Stander Symposium Projects

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  Research exercise: Syntheses of Research on Inclusion and Students with Disabilities

  Tara M. Barboza, Carla M. Knapke, Taylor M. Parks, Mary p. Savord, Bethany L. Vannoy

  Presentations will synthesize current research and thought on a variety of topics related to inclusion and students with disabilities.

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  Research exercise: Syntheses of Research on School Curriculum

  Kathryn C. Auletto, Alexandra R. Brizzi, Laura A. Donohue, Gabrielle M. Mattes

  Presentations will synthesize current research and thought on a variety of topics related to p - 12 school curriculum.

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  Research exercise: Syntheses of Research on Technology and Schools

  Amy E. Fox, Megan E. Sullivan, Alexander A. Wade

  Presentations will synthesize current research and thought on a variety of topics related to technology in schools.

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  Research exercise: Teaching and Learning to Make a Difference

  Kathryn M. Schilling, Lisa C. VonDrasek, Katherine A. Zikias

  The Building Communities through Social Justice Learning and Living Cohort (BCSJLLC) helps students understand the importance of social justice and its impact on communities while providing students with opportunities to grow as leaders. Its primary mission is literacy and many BSCJLLC members tutored students in the community. Members were trained by our community partner, Project READ, to tutor students in K-8 and young adults. Project READ then placed us at the Dayton Early College Academy (DECA). DECA is adjacent to the University of Dayton and is focused on preparing students for college. We tutored three students in the seventh and eighth grade. In the course of our service, we learned how much difference one or two hours a week can in helping a student to pursue a higher education. Our service included helping students with the homework that is most difficult for them (usually math), and reiterating key concepts that the students had difficulty with. Those of us that tutored were pleased to learn that many of our students' grades were improved as a result of our relationships. Plunges at UD are are also a way of civic engagement. The Immigration and Refugee Plunge. sponsored by the Center for Social Concern, took place on March 24th, 2012. This experience allowed us to see and experience first-hand the problems associated with the immigration application process for those seeking to enter the United States. While on campus, we were shown documentaries about the immigration process and held discussions with immigrants who had direct experience immigrating into the US. The time we spent performing service in our community and learning about the ways we can impact legislation regarding the issues around immigration all reinforces our commitment to social justice and epitomizes and employs the Marianist ideals of lead, learn, and serve.

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  Research exercise: Teaching Strategies, Methods, and Procedures for English Language Learners in Early Childhood Education

  Ashley E. Stoetzel

  With a dramatic growth in the number of children who are learning English as a second language in the United States, it is important for teachers to know strategies that allow these English language learners (ELLs) to participate in the classroom experiences and continue to develop and learn at an appropriate rate. This project examines the instructional strategies, methods, and procedures used with children in an early childhood setting who have a primary language other than English in the home. A qualitative and quantitative analysis of published, peer-reviewed studies and articles on ELL will be included in this study. Some of the researched methods used in early childhood settings have been validated whereas others only appear to work on a case-by-case basis. The project will include the evidence based methods effectively used in early childhood settings with ELLs.

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  Research exercise: The Difference We Make is in the Doing

  Emily J. Buroker, Kelly A. Schlarman, Olivia A. Wilcox

  As active members of the Building Community through Social Justice Learning and Living Cohort, we are helping to build and improve the community we live in. Our cohort's mission is to promote literacy. The non-profit agency Project READ taught us special techniques for working with younger students in grades K-8. Some of these techniques were determining if the student is an auditory, visual, or kinesthetic learner. They also taught us how color can help a student learn better. We tutor in an after school tutoring program at the Holy Angels Elementary School. Our mission is to help improve the students vocabulary and reading ability. We encourage and support our students learning by assisting them with their reading skills. As we develop personal relationships with our students, we are able to encourage their learning by being positive role models. As tutors we do a variety of activities with the children to improve their reading. We use block letters to spell out different vocabulary words, we read back and forth with the students, we work through spelling books, and we employ flash cards with letter sounds on them to help them recognize the alphabet quickly. The children really enjoy the hands-on activities. As Social Justice Students, we believe that all people in a society should be able to read and write. In our presentation we will reflect on how the combination of our service learning, the classes we have taken in our cohort, and our training by Project READ has helped us to understand and promote literacy in our local community. As UD students we will also explore the importance of our work in the context of the Marianist ideals of Lead, Learn and Serve.

