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  The Reduction of Stress in College Students Through Interactions with Pets

  Hanna Dwyer Stier

  This study focused on reduction of stress through different interactions between students and pets. Participants consisted of 31 females and 3 males from an Introduction to Psychology course. The amount of time participants interacted with the pet (5, 10, or 15 minutes) through activities such as feeding, talking, and playing served as predictors of stress reduction as measured with SVAS. The SVAS has participants indicate their current stress level before and after interacting with the pet by adjusting a marker between 0 (Not stressed at all) and 100 (The most stress imaginable). Post-intervention stress was subtracted from pre-intervention stress as an indicator of stress reduction. The results do not support the prediction that interacting with the pet through feeding reduces stress than interacting with the pet through talking which should reduce stress less than interacting with the pet through playing. Low statistical power due to a low sample size occurred as a limitation, leaving only a one in four chance for finding statistically significant results. For future research, the study can be conducted with a larger sample size. Keywords: interaction, stress

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  The Rise of Online Protesting Following The Killing of George Floyd: A Content Analysis of Tweets Relating to George Floyd and Police Brutality

  Caroline Rose Nevius

  The overall purpose of this study is to explore the emergence of online protesting relating to police brutality and the themes that develop through it. I am concentrating on the death of George Floyd and how that event of police brutality has affected social media users. The research is designed to analyze the content of various tweets taken from Twitter with the hashtag #GeorgeFloyd and examine different issues and trends that appear in these tweets. Tweets were gathered from the month of June 2020, a month after the killing of Floyd, and more tweets were gathered in the month of October 2020. Systematic sampling was used to collect the tweets and inductive coding was used to determine the themes that emerged. Results indicate that social media is an important platform for sharing news, online protesting, and using social media to pay tribute to victims of police violence. The study gives evidence on how influential hashtags can be for protesting as well as forming collective identities.

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  The Thermo-Optic Coefficient of Photo-thermo-refractive Glass for Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors

  Zayne Mitchell Parsons

  Photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass is used to fabricate volume Bragg gratings. The gratings are formed by exposing PTR glass to UV light interference patterns and then annealing the glass. This produces a grating by locally modulating the refractive index. The diffraction efficiency of these gratings is dependent on the refractive index modulation amplitude. We report the refractive indices of unprocessed and processed PTR glass at wavelengths from 0.4 to 4.6 microns and discuss their uses in specifying VBGs for laser beam combining.

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  The University of Dayton Mock Trial Program

  Thomas Joseph Fechalos, Nicholas Alexander Gregor, Claire A. Kelly, Chris Lanese, Arabella D. Loera, Edward S. Monohan, Fitzgerald Tioluwani Oladejo, Arianna Joi Pearson, Sydney R. Sparks

  The University of Dayton Mock Trial Program presents: The Estate of Genesis Petrillo v. Harper Martini. Come watch a live performance from our nationally ranked team and see what this program has to offer.

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  Those Who Make it Possible: Professional Office Personnel's Role On Campus

  Ann Donnelly Johnson, Tiernan Cottrell Lindy, John Edward Tachin

  The topic for this HRS200 course project is how human rights are displayed in workers associations. We are researching how administrative assistants, secretaries, and other University officials worked and spoke for certain implications they felt were valued and needed. Specifically, the University of Dayton formed an organization called Professional Office Personnel, or POP, to comply with the advocacy work. The oral presentation will display our findings through resources in HRS200 and the University Archive files. The content will involve Human Rights issues found in Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which set the foundation for workers’ rights. Number Four of the United Nations Secondary Global Goals, Quality Education, is also connected because the benefits requested by the POP positively impact the community. The research is important to the team, course, and community because we will achieve a better understanding of the role various staff members have in making the University of Dayton the place we love.

