Stander Symposium Projects

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  Utilizing GIS and Multi Variable Analysis to determine optimal wind farm site locations in Ohio

  Kyle Hrabak

  This project aims to determine the most optimal locations for the implementation of utility scale wind farms within the state of Ohio. The use of fossil fuels for electrical energy production is one of the world’s largest contributors to the growing atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, known for having long term impacts on climate. Developments and growth in the clean energy sector have offered alternatives to current dominant methods of energy production, with specific focus into wind powered electrical generators. Wind turbines are a carbon free source of energy, but are limited in use due to restrictions of needed wind energy. This form of energy is widely available in enough quantities across the Midwest region to be a viable source of electrical generation. As such this project aims to look at all variables that need to be taken into account to determine optimal sites for wind farms in the state of Ohio. Factors of consideration include wind energy, land cover, soil type, roughness of terrain, elevation, slope, orography, road access and environmental impacts. Data regarding all of these factors is collected and processed using a geographical information system, ESRI ArcGIS, creating a spatial representation of suitable areas for development. Within the GIS system, an analysis technique known as multi-variable analysis is conducted assigning weights to various factors and calculating an overall suitability score to be ranked and investigated as optimal sites. The finding of this report are to provide a starting point for clean energy implementation in the state of Ohio for which currently only has renewables accounting for 3% of the state’s energy production.

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  Validating the Location and Tracking of a Human’s Center of Mass Using a Statically Equivalent Serial Chain

  Luke Evan Schepers

  This project seeks to validate the use of a statically equivalent serial chain (SESC) in locating and tracking a human’s center of mass (CoM). The statically equivalent serial chain used in this project is comprised of 13 parameters, each roughly corresponding to a portion of the human body. Given these 13 parameters, the SESC points directly at a person’s CoM. Every individual has a unique set parameters to calculate their SESC. These parameters are determined by capturing poses and using the body segment length and position information, as well as the center of pressure reading, acquired from the different poses. A Wii Balance Board and Xbox Kinect were used in this study as inexpensive force plate and motion capture systems. There are other methods for calculating a person’s center of mass, but these require expensive equipment and more complex computational processes. The method proposed here is a low cost, fast, and easy way to accurately predict a person’s CoM. In order to determine the feasibility of the SESC model, subjects of varying body types were tested, and SESC predictions for the CoM were checked for both accuracy and repeatability. A minimum number of poses required to achieve an accurate CoM prediction was determined by figuring out where subject’ parameters converged, which increases time efficiency of the process. Additionally, it was found that the number of frames required to capture a pose could be decreased from 30 to 15 frames without sacrificing accuracy. This resulted in a total testing and setup time of 30 minutes per subject, opposed to one hour previously. Thus, validating the SESC method as a fast, easy, and fairly accurate solution for predicting a human’s CoM.

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  Variable Stiffness Series Elastic Actuator for Collaborative Robots

  Manoj Kumar Sharma

  Robotic manipulators with joints that are capable of precisely monitoring the instantaneous torque are currently being used in collaborative robots. These robots are safe to work alongside human beings, and execute tasks that rely on force control. A spring is placed in series inside a robotic joint actuator deflects as per the torque transfer; this information is then used by the controller to control the robot as needed. Based on this key idea, a new device is invented wherein the spring stiffness can be servo-controlled. An intelligent controls scheme is developed that helps to create a safe collaborative workspace.

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  Waiting and Service Time Optimization During Lunch at Milton-Union Elementary School Cafeteria, Dayton, OH

