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2014

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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

The Impact Of Exogenous Macro Economic Events On Flyer Fund Stock And Sector Returns Apr 2014

The Impact Of Exogenous Macro Economic Events On Flyer Fund Stock And Sector Returns

Stander Symposium Projects

A number of academic studies have shown that markets can be "shocked" by macro economic events. A sudden rise in inflation, interest rates, oil prices, just to name a few, can have a material effect on stock prices. In the study we use Bloomberg's Market Factor Model to determine the impact on stock and sector returns for the U.D. Flyer Fund. The Market Factor Model can identify response functions i.e. Betas between S&P 500 stocks and an exogenous variable like interest rates. We will study the impact of rising market volatility (VIX), rising interest rates (10 Yr T-Note) and oil …


Unfamiliar Territory: A Phenomological Study Of International Students Enrolled In A Large Urban Community College Apr 2014

Unfamiliar Territory: A Phenomological Study Of International Students Enrolled In A Large Urban Community College

Stander Symposium Projects

International students are choosing community colleges for reasons of affordability, easy access, and as a good place to start their education, especially if English is their second language. There is a deficiency of research surrounding this student population despite an increase in enrollment. With little representation of the ICCS in current literature and with institutions recognizing their value more than ever, an understanding of their experience is needed. This qualitative study sought to explore and understand the shared experience of the international college student enrolled in a large Midwestern urban community college. The method of data collection included personal interviews …


A Social Justice Learning And Living Community Service Project Apr 2014

A Social Justice Learning And Living Community Service Project

Stander Symposium Projects

Through a Social Justice Living and Learning Community Project, researchers were given the opportunity to feed numerous families across the Dayton area. They worked with Food bank Inc. to help sort and repackage donated food to give to families in need. The Food bank provides food for approximately 70,000 different people annually.


Application Of A Cobalt Porphyrin And Catalyst In Microbial Fuel Cells Apr 2014

Application Of A Cobalt Porphyrin And Catalyst In Microbial Fuel Cells

Stander Symposium Projects

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a renewable energy device in which microorganisms consume organic matters to generate electricity. These devices have potential utility in wastewater treatment facilities to dually clean the water and generate part of the electricity needed for water treatment. The last decade has seen tremendous advancement in MFC technology, but many challenges remain, particularly with improving performance and efficiency of cathodes. The cathode reduces oxygen to water and traditionally has utilized precious metals as the primary catalytic compound. In these studies, the precious metal in the cathode has been replaced with alternative catalysts, cobalt porphyrins. Porphyrins …


Community Residential Energy Reduction Apr 2014

Community Residential Energy Reduction

Stander Symposium Projects

This research evaluates the effectiveness of residential energy reduction programs aimed at cost effective, collective action. One of these energy reduction programs is Dropoly.com, an online game developed by the University of Dayton that aims to connect neighbors and allow them to compete against one another. The guiding question behind the research addresses how to reduce energy consumption in a community. My research presumes that effective community engagement is a central factor in achieving success and evaluates a variety of energy reduction programs based on certain criteria. The chosen criteria assess the programs’ effectiveness by focusing on different means of …


Examining Acculturative Stressors Of The International Student: Following Study Abroad Students In South Korea And Morocco Apr 2014

Examining Acculturative Stressors Of The International Student: Following Study Abroad Students In South Korea And Morocco

Stander Symposium Projects

International students, particularly students studying abroad for a limited period of time, face certain challenges in entering and adjusting to a new cultural environment. This research focuses on different barriers to adjustment including language, differences in nonverbal communication, discrimination and academic pressure. By comparing and contrasting the perspectives of various students with the researcher’s experience, this research provides insight into the lived experience of international students and the researcher through on-site fieldwork and interviews conducted over a year on university campuses in South Korea and Morocco. It also discusses the results of the undertaken research and offers suggestions for resolving …


Gross Operating, Profit Momentum, And Stock Price Movement In The Cross Section Of Returns In A Short Term Analysis Apr 2014