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  Research exercise: The Impact of Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Differences on Autism Identification and Treatment

  Madie K. Szaller

  As the prevalence of autism has increased in recent years, researchers are searching for answers to explain this drastic rise in diagnoses. While studying various ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic demographics to determine a cause for this complex disorder, researchers have found alarming differences in identification timing and treatment options presented to upper class, minority, and low-income families. Although previous research studies provide evidence of treatment disparities, currently there are no conclusive findings that explain why these disparities exist. Therefore, this study aims to draw attention to the differences in the timing of diagnoses, service options, and advocacy support available to predominantly white middle to upper class families, minority families, and low-income families. Additionally, this study serves as an effort to consider physician perspectives, insurance policies, and parental education levels as possible reasons for identification and treatment disparities. Diagnosis and treatment differences must be identified and fully understood before they can be effectively changed. Although this research is only one piece of the larger discussion concerning autism diagnosis and treatment, it will hopefully help to determine the steps necessary to provide valuable treatment to all children with autism, regardless of ethnicity, race, or socioeconomic status.

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  Research exercise: This display is about these career fields projected 10 years into the future: Exercise Physiology, Athletic Training, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy

  Annie H. Allen, Kevin M. Bogenschutz, Samantha M. Dresmann, Nicole M. Sarkisian

  Occupational TherapyI am going to research what an occupational therapists' everyday job life is. I will also find what the salaries are; starting, average and projected. I will also research the perquisites that one must have to become a successful occupational therapist. I am interested in looking into what their job entails. I will look into what types of jobs are available as well as the employment projection for when I will be entering the field. Athletic TrainingI am going to research what the job of an athletic trainer entails and how to obtain a career in the athletic training field. I will research the average salary starting out and down the road in your career. I will figure out the exact requirement that it takes to become an athletic trainer and the their everyday job. I will find out what jobs are available to someone with this degree and what elements athletic training mainly works on.Exercise PhysiologyI will research what the job entails and where a person is to go with this career. I will find out the average salary of an exercise physiologist and what requirements that one must have to become one. I will research what jobs are available, and also if this career is based more on training, prevention, or rehabilitation.Physical TherapyI am going to research what an average day is like for a physical therapist. It will also be important to research the projected growth for this field in order to find out the job opportunities. In addition I will need to discover what interests are needed and other experiences to become a physical therapist. It will be interesting to learn the new technology that is constantly being updated in this career field.

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  Research exercise: Who Is a Journalist?

  Anna L. Godby

  Anyone can become a "publisher" by developing a website. Anyone can report news and information online. Identifying anyone as a journalist if he/she has a website has legal implications. In libel law, the press is given some protection because of "a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust and wide-open," as Justice Brennan wrote. How courts define "journalist" will determine when the "fault" element in libel cases is applied and, thus, providing the press some leeway in order to preserve First Amendment values.

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  Research exercise: Working Together for a Greater Tomorrow

  Sarah L. Dickson, Brittany J. Hornick, Anais M. Nin

  As members of the Building Communities through Social Justice Learning and Living Cohort (BCSJLC), we are committed to the ideal of improving literacy in the surrounding Miami Valley community. In November of 2011 our cohort participated in the Cleveland Elementary School Book Buddy Program where we donated books to students in grades four and five and also special education. We were trained by Project READ to tutor students in grades K-8 and also young adults. Then we were assigned students in the Dayton Early College Academy and the Dayton Public Schools. The Dayton Early College Academy (DECA) is a college preparatory school for inner city high school students. Through tutoring in various subjects and interacting with the students one-on-one we learned the true importance of education, literacy, and the value in helping others succeed. When we tutored our students we worked to develop relationships where we could discuss how educational success may be difficult at times but how hard work had paid off for us. Our overall goal is to empower students to become better readers and better thinkers by means of social justice. Through our work and watching the students achieve small successes and understanding, our experience epitomized the Marianist ideals of learn, lead, and serve. The experience of working one-on-one with selected students, granted us friendships and inspiration by the youth of Dayton.

