feed for local businesses and popup events to post / share their listings on. Users can log on with their Google account to traverse the website.

Development Of A Low-Cost Hybrid Music Synthesizer, Spencer Rollins Drewry

Electrical Engineering

Until recently, affordable music equipment has always been seen as “budget”, providing a poor user experience. Inexpensive equipment was plagued with audible noise, signal integrity issues, and convoluted user interfaces. Companies like Teenage Engineering have proven that this does not have to be the case, in 2019 introducing their "Pocket Operator” series for $89. Due to the modern availability of low cost, high quality, consumer off the shelf [COTS] analog and digital components as well as creative engineering, the quality of inexpensive audio equipment has increased significantly. Despite these industry advances, the market is relatively small and shows a great …

Characterization Of Time-Variant And Time-Invariant Assessment Of Suicidality On Reddit Using C-Ssrs, Manas Gaur, Vamsi Aribandi, Amanuel Alambo, Ugur Kursuncu, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Jonathan Beich, Jyotishman Pathak, Amit Sheth

Publications

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S (1999-2019). However, predicting when someone will attempt suicide has been nearly impossible. In the modern world, many individuals suffering from mental illness seek emotional support and advice on well-known and easily-accessible social media platforms such as Reddit. While prior artificial intelligence research has demonstrated the ability to extract valuable information from social media on suicidal thoughts and behaviors, these efforts have not considered both severity and temporality of risk. The insights made possible by access to such data have enormous clinical potential - most dramatically envisioned as a trigger …

The Correlation Between Poverty, Water Quality, Community Health, And Education In Guatemala And Tanzania, Jessica R. Besnier

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

This paper explores the relationship between poverty, water quality, community health, and education in Tanzania and Guatemala. These metrics will allow for a thorough analysis of the relationships between the countries and will determine their impact on the other aspects in these two countries. While Guatemala and Tanzania are very different countries, they share many things in common such as inequalities among different groups, having many different groups of indigenous people, having most people living in rural areas, and are located on a coast. Also, they share similarities regarding poverty, water quality, community health, and education. By looking into these …

Pharyngeal Constriction As A Cause For Late Acquisition And Speech Sound Disorders Of Rhotic Sounds In English, Spanish, And French, Connor Mahon

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

This paper attempts to explain why rhotic sounds are cross-linguistically late developing among the sound inventory of children. Included is a summary of the current literature regarding classification of rhotic sounds, an examination of the articulatory movement of the tongue root, and an overview of the clinical implications on the field of speech-language pathology. The evidence presented supports the hypothesis that pharyngeal constriction is characteristic of rhotic sounds in many languages, and that it is related to the relative late acquisition and higher rate of speech sound disorders, as seen in English, Spanish, and French.

Rethink Everything 2: Markets, Globalization, Development, Nikhilesh Dholakia, Deniz Atik

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

No abstract provided.

The Health Benefits Of Video Games, Zachary Shanks

Emerging Writers

This paper seeks to evaluate if video games are useful as more than just entertainment.  The research shows that they can be utilized in the educational, medical, and business fields. Video Games have been shown to benefit the physical, emotional, and mental health of players, as well as create more efficient learning and working environments. The article argues that video games are no longer just a source of entertainment, as they are now becoming useful tools in society.

Uri And Its Students: A Contract For The Provision Of A Safe Environment, Danielle Joan Beatrice

Senior Honors Projects

DANIELLE BEATRICE (English; Philosophy; Business) URI and Its Students: A Contract for the Provision of a Safe Environment

Sponsor: Judith Swift (Communication Studies, Coastal Institute)

When students begin to attend college, they expect to be consumed with busy schedules, heavy workloads, and an exciting social life. Students do not anticipate being in dangerous situations. However, this does not mean that such situations do not occur. Therefore, it is essential to teach students to be active participants in educating themselves and their peers regarding prevention and response to emergency situations. My Honors Project aims to increase the awareness of safety-related issues …

Synthesizer Parameter Approximation By Deep Learning, Daniel Faronbi, Alisa Gilmore

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Synthesizers have been an essential tool for composers of any style of music including computer generated sound. They allow for an expansion in timbral variety to the orchestration of a piece of music or sound scape. Sound designers are trained to be able to recreate a timbre in their head using a synthesizer. This works well for simple sounds but becomes more difficult as the number of parameters required to produce a specific timbre increase. The goal of this research project is to formulate a method for synthesizers to approximate a timbre given an input audio sample using deep learning. …

2021- The Twenty-Fifth Annual Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the Twenty-fifth Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on April 29, 2021. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.