Gross Operating, Profit Momentum, And Stock Price Movement In The Cross Section Of Returns In A Short Term Analysis

Stander Symposium Projects

A number of recent academic studies have concluded that gross operating profits are a useful predictor of stock price movement, when examined in the cross section of returns. In this study we focus on momentum shifts in gross operating profits in a recent earnings period: August 31, 2011 through August 31, 2013. 30 stocks similar to the UD Flyer Fund are used for the analysis. We calculate compound annual growth rates (CAGR) in gross operating profits for 4 and 8 quarter periods . The operating profit data comes from the Bloomberg Financial Database. Using cross sectional regression analysis, we regress …


Research Exercise: Method For Obtaining Germ-Free Drosophila Melanogaster: A Tool For Investigating The Role Gut Microbes Play In Human Disease Apr 2014

Research Exercise: Method For Obtaining Germ-Free Drosophila Melanogaster: A Tool For Investigating The Role Gut Microbes Play In Human Disease

Stander Symposium Projects

Drosophila melanogaster, or the fruit fly, is commonly used in labs because approximately 75% of human disease-causing genes are believed to have a functional homolog in the fly (Pandey 2011). This close genetic makeup as well as minimal expense makes Drosophila an ideal model to investigate potential effects of gut microbiota in human disease. Gut microbes have been known to influence the host of diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and kidney disease (Musso 2010). In this study, a protocol for generating GR (germ free) D. melanogaster flies was developed and verified. This technique is crucial to investigating the …


Research Exercise: Press Access To Information Regarding National Security And Law Enforcement Apr 2014

Research Exercise: Press Access To Information Regarding National Security And Law Enforcement

Stander Symposium Projects

Without access to information, the press cannot do its job serving the public. Although the First Amendment says that “no law” should abridge freedom of the press, government and institutions find ways to keep secret various matters of legitimate public concern. One paper explores how federal courts have interpreted the “national security” exception to the Freedom of Information Act. Another paper analyzes state open records laws and whether they apply to private universities’ police forces. Another paper looks at sealed documents, and how journalists can legally challenge those orders and get access.


Power In Numbers?: The Impact Of Female Formed Police Units Of Women's Empowerment Apr 2014

Power In Numbers?: The Impact Of Female Formed Police Units Of Women's Empowerment

Stander Symposium Projects

Advocates hailed the UN's deployment of female formed police units (FFPUs), or all-female units, in peacekeeping missions as a groundbreaking achievement for women's empowerment. Three FFPUs have been deployed to Liberia, Timor-Leste, and Haiti. Many supporters of FFPUs claim that female police are better peacekeepers, less prone to violence, better able to interact with local women, more concerned about sexual violence, and act as role models, challenge gender stereotypes, and encourage local women to participate in the security sector. However, little systematic research has been conducted to evaluate these claimed practical impacts of the units. This thesis evaluates the effects …


Wingtip Vortices From An Exergy Based Perspective Apr 2014

Wingtip Vortices From An Exergy Based Perspective

Stander Symposium Projects

The lens of exergy is used to investigate a wingtip vortex in the near wake over a range of angles of attack. Exergy is the measure of thermodynamically “available” energy as determined through the more discriminating second law of thermodynamics. Experiments were conducted in a water tunnel at ILR Aachen. The data was taken three chord lengths downstream in the Trefftz plane of an aspect ratio (AR) 5 Clark-Y wing with a square edged wingtip using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Intuitively, the minimum available energy state is expected to correspond to the maximum lift to drag ratio angle of attack. …


Research Exercise: Increasing Fafsa Completion Rates: A Look At The Ohio 8 Coalition Apr 2014

Research Exercise: Increasing Fafsa Completion Rates: A Look At The Ohio 8 Coalition

