Stander Symposium Projects

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  Sense of Belonging of International Students in Living Learning Communities

  Paola Ortiz

  As higher education institutions increase international student recruitment and enrollment, one best practice for international student retention and connectedness is the creation of international living communities. This qualitative narrative inquiry explores the sense of belonging of international students in two living learning communities at a small private institution in the Midwest. Students shared their experiences in two different living learning communities on campus focused on intercultural development and the relation they had on their sense of belonging to the institution. This study provides suggestions for the current programs similar to these communities around the nation.

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  Sex Differences in Relation to Affect and Social versus Non-Social Stress on Olfactory Functioning

  Sahar Kaouk, Madeline P. Scherer

  Evolutionarily, olfaction, or the sense of smell, was a way to detect threats (Soudry et al., 2011) and is highly involved various psychological processes including emotion (Chen & Dalton, 2005) and stress (Hoenen et al., 2017). This project aims to assess the biological sex differences in affective response to social and non-social stress, and how this then affects odor detection sensitivity, identification, hedonic ratings, and intensity ratings. This project will further the understanding of sex differences in regard to olfactory functioning, emotional regulation, in various stress conditions. Equal numbers of male and female undergraduate participants recruited from University of Dayton SONA System (N = 90) will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions: social stress or non-social stress. The participant will wear a chest heart rate monitor for the duration of the experiment. Average heart rate will be collected throughout. Participants will first complete a pre-condition administration of questionnaires and olfactory testing. Participants assigned to the social stress condition will participate in a modified version of the arithmetic section of the Trier Social Stress Test (Allen et al., 2017). Participants will be given ten minutes sequentially subtract 13 from 1,022 aloud and in front of a confederate and a camera prop. If the participant makes a mistake, the confederate will bluntly stop the participant and instruct them to start from the beginning thus inducing feelings of social evaluation. Participants assigned to the non-social stress condition will also have ten minutes to subtract the number 13 from 1,022 however on a sheet of blank paper. They will be instructed to do the arithmetic as quickly as possible without making mistakes. Following either stress-task, participants will compete post-condition olfactory testing and questionnaires.

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  Signs to Speech

  Yashesh Dinesh Bharti

  There are softwares which translate from any language to any language, however, the promise of the futuristic sign language decoders have always been far away from being a day to day reality,Proposing a Neural Network based Sign language to speech translator which purports to translate sign language in real-time to text or speech as the user gestures. For people in the Deaf community, this tool could come in handy as it will not demand any extra hardware and use a camera (Like the ones present on the phone) to detect the pose and gestures.

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  Smelling How to Feel: The Role of Ambient Odor and Olfaction in Affective Experience and Evaluation

  Michael Alex Lee, Juliana Mitchell, Wyatt Kaiser

  Olfaction, or the sense of smell, and emotion have long been recognized as closely related. Previous research has found that odors are not only capable of influencing our mood, but can also affect the way we evaluate different types stimuli that are associated with them. However, no study to date has examined how odors can influence the way we evaluate visual stimuli, nor considered the relationship between odor’s ability to influence mood as well as affective evaluation. This study’s goal was to address this gap in the literature. For this study, we had participants complete questionnaires about their demographic information, current mood, and the affective impact of odor for them. Then, we had them view a series of images and rate them for positive valence, negative valence, and intensity. Once they viewed all the images, participants then relocated to another room that was prepared with a pleasant odor, unpleasant odor, or no odor. Participants then completed another questionnaire regarding their mood following odor exposure, and then viewed and rated another set of images, which contained both new images and the same images they viewed earlier. We hypothesized that participant’s reported mood state would change after being exposed to a pleasant or unpleasant odor, that their ratings of positive and negative valence for the images would change after being exposed to a pleasant or unpleasant odor, and that the change in image ratings is mediated by their change in mood due to the odor. While most hypotheses were not supported, we found unexpected changes in mood and ratings over time between odor exposure conditions. This study provides additional nuance to our understanding of the relationship between olfactory and affective processing, as well as creates opportunities for building our understanding of the relationship between the two domains in the future.