  Saud Abdulaziz M Alshaikh, Emma Raye Trappe

  Long waiting time by itself is a bad experience, but when you couple it with a limited available time to have lunch, that is a recipe for disaster. Milton-Union Elementary School found this out the hard way, as they were trying unsuccessfully to run their lunch process in a timely manner. Apparently, dealing with little, hesitant, uncertain kids about their meal choices, along with the constraint of time was a bit hard to intake by the teachers and lunch worker, ending up with kids being yelled at and continuous complaints by the teachers. There are high school and middle school students in the same building. They are using the same cafeteria for their lunch and they eat before the elementary school. The management stated that the only problem being encountered is with the elementary school students finishing their lunch effectively in a timely manner. There are 679 students in the elementary school distributed over 32 classes. Each class has 30 minutes for lunch followed by another 30 minutes for recess. To manage all schools lunch timing, all students at elementary school must finish their lunch within 90 minutes starting at 11:25 AM. Two lines are there to serve the students and all classes are scheduled to be released in batches with two classes per batch. Those batches are separated by 3-5 minutes as an effort to reduce the long-stacked waiting queue, which normally considered as part of that 30 minutes of lunch. Each lunch line has two servers and one cashier, except for line 2 where there is one more cashier for a limited time only (from 11:25 AM to 12:20 PM). Management believes that elementary students need at least 20 minutes to eat their lunch, otherwise they will consume less of their entrees, vegetables, and milk which means that the kids won’t meet their nutritional needs. Moreover, this often leads having an unsatisfied child for the rest of the day beside the posed long-term health risks to students. Unfortunately, management tried several improvement tactics to have the waiting and service time not exceeding 10 minutes with no success. As stated by the management, that time may exceed 15-20 minutes which is usually associated with teachers being tense and nervous beside having a chaotic environment. Other problems have been disclosed by the management as well. Dining space was one of those problems as there are not enough seats for all students. There are 16 handicap accessible seats that are currently not utilized at all. Too many choices for entrees was one of the problems as well. A third one was the layout of the cafeteria lines that could be improved. The objective of this research is to maintain the average time of waiting plus service to be equal to or less than 10 minutes by April 23rd, 2018. The research will consider the future growth as well of the elementary school to its recorded capacity.

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  Water: More Than Just a Life Source for Ethiopian Women and Children

  Alyssa Marie Miller

  Water is a basic human right that we, as Americans, tend to take for granted. Many of us do not know the full extent of how water is unequally distributed in some areas of the world, specifically in developing countries. The objective of my research is to examine the effect of the lack of clean water in sub-Saharan Africa in general and Ethiopia, specifically on women and children. Ironically, Ethiopia is considered as a water tower of Africa and a source of the Blue Nile River, but 32% of the population do not have access to clean water. Studies indicate that the unprecedented effect of climate change on hydrologic cycle will significantly affect the availability of water in the region. Per the Huffington Post, Ethiopian women and children in some rural areas walk up to four hours a day to fetch even non-sanitized water, which cause waterborne diseases that claim the lives of 500,000 children. This lack of access to clean drinking water has placed a burden on females and children and risk their safety by embarking on this long journey, which also loses their opportunity to attain an education. Here, I will gather data on distribution of water resources, population, socio-economic and public health from different sources (i.e, publisher articles and United Nation reports), and analyze the severity of the problem. Further, I will consider the potential effect of the country’s plans to build the “Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam” to improve the livelihood of women and children. Finally, I will observe if there are any policies considered being passed to improve water accessibility, which would impact women and children’s well-being and could lead to an education to better develop the nation.

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  Wearable Cardiac Monitoring

  Sarah V Miller

  Arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats, are a very common problem. In the United States alone, it is estimated that more than 850,000 people are hospitalized each year for arrhythmias. One of the most common arrhythmias is atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is a quivering heart beat that can lead to serious issues such as blood clots and strokes. There are several existing products, such as Fitbits and Apple Watches, that are working towards being able to detect and alert users of possible atrial fibrillation. This project looks into how to improve existing technology as well as how to modify it to detect other forms of arrhythmias.

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  Wetland Dynamics and Potential Applications within the Great Miami River Watershed to Address Elevated Levels of Agriculturally-Derived Nitrates

  Matt Stephen Jones, Alex R Paschal

  Changes in agricultural practices in the Mississippi River Basin, especially high-density row crop farming and increased fertilizer usage, affect the overall total of loose, agriculturally-derived nitrates that flow through defined watersheds. Wetlands, on this note, function as filters for such water-soluble compounds like nitrates through physical mechanisms (sorption, sedimentation, and volatilization), chemical mechanisms (transformation and precipitation), and the biological mechanism of plant uptake. Thus, wetland subsections serve a vital role in watershed dynamics by removing nitrates from the macroscopic fluid-flow through the system. However, in numerous watershed-scale studies, expected empirical effects of wetlands have not been numerically realized. This is potentially due to the destructive interference between the nitrate removal effects of wetlands and the nitrate additive effects of increased crop coverage in studied regions. Thus, a study was designed and executed to isolate the effects of each of these mechanisms and compare the effectiveness of wetlands with other nitrate removal techniques; resulting from this study, it was shown that, per unit area, wetlands are five times more efficient at reducing water-soluble nitrate concentrations than the most effective land-based nitrogen removal strategies. A similar study in the Great Miami River Watershed, where more than 40% of streams do not meet Ohio’s water quality standards, is vital to improve water quality and nutrient management and. Here we will use water quality data, land use and drainage maps to suggest potential wetland locations in the Great Miami River watershed that would alleviate the problem of elevated levels of agriculturally-derived nitrates within the region.

