Stander Symposium Projects

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  Let's Talk about Sexual Violence Prevention in ROTC Programs

  Madeline Kondritz

  The purpose of this study is to analyze how ROTC programs across the United States are teaching their sexual violence prevention program, SHARP (Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention). As both individuals in the military and college students are both vulnearble poplulations to sexual violence, it is importnat to have strong teaching for this program that displays the overlap of the two areas. For this study, college students who are also cadets at their school’s ROTC program were asked to answer a series of questions regarding how their ROTC program specifically focuses on sexual violence prevention, if they think it is effective, and if they think their program would be open to introducing a new SHARP program into their ciriculum. I As SHARP is a program that is seen at least once a year by all Soldiers, it is vital that as future Army officer that cadets are not only familiar with, but are knowledgeable about SHARP and other forms of sexual violence prevention. A goal of this project was to find the benefits and restrictions in which ROTC programs are teaching SHARP in order to inform these future Army officers of the most efficient ways to learn and eventually teach about sexual violence prevention in their future careers in the Army and in their current civilian careers.

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  Life Cycle Analysis of Beef vs. Soy Production

  Nathan Mansour, Clare Volpenhein, Katie Weitzel

  Using a Hybrid Life Cycle Analysis, we compared the production of beef and soy to see the difference between water consumption, greenhouse gases, energy needs, and other environmental impacts. With many people deciding to choose a meatless diet to reduce their environmental impact, we sought to determine if this diet change is more environmentally friendly. This project addresses the US Sustainable Development goal 12, Responsible Production and Consumption.

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  Life Cycle Assessment of Coal and Nuclear Energy Generation

  Will Page Blaufuss, Jaime Elaine Howard, Nicholas Alexander Pannunzio

  Using an environmentally extended Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), we will compare nuclear energy to conventional carbon-based energy sources, taking into account and analyzing all stages of the energy generation life cycle. We plan to include land usage and degradation, mining, pollution, waste disposal, decommissioning costs, and storage of nuclear waste into our analysis. The comparison will then determine if nuclear energy is a truly green alternative to currently-used coal and gas plants.

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  Living Simply and Sustainably in an Interconnected World

  Meg Maloney

  Meg Maloney discusses the interconnectedness between her faith and living a sustainable lifestyle. She explains how her sustainable lifestyle is not just a choice, but also a calling through her faith that has been influenced by UD's Catholic and Marianist values. Meg discusses a first hand experience in India of how she saw the detriment of climate change impacting communities, and encourages others to live a sustainable lifestyle.

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  Making a Change is a Choice: Practical Steps for Promoting Human Rights and Sustainability

  Jared Marsh

  The concepts of sustainability and human rights are often lauded for the work they pursue but are hard to translate into personal action. Traditionally, the intersection of the two has often been overlooked. In this video Jared exposes the intersection of sustainability and human rights, and relates personal choices with a call to action that is applicable to any individual that wishes to uphold both concepts.

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  Making the Modern Music Therapist Culture-Centered: Resources for Working with Latinx Immigrants

  Michaela Miller

  Due to an increasing need for culture-centered thinking in music therapy and the current political context, it is imperative for music therapists to have resources to work with Latinx immigrants. I will offer ways to redefine music therapy for Latinx immigrants and their communities by outlining various models and approaches that can respond to their areas of need.During this presentation, I will discuss the meaning of the term “Latinx,” compare different definitions of music therapy and talk about how these can be adapted for Latinx immigrants, examine the stigma of therapy within Latinx communities, explore models of music therapy that may be appropriate for some Latinx immigrants (such as Community Music Therapy and Culture-Centered Music Therapy), and review considerations for working with these areas of need. I will also provide examples of music experiences that can be utilized within Latinx communities.