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  Responding to Challenging Behaviors in a Preschool Setting

  Jamie L. Dell

  The purpose of this Behavior Change Project is to demonstrate that by combining two widely accepted methods of behavior modification, a more effective outcome can be reached dealing with pre-school children that exhibit challenging behaviors. This study will take aspects of the constructivist approach which uses pro-social guidance to handle disciplinary issues and aspects from a more behaviorist approach which employs positive behavior supports. The Applied Behavior Analysis design methodology will be used to guide this study. After observing a child for two weeks and collecting baseline data, a plan will be developed to address the negative behavior. This plan will be implemented for two weeks. The intervention will be stopped and then the child will be observed to see if the child has adapted to the intervention or returns to the prior behavior. It is crucial to deal with challenging behaviors, especially at this stage in a young childâs life. If gone undirected, these habits can âinterfere with [childrenâs] learning and ability to develop relationships with peersâ (Moffett et al., 2008, p. 22). Ultimately, the goals of this endeavor are to add to the existing body of knowledge which aims to enhance the self-esteem and interpersonal relationships of young children. The Stander presentation will focus on Chapter 2 of the study, the Review of the Literature on challenging behaviors in young children, and the methods of responding to these behaviors. Work CitedMoffett, K. R., Swafíord, M, & Richey, L. H. (2008). Merging developmentally appropriate practice with positive behavioral supports in early childhood programs. Dimensions of Early Childhood, 22 (2), 21-28. Retrieved from ERIC.

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  Road Travel Time Estimation with GPS Floating Car Data

  Jieai Zheng

  The objective of this research is to provide reliable estimation of urban roadway travel time in time for traffic managing departments and travelers based on floating car data. Travel time data collection and estimation is an important technology method to achieve the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) information services. Poor-quality information leads mistrust and un-ease of traffic congestion. Thus the accuracy of travel time prediction must meet certain requirements. GPS floating car collection method accesses the data source by ordinary vehicles equipped with positioning and wireless communication devices (such as taxis, buses, trucks, private cars, police cars, etc.), which provides more efficient, accurate and in-time data. There are two parts in my research: (1) The collection and pre-treatment for urban road travel time data with GPS floating cars, and (2) The estimation for travel time. I process and filter the data with the algorithm by clarifying abnormal fluctuations, losses, errors, and validation in the data set. As the similarities of the influence factors for travel time according to time periods and road sections, the mutation analysis is applied to divide the traffic flow data into traffic periods, such as rush hours, ordinary hours, and night hours. To predict short-term travel time, I employ BP neural network model based on local optimization. Travel time information reflects the state of underlying roadway traffic, predicts the duration of traffic congestion, and determines abnormal states. The estimated travel time in the next period on a certain road can be published to those who are in need. Also, pilots can choose the lower-traffic-flow roads regard the estimated travel time, which help shorten travel time and ease the congestion in rush hours.

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  Same Old (New) Deal? Examining the Determinates of ARRA Spending

  Amy A. Pancher

  Some twenty-one months before the November 2010 elections, the United States Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the primary goals of which were to preserve and create jobs, promote economic recovery, and to assist those most impacted by the recession. Previous studies have questioned whether political considerations played a role in the allocation of New Deal stimulus spending during the Roosevelt administration. The same question can be asked of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; was the $275 billion in government grants, contracts, and loans allocated solely in accordance with the legislationâs stated goals, or, considering the importance of an election held in a decennial census year and the subsequent congressional redistricting, did political determinates also play a role in how the funds were distributed?