Mapping Renewal: How An Unexpected Interdisciplinary Collaboration Transformed A Digital Humanities Project, Elise Tanner, Geoffrey Joseph

Digital Initiatives Symposium

Funded by a National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Foundations Grant, the UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture’s “Mapping Renewal” pilot project focused on creating access to and providing spatial context to archival materials related to racial segregation and urban renewal in the city of Little Rock, Arkansas, from 1954-1989. An unplanned interdisciplinary collaboration with the UA Little Rock Arkansas Economic Development Institute (AEDI) has proven to be an invaluable partnership. One team member from each department will demonstrate the Mapping Renewal website and discuss how the collaborative process has changed and shaped …

Human-Machine Communication: Complete Volume. Volume 2

Human-Machine Communication

This is the complete volume of HMC Volume 2.

Social Robots As The Bride? Understanding The Construction Of Gender In A Japanese Social Robot Product, Jindong Liu

Human-Machine Communication

This study critically investigates the construction of gender on a Japanese hologram animestyle social robot Azuma Hikari. By applying a mixed method merging the visual semiotic method and heterogeneous engineering approach in software studies, the signs in Azuma Hikari’s anthropomorphized image and the interactivity enabled by the multimedia interface have been analyzed and discussed. The analysis revealed a stereotyped representation of a Japanese “ideal bride” who should be cute, sexy, comforting, good at housework, and subordinated to “Master”-like husband. Moreover, the device interface disciplines users to play the role of “wage earner” in the simulated marriage and reconstructs the gender …

Developing A Multimedia Interface For Electrical Biosignal Interpretation, Christopher Cox

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

In the last ten years, a great deal of interest has been generated around the practice of using plants’ electrical signals to create sound or music. In order to render biosignals capable of producing sound electronically, some kind of interface is necessary that converts a plant’s natural electrical signals into data that a computer can understand. Existing commercial interfaces cost at minimum $3001,2 . Worse yet, two popular off-the-shelf interfaces conform their output signals to stereotypical human notions of what a plant might “sound like”. In this project we fabricated a simple but high-performance interface for less than $5 in …

"Inclusive Inquiry." 14th Annual Research Week: Event Proceedings, University Of The Incarnate Word

Excellence Summit (Research Week) Archived Proceedings

Presentations of completed and ongoing research activity conducted by graduate and undergraduate students and faculty at University of the Incarnate Word. Coordinated and presented by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.

Murray And Burwell Family Collection, 1870-1951, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

A collection of correspondence, newspapers, photographs, and other writings related to the Murray-Burwell family in the early to mid-1900s.

David James Murray was born on October 19, 1873 in Pennsylvania and moved to Kansas when he was three years of age. In 1896 David married Mary Selvey (1878-1959) in Cherokee, Kansas. They would have five children. In 1902 their child Marguerite was born in Weir, Kansas. In Weir, David worked in the mines until 1930 when he transferred to the McNally plant in Pittsburg, Kansas. David passed away on December 12, 1943. Jack W. Burwell was born on July 25, …

Ceramic Studio Assistant, Allison Jones, Adam Yungbluth

2021 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Oral Presentations

The research project will focus on learning the various activities involved in running a college level Ceramics Studio. Activities will include clay mixing for Ceramics 1 courses, mixing studio glazes & slips, firing bisque, reduction, soda, & wood kiln, and other activities to improve the Ceramics Studio.