Stander Symposium Projects

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  Creating an Effective Learning Environment and Engaging Classroom Experience

  Terese M Dattilo, Makenna M Kaniewski, Danielle R Villhard

  There are a myriad of different factors in the classroom that impact a student’s learning experience. We will explore these factors as they relate to the physical classroom environment, instructional methods, and school uniforms.

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  CRISPR CREam for Fruit Flies: Developing a Genome-Editing Approach to Study the Cis-regulatory Elements that Control the Activities of Genes

  Alexandra M Hallagan

  Animal genomes possess over ten thousand genes and the number of cis-regulatory elements (CREs) controlling their utilization is perhaps ten times as numerous. Moreover, animal diversity has been prominently shaped by changes in these CREs. Thus, understanding the function of CREs and their evolutionary modification is necessary to grasp how animals develop and evolve. An ideal genetic approach to study CREs is to remove and then replace them with a variant CRE to see how development changes. However, a feasible method does not exist to study the numerous CREs and their variant forms. My thesis sought to develop an approach to delete CREs from a fruit fly genome and subsequently replace them with variant forms by combining the CRISPR/Cas9 system with recombination mediated cassette exchange. Success here should provide a powerful genetic capability for future research in various species and perhaps inspire ways to treatment human genetic disorders.

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  Crystalline Quality and Surface Roughness Optimization of Hetero-Epitaxial Titanium Nitride on Sapphire

  Hadley Anna Smith

  In this project we optimized the growth of hetero-epitaxial titanium nitride (TiN) on sapphire using controllably unbalanced reactive magnetron sputtering. TiN is a mechanically-robust, high-temperature stable metallic material; these properties make TiN a material of interest for robust electrodes and resilient plasmonics. We adjusted deposition parameters such as external coil current, temperature, nitrogen/argon ratio, growth time and magnetron power to optimize the crystalline quality and surface morphology of TiN. Post-growth, we measured crystallinity using X-ray diffraction, and surface morphology using atomic force microscopy. X-ray diffraction showed a single TiN peak with pendellösung fringes; from these fringes we obtained a film thickness of ~50 nm. Atomic force microscopy showed a surface roughness of ~168 pm. Based on this characterization, we determined that the deposition parameters outlined in this presentation yielded (111)-oriented epitaxial TiN with minimal surface roughness. This optimization is a crucial first step in maximizing TiN’s usefulness in the above mentioned applications.

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  Cutting through “concrete”: the fatclaw crayfish as an ecosystem engineer of prairies.

  Shania E Hurst, Zachary T Osborne, Ryan W Reihart

  Texas fatclaw crayfish dig from the groundwater up to the surface creating chimneys that the crayfish use for shelter and feeding aboveground. Little is known, however, about how these chimneys affect coastal tallgrass prairie ecosystems. We are trying to determine what determines the abundance of crayfish chimneys, and if these crayfish are ecosystem engineers that change the ways in which these ecosystems function by changing soil characteristics. How they affect the soil could determine what plants will be able to grow in the prairie. We used an existing experiment that is manipulating nutrients to determine the factors that affect the abundance of chimneys in a prairie. To estimate the amount and characteristics of the soil the crayfish were moving, we collected the chimneys themselves (n=8). Additionally, we took soil core samples from the base of the chimney, 25 cm from the chimney, and 75 cm from the chimney. Plant root simulating probes were used to measure soil plant-available nutrients. Chimneys are abundant on the prairie (1.75 per m2), and macro- and micronutrients were detrimental to chimney abundance. The soil that these crayfish are bringing up is very high in clay content that hardens to a cement of sorts. This clay is incredibly absorbent. The soil is high in sulfur, which is usually only found in places low in oxygen and could affect the surrounding plant life. Because these crayfish have a large effect in soil properties, we believe they are an ecosystem engineer in the prairies. These results highlight a need to consider crayfish presence when trying to restore a prairie.