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  “SMH White Gays”: A Netnographic Study of Hegemonic Masculinity and Internalized Homophobia among Queer Men of Color on Twitter

  Ryan Scott

  This study takes an in-depth look into the way that gay men of color create spaces for themselves on social media. Focusing on the social media platform Twitter, I explore the dialogue around identity among gay men and the obstacles to creating inclusive spaces (i.e. internalized homophobia, anti-effeminacy and racial preferences). To study these trends within Twitter posts, I preform a content analysis of 15 posts and their comments/replies, from October 2019 to February 2020, by self-identified gay men and look for themes of internalized homophobia, hegemonic masculinity or exclusion of people of color. The key idea of this study is that even within marginalized communities, there is still an emphasis on being able to conform to normative identities. I take a closer look at how queer men of color navigate Twitter to create their online personas and understand their intersecting identities. With the growing presence of social media in our lives, it is important to see social media as the new frontier for studying human interaction. While this study focuses on the creation of spaces for gay men, the sociological forces at play in this research could be applied to any group.

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  Social and Emotional Support for Siblings of Children with ASD

  Alison Jane Kolber-Jamieson

  Siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently experience a higher level of social-emotional issues when compared to siblings of typically developing children. This study examined data gathered from individual interviews with siblings of individuals with autism ASD. Participants described social and emotional issues that arose from living with an individual on the autism spectrum, what systems of support they accessed and benefitted from, and barriers to competent family-centered care. In exploring the social and emotional issues faced by siblings of individuals with ASD, analysis of the interview transcripts revealed five broad themes: anxiety/stress, depression, guilt, isolation, and anger/resentment. Exploration of the variables that influence these social and emotional issues (systems of support and barriers) reveal themes related to factors at school, factors at home, and factors within the community. Recommendations and implications for practice are provided for school personnel to support siblings of students on the autism spectrum.

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  Social Media and The Multiple In-Group Identity of the English Premier League International Supporter Clubs

  Nicholas Kerver

  This study addresses the use of social media by independent organizations – supporters clubs, which associate with sport teams to connect with fans. Arsenal America is a group of more than 70 supporters clubs ran independently from Arsenal FC across the United States. The organization was first founded in 2001 and was officially recognized in 2005. Club events are held for every home and away match at local restaurants and bars within each club’s region. While many of the events revolve around socialization between supporter club members, other events are held throughout the year including charity and philanthropy events. Each supporters club in Arsenal America has at least a Twitter and Facebook page, with the vast majority holding both. The purpose of this study is to show the use of social media by each Arsenal America organization in terms of content creation. A content analysis will be performed to examine the parameters which categorize the content delivered through both Twitter and Facebook by Arsenal America clubs. This study implicates the tactics revolving around content which can connect fans through an in-group identity, which can help fans feel both connected with their fellow fans, the local place identity, and the sport organization itself.

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  Social Media Content Labelling Toolkit

  Allen Mathew Madathil

  The proposed project is a graphical user interface for annotating recorded data on the social media composing process. This data can be used to learn about human behavioral patterns. Although this application was built for Windows, but it can be easily scaled to other platforms like Android as it was developed using Java. The Graphical User Interface allows the user to load the video files and label the video segments according to the actions performed. Labels are divided into two categories like action label and verbal label which are further subdivided into many categories. There are around 90 labels to choose from. For each action, the start time and end time are recorded. The labels along with the start time and end time of the actions are saved in a text file. The name of this text file matches the video file so whenever the user reopens the same video, previously saved labels are retrieved from the file which helps the user to continue where he left off. Another feature is that the application has a time-label bar which helps to visualize the labels with its corresponding time frames. Apart from learning about human behavioral patterns this tool can be modified and used for many other research works that require video labeling.

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  Soft Robot Actuator Design for Digital Light Processing

  Dillon Montgomery Balk

  This research involves the design, simulation and fabrication of novel soft robot actuators. Since the 1970s, robot design engineers have been experimenting soft materials in robotics components. Inspired by natural organisms, “soft robotics” involves the integration of a soft polymer material into a mechanism in order to achieve a variety of configurations. Pneumatically actuated by air through hollow channels within, a soft robotics component allows for very large, non-linear, displacements compared to classical rigid body components. These attributes allow soft robotics to have potential biomedical, industrial, and rescue applications. This research project involves designing and simulating various soft robotic actuators to mimic primitive motions, including twisting, bending, elongating, and angular displacement. The various actuators can be assembled to form serial and parallel chains to perform basic robotic tasks, such as search-and-retrieval or pick and place operations. Digital light processing (DLP) technology is an appealing fabrication technique because it is able to create very intricate parts with high resolution. Utilizing UDRI’s DLP capabilities, experiments with physical prototypes will calibrate and validate the simulation results.