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  Those Who Make it Possible: Professional Office Personnel's Role On Campus

  Ann Donnelly Johnson, Tiernan Cottrell Lindy, John Edward Tachin

  The topic for this HRS200 course project is how human rights are displayed in workers associations. We are researching how administrative assistants, secretaries, and other University officials worked and spoke for certain implications they felt were valued and needed. Specifically, the University of Dayton formed an organization called Professional Office Personnel, or POP, to comply with the advocacy work. The oral presentation will display our findings through resources in HRS200 and the University Archive files. The content will involve Human Rights issues found in Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which set the foundation for workers’ rights. Number Four of the United Nations Secondary Global Goals, Quality Education, is also connected because the benefits requested by the POP positively impact the community. The research is important to the team, course, and community because we will achieve a better understanding of the role various staff members have in making the University of Dayton the place we love.

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  Three Conceptions of Dharma: Twentieth Century Buddhism through a Two Millennia Lens

  John Carter Herzog

  In the 20th Century West, counterculture movements across the United States embraced their Kantian duty to Enlightenment. They explored heterodox philosophies that represented rebellion and exploration, and they searched for meaning on the other side of the abyss between "East" and "West". This project examines the history of the Indian philosophy of dharma in three of its "schools": the Brahman scholars of Orthodox Hinduism, the philosophers of Buddhism, and the Western Practitioners of Buddhism in the 20th Century. Through comparative historiography and examination of primary texts, the project will attempt to illustrate the problematic adoption of Buddhism without full comprehension of its historical legacy.

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  Two Measures of Non-Planarity of Graphs

  Chucheng Yu

  This presentation is for a MTH 480 capstone project. We discuss the topic of planar graphs in the study of graph theory. A graph is a mathematical object consisting of two sets: a set of vertices and a set of edges, where an edge between two vertices depicts a relationship between those vertices. A planar graph can be drawn in the plane without edges crossing. For any given graph G, the crossing number is the minimum number of times edges in G cross each other, while the thickness number is the minimum number of planar subgraphs of G into which G can be decomposed. We will explore and compare these measures of non-planarity.

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  Uncovering the Role of the Central Nervous System in Salamander Regeneration

  Ben Klocke, Augustine J. Miller, Jason Andrew Tornes

  Limb loss is a significant and debilitating health issue, affecting almost 2 million citizens in the United States alone. Unlike humans, the axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum possesses the remarkable ability to regenerate entire limbs and organs following amputation. The nervous system is known to play a critical role in regeneration, as intact peripheral nerves are necessary for proper limb regeneration. However, the role of the brain in regulating this fascinating process is unknown. In order to uncover the role of the brain in limb regeneration, we have conducted a series of neurochemical studies using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), as well as a high-throughput proteomics analysis to identify the neuromolecular processes affected in the axolotl brain during the course of limb regeneration. Taken together, these experimental data will contribute to ongoing studies by our group aiming to uncover the neuromolecular mechanisms underlying the role of the brain in amphibian regeneration.

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  Underwater Document Recognition

  Jaimin Nitesh Shah

  In this project, we propose an Image Quality Assessment and Comparison metrics for Image denoising algorithms. It is well known that Image denoising plays a significant role in various Image related applications. Motivated by this, we attempt to develop Image quality assessment and comparison metrics specifically targeting image denoising algorithms. We have prepared a dataset containing images of text documents with appropriate noise specifically to meet the needs of this project. Images are denoised using different algorithms and then fed into an OCR engine to obtain text, we then compare it with text obtained using ground truth images which do not have any added noise to assess denoised image quality obtained using different algorithms Keywords—image denoising, image quality assessment (IQA), optical character recognition (OCR).

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  University Work: The Professional Office Personnel and What it Really Was

  Ian Neil Jespersen, Grace E. Karnatz, Georgia Anne Kircher, Isaac L. Troutman

  Under Goal 8 of the 17 UN Goals, which states a need for decent work and economic growth, and more specifically under section 8.5 of this goal, which states a need for full employment and equal pay for equal value, an organization at the University of Dayton known as Professional Office Personnel (POP) pursued equal pay between men and women based on equal pay for equal value of work. This project discusses the HRS200 Project and advocacy work that has been done close to home through workers associations. We are looking at how administrative assistants, technical staff and other staff advocated for their needs through POP. With a purpose of promoting, encouraging and maintaining the interest of university employees, POP helped advance the quality of work for a large population of the university’s employees. Our research focuses on POP and its operation on campus at the University of Dayton and how it helped improve the quality of life for employees on campus. The presentation will highlight research we have completed for HRS200 in the University Archive files, and will be presented in the form of poster format. The research we are conducting is important because POP helped ensure employment and equal pay for university employees, as per UN Goal 8.5, as well as helped promote training of campus employees for future development.