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  Data-Based Approach for Most Cost Effective Residential Energy Reduction

  Badr Al Tarhuni, Adel Ali Mohamed Naji

  Many U.S. utilities incentivize residential energy reduction through rebates, often in response to state mandates relative to energy reduction or from a desire to reduce demand in order to mitigate the need to grow generating assets or simply from a desire to provide service to customers. The assumption built into incentive programs is that the least efficient of residences will more likely take advantage of the rebates. This isn’t however always the case. The objective of this study is to show the potential for prioritized incentivization, e.g., incentivization that delivers the greatest energy savings per investment. The key question addressed in this research is “How can energy reduction measures be prioritized among all possible measures for all residences in an entire customer base to yield the greatest savings per investment?” A data based approach leveraging knowable or potentially knowable building characteristics (wall, ceiling, and window R-values, heating and water heating system efficiencies, floor area, window area) and energy characteristics (annual weather normalized heating and water heating energy consumption) is used to estimate natural gas savings from the most important measures for all houses within a utility district. This approach relies upon the establishment of a single data-based model to accurately predict energy consumption of the collective grouping of houses. Using this model energy savings and costs from all possible measures can be predicted. This approach enables the possibility of sequential adoption of the most cost effective energy measures. The specific case considered addresses hundreds of student residences owned a university in the U.S. Midwest. The results show that an energy (carbon) reduction of 36% can be achieved with this methodology at a levelized cost of less than $14/mmBTU.

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  Dayton Athletic Department: Creative Services Project

  Kathryn A Hanrahan

  During my role as the Athletic Department’s Creative Services Intern, I worked along side the Assistant Creative Director. I helped the Assistant Creative Director specifically with Graphic Design for Dayton’s Winter and Spring sports teams. I assisted with the creation of print and digital collateral utilizing InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. I helped creating marketing fliers, game programs, and game day video board graphics. I also helped design for social media accounts including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This work exhibits what I accomplished the past several months.

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  Deep Learning for Big Data Analytics in High-Performance Computing Environments

  Md. Zahangir Alom

  Deep Learning (DL) has been showing huge success for analysis the big data problem. However, this large scale implementation of deep learning algorithms for Big Data analytics requires huge computing resources, leading to a high power requirement and communication overhead. Recently, IBM has developed a new non von Neumann architecture called TrueNorth Cognitive System which allows for a new direction of research of in the neuromorphic computing. We have implemented deep learning approach with different optimizer on the IBM’s TrueNorth system using Caffe, Tea and Corelet Programming Environment (CPE-2.1) which is experimented on MNIST dataset. The experimental results are analyzed for different optimization functions. In addition, we also implemented Intrusion detection for cyber security which being considered another big data problem. The experimental results show promising recognition accuracy for anomaly detection and classification.

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  Design and Protocol for the Utilization and Setup of a Low-Cost Slip Trainer for Fall Prevention

  Stephen T Mcfadden

  Recently, the idea of a “fall vaccine” has been studied as a way to proactively rehabilitate and possibly prevent falls for older adults. Previous work has shown that the effects created by a slip trainer, which is a device designed to recreate a falling situation safely in order to train a patient’s reflexes, carried over for more than a year, leading to a reduction in falls. However, the facilities to perform this kind of training are only accessible in certain labs and the equipment therein is also extremely expensive, so not many doctor’s offices or local therapy centers could afford to purchase such devices. There is therefore a need to design a reduced cost and more accessible slip trainer which functions analogously to the current lab setups. Mass Rehab Inc. has already developed a prototype of a manual slip trainer. Considering the manual nature of this prototype, the consistency and assessment capabilities of that slip trainer are limited. In addition, an effective slip trainer needs to have the capability to provide a consistent and repeatable slip depending on the heights, weights, and abilities of the patient. The objective of this study is to modify this existing slip trainer into a low tech, mechanically controlled device which allows for repeatable slips and reliable assessment of a patient’s abilities. Other aspects of our research are to gain an understanding of the relationship between the magnitude of the slip and the weight on the board to maximize the effectiveness of the slip trainer, to define an acceleration threshold for a reactive step, and to study the recovery strategies we might observe patients utilizing in reaction to a sudden slip.