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  Male-Identified Students and Campus Mental Health Services

  Sean McCarthy

  Previous studies have examined mental health on college campuses (American College Health Association, 2019; Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2015). While there is an increased awareness of mental health concerns among male-identified students, there is a lack of research on male-identified students’ usage rates of campus mental health services as well as what services male-identified students deem as the most effective for their needs. To better understand male-identified students’ usage of campus mental health services and resources and what services and resources are most effective for their needs, male-identified students at the University of Dayton were surveyed. The survey concluded that male-identified students use campus mental health services and resources at a mixed rate and would like to see reduced waiting times and increased staffing at the University of Dayton Counseling Center. Based on the research conclusions, strategies for encouraging male-identified students to use mental health services and resources when they have a mental health concern and recommendations for what services and resources are most effective are provided.

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  Many of my friends are feminist, but I am not: Perspectives and Presence of Feminism at the University of Dayton

  Claire McHugh

  Feminism is an often polarizing topic of discussion for people. While some consider it to be a large and important part of their identity, others are turned off by the very mention of the word. Younger generations have been found to be more accepting of feminism according to previous research. In this study, I analyze results from a survey of undergraduate students (n=88) at the University of Dayton. Survey respondents were asked about their perspectives on feminism as well as the presence and influences of feminism found on their campus. This study is very important because people who are in the typical college age range are the next generation who will be running the country in the coming years. Findings from this research will provide information on this generation's attitudes regarding feminism. At the University of Dayton a majority of students surveyed had a very positive view of feminism. However, few considered themselves feminists privately and even fewer reported openly identifying as a feminist on University of Dayton’s campus

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  Mapping both accumulation and ablation zone of the glacier using deep-learning

  Zhiyuan Xie

  The increased temperature over the past decades has affected the health, dynamics, and processes of the alpine-type glaciers. To understand these glacier changes, we used Landsat satellite images, digital elevation model (DEM), DEM-derived land-surface and drainage basin parameters to develop a deep-learning algorithm to map glaciers. The alpine glacier includes the debris-covered glacier (DCG) in the accumulation zone and snow-covered glacier (SCG) in the ablation zone. For this work, we take advantage of the deep-learning algorithm, GlacierNet, which we have already developed to map debris cover ablation zone. The architecture of GlacierNet is based on the commonly used feed-forward neural network – convolutional neural network (CNN). The GlacierNet exploits the spatial pattern present in the debris cover ablation zone; however, the SCG has less distinguishable features when compared with the snow present inside and outside the glacier accumulation zone. Therefore, we consider each glacier as a drainage basin and utilize the drainage basin algorithm to accurately classify the snow and SCG by using the GlacierNet generated DCG as the reference region. Our innovative approach has been successfully applied to selected glaciers in Karakoram and Nepal Himalaya, and the preliminary results indicate high accuracy. This is a major step in developing a fully automated and worldwide applicable methodology for glacier mapping.

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  Medical Image Annotation in Virtual Environment

  Vivek Rohom

  The research in medical domain has always been interesting due to its complexity, the risk associated with human’s life and the limited availability of the data. Assisting physicians with a 3-dimensional model, will definitely help to diagnose the patient in a timely and accurate manner. There is the need for medical image annotation systems that are accurate as manual annotation is impractical, time-consuming and prone to errors. The objective of this research is to generate and visualize a 3- dimensional model in a virtual environment from good annotated Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) dataset. This is a part of my master’s thesis advised by Dr. Tam Nguyen.Visualization in virtual environment is not only beneficial for physicians to treat patients but also to avoid complications during surgery and plan out how to approach a tumor and avoid critical areas like the motor cortex or the sensory areas. Many computational models to support human life will be proposed from the strong annotated dataset.

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  Mental health in Seventeen Magazine: a comparison across three generations (1977-2019)

  Kathryn Smith

  The stigmatization of the mentally ill has a long history of negative views from older generations and society. It was not socially acceptable or as common to talk about any type of mental illnesses in the past due to the stigma they had and how they were viewed. I analyzed mental health and how it has been portrayed and changed within three generations with the process of content analysis. I did this through the culture of Seventeen Magazine, a resource for teens to seek advice, gossip, beauty tips, and more, which has been around for 75 years. I measured this by finding direct mentions of mental health in the text/ pictures, or things that could indirectly relate to mental health, like race, negative talk about self image, etc. I used a random sample to select two issues per year from year to year. After scanning and gathering all the data, I then analyzed the 84 magazines to find where mental health was discussed, both directly and indirectly. I find that mental health has always been present and represented in the magazine, but the way in which the topic is presented across generations has definitely evolved and changed throughout the years. Mental Health has become more relevant and represented in today’s culture and society, and also more acceptable to talk about/ be diagnosed with. Mental health has always had a stigma, but with the three generations I’ve analyzed, I have found that it is progressively getting better and more talked about, which is beneficial to our society as a whole.