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  U.S. Catholic Church during the Mexican Revolution

  Caden P. Martin

  During the Mexican Revolution, specifically 1910-1937, the U.S. Catholic Church used various methods to try and help Mexican Catholics. One major way was attempting to influence U.S. Foreign policy through social pressure. The second method used was grass roots campaigns that raised money and organized protests. My research project will be studying the effects these actions had on the U.S. Government and in helping the Mexican Catholics.

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  Using Gene Expression Comparisons to Reveal the Role of Transcription Factors in the Development and Evolution of a Fruit Fly Trait

  Rachel A. Johnson

  The characteristics of animals develop by the use (expression) of hundreds or more genes. Each gene’s expression is reliant on its activation or repression at specific developmental stages and in particular cell types. For traits differing between males and females (dimorphic), some genes exhibit sex-specific expression. Proteins called transcription factors are responsible for patterned expression, as they can bind to specific DNA sequences nearby genes and from which activate or repress expression. My research studied male-specific pigmentation that evolved independently among fruit fly species from the Drosophila (D.) genus. The male-specific pigmentation of D. melanogaster is regulated by the female-specific expression of the Bab1 transcription factor. My research showed that Bab1 is expressed similarly in males and females from species that evolved dimorphic pigmentation independently from D. melanogaster. Hence, this similar dimorphic trait evolved regulation by unique transcription factors, showing how gene expression and trait evolution can have unique origins.

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  Virtual Me: Virtual Medication Evaluation Application

  Uday Aditya Kurapati

  There exist several health reminder applications in practice. In this project, we develop a smartphone application that interacts and reminds users of their routine via the avatar-based reminder system. In particular, the virtual avatar visualizes the user’s health condition. Our application reminds users to take medicine based on the scheduled time. The timely routine of the users in turn updates the virtual avatar. For the evaluation, we will test our system in the pool of actual users for their feedback.

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  Virtual Sears Recital Hall: Department of Music Showcase of Student Performance, Composition, and Research

  Bradley C. Cordonnier

  The Department of Music presents a variety of performances of solo, chamber music, and original compositions throughout the day on our department youtube channel: UD Department of Music. Please visit the page for a more detailed schedule of performances.

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  VR-Based Egocentric Vision Jenga Game Using Oculus Headset

  Shubham Shailesh Bojewar, Mohit Dilip Kumavat

  This research demonstrates the development of the game "JengaVR" using an Egocentric View (First-person vision). The paper's main idea was to promote VR technology in an innovative concept of creating a game in 3d Virtual Space and provide an immersive experience with human interaction. To Implement this game, we are using Unity3D, C#, and Oculus VR headset. Recently, virtual reality technology has advanced to the point that it has applications in entertainment, healthcare, education, civil engineering. Also, Mix reality is an amalgamation of Augmented reality and Virtual Reality. Furthermore, Virtual Reality is still emerging, and it has unaccountable possibilities.Keywords- Egocentric View; Virtual Reality; Unity3d; Oculus VR; Game Development

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  Watersheds in The Region of Columbus, Ohio Located Between Cowan Lake/Creek and East/Todd Fork

  Isaiah Matthew Beaver

  The purpose of this study is to analyze watershed locations in a region of Columbus, Ohio that is located between Cowan Creek and Todd Fork. Cowan Creek is an extension of Cowan Lake, and Todd Fork is an extension of East Fork. All four of these will be used in this study, as they share the same waterbeds, just with different names. This area will be analyzed using several hydrological analysis tools in ArcMaps. This analysis will give results that display each unique watershed area. The USDA describes a watershed area as “the perimeter of drainage areas formed by the terrain and other landscape characteristics” (USDA). Watershed areas drainage locations will be noted as locations that should be considered for detention ponds and/or green infrastructure (Stormwater Solutions).