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  Design and Prototyping of a Shape-changing Rigid-body Human Foot in Gait

  Tanner Nicholas Rolfe

  This project focuses on the design and prototyping of a practical, multi-segment rigid body foot mechanism capable of matching the dynamic change in profile of a human foot throughout multiple stages of gait. Dynamic models of the human foot often replicate the physiological change in shape of the foot during gait using compliant mechanisms. While rigid body foot models exist, these models are often simplified as single-segment bodies incapable of accurately representing the geometry and kinematics of the human foot. Multi-segment rigid body systems offer certain advantages over compliant systems which may be desirable in the design of ankle-foot devices, including the ability to withstand greater loading, the ability to achieve more drastic shape change, and the ability to be synthesized from the kinematics, allowing for realistic functionality without consideration of the complex internal kinetics of the human foot.

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  Design of an Opposed-piston, Opposed-stroke Diesel Engine for Utility Aircraft

  Luke S Kozal

  An opposed piston, opposed stroke is a unique diesel engine design as each cylinder contains two pistons which means that the combustion chamber is captured between the two pistons as they move towards each other. In this thesis project, an opposed piston, opposed stroke diesel engine was designed for use in utility aircraft. Utility aircraft are used for commercial purposes with a maximum takeoff weight of 12,500 lbs and commonly powered by gas turbine engines that drives a propeller. Compared to the turboprop alternative, opposed piston diesel engines offer a greater power density, weight reduction, and increases in fuel, thermal, and combustion efficiencies. In conjunction with the Foundation for Applied Aviation Technology, specifications for the engine have been prepared, including a required 800 hp at takeoff. As part of the research project, an analytical simulation model was formulated to determine the appropriate physical dimensions and a virtual prototype was produced.

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  Determining the structure of the Deinococcus radiodurans nucleoid-associated protein DR0199 by X-ray crystallography

  Meggan A Bridgett

  Nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs) are important for binding, compacting, and organizing bacterial DNA housed in the nucleoid. These proteins are present in numerous bacterial organisms including Deinococcus radiodurans. This organism is closely studied for its unique ability to survive after exposure to DNA damaging conditions. It is believed that NAPs are an important component in the ability to repair DNA after it has been damaged. This study focused on determining the structure of the NAP DR0199 found in Deinococcus radiodurans through protein overexpression, purification, crystallization, and X-ray crystallography. DR0199 crystals achieved successful growth, however the highest resolution of the X-ray crystallography data was 4 Å which was not a high enough resolution for a probable structure to be determined. This study further examined the relationship between the DR0199 NAP and other proteins expressed in the Deinococcus radiodurans organism. Deinococcus radiodurans cultures were exposed to DNA stressing conditions to encourage expression of proteins most likely to function with DR0199. The cells were then lysed and run through a column containing the DR0199 protein, so that proteins whose function allows them to physically interact with DR0199 would bind to the DR0199 protein in the column. Bound proteins were eluted and analyzed by SDS-PAGE.

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  Development of an Evidence-Based Strength Training Program for Individuals with Dementia Participating in Adult Day Services

  Jaclyn H Franz

  Falling and loss of mobility present serious risks for elderly adults, especially those with cognitive impairments such as dementia. These risks have been shown to be significantly reduced when elderly adults participate in exercises focusing on strength and balance of sufficient intensity. Despite these potential benefits, many adult day programs do not incorporate exercise in a systematic and progressive fashion to achieve desirable improvements in function. The purpose of this project was to develop an evidence-based exercise program, later titled Simply Strong, for reducing fall risk and improving mobility in elderly adults with dementia participating in Goodwill Easter Seals adult day services. An extensive literature review of current research into the implementation and resulting outcomes of exercise for older adults with dementia was conducted. A supplementary survey of Goodwill Easter Seals program managers regarding barriers and needs was conducted. Barriers to providing such a program were identified through the survey and addressed in the creation of the program so that this program, Simply Strong, and other programs of a similar nature, have an increased likelihood of being utilized long-term. Based on the current literature, an evidence-based training program, titled Simply Strong, was developed to meet the needs of older adults with dementia and through the results of the staff survey was specifically tailored for individuals with dementia at Goodwill Easter Seals Adult Day Service. Staff members of Goodwill Easter Seals were instructed in providing the program so that the program remained self-sustaining after the conclusion of this project. Additionally, a training manual, an accompanying video, and an equipment cart to assist in the implementation of the program was fabricated and then donated to one Goodwill Easter Seals location.