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  Mercy Health

  Joseph George Charbel, Eric William Mullet

  Formulary rationalization

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  Metal Layer Architectures for 2D TMD Heterostructures

  Anna K. Benton

  The purpose of this investigation is to control the formation of atomically thin metal films of transition metals on silicon wafers with a 200 nm oxide layer. Metals have physical characteristics that are dependent on the thickness and structure of the material. The thickness and the structure of the material change depending on the conditions of metal deposition. By varying the metal deposition conditions, the desired physical characteristics, such as roughness and crystalline domain size, can be attained. This project focuses on depositing a transition metal film using a sputtering chamber at different growth conditions using low power, medium power, and high power. Film thickness and structure were observed using an atomic force microscope (AFM). Surface features were observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Conductivity data was used to indicate film structure. The metal films will then be exposed to a vapor containing sulfur or selenium to create thin heterostructures of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). The heterostructure films will then be characterized using an AFM, SEM and Raman Spectroscopy. Once the relationship between metal film structure and reactivity with chalcogen vapors is understood, different transition metal films will be deposited sequentially to form a bilayer of two transition metals. After film growth, the bilayers will be observed using an AFM and SEM. Conductivity data will indicate film structure. The bilayer films will be exposed to vapor containing sulfur or selenium to create two layers of TMDs. One of the applications of this project is to be able to tune the electronic and optical properties of semiconductors by varying the stacking pattern of many TMD layers. This will allow desirable band gaps to be achieved for transistors and sensors. Stacking two layers is the first step in understanding how effective this novel approach for development of synthetic superlattices can be.

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  Mike Sells

  Jillian Therese DeWitt, Nicholas T. Hoskins, Allison Marie Veverka

  Real-time production statistics reporting

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  Military Alliances and Their Role in the 21st Century: Examining Bilateral and Multilateral Realtionships

  Tyler Andrew Johnson

  Throughout history, military alliances have proved pivotal in shaping international politics and determining the outcome of conflicts. The complexities behind alliances in the 20th and 21st centuries have brought a new dynamic to international conflict resolution. With the resurgence of China and Russia as contenders on the world stage, the focus for organizations such as NATO have shifted from counterterroism to preparing to fight a near peer adversary. This research examines the dynamics behind the United States' international military partnerships, and the differences in how the United States utilizes alliances to deter China and Russia.

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  Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and Emotion Regulation in Wellbeing Among Childhood Maltreatment Survivors

  Kelsey Julian, Abagail Petit, Alicia Selvey

  Mindfulness and self-compassion have been linked to the capacity for emotion regulation and to better outcomes, including among survivors of childhood maltreatment (CM). Mindfulness is multifaceted and includes observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-judging, and non-reactivity, yet little research has examined the roles of specific facets of trait mindfulness in positive outcomes after CM. This study used self-report measures from 157 undergraduates who endorsed CM experiences, and tested combined parallel-sequential multiple mediation models of wellbeing. Hypothesized models linked CM severity to lower wellbeing through reduced self-compassion and subsequent emotion dysregulation and through lower trait mindfulness and subsequent emotion dysregulation. As anticipated, there was a negative indirect effect of CM on wellbeing through lower self-compassion and more emotion dysregulation (CI = -.09, -.01). Unexpectedly, there was no indirect effect through mindfulness and emotion dysregulation. When facets of mindfulness were tested separately, a negative indirect effect only emerged through lower non-judging and emotion dysregulation (CI = -.22, -.02). Results suggest that, in mindfulness-based interventions with CM survivors, self-compassion and non-judging may be critical targets for fostering wellbeing, as their absence may impede emotion regulation capacity.