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  Were the Protests in Vain? - A Quantitative Data Analysis of the Relationship Between Black and White Populations in the United States

  Anna Mumma

  Death by the hands of police and their use of lethal force has been a consistent headline in news across the country. With the Black Lives Matter movement and the cry for justice being heard both online and through protests, this exploratory research study seeks to find a relationship between race and the criminal justice system in the states where the largest Black Lives Matter (BLM) names arose during the summer of 2020. These states include Minnesota, Kentucky, Colorado, Georgia, Ohio, and Wisconsin. This research asks, “Are there racial disparities in incarceration rates and conviction rates in the states where the victims of police force—whose names were later echoed in Black Lives Matter protests—were killed?” Utilizing a dataset from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, state-level incarcerated information, and Census data, this quantitative analysis is conducted through a series of independent samples t-tests and chi-square analysis. Based on the p-value, this research seeks to discover if there is a significant relationship between race and incarceration rates. With a highly significant relationship found in each state (a p-value of less than 0.001), my research concludes that there is a 99.9% chance that the relationship between race and incarceration is not due to chance. Therefore, this study suggests there are external factors for high incarceration rates for Black people. While this research cannot determine exact causes, existing literature suggests that possible explanations could be related to implicit bias, militarization of police, and/or overuse of lethal force.

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  Women Participation in Development Across Bangladesh

  Anna J. De Cecco, Sophia E. Giles, Rhyan Pearson

  Based on the work and data gathered by Counterpart International, a development agency funded by USAID, this presentation examines how women’s participation in development projects in Bangladesh impact gender equality. This is part of a larger program Counterpart International has implemented since 2018, titled, ‘Promoting Advocacy and Rights’ (PAR) in collaboration with local NGOs. Anchored the in Gender/Women in Development (GID/WID) approach, PAR aims to deepen democratic values within civil society to improve public governance. We are specifically interested in understanding if the NGO is taking the necessary steps to include women participants in their meetings and seminars. One of the main goals of Counterpart’s project, through seminars and training events, is to close the gender gap in Bangladeshi communities to create a more inclusive and progressive society. Like many other patriarchal systems, men in Bangladesh are the powerholders in families, and women have to seek and receive permission from the men in the family in order to travel or take part in activities in Bangladesh. Given this context, Counterpart is working to help develop their society in order for women to have a more independent lifestyle. However, their research shows that women have rigorous domestic work schedules as they are in charge of all of the housework. It has been difficult for Counterpart to find inclusive times and locations as well as childcare for women to be involved. Our group aims to determine the methods Counterpart has used to reach out to women in their 6 cities of study and reduce the gender gap to ensure equal participation in their events. This is significant as these events are meant to empower women in order to create positive and lasting impacts.

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  “Women’s Suffrage for Whom?: How the 19th Amendment Failed to Secure the Right to Vote for Black Women and the Continued Efforts of Black Suffragists During the Roaring Twenties.”

  Megan Grace Brock

  With 2020 marking the 100 year centennial anniversary of Women's Suffrage in the United States, we are forced to ask ourselves, "What is it that we are truly celebrating?" The ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 has been revered for the past century as the year of American Women's Suffrage, but the harsh realities of racism and historic disenfranchisement meant that the freedoms guaranteed by the 19th Amendment were not equally extended to all women. Black Women’s struggle for the vote did not end with the passage of the 19th amendment, rather, the 1920s was a decade of both continued struggle and immense organization for Black Suffragists who were still fighting for the equal right to vote across the United States. Black Women's contributions in nearly all dominant historical movements and narratives have been historically overshadowed, misrepresented, minimized, and even omitted entirely. In an attempt to somewhat rectify this injustice, and rather than centering the focus on the factors that continued to restrict the equal access of Black Women to the ballot, this research will focus on the voices, demands, writings, and perspectives of Black Suffragists who lived, worked and dedicated themselves to the continued fight for Black Women's Suffrage during the 1920s. Focusing specifically on what Black Suffragists had to say, how they felt, their demands for change and progress, and the various ways Black Women organized for a cause that was for the first time inherently on behalf of the voting rights of Black Women is imperative to producing more holistic and accurate histories.