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  Wildfire-induced mass movement susceptibility of the coastal region of northern California.

  Amaris Rodgers

  The objective of this study is to identify areas susceptible to landslides caused by wildfire damage. Wildfires and mass movement are linked by a number of factors. Wildfires not only clear areas of trees and other vegetation, but the roots can be decomposed by the lack of certain nutrients that are practical for vegetation growth that were burned away. The soil also losses it strength and exposes readily erodible materials. The potential for erosion of the areas increases with these factors impaired. Data and other studies have shown that the physical and chemical changes to an area that has experienced a wildfire is at a higher risk for landslides even with average rainfall. The risk is greater in a watershed where large amount of precipitation drained into multiple outlets. The precipitation can greatly agitate the damaged land that is now looser and easier to saturate, causing it to flow. The last five summers California has experienced record-low rainfall and record-high temperature, with longer and more frequent wildfire, making it more susceptible to landslides. The goal of this project is to assess such landslide risk in Trinity Watershed in California because of its recent wildfires and its average to above average rainfall. The significance for this work is to have a better risk assessment to predict the occurrences and damages of this particular natural disaster.

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  Wingless, a mediator of crosstalk between Amyloid-beta 42 expressing and wild-type neurons in Alzheimer’s disease

  Ankita Sarkar

  Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a common form of dementia and an age related progressive neurodegenerative disorder, manifests as memory loss and reduced cognitive ability. One of the hallmarks of AD is formation of the Amyloid-beta 42 (hereafter Aβ42) plaques, which triggers oxidative stress due to aberrant signaling and finally results in the death of neurons. However, the exact mechanism causing cell death is still not well understood. We misexpressed high levels of human Aβ42 protein in the developing fly retina, which mimics AD like neuropathology. In a forward genetic screen, we identified members of highly conserved Wingless (Wg) signaling pathway as modifiers of the Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration. Misexpression of negative regulator of Wg like Shaggy kinase (sgg) or a dominant negative form of Drosophila T-cell factor (dTCFDN5) or blocking Wg transport specifically by downregulating Porcupine (using porcupineRNAi) rescued Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration by reducing the number of dying cells and restoring the axonal targeting from the retina to the brain. It is also known that Wg induces cell death in the early eye developmental stage of Drosophila. We therefore want to understand by what mechanism and in which cells the Wg signaling is triggering cell death, whether it’s the Aβ42 misexpressing cells or the neighboring wild type cells. In order to approach this question we have developed a two clone system in our lab to understand the crosstalk between the two cell populations, where we have shown that the wild type neighboring cells are undergoing cell death compared to the Aβ42 misexpressed cells.

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  Youth Sport Concussion Management

  Dell James Stover

  Concussions have become one of the most talked about health concerns at all levels of sport in the past several years. While much of the attention on this issue has been directed at the sport of football and the National Football League (NFL) in particular there has been growing awareness in the sport community that the risks of concussions extend to head injuries in all sports. Yet, in a report compiled by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies on concussions in youth sports, researchers argued that “…much remains unknown about the extent of concussions in youth; how to diagnose, manage, and prevent concussions; and the short- and long-term consequences of concussions as well as repetitive head impacts that do not result in concussion symptoms” (IOM Brief, 2013). Overall there has been an increase in the number of reported youth sport concussions over the last decade. “From 2001 to 2012, the rate of ED [emergency department] visits for sports and recreation-related injuries with a diagnosis or concussion or TBI [traumatic brain injury], alone or in combination with other injuries, more than doubled among children (age 19 or younger)” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). Some researchers surmise that this increase in concussion reporting may be the result of more education and greater awareness of the symptoms of concussion on the part of athletic trainers, athletes, parents, coaches and athletic administrators. The purpose/objectives of this study are: 1) to examine parent’s knowledge and attitudes toward youth sport concussions; 2) to examine youth sport coaches knowledge and attitudes toward youth sport concussions; 3) to compare and contrast the knowledge and attitudes of parents and youth soccer coaches; and, 4) to provide recommendations regarding parental and youth sport concussion management education.