Stander Symposium Projects

Getting students ready to excel in higher education has been a topic dominated by conversations about raising academic rigor and standards. College readiness covers a scope of factors including content knowledge, academic skills, behavioral skills as well as “college knowledge”. College knowledge consists of the information that students need to navigate the complex processes of applying for college as well as financial aid. Many times, students have aspirations of enrolling in higher education but fail to complete essential tasks that make them eligible for college entrance. One of those key tasks is completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid …


Research Exercise: Research On The Approaches To School Safety Apr 2014

Research Exercise: Research On The Approaches To School Safety

Stander Symposium Projects

Standards for the teaching profession emphasize the importance of awareness, understanding, and integration into practice of current research in education.The purpose of this project is to discover different approaches to school safety.


Cost Optimization With Solar And Conventional Energy Production, Energy Storage, And Real Time Pricing Apr 2014

Cost Optimization With Solar And Conventional Energy Production, Energy Storage, And Real Time Pricing

Stander Symposium Projects

Research is presented that investigates the potential for solar power generation with battery energy storage for reducing the effective cost of energy delivered to residential customers if real time pricing is present. A linear optimization approach is developed based upon a two-step process. In step one, given a specified solar array area and battery capacity, the optimal means to meet loads based upon grid power, solar power, and/or battery power is determined. This analysis considers an expected lifespan of the solar panel. With these results established,in the next step, the capital costs for the solar arrays and batteries are considered …


Effect Of State Policy On Prison Apr 2014

Effect Of State Policy On Prison

Stander Symposium Projects

States often follow trends when enacting sentencing policy. After a trend of get tough on crime policy which placed more and more offenders in prison, many states are turning to justice reinvestment policies, a reversal of these tougher policies. If a state passes a justice reinvestment policy, there is expected to be a decrease in the prison population for the state. Data was collected for every state’s sentencing policy between 1979 and 2011, prison population between 1979 and 2011, as well as the crime rate for these years. Using statistics, it can be concluded that the presence of a justice …


Research Exercise: Of Object Saliency On Early Mathematics And Cognitive Skills Apr 2014

Research Exercise: Of Object Saliency On Early Mathematics And Cognitive Skills

Stander Symposium Projects

The primary focus of our study is to explore the relationship between a child’s early mathematics skills and related cognitive skills and the representational status of the tools used to aid learning in these areas. By focusing on children’s ability to perform based on the nature of the tools given to them, the findings of this study will hopefully lead to a better understanding of the types of objects or learning aids that are most conducive to student learning in early childhood classrooms. Our work is guided heavily by the theory of graded representations, which offers that higher object saliency …


Medical School Through A Learning Community Lens Apr 2014

Medical School Through A Learning Community Lens

Stander Symposium Projects

Long considered to be a fiercely competitive environment, many schools of medicine can be characterized as learning communities. A learning community involves a group of people who come together under established guidelines for the shared purpose of learning and a commitment to reflective practice that can ultimately bring personal transformation. Collaboration is the hallmark of learning in community and becomes the vehicle whereby knowledge is socially constructed through negotiation in community with peers. The collaborative approach to learning that historically has characterized medical student instruction at the bedside has been introduced into the classroom and laboratory, often under the moniker …


Photoreactions Of A Water Soluble Poly-Isoquinolpyrrole With Plasmid Dna Apr 2014

Photoreactions Of A Water Soluble Poly-Isoquinolpyrrole With Plasmid Dna

Stander Symposium Projects

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is a treatment method for a variety of ailments, including different cancers. It involves light activation of a molecule (photosensitizer) which then reacts with molecular oxygen to destroy tumor cells. Porphyrins are commonly used as photosensitizers due to their light absorption properties and their ability to concentrate in tumor cells but not healthy cells. Unfortunately, porphyrins suffer from poor excitation when irradiated with visible light in the photodynamic therapy window (600-800nm). The photodynamic window is optimal due to the depth of penetration the light reaches and the lack of absorption from naturally occurring compounds in the body. …