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  Drought Assessment of California Using ArcGIS and Remote Sensing

  David J Binger

  The objective of this study is to assess the severity of drought in California through multiple techniques using ArcGIS. We first collect precipitation data for the period 2011 to 2017 from weather stations in California, and calculate the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) to determine the drought level. Second, we select several vegetation rich sites and compare the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from 2011 – 2017 to establish the interannual variations of green vegetation. Lastly we examine annual changes in lake surface area by manual digitization of remote sensing images. NDVI and SPI analysis showed California transition from slight, to moderate, and to severe drought conditions. NDVI decreased by more than 20% in certain areas, and lakes and reservoirs saw significant surface area reduction due to a lack of precipitation to recharge lake levels. However, 2017 has seen a large increase in precipitation, leading to the reversal of drought condition, but also regional flooding.

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  Ecdysone (Ec) signaling pathway activation can block Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration

  Neha Gogia, Lydia C Payton, Matthew Richard Riccetti, Ankita Sarkar

  Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative condition that affects nearly 44 million people worldwide with no proper early detection methods or cures to date, but promising molecular genetic evidence is arising from studying the development of nervous tissue in model organisms like Drosophila melanogaster. In order to better understand the mechanism, we misexpressed human Aβ42, the causal pathological agent of AD, in the eye of Drosophila. This stable transgenic line results in GMR-GAL4 driven UAS-amyloid-beta (GMR>Aβ42) mediated cell death in the eyes of nearly 100% flies at 29°C. We identified the Ecdysone signaling pathway as a modifier of Aβ42-mediated neurodegeneration. The Ecdysone (Ecd) signaling pathway has been shown to modulate Hippo transcriptional activity in imaginal disc cells. The Ecd coactivator Taiman (Tai) forms a unique transcriptional complex with the Hippo transcription factor Yki, altering expression of canonical Hippo targets and inducing transcription of germline stem cell factors in regions that have already differentiated. We proposed to a) Investigate if the Ecd pathway can trigger cell proliferation machinery through induction of stem cell factors, and b) to investigate if the Ecd pathway can block cell death machinery. Our data suggests that upregulation of the Yki-Tai transcription complex constituents does not induce germ cell-like growth in the GMR domain as is typically seen in Yki hyperactivity, but reduces apoptotic-mediated cell death. We found that Taiman upregulation leads to increased expression of canonical Hippo target Diap1, which subsequently blocks activity of the pro-apoptotic proteins Hid and Caspase-3, rescuing Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration in our Drosophila eye model. Ecdysone and Hippo signaling pathways have not previously been identified as modifiers of neurodegeneration; our results show that activation of this unique Ecd/Hippo transcriptional program has significant bearings on disease pathology and may serve as a novel protein interaction network for AD therapeutics in the future.

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  Effectiveness of Antimicrobial Dark Therapy Utilizing Porphyrins Against Infections Caused by the Model Organism Mycobacterium smegmatis

  Marissa Christine Jama

  Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (PDT) utilizing porphyrins has emerged as a possible ancillary treatment against antibiotic resistant bacteria. Porphyrins, such a novel zinc containing porphyrin designated ZnP, create reactive oxygen species that are toxic to bacterial cells utilizing light by a mechanism that is not yet fully understood. Previous experiments have shown ZnP to be able to kill microorganisms in the dark which is unique to few porphyrins. The aim of this research is to understand the effect ZnP has on Mycobacterium smegmatis, a model organism for the pathogenic bacterium Mycobacterium tuburculosis which causes the lung infection tuberculosis. Further experimentation includes understanding the effects of ZnP on M. smegmatis biofilm formation and disruption as well as antibiotic uptake in formerly antibiotic resistant cells.