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  3D Indoor Scene Reconstruction using RGB-D Sensor

  Ruixu Liu

  A new methodology for 3D scene reconstruction, which can support effective robotic sensing and navigation in an indoor environment with only a low-cost RGB-D sensor is presented in this research. The 3D scene model can be used for many applications such as virtual reality visualization and robot navigation. Motivated by these applications, our goal is to create a system that takes a sequence of RGB and depth images captured with a hand-held camera as input and produces a globally consistent 3D probabilistic occupancy map model as output. This research introduces a robust system that estimates camera position for multiple RGB video frames based on a key-frame selection strategy. In order to create the 3D scene in real time, a direct method to minimize the photometric error is utilized. The camera pose is tracked using the ray casting model which means we use a frame-to-model method instead of the frame-to-frame Iterative Closest Point (ICP) tracking. The point to plan ICP algorithm is used to establish geometric constraints between the point-cloud as they become aligned. To fill in the holes, the raw depth map is improved using a Truncated Signed Distance Function (TSDF) to voxelize the 3D space, accumulating the depth map from nearby frames using the camera poses obtained above. Finally, a high resolution efficient probabilistic 3D mapping framework based on octrees (Octomap) is used to store the wide range of indoor environments. The saved 3D occupancy map could help the robot to avoid obstacle and display the robot location in the 3D virtual scene in real time.

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  4 x 4 Matrix Method Simulations of Swinging Nematic Liquid Crystals

  Ighodalo U Idehenre

  We present the results of numerical simulations of swinging nematic liquid crystal (SNLC) systems using the 4 x 4 Berreman matrix method. SNLCs are a special class of cholesteric liquid crystals that periodically change handedness when propagating along the helical axis. Unlike standard cholesterics which can only reflect one circular polarization state allowing the other to pass, SNLCs are able to reflect both simultaneously. Our simulations explore the advantages and disadvantages of various periodic functions (sinusoidal, square wave, triangular, etc…), the influence of pitch and optical birefringence on the reflection central wavelength and bandwidth, as well as the overall impact incidence angle has on the reflection spectra.

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  A Biological Perspective: The Effects of Line Style on Arc Curvature Perception

  Thomas E Boggs

  The visual system often misperceives the curvature of arcs. The current study investigated the role the primary visual cortex (V1) and area V4 of the occipital lobe play in arc perception. Past research has demonstrated that the V4 response is responsible for curvature detection and perception. The V4 response is directly proportional to the amount of excitation of V1 simple cells. By manipulating the style of the line that the arc is drawn in (solid, dotted), fewer simple cells in V1 should be excited therefore causing a smaller response in the curvature detectors of V4. Male and female university students, in independent groups, adjusted the size of a circle to match the curvature of the arc in nine different trials of varying arc radius and arc length. Participants saw a solid line arc or a dotted arc. The dotted arc should appear to be less curved than the solid arc due to less excitation from the V1 simple cells. Preliminary results did not indicate a significant main effect of line style (solid, dotted). Preliminary results did indicate a significant effect of length, a significant effect of radius, and a significant radius with line style interaction. The preliminary results agree with past research by suggesting shorter arcs tend to be underestimated more than larger arcs. By determining how the amount of excitation of V1 simple cells are related to veridical curvature detection, we better understand how the brain processes curvature.

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  A Body Composition Analysis between First-year Students and Seniors in the Health and Sport Science Department.

  Adria L Butler, Samuel W Fadayel, Christine M Hannigan, Claire E Herdina

  The primary purpose of this effort was to compare body composition measurements between first-year students and seniors majoring in Health and Sports Science at the University of Dayton. A secondary aim was to consider if differences may be due to acquired knowledge, interest, and awareness in the Health and Sports Science Field. Data was collected from forty participants, all from the Health and Sport Science Department. Twenty senior students and twenty first year students were separated into equal male and female subgroups. All participants signed an Invitation to Participate document acknowledging willingness to volunteer. The following data was collected on all participants: anthropometrics including waist and hip circumferences, height and weight, and sex-specific 3-site skinfold body composition measurements. The skinfold measurements were used to estimate percent body fat, fat mass, and lean mass. Additionally, all participants completed a questionnaire examining their general knowledge of health and sport science related content. Data was analyzed using SPSS, and results and conclusions of this investigation will be presented via poster session at the Stander Symposium.