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  Special Education in France and The United States of America: A Comparison and Contrast

  Joy Rogers

  Special Education for young children has been changing for years. These changes have included more progressive education in a global sense, that involves a focus on the child over a focus on their disability. These progressive changes have not only changed Special Education in The United States but also in western Europe. During a study abroad experience in Angers, France in the summer of 2019, research was conducted on how the Special Education System in The United States differs from the Special Education System in France. The goal of this project is to educate university peers, staff and officials about progressive education in a global sense and its importance. This project focuses on the similarities and differences between the two systems. Through the use of interviews of relevant individuals, based on their experiences and expertise, as well as personal experiences and research while studying abroad, it has been discovered that more progressive instructional practices have been implemented in The United States.

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  Stock Market Analysis

  Kate Rustige

  This project aimed to develop a program to predict the future prices given past prices of a stock. Using the properties of Brownian motion, we may derive its mean and variance. A stock price is modeled as a Geometric Brownian motion, with mean referring to the average return of the stock and the volatility referring to the risk of the stock. For each individual stock, the mean and volatility aid in predicting the future stock price.

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  Stories of Moral Courage on Campus

  Ana Teresa Aleman Belendez, Britney Agendia Amin, Mackenzie Elizabeth Baynes, Anna Elizabeth Beebe, Nicolette Marissa Bettuzzi, Dezanee M. Bluthenthal, Bailee K. Boland, Liliana Melissa Busic, Clark N. Campbell, Kaitlynne Elizabeth Chapman, Zac Alexander Collopy, Colleen Rose Conway, Margaret L. Deneen, Joshua James Digby, Grace Susan Elliott, Julia E. Gallenstein, Hannah Elizabeth Gibson, Bridget Therese Graham, Tongyu Guo, Kathryn Grace Hay, Aileen Marisa Hull, Elijah Nova Johnson, Kelsey Marie Kamil, Lydia Kimberley Kladitis, Kaitlyn Marie Leach, Maya Rose Leibold, Douglas Stuart Lennon, Justine Marie Liptak, Colleen Rose Liston, Arabella D. Loera, Mitch Edward Long, Brandy Megan Lynch, Nathan Thomas Marcus, Jared Dominic Marsh, Jai'Shawn Madelyn Lamar McClendon, Darby Rose McMonagle, Sarah Ellen Mcgonigle, Devan Connor Moses, Alex M. Mueller, Casey Marie Mullin, Jake Davidson Neff, Robert Botti Nolan, Cameron Cristina Nowlin, Jillian A. Parker, Tess L. Poe-Slade, Jasmine H. Riechmann, Meredith N. Robinson, Jonathon Caleb Nehemiah Sattler, Connor James Snodsmith, Claire Elaine Strobach, Claire C. Sullivan, Nicole Ann Vanvoorhis, Angela Kay Weiland, Elizabeth Anne Weiler, Maleah Aujenae Wells, Sophie Jane Wilson

  Students enrolled in three courses (HRS200, VAH428, POL431) worked on a collaborative multimedia project, inspired by the UD Human Rights Center's program, the Moral Courage Project. Through an open nomination process, the UD campus community put forward names of people who exemplify "moral courage". What is Moral Courage? We describe it as a trait a person exhibits when they act to promote respect and dignity within a community, especially in a way that challenges social norms, even though they could expose themselves to risk or harm in the process and may never be recognized for their actions. Student teams interviewed these individuals and collected visual artifacts to produce concise storytelling pieces showcasing the actions of the ordinary people around us who work to positively contribute to our campus culture.

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  Storytelling as a Tool for Activism: Agroecology and Food Security in the Himalayas Case Study

  Grace Scott, Emily Shanahan

  Through the Global Flyers: India Program, Grace and Emily spent six weeks exploring the intersection of agriculture, globalization, climate change, food security, and culture in the context of rural agricultural communities of the Himalayas. Food, in addition to the literal life-giving nutrition it provides, is a vehicle for language, culture, familial traditions, and interpersonal relationships. Due to climate change, the commodification of food, and inattentive globalization, farmers have been increasingly forced from their land and livelihood, despite the immense benefits they provide, and replaced with industrial agriculture operations that act as cultural erasures. During their time in India, Grace and Emily collaborated with team members to conduct community meetings, interview farmers, and facilitate youth input to create community-based storybooks. Storytelling has been used for centuries to define social values and have a particularly potent psychological influence. How can we continue to use storytelling as a tool for advocacy, for issues both locally and abroad? Join us to interact with stories from Sikkim, India and discuss how we can use our own stories as a tool for activism.