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  Effects of Playing Computerized versus Tactile Learning Games on Preschoolers’ Attention Skills and Comprehension: A Pilot Study

  Samantha A Malick

  The ability to attend to relevant information and resist attention to distractors is important for children’s cognitive development. Much has been written in the news about the impact of electronic media on children’s development of attention skills, but little research has been done explicitly comparing children’s attention to relevant information and resistance to distractions across activities that are presented as either a computerized or tactile learning game. The goal of this study is to compare levels of attention and distraction among preschool-aged children while they engage in a common childhood activity, playing a board game which has shown to be helpful in teaching children about the number line, which is either presented in a computerized or tactile format. Also, comparing children’s basic comprehension of the game across conditions will provide information on whether tactile or computerized games are more beneficial for children to get the most out of the task. Previous research is mixed on the potential benefits of computerized activities compared to tactile versions. I hypothesized that while children’s visual attention may be greater while playing the computerized game, the use of tactile pieces and the tactile game itself may serve as an interactive way to boost comprehension. I hypothesized that children will have greater comprehension of the game when it is a tactile board game. I observed a sample of 12 children and their parents playing either the computerized or tactile version of Linear Numbers Board Game (Seglar & Ramani, 2009). Children’s attention, distraction, and understanding was coded to determine how computerized and tactile games affect these skills.

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  Effects of Turbulence Induction in a Trapped Vortex on Wood Combustion Performance

  Sari Mira

  Wood is one of the most used biomass energy resource in the world. Yet, wood combustion remains highly unoptimized due to the inherent complexity of the process. The wood combustion process is multidimensional and multiphase, leading to large uncertainties. In addition, wood combustion is not a “clean” process; CO, CO2, particulate matter, and other emissions are formed during the wood combustion process as a result of deficient and copious mixing. Thus, a variety of experiments characterizing the performance and speciation of wood combustion using various physical and geometric configurations have been taking place. The goal of these experiments is to study the factors that potentially reduce emissions and increase efficiency. Previous efforts conducted on Vashon Island, WA, studied the effects of inducing turbulence into a gravity-driven wood stove (a.k.a. J-stove). The results from that study showed extreme flame stretching to the point of quenching, but some configurations showed promising results. Currently, the researchers are reproducing the previous data to ensure consistency before redirecting efforts into inducing turbulence in trapped flame vortex configurations. A previous study by Hsu et al. (Hsu, Goss, Trump, Roquemore, 1998) has shown a positive correlation between induced pressure drop, due to induced turbulence, and primary equivalence ratios in the combustion region. This correlation provides an opportunity to utilize the dynamics of a trapped vortex to manipulate the scale in which chemical kinetics occur to be smaller than the Kolmogrov scale; creating turbulent fuel and oxidizer mixing eddies in the reaction region of the flame. A Possible future direction of the study includes conducting particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) experiments in order to record the flame speed and turbulent fluctuations to show the effects of a trapped vortex configuration on the flame’s position in the infamous combustion regime diagram.

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  Effects of Ultrasound on Amyloid Beta 42 (Aβ42) Mediated Neurodegeneration

  Sarah M Byrne, Lydia C Payton, Ankita Sarkar

  Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease progressing with age. The exact mechanisms that lead to cell death are not entirely understood. It has been shown that accumulation of amyloid-beta-42 (Aβ42) plaques generated by mis-cleavage of amyloid-precursor-protein is the cause of neurodegeneration seen in AD. This is due to the hydrophobic nature of Aβ42 due to extra two amino acids added to the typical and naturally occurring Aβ40 in the body. This addition triggers neuronal death because of the toxic nature and stress that the plaques place on the neurons. Drosophila melanogaster was used as a model in this study to introduce this human Aβ42 into the developing fly retina comprising of retinal neurons. I propose to employ ultrasound wave exposure as a possible treatment to Alzheimer’s. Ultrasound is a high frequency and lower energy sound wave, which will have less deleterious effect on cells in the tissue. In theory, using energy emitted from these waves would break down the plaques limiting damage due to degeneration. The wild type will be used as a control to see any side effects of the ultrasound treatment, while an AD affected fly will be used to determine effectiveness of the treatments. The goal of this project is to standardize the optimum ultrasound treatment, to observe the effects on survival rates, prevent neurodegeneration by removing or decreasing plaque damage. By varying the height, medium, time, developmental stage and number of treatments, the survival rate and rescue can be tracked. These studies will allow testing the efficacy of commonly used treatment in sports related tissue injuries to cure inflammation and also to dislodge protein aggregations in Alzheimer’s disease where accumulation of Aβ42 plaques is the hallmark.