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  Minster

  Mark Robert Vezina, Yuexin Zhou, Drew T. Zimmer

  Machine capability study

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  Mission of Mary Cooperative's Net-Zero Initiative

  Salahaldin Alshatshati, Jaime Howard, Nathan Mansour

  Mission of Mary Cooperative is the first net-zero energy organization in Dayton, Ohio. Over the past two years, students from the ETHOS Center have helped to improve the energy efficiency of the building through structural and behavioral changes. Mission of Mary Cooperative looks to inspire and educate the community on the importance of energy behavior, efficiency improvement, and sustainable development.

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  Modeling and Validation of Pilot-Aircraft Cybernetic Systems

  Benjamin Moidel

  A notable example of adverse dynamic coupling within modern cybernetic systems is spatial disorientation of pilots in flight. In this presentation we propose a preliminary methodology for developing and validating pilot-aircraft models to predict adverse coupling modes present in the interactions between human and machine. The realism of a Cessna 152 model within the University of Dayton’s Merlin 521 Flight Simulator was validated through both pilot feedback using the Cooper-Harper handling rating scale and comparisons of real in-flight dynamic responses to the response data output by the simulator.This simulator has the unique capability that any aircraft can be modeled and simulated through an easy-to-use user interface. Its capsule provides an immersive experience for users, delivering realistic physics and 6 DOF motion within a typical cockpit layout. Time-varying data can be extracted post-simulation, including ambient environmental conditions, control inputs, and dynamic responses. To validate the model, simulator data was compared to accelerometer and GPS data collected in-flight from a Cessna 152.In the near future, following an Institutional Review Board approved protocol, a group of 5-10 pilots with extensive experience will be asked to fly the Cessna 152 model, both with and without capsule motion. The pilots’ experience qualifies them to provide reliable feedback on the handling characteristics of the model using the Cooper-Harper handling rating scale. Tasks such as a coordinated turn and a constant-speed climb will be used to assign handling ratings to the model. The responses will be compared to the pilots’ initial handling rating of the real Cessna 152 based on their experience. Pilot ratings will be supplemented with additional feedback on the apparent realism of the model. Overall validation of the model will require both the flight data output and pilot feedback for the model to align with that of the real aircraft.

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  Modeling Bullying in Teenagers: Assessing the Behavioral Effects of Social Defeat Stress in Adolescent Mice

  John Richard Coffey, Patrick Robert Flaherty

  Depression, anxiety, and other stressed-induced cognitive deficits severely affect millions of people worldwide. Strikingly, an estimated one in four adolescents around the globe suffer from a mental health disorder. It has long been known that drastic developmental changes occur in the adolescent brain which makes teenagers far more susceptible to various stressors, most prominent being social and physical defeat from stronger peers (i.e., bullying). In order to investigate the behavioral effects of social defeat stress in adolescence, an adolescent mouse model was utilized. Adolescent mice were subjected to chronic resident-intruder stress and immediately following the completion of the paradigm, a battery of behavioral tests were conducted in order to assess levels of anxiety, depression, and cognitive flexibility.

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  Momentum from Tiny Choices: the Power of Rethinking Our Habits

  Theresa Isemann

  Tess shares some of her sustainability experiences at UD and how they have inspired her to this day. She offers reflection questions to encourage your own exploration of your personal connection to making sustainable choices. Tess speaks to the importance of rethinking our daily habits to internalize climate action in our everyday lives.

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  Motion Assessments in Virtual Reality Environments

  Lanna Klausing

  Traditional upper extremity rehabilitation techniques are often tedious and repetitive. Recent improvements to Virtual Reality games have allowed for increased customizability and show potential in the area of rehabilitation, creating a more integrative and exciting rehabilitation environment. The purpose of this thesis is to use Virtual Reality (VR) and motion capture to quantify different movement deficits that may arise due to MS, and to understand how the reaching motions of patients with MS may differ from healthy controls. Reaching motions are one of the motions commonly used in upper extremity rehabilitation measures, and through the study of reaching motions this research will have a long-term purpose of determining whether virtual reality can be used as an effective upper extremity rehabilitation tool. During data collection participants will wear a motion capture suit and a VR headset that displays movement targets. Participants will perform 3 levels focused on motions involving single arm movements and dual arm movements, in which they will be asked to perform reaching motions to hit the movement targets. The motion data collected from participants’ motion capture suits will then be analyzed and compared between MS and control groups.