Controlling The Corrosion Of Metals With Polyphenolic Proteins Apr 2014

Controlling The Corrosion Of Metals With Polyphenolic Proteins

Stander Symposium Projects

Flash rusting is a corrosion process in which steel rapidly oxidizes upon contact with air at a high relative humidity. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop a water-soluble and environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitor that will inhibit flash rust on high strength steel (HY80). Several proteins involved in the formation of the adhesive byssal threads by the blue mussel Mytilus edulis L have been identified for their potential as corrosion inhibitors. The most important feature of these biomolecules for corrosion prevention applications is the presence of a post-translationally modified amino acid L-3, 4 dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa). L-dopa has a …


Discrimination Against Disabled Persons In Malawi And The United States: A Comparative Study Apr 2014

Discrimination Against Disabled Persons In Malawi And The United States: A Comparative Study

Stander Symposium Projects

In Malawi, Africa and in the United States, many disabled individuals experience hardships that are more severe than the general public. With regards to education, there is a lower school attendance rate among disabled individuals in each country. With regards to employment, both disabled Malawians and Americans experience lower employment rates and lower annual incomes. This study aimed to discern what factors contributed to these educational and employment deficits in both countries. Possible factors for the deficit may include a discriminatory attitude, a lack of resources available for accessibility, or the severity of the physical or cognitive limitation. A survey …


Design And Fabrication Of Composite I-Beams For Bending Load Applications Apr 2014

Design And Fabrication Of Composite I-Beams For Bending Load Applications

Stander Symposium Projects

Composite is a special type of material that combines the properties of two different constituents thereby, enhancing its mechanical properties. These constituents are generally a fiber and matrix. Fiber imparts stiffness and strength to the composite while the matrix holds the fiber in place, so that fiber property translation into composite properties is achieved. The objective of this poster is to establish a basic understanding of how to design and fabricate a composite I-beam i.e a carbon-fiber composite I-beam that can be used for bending load applications. It also focuses on the analysis of stresses in beam bending. By beam …


Earnings Momentum Shifts And Stock Price Movements For Flyer Fund Stocks Apr 2014

Earnings Momentum Shifts And Stock Price Movements For Flyer Fund Stocks

Stander Symposium Projects

Earnings momentum is often considered a key factor in stock price movements. In this study we look at changes in the compound quarterly growth rates over periods of four and eight quarters, and relate these to the price movements of 30 stocks from the Flyer Fund Portfolio. The period of an analyses covers two years from 8-31-11 to 8-31-13. Using cross sectional regression analyses, we identified the statistical relationship between sector price movements and variations in the compound manual growth rate in earnings period. We test the hypothesis that the slop coefficient of the univariate regressions are positive (i.e. b …


Do Stock Market Prices Co-Vary With Regional Manufacturing Activity: A Look At The Chicago Fed’S Manufacturing Activity Index Apr 2014

Do Stock Market Prices Co-Vary With Regional Manufacturing Activity: A Look At The Chicago Fed’S Manufacturing Activity Index

Stander Symposium Projects

A number of the Federal Reserve banks produce manufacturing activity indexes that measure the level and growth of manufacturing activity in their respective regions. The Chicago Federal Reserve’s Midwest Manufacturing index (CFMMI) is especially important because it captures a large portion of the activity in the auto industry. It also correlates well with the national manufacturing activity index. Finally because it is usually published before the Purchasing Managers’ report on future manufacturing activity, it can be considered a leading indicator. In this study we want to test the hypotheses that market and sector price indexes are positively related to the …


Evaluating Teacher Beliefs And Attitudes In High School Education Apr 2014

Evaluating Teacher Beliefs And Attitudes In High School Education

Stander Symposium Projects

Teachers are powerful agents of socialization to the students whom they instruct. Extensive research has been done on the impact of certain teaching styles, methods, and educational perspectives. However, lacking in many of these studies is the investigation of the relationship between a teacher’s educational beliefs and his or her personal beliefs, behaviors, and his or her ethical leanings. An evaluation of this relationship was undertaken through the use of survey research conducted in the Montgomery County Public School System of Ohio with full-time high school instructors. Schools from Montgomery Country Public Schools were selected using simple random sampling techniques. …


Research Exercise: Ethos Coconut Oil Extraction Optimization Apr 2014

Research Exercise: Ethos Coconut Oil Extraction Optimization

Stander Symposium Projects

This will explore the optimization of the virgin coconut oil production. This process will extend to oil extraction of other plants and the methods by which this is happening in cottage industries. This is pre-work for an upcoming ETHOS summer immersion in Dominica, West Indies.