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  Electrochemical Characterization of Copper Phthalocyanine for Lithium-Based Batteries

  Sheng-Chin Hsueh

  The developed analytical formulation expressing the reversible voltage and electrode electrochemical kinetics at the interface between the active material, copper phthalocyanine(CuPc), and the electrolyte in a lithium metal-based cell is presented.

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  Electroencephalographic Signal Classification for Robotic Arm Control

  Adam N Cassedy, Arlen J D'Arcy, Alyssa Katherine Morgan, Adam Patrick Van Camp

  The University of Dayton (UD) Vision Lab is improving technology used to create a robotic prosthetic by utilizing electroencephalographic (EEG) user input. However, the accuracy and speed of the robotic prosthetic technology is not precise and fast enough to be valuable to disabled persons. Activities the robotic arm can perform are limited by user input delay and accuracy. The UD Vision Lab is developing a new alternative way of processing and classifying EEG signals in order to improve the response of the robot arm, encompassing data acquisition, preprocessing, feature extraction, and classification algorithms. Utilizing the Emotiv Insight headset, real-time data is sampled and preprocessed using noise reduction techniques. Certain features that are extracted from the signals include the average logarithmic power of the frequency and other salient features. These features are sent to a classification system such as an Extreme Learning Machine to distinguish the thoughts of the user. The user input EEG raw data is initially tested using MATLAB and rewritten in compiled (C/C++) code to reduce latency during real time data streaming from the user’s thoughts through the classification system and to the robotic arm. Through the use of a machine learning algorithm, the process by which the raw data is classified is quicker and allows for more user defined thoughts to be recognized by the Brain Machine Interface system, thus increasing the utility of the project as a dynamic prosthetic device and as a brainwave analysis system.

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  Energy Analysis of a Two Degree of Freedom Robotic System

  Edward S Brinkerhoff

  Energy usage is increasing in manufacturing operations. One reason for the increase is the shift to automation and robotics. Robots use an array of motors to manipulate objects, and each motor uses energy to operate and move the robot. In most cases, the motors use energy even when holding an object still or while the robot sits idle between tasks. This project focuses on the design and efficiency of a robot that requires fewer motors than a typical industrial robot yet is capable of performing many of the same industrial tasks. A CAD model of the robot is developed to perform an energy analysis during a typical operation cycle and then to optimize this cycle. Additionally, experimentation will augment the analysis through the use of a microprocessor controlled motor to measure current requirements while performing specified motions.

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  Estimating Building Envelope Thermal Characteristics from Single-Point-in-Time Thermal Images

  Salahaldin F Alshatshati

  Energy efficiency programs implemented by utilities in the U.S. have rendered savings costing on average $0.03/kWh [1]. This cost is still well below energy generation costs. However, as the lowest cost energy efficiency measures are adopted, the cost effectiveness of further investment declines. Thus, there is a need to develop large-scale and relatively inexpensive energy auditing techniques to more efficiently find opportunities for savings. Currently, on-site building energy audits process are expensive, in the range of US$0.12/sf - $0.53/sf, and there is an insufficient number of professionals to perform the audits. Here we present research that addresses at community-wide scales the characterization of building envelope thermal characteristics via drive-by and fly-over GPS linked thermal imaging. A central question drives this research: Can single point-in-time thermal images be used to infer R-values and thermal capacitances of walls and roofs? Previous efforts to use thermal images to estimate R-values have been limited to stable exterior weather conditions. The approach posed here is based upon the development of a dynamic model of a building envelope component with unknown R-value and thermal capacitance. The weather conditions prior to the thermal image are used as inputs to the model. The model is solved to determine the exterior surface temperature, ultimately predicted the temperature at the thermal measurement time. The model R-value and thermal capacitance are tuned to force the error between the predicted surface temperature and the measured surface temperature from thermal imaging to be near zero. The results show that this methodology is capable of accurately estimating envelope thermal characteristics over a realistic spectrum of envelope R-values and thermal capacitance present in buildings nationally. With an assumed thermal image accuracy, thermal characteristics are predicted with a maximum error of respectively 20% and 14% for high and low R-values when the standard deviation of out¬¬side temperature over the previous 48 hours is as much as 5oC. Experimental validation on a test facility with variable surface materials was attempted under variable weather conditions, e.g., where the outdoor air temperature experiences varying fluctuations prior to imaging. The experimental validation realized errors less than 20% in predicting the R-value even when the standard deviation of outdoor temperature over the 48 hours prior to a measurement was approximately 5oC