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  Service Learning Benefits the Student and the Tutor

  Zachary J. Sheppard

  The Sophomore Social Justice Service Learning Community's (SSJSL ) mission is to promote literacy. The SJSLC's community partner, the non-profit organization Project READ, trains volunteers to help tutor students in grades K-8 and young adults. After my training, I was placed at the Immaculate Conception grade school, where I have been working with many students in English and Math. Most of the sessions have been one on one. My work with one particular student named Jacob has particularly impressed me with a greater understanding of the importance of service learning and the application of the Marianist ideals of lead, learn, and serve. This seemingly small contribution, small in the grand scheme of things, has helped reinforce my understanding of what it meant to be human. It showed me how we are always thirsting for knowledge, even at a young age, and when we gain the knowledge, we grow from it.

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  Service Learning: The Importance of Civic Engagement

  Carson M. Smith

  The Sophomore Social Justice Service Learning Community (SSJSL) has a mission is to promote literacy in the Greater Dayton/Miami Valley district. The SJSLC's community partner, the non-profit organization Project READ, trains volunteers to help tutor students in grades K-8 and young adults. After training, I was assigned a tutoring position with students at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in downtown Dayton. I have been working with a student named D'Angelo helping him with his math and reading skills. While he is currently in 7th grade, both his math and reading scores are not at a 7th grade level. We work one-on-one to improve his math and reading concepts. I have really enjoyed working with D'Angelo and developing a personal relationship with him as he had helped me to understand the struggles that he and many other urban students face at school. Service learning has allowed me to engage with younger students in our local community as well as to promote justice. It is a personal way to apply the Marianist ideals of lead, learn, and serve.

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  Social Justice and the Black - White Achievement Gap

  Rehab N. Abumansour, Reem B. Al-Hajri, Sami G. Alsulami, Matthew A. Brubaker, Brian R. Connor, Mark Gumm, Laura A. Inkrott, Patrick W. Kagai, Nathan Keel, Katelin McKinley, Olfat Ruzzah

  The black-white achievement gap has challenged educators in the United States over many decades. Not only are some students disenfranchised by an educational system designed for all citizens, but the racial divide presents an unrelenting social justice failure. Test score data from the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) has been recorded for students aged 9, 13, and 17 from the late 1970s forward. While results showed some narrowing of the gap in 2007 compared with prior years, the gap continues to persist. During Fall semester 2011, eleven Educational Leadership graduate students (in EDA556 Leadership in Diverse Communities) studied the achievement gap by reviewing the statistical profiles in the NAEP data for specific ages in reading and math. They studied the strategies revealed in the metaanalysis of Ronald Ferguson, a Harvard professor and national leader in identifying strategies to ameliorate barriers to closing the gap. Students individually developed plans to become advocates for making the black-white achievement gap a priority in their work as aspiring school leaders with commitments to social justice. In this Stander Symposium 2012 poster presentation, students and their professors show the aggregated dimensions of those ideas. The poster displays evidence-based themes that could drive serious efforts by school leaders to take on the injustices that continue to plague the schools led by those in the professional roles to which these graduate students aspire.

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  Socioeconomic Status Impacts on Learning and Development

  Jasmine C. Henderson

  Abstract: This research project seeks to explore how social constructs such as social class and economic position impacts the development and learning process in early childhood, specifically between the ages of three to eight when an important biological phenomenon called synaptic explosion and synaptic pruning takes place. Past research findings suggest that there is a correlation between learning and developmental problems and economic status which reflects resources afforded to children. These social resources due to class position have been found to have a large impact on the biological development of children, which in return affects their capacity to learn.