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  Additive Manufacturing Face-off

  Gonzalo Perez

  Commercial grade Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printers continue to provide industry access to high quality quick-turn plastic components at premium prices; however, lower cost consumer grade FDM printers and materials are becoming more mainstream for cost-effective end-use components. This has created a need for more data on expected part quality from consumer grade printers as compared to their industrial counter-parts.

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  A descriptive study of Ohio superintendents' views of the opioid epidemic, legal options and medical response in schools.

  Margaret E Wagner

  The opioid epidemic has reached all portions of society, including into the lives of youth. This is a descriptive study of the views of Ohio superintendents and other administrators. and their willingness to provide training of school staff to administer naloxone in drug induced overdoses on school property. The research explores variables of school district demographic classifications, as well as, education and drug related experience of school leaders. With other states,such as Massachusetts and West Virginia, serving as models of naloxone training into their school districts, it is imperative to start the research of perceptions of school leaders in implementing training programs for Ohio School Districts.

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  Adsorption of Bisphenol S (BPS) By Clay Minerals

  Keerthi Samineni

  Bisphenol S (BPS), 4,4’- sulphonyl diphenol, is an analog of bisphenol A, and a serious endocrine disrupting chemical that impacts the hypothalamic development in humans and animal lymphocyte proliferation. BPS is being used as an alternative to BPA in daily applications, and BPS production is expected to rise to 8.4 million tons by 2018. BPS is extensively used as a monomer in the production of epoxy resins, cyclic carbonates, as an electroplating solvent, and in everyday products like thermal paper, canned foods, and baby bottles. BPS was detected in human urine samples from seven countries, with the U.S. samples having the highest level of 0.299 ng BPS/mL urine. Wastewater biosolids from wastewater treatment plants are bisphenol sources. The biosolids can be applied to land. Thus, this research investigates BPS adsorption onto important soil components- clay minerals. Conducted in organic-free water, batch sorption studies investigated the sorption of 10 ppm BPS onto sterilized kaolinite and montmorillonite clay minerals. The studies were conducted in acid-washed, amber glass vials, with no headspace with 24 hours mixing in a rotary mixer. The following clay mineral:BPS ratios (mass in g/volume in mL) were investigated: 1:4, 1:5, 1:10 and 1:12. Using high-performance liquid chromatography to quantify BPS concentrations, the maximum BPS removals for kaolinite and montmorillonite were 8.5% and 48%, respectively. These percent removals corresponded to a 1:5 kaolinite:BPS ratio and a 1:10 montmorillonite:BPS ratio, indicating that BPS sorbs to montmorillonite more readily. Kaolinite had minimal BPS sorption. Ongoing studies will investigate the impact of relevant environmental conditions on BPS sorption.

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  A Group Comparison Study of Undergraduate Student-Related Indicators of Satisfactory Academic Progress at an Ohio Community College

  Matthew R Moore

  Each year, thousands of students at Ohio community colleges lose eligibility for federal financial aid due to their academic performance and not meeting the required GPA or minimum Pace of Completion standards required in the federally regulated Satisfactory Academic Progress policy. At community colleges, a great majority of students are receiving some type of federal financial aid and would not be able to enroll without the benefit of that aid. The purpose of this quantitative, group comparison study is to examine the difference between student categories related to student loan and grant eligibility, age, gender, and race in terms of two Satisfactory Academic Progress standards, GPA and Pace of Completion, among undergraduate students at an Ohio community college. This research study identifies specific predictors that lead to a student losing eligibility for federal financial aid that ultimately impacts the success and completion of these students by disrupting their pursuit of an undergraduate credential.

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  Aiscrima e Checchi: Italian American Dialect and Development in the New Milennium

  Elizabeth L Pedrotti

  My project explores the language usage and perceptions of Italian Americans in the Dayton area. I focus particularly on their use of words or phrases considered part of an Italian-American variety of English and the roles the Italian language plays in family and community life. I situate my research in current and past scholarship, looking toward Hermann Haller's 1981 study of Italian American language patterns and the Italian American word list compiled by A. Menarini in 1947. By combining personal interviews with Italian Americans living in the Dayton area today with more widespread conceptions of Italian American language and culture, I present an in-depth study within a niche of a larger community.