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  Evaluation and Improvements on Stress and Anxiety Resources at UD

  Carolyn A Botti, Allison L Harmon, Katherine G Michel, Logan J Roebke

  Stress and anxiety come from a variety of factors in everyday life, and the ways in which individuals subsequently deal with these feelings have a direct effect on their mental and physical health. Chronic stress is especially toxic to the health of an individual and needs to be managed efficiently. The “college lifestyle” creates a breeding ground for stress and anxiety, and controlling an unhealthy accumulation can be difficult. The University of Dayton has instituted several services to reduce stress to help students manage stress. These resources were analyzed and evaluated for what is working along with how they can be improved. We divided the campus resources into 4 main sections; housing and residence life, campus recreation, tutoring and library services, and the counseling center. Within each section, we discussed the current benefits and suggested improvements. In many cases, stress-relief resources lacked effective advertisement; therefore,they were not utilized by many students. Our goal is to increase student use of these resources and ultimately improve stress management strategies on campus.

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  Examining the Relationship Between Academic Success and Campus Engagement Among International Students at the University of Dayton

  Andy S Badii

  On-campus activities, especially extra and co-curricular activities, can be a very important part of the university experience for many students. Several studies have been conducted to examine if or how these activities have any impact on the academic success of students. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational research study was to examine the relationship between academic success (GPA) and the number of hours of engagement among international students on the campus of the University of Dayton. The research sample included 32 students chosen using criterion and snowball sampling. To gather the information related to students, a questionnaire was created. This study is not only important to the University of Dayton but also to other institutions of higher education with a significant population of international students exploring the correlation between on-campus activities and academic success.

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  Executive Functioning Skills in Preschoolers with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared to Typically Developing Peers

  Kelsey A Clayback

  This study examined executive functioning (EF) skills of children ages 3 to 6 (M = 53.85 months; SD = 10.79 months) with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD) compared to a control group of typically developing peers. Previous research has inconsistently noted EF deficits in children with HFASD compared to children with typical development (Corbett, Constantine, Hendren, Rocke & Ozonoff, 2009; Happé, Booth, Charlton & Hughes, 2006). This research sought to further examine EF in children with HFASD. Methods used to evaluate EF in both groups included the Day/Night Task (Gerstadt, Hong, & Diamond, 1994) to measure inhibitory control, the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS; Zelasko, 2006) to measure attentional shift and Corsi Blocks (Berch, Krikorian, & Huha, 1998) to measure working memory. Participants included children with HFASD (N = 12) ages 4 to 6 (M = 66.67 months; SD = 9.60 months) attending a clinical treatment program. A diagnosis of ASD was determined clinically using the ADI-R (total ADI-R M = 36.83; SD = 9.06); high-functioning was determined by an IQ greater than 70 measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children IV (M = 103.25; SD = 11.76). Additionally, participants included a comparison group of preschoolers (N = 57) ages 3 to 5 (M = 51.16 months; SD = 8.99 months) recruited from a midwestern metropolitan area. We controlled for age, gender and verbal abilities. Results indicated deficits in cognitive flexibility/attentional shift in the HFASD group when controlling for age, gender and language [F(1, 64) = 12.777, p < .001]. Differences in inhibitory control [F(1, 64) = .466, p = .497] and working memory [F(1, 64) = .255, p = .619] were not significant.This research has implications for the future direction of research on HFASD. Specifically, future research should further consider the nature of deficits in EF in order to better understand EF development in HFASD. Additionally, these research findings have implications for treatment and target skills for children with HFASD.