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  Motivations and Constraints for Fan Attendance at Sporting Events: A Case Study of the NCAA First Four Games

  Sam Taro Banke, John M. Barrett, Emily Rose Fritz, Tom Jebron Graf, Matthew Joseph Green

  Fans are motivated to attend sporting events for a variety of different factors. These motivations may vary depending on the level of competition, the location the event is being held, and the demographic that makes up an area’s fan base. Our study will investigate the most prevalent factors that motivate fans to attend sporting events. The research will consist of a survey given to University of Dayton students, faculty, fans, and residents of Dayton who have interest in attending sport events. This survey will allow us to determine variables that most commonly motivate individuals to attend the First Four games, which may be unique because these games do not include the presence of University of Dayton’s men’s basketball team. We believe the results of this study can be useful for arenas who host neutral site events similar to the First Four.

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  Multi-modal Data Analysis and Fusion for Robust Object Detection in 2D/3D Sensing

  Jonathan Schierl

  Even with current testing and evaluations in state-of-the-art deep learning, there is a lack of comparison between different modalities in object detection. To improve this, we created an in-house dataset directly for the comparison of 2D infrared captures and 3D LiDAR point clouds. The sensors used to capture this dataset were placed next to each other to retain a similar point of view and resolution. Individually, these modalities were evaluated using state-of-the-art deep learning architectures. For 2D Infrared, a neighborhood-based image enhancement algorithm called Retinex was used to improve the contrast of the images. These enhanced images were then processed using the Mask R-CNN architecture. For 3D point clouds, PointNet++ was used for feature extraction and classification. The detection accuracy and overall performance were compared between these modalities. Generally, the 3D approach performed better, with higher rates of detection and better accuracy. In comparing these architectures, we learned about the pros and cons of each modality. To further increase the accuracy of detection, we propose a fusion network that incorporates the strengths of both modalities and processes them in one architecture. This network would extract features in 2D using Mask R-CNN and in 3D using KPConv. These feature spaces would be combined and sent through the region proposal network and rest of the Mask R-CNN architecture for a higher detection accuracy.

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  Multi-modal Data Analysis and Fusion for Robust Object Detection in 2D/3D Sensing

  Quinn Graehling, Jonathan Schierl

  Multi-modal data is useful for complex imaging scenarios due to the exclusivity of information found in each modality, but there is a lack of meaningful comparisons of different modalities for object detection. In our work, we propose three contributions: (1) Release of a multi-modal ground-based small object detection dataset, (2) A performance comparison of 2D and 3D modalities using state-of-the-art algorithms on data captured in the same environment, and (3) a multi-modal fusion framework for 2D/3D sensing. The new dataset encompasses various small objects for detection in EO, IR, and LiDAR modalities. The labeled data has comparable resolutions across each modality for better performance analysis. The modality comparison conducted in this work uses advanced deep learning algorithms, such as Mask R-CNN for 2D imaging and PointNet++ for 3D imaging. The comparisons are conducted with similar parameter sizes and the results are analyzed for specific instances where each modality performed the best. To complement the effectiveness of different data modalities, we developed a fusion strategy to combine the region proposals of one modality with the classification strength of a different modality for accurate detection and region segmentation. We investigated the functionality of the You Only Look Once (YOLO) algorithm, which computes partitioned image classification and region proposals in parallel for detection. Our fusion strategy learns the optimum features of different modality combinations for appropriate candidate selection for classification. The effectiveness of the proposed fusion method is being evaluated on the multi-modal dataset for object detection and segmentation and we observe superior performance when compared to single-modality algorithms.