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  Sorption Kinetics of Denatonium Benzoate to 2:1 Layered Aluminosilicates

  Emily J. Sandmann

  Denatonium Benzoate (DB), commercially known as Bitrex, is a denaturant added to many common commercial products, such as laundry detergent and antifreeze (in some states) to deter ingestion by humans and animals. The intensely bitter taste of DB is detectable by humans at aqueous concentrations as low as 50 ng/L while 10 - 30 mg/L concentrations can render drinking water unpalatable. Given the push by US lawmakers to mandate that DB be added to some commercial antifreeze formulations, it is imperative that potential environmental consequences associated with accidental releases of this material be investigated. Knowing if, and understanding how, sorption to soils and clays occurs can provide important information that can be used to (a) assess the potential of transport through the soil environment and (b) determine treatment strategies for bodies of water impacted by DB. Accordingly, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the kinetic parameters associated with denatonium sorption to clay minerals. Batch sorption experiments using 200 mg/L DB in 0.01M calcium chloride were run for three types of 2:1 layered aluminosilicates. High pressure liquid chromatography analyses were used to quantify absorption, the sorption kinetic rate constant, and the activation energy. The results suggest that denatonium sorption is a pseudo-second order process for each clay. Additionally, the activation energy (energy barrier to sorption) was determined for Syn-1 to be 25.89 kJ/mol from which we concluded that a physisorption process occurred. Finally, upon comparing the surface-area normalized sorption capacities (Qs) we determined that sorption was greatest for SWy-2 and least for Syn-1 based on calculated capacities of 1.54 x 10^-2 g DB/m^2 and 3.08 x 10^-4 g DB/m^2, respectively. Thus, a possible treatment method for water-impacted by DB could include SWy-2 clay as an absorbent.

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  Stability Analysis of a Model for In Vitro Inhibition of Cancer Cell Mutation

  Christopher G. Yakopcic

  Human homeostasis is the body's ability to physiologically regulate its inner environment to ensure its stability in response to changes in the outside environment. An inability to maintain homeostasis may lead to death or disease, which is caused by a condition known as homeostatic imbalance. Normal cells follow the homeostasis when they proliferate and cancer cells do not. This work describes a model consisting of three reaction-diffusion equations representing in vitro interaction between two drugs. One inhibits proliferation of cancerous cells, and the other destroys these cells. A stability analysis of the model is performed with and without diffusion applied to the model. MATLAB is used to perform the stability analysis of the model.

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  Student Involvement and Alcohol Consumption

  Christopher M. Johnson

  High-risk alcohol use is a concern on college campuses. It has been suggested that participation in student activities can impact high-risk drinking (Harvard, 2001). This study examines possible correlations between alcohol consumption and a studentâs involvement in campus activities and student organizations at the University of Dayton. Previous studies at other universities have been inconclusive, as campus and organizational culture can differ greatly from institution to institution. This correlational research study measures student involvement and alcohol use, using data collected on a survey combining the Educational Benchmarking, Inc. (EBI) and Association of College Unions International (ACUI) Student Activities Assessment and the World Health Organization Alcohol Use and Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). The study investigates multiple variables for measuring student involvement, including number of organizations/events involved in and time spent in an organization, as well as two factors related to alcohol, alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences. Results of the study will indicate the relationship of student involvement and alcohol consumption at UD, and open the door to further research on specific populations.

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  Students Perception of Alcohol Induced Blackouts at the University of Dayton

  BaShaun H. Smith

  With the research of the Alcohol Task Force at the University of Dayton, professionals realize that there is an epidemic of high alcohol consumption by some students on Dayton's campus. The purpose of this study was to better understand students'ÂÂ perceptions of their drinking patterns with a specific focus on alcohol induced blackouts. This study focused on college students at the University of Dayton, a mid-size Catholic institution in the Midwest. The students who were surveyed ranged from first year students to seniors. Two populations of students were surveyed. These included a purposeful sample of students who had an alcohol related sanction in Community Wellness and a convenience sample of students enrolled in English classes at Dayton. The survey asked a series of questions regarding their use of alcohol, family history, frequency, and awareness of their own experiences of blackouts and those of others. The survey allowed students to reflect on their past experience as it pertains to alcohol induced blackouts.