Financial Market Conditions, Sector Price Movements: 2002-2012 Apr 2014

Financial Market Conditions, Sector Price Movements: 2002-2012

Stander Symposium Projects

In this study I want to examine the relationship between market financial conditions and sector prices. The basis for the study is the 2008 financial crisis that started in the housing sector and spread to the banking system, culminating in a bank bailout by the U.S government. At the same time, the stock market experienced a major downswing in 2008 running through the 1st quarter, 2009. I plan to use the Chicago Federal Reserve’s National Financial Conditions Index (NFCI) as a proxy for financial conditions in the U.S. economy. NFCI is a weighted average of 100 financial and economic indicators. …


Exploring Data-Driven Electricity Feedback On Energy Conservation Behavior In The University Of Dayton Student Neighborhood Apr 2014

Exploring Data-Driven Electricity Feedback On Energy Conservation Behavior In The University Of Dayton Student Neighborhood

Stander Symposium Projects

In general, homeowners do not have a concrete idea of how much energy their houses are using at any given moment. This energy “invisibility” is thought to be a barrier toward people adopting more sustainable behaviors. This study involves installing energy monitors in houses in the University of Dayton student neighborhood to analyze two important questions: whether the monitors teach students about the relationship between their activities and energy consumption, and whether the monitors influence students to adjust their household behaviors. Ideally, conclusions will be drawn from quantitative data collected from the monitors and the university’s energy provider as well …


Research Exercise: Identification Of English Language Learners As Gifted Students Apr 2014

Research Exercise: Identification Of English Language Learners As Gifted Students

Stander Symposium Projects

The United States educational system has faced several challenges and reforms regarding assessment and identification in the past fifty years which continue to change as the nation develops new goals and needs (Giuliani & Pierangelo 2012). In recent years, schools have included a large population of immigrant students from families with native languages other than English (Carter 2005). The need for educating students in English as a second language has led to new policies and programs developed specifically for ELL or English Language Learners (Elizalde-Utnick 2008). Another current topic of educational policy concerns the emphasis on assessment and high-stakes testing. …


Research Exercise: Google/Multi-National Corporations, International Surveillance, And Human Rights Apr 2014

Research Exercise: Google/Multi-National Corporations, International Surveillance, And Human Rights

Stander Symposium Projects

The many news reports on cyber security, identity theft, Wikileaks, and NSA intelligence gathering programs over the past few years have shown the international community that the World Wide Web is anything but a safe place to store sensitive information, or any information for that matter. This study will examine how closely multi-national corporations in the information technology sector, such as Google, are involved with national governments on these issues. The study will analyze events in the U.S. and China and attempt to uncover whether or not these have directly infringed upon peoples’ basic human rights.


Research Exercise: Human Rights Violations, Genocide, And Other Current Issues In Africa: Un Involvement Then And Now Apr 2014

Research Exercise: Human Rights Violations, Genocide, And Other Current Issues In Africa: Un Involvement Then And Now

Stander Symposium Projects

Throughout the last century, African nations have struggled to become fully independent and successful countries. Their development has been inhibited by the lack of democracy and governmental guidance within these nations. The United Nations has played an integral role in the development of these nations. This paper will take an in depth look at the actions of the UN in these situations and how they have changed or stayed the same over the past several decades. The paper will focus on two specific African nations that have struggled through human rights violations and genocide over the last twenty years. The …