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  Aiscrima e Checchi: Italian American Dialect and Development in the New Milennium

  Elizabeth L Pedrotti

  My project explores the language usage and perceptions of Italian Americans in the Dayton area. I focus particularly on their use of words or phrases considered part of an Italian-American variety of English and the roles the Italian language plays in family and community life. I situate my research in current and past scholarship, looking toward Hermann Haller's 1981 study of Italian American language patterns and the Italian American word list compiled by A. Menarini in 1947. By combining personal interviews with Italian Americans living in the Dayton area today with more widespread conceptions of Italian American language and culture, I present an in-depth study within a niche of a larger community.

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  Alternative Teaching Styles Designed to Reach All Students

  Gabrielle M Eviston, Mary E Schultz, Kristen Travers

  As alternatives to traditional teaching styles, we will identify educational models designed to reach high needs students. Specifically, we will focus on how to assist unmotivated students and those living with a disability reach their full potential.

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  Amateurism and The NCAA: The Controversy (A Legal Review)

  Mitchell W Pollard

  There is rising concern that the concept of “amateurism” is limiting to student athletes who are governed by the NCAA. Amateurism is a complex subject, and is becoming more so with recent litigation (e.g. O’Bannon v NCAA, Bloom v NCAA) and events. This research is a review of what both sides, the NCAA and student- athletes, have argued “amateurism” means and the effect this conflict has on intellectual property law.

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  Ambiguous Pleasure(ers): Negotiating the Bodies of Falstaff and Moll

  Lauren A Van Atta

  The British Early Modern period was a time of shifting social ideologies, where class as well as gender were mapped onto bodies and embedded in the very material conditions of life. But class and gender were not discreet categories with dichotomous definitions like 'male' and 'female' or 'nobility' and 'peasant'. They had many inbetweens, and the theater was perhaps the most glaring inbetween of all. The theater necessarily complicates definitions and ways of viewing bodies as no body is what they seem. And at the heart of these ambiguous identies lay the fat body. It is consumptive, it is transgressive, and it is sterile. It, much like the theater it is reproduced on, contributes nothing to society of cultural or economic value. It only produces pleasure.

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  Am I Part of the Community? Perceived “Fit” of Non-Drinkers at the University of Dayton

  Alex McSwain

  Alcohol consumption is a lifestyle choice embraced by the majority of students on most college campuses. According to the Princeton Review (2016), the University of Dayton (UD) is the number two institution in the nation based on the amount of beer consumed by students. If alcohol consumption is such a key aspect of the student experience, this begs the question on how students who abstain from alcohol consumption perceive their sense of belonging on campus. By sampling a specific portion of the population at UD (undergraduate, White, domestic, full-time, residential, male students), the experiences of seven students were collected and analyzed through personal interviews. Themes were identified, looking at factors that contributed or detracted from the students’ sense of belonging on campus. One of the greatest contributing factors to these students sense of community and belonging came from their experience and involvement with campus ministry. Overall, most students expressed a satisfactory experience at UD although abstaining from alcohol consumption, at times, did make them feel out of place among their floor or residential community.

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  Analysis of Joint Leakage in Variable Geometry Die

  Sean M Conway

  This project presents a computational analysis of multiple joint types used in variable geometry dies that enable the extrusion of polymer plastic parts with a varying cross sectional area. Polymer extrusions account for nearly half of all manufactured plastic parts due to it being a high production and low cost process. Traditional polymer extrusion is limited to fixed dies that produce plastic products of continuous cross-sectional area defined by the die exit profile. A variable geometry die allows the cross-sectional area of the extruded polymer part to vary while being extruded. To allow for a change in shape, multiple links move around various joints. Clearances in the joints are required for the joints to properly function and to be able to properly manufactured the joints. These clearances create leakage paths for the melted polymer to escape through and potentially damage the quality of the plastic part. Computational fluid dynamics models have been constructed and used to assess the effect of the various clearance sizes on the leakage through the joints. The goal of this analysis is to optimize the clearance require in the geometry of the joints.