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  Support, Commitment, and Persistence: Are Students in Supportive Academic Programs More Committed to Their Institutions?

  Twila G. Murray

  Institutional commitment has been shown to be highly predictive of college student retention (Bean, 1980; Woosley & Miller, 2009). Research indicates that highly supportive academic programs with a career-related focus are associated with higher retention rates (Nitecki, 2011). Furthermore, academic and social integration have been related to retention through the mediating influences of institutional commitment (Beal, Reison, Zea, & Caplan, 1999). This study used a survey method to investigate whether students who are enrolled in a supportive academic program -- one promoting academic and social integration -- demonstrate higher levels of institutional commitment than students who are enrolled in a less supportive general education program. The study was conducted at Clark State Community College and contains data from undergraduate students in the Agriculture/Horticulture Technologies programs and the Associate of Arts program. Additional analysis was performed to determine the extent to which other demographic factors contribute to mean institutional commitment scores among various sub-populations across a wide variety of academic programs.

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  Support Networks for Mothers in University Faculty

  Megan Hils

  An important part of motherhood is having a network of support. For women in university faculty, this is especially important but also especially challenging due to the nature of their work and the general circumstances of working in a field dominated by men. Through firsthand accounts of mothers in faculty positions at the University of Dayton, this paper explores the experiences of mothers and the importance of establishing a support network in raising a family and succeeding in their careers. Through these experiences, opportunities to improve the circumstances for mothers in a university faculty setting and to provide them support can be examined.

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  Suspension of Solid Mixtures by Mechanical Agitation

  Tianxin Bao

  Agitation is a critical aspect of many processes, such as food production, mineral processing, and water treatment, with liquid-solid agitators representing a significant portion of all agitation installations. This research is concerned with solids suspension in a liquid-solid stirred tank at one particular agitation level â just-suspended condition in which no solids rest on the tank base for longer than one to two seconds. The novelty of this work is that though there have been many studies on the just-suspended speed of uniform solid (solid particles with same shape, size, and density), there has been very little work in the industrially important area of mixtures of solids with different physical properties. The goal of this work is to investigate whether sum of the individual solids suspension powers approach can provide a reasonable estimate of mixture just-suspended speed of solids with different physical characteristics. All tested mixtures of solids with different properties (particle size, shape, and specific gravity) are categorized into three different groups based on the specific gravities of individual solids in each system: systems where the specific gravities of both solids are below 1.5 grams per cubic centimeter (i.e. low-density system), both solid densities are above 2.4 grams per cubic centimeter (i.e. high-density system), and solids of mixed densities - that is, a solid with low density plus a solid with high density. It is found that the sum of powers approach can acceptably predict the just-suspended speed of both high-density and mixed-density solids systems while the predicted speeds from summing the individual solids suspension powers are typically ten to twenty percent greater than the measured speeds of low-density solids systems.

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  Synthesis and Properties of Carbon Microcoils

  Muneaki Hikita

  Carbon is very versatile element with various allotropic forms such as graphite, diamond, nanotubes and fullerene. While new carbon structures have been discovered, coiled shaped carbon fibers, or carbon microcoils (CMCs) might be potential materials for micro heating element for medical treatment, fabricating tunable electronics, bio-activators and fillers for composites.In this study, CMCs were prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique using nickel catalyst in gas mixture (acetylene, hydrogen and argon) with a small amount of sulfur additives. The effect of temperature, time, gas flow rate and sulfur additive on the growth of CMCs formation were explored. It is found that the micro-coils quality and their uniformity are strongly depended on the amount of sulfur additive and temperature. CMCs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction and micro Raman techniques. For biological application, CMCs were functionalized to improve their water solubility and their toxicity was tested using mouse embryonic stem (MES) cells. The toxicity of CMCs was evaluated by phase contrast, alkaline phosphatase (AP) staining assay and JC1 mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) assay. The results indicated that CMCs have very limited impact to MES cells properties, and the medical application of CMCs will be safe.