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  Structure function analysis of defective proventriculus (dve) in Drosophila melanogaster eye growth and development

  Anuradha Chimata Venkatakrishnan, Neha Gogia

  During development, axial patterning is required to establish Antero-posterior (AP), Dorso-Ventral (DV), and Proximo-Distal (PD) axes, which is crucial for the generation of a 3-dimensional organ from a monolayer organ primordium. Of the three axes, DV axis is the first lineage restriction event during eye development and any deviation results in developmental birth defects. In our study, we have used Drosophila melanogaster (Fruit fly) eye as a model system to understand the role of different domains of a new dorsal eye fate selector gene, defective proventriculus (dve, an ortholog of SATB1) in growth and development. In humans, SATB1, functions as a transcriptional regulator and chromatin organizer and requires tetramerization by the ULD domain. In Drosophila eye, dve regulates expression of wingless (wg), a negative regulator of eye. In genetic hierarchy, dve acts downstream of GATA-1 transcription factor pannier (pnr) and upstream of wg. Loss-of-function of dve results in dorsal eye enlargement while gain-of-function results in eye suppression. We performed structure function analysis of Dve protein to elucidate the role of various domains in patterning, growth and differentiation. We have developed several transgenic lines, which will allow us to induce expression domains of the specific domains of Dve protein and assay their effect on Drosophila eye patterning and growth. Dve has a ULD domain for tetramerization, HOX domain for DNA binding and PPP4R2 domain for H2AFX dephosphorylation. Here we present our results on ectopic induction of these individual domains of Dve and their effect on eye phenotype and Wg expression in the developing eye.

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  Students Making a Difference: Diversity and Campus Climate at UD

  Aniqa Noreen Ahmed, Cara M. Daley, Malon Ariel Hood, Amariá Chryslyn Camille Jones, Christopher Arnold Jones, Galila S. Kiffle, Serena Maya Melgar, Joia Marie Mitchell-Holman, Emily M. Ruebelman, Leah L. Ward

  Creating Inclusive Community involves students, faculty, and staff who enrolled in UDI 380 “Understanding, Respecting, and Connecting: Examining Privilege and Taking Action” and attended a diversity conference in Chicago, IL in April 2020. The focus of the conference was to examine the challenging concepts of privilege and oppression and to develop strategies to create a more equitable world. Come hear the students experiences at the conference and discuss the skills and knowledge they gained to enhance the campus climate for inclusivity and diversity at the University of Dayton. Please join us for a lively discussion!

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  Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education & Dayton

  Destiny Watson

  Studying Human Rights as it relates specifically to Dayton, and what can be done to make Dayton a Human Rights City has allowed me to learn more about Dayton. This course has allowed me to reflect on my hometown & own experiences as it relates to the SDGs. As a person who has had a good quality education and having family members who did not, I understand the importance of having a quality education regardless of location, class, race, etc. It’s good to see that there are actions being taken to improve the education system in Dayton.

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  Sustainable Stories: Linking Graphic Design and the Environment to Inform, Educate, and Inspire

  Shannon Stanforth

  I believe that graphic design has the ability to inspire social good and action. Similarly, sustainability is an emerging concern which depends on the collective decisions of an environmentally aware and civically-minded society. This thesis project explores the ways that graphic design and sustainability affect and influence each other. Graphic designers have the responsibility to visually communicate and connect with audiences. Sustainability’s applicability to a multitude of disciplines and its relevance to the future of our planet makes it a message worthy of communication. In an effort to link graphic design and sustainability together for the purpose of inspiring social and environmental good, I created a children’s book which focuses on the importance of naming and knowing the world around us. The book seeks to serve as an example of how design and sustainability can be linked in both a book’s production and the development of its content. It aims to maintain the ideals of sustainability while simultaneously emphasizing the importance of caring for our natural world and spreading this message to the youngest generation. Future steps for this research include: determining sustainable methods of printing and production, continuing to examine the intersections between the fields of sustainability and design, and disseminating my message to children and the community.

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  Synthesis, Characterization, and Fluorescence Behavior of Oxidized Biochar Particles

  Bethany R. Davies

  Biochar is made through a simple combustion method from any biomass. In this work, we produced fluorescent carbon-based particles using a hydrothermal process whereby biochar and hydrogen peroxide reacted; three separate sources of biomass were investigated. The synthesized particles were characterized via the following spectroscopic methods: Infra-Red, Ultraviolet-Visible, Fluorescence, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. The spectroscopic results suggest the presence of a conjugated carbon lattice with nitrogen and multiple oxygen-containing functional groups. All three biochar-based carbon particles exhibit similar strong fluorescent behavior when excited by light in the ultra-violet to near-visible range, with fluorescence occurring in the visible region over a range of approximately 300 nm with an emission maximum in the 430-450 nm region. The physical and fluorescence characteristics of these particles makes them an ideal candidate for future research into a safe, green, and cost-effective biosensor. Additionally, the minimal waste produced in this synthesis suggests a possible economically viable method for the large-scale production of fluorescent materials.

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  Taking Action: How Community Residents’ Positionality, Trust in the Government, and Risk Perceptions affect Advocacy in the Superfund Process

  Alyssa Miller

  A Superfund Site is a contaminated area designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that poses a risk to human health and must be cleaned up and remediated. Not only can a Superfund Site’s contamination affect residents’ health, but it can also jeopardize their property value and community life. Drawing on the human rights framework, international doctrines, and peer reviewed research, this poster proposes a conceptual framework for how residents’ social positionality, perceived risk, and trust in government could influence a community member’s ability to take action around such Superfund sites. This review of the literature is framed within the context of an underfunded and understaffed program which has resulted in a backlog of contaminated sites that require remediation. The findings from this literature review are contributing to a broader Environmental Justice in Greater Old North Dayton research project led by Dr. Danielle Rhubart which is focusing on three of the currently six Superfund sites within Dayton, Ohio, including Behr Dayton Thermal System VOC Plume, the North Sanitary Landfill (i.e. Valleycrest Landfill), and Valley Pike VOC. This poster will end with a brief snapshot of how these findings shed light on the survey findings from that project.

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  Technical Writing in China

  Julia Ziemelis, Maya Gerker, Savanna Simons

  Over winter break, we visited various businesses in China in the cities of Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. We are going to discuss what we learned about technical writing from these businesses and about the increasing demand for professional technical writers.

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  Technical Writing in China at Alibaba and Huawei

  Will Joseph Francis, Matthew F. Kaufman

  Over Winter break, we went on an intersession trip to China. During our time there we visited Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. In these cities, we had the pleasure of visiting technical writers at Chinese based and international companies. In our presentation, we examine Hauwei and Alibaba and the work their technical writers do.

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  Technical Writing: Our Experience in China

  Michael Vincent Benevento, Parker Alexander Getz

  During our two weeks in China, we visited a multitude of globalized companies in a variety of cities. We were exposed to how these companies operate and adapt to the language barriers they face. Aside from the more formal learning experience, we were exposed to a polarizing culture that has changed our perspective on life and how different cultures can operate.

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  Testing the Effects of Mucin and Nisin on the Susceptibility of Listeria monocytogenes to Antimicrobial Peptides

  Kaeley Elizabeth Bush, Alyssa M. Dabrowski

  Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that can survive and cause infections in the human gastrointestinal tract. In susceptible populations, such as those immunocompromised, L. monocytogenes is able to cross the intestinal barrier and cause diseases such as meningitis that are much higher in mortality. During L. monocytogenes transit through the GI tract, it is exposed to the mucosal barrier rich with mucus and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs)--two major innate defense mechanisms against foreign pathogens. Moreover, the endogenous microbes produce large quantities of fermentation acids that also assist in reducing pathogen colonization. In this study, we examined the effects of mucus and propionate, one of the major fermentation acids found in the human GI lumen, on the susceptibility of L. monocytogenes to AMPs. Using nisin as a model AMP, we found that propionate and mucin alone increased the susceptibility of L. monocytogenes to nisin. With the exception of the L. monocytogenes ΔsigB mutant, in which propionate alone decreased susceptibility to nisin. We found that propionate and mucin together seemed to have no effect on the susceptibility of L. monocytogenes to nisin. From our results we also determined that anaerobic growth only increased L. monocytogenes susceptibility to nisin in the ΔsigB mutant. Further research is to be done with the human antimicrobial peptide LL-37 to see if similar results are found.

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  The Association Between Household Routines and Preschool Children's Academic Performances

  Kara Kristine Gillespie

  The use of familial routines in the home can serve as a critical tool to improve the academic and social development of young children, thus impacting their overall performance in school. The goal of this study is to replicate previous research and look at specific household routines and how they impact academic performance in preschool aged children. In terms of a routine, this study will specifically look at parents regularly reading with children, following a bedtime routine, parents regularly engaging in imaginary play with the child, and maintaining an overall daily routine. This study predicts that the more frequently parents engage in these different routines, the better overall academic and cognitive performance their child will exhibit after controlling for demographic covariates. All questions pertaining to household routines will be taken from the parent survey and given to parents that opted to participate in the Preschool Promise Project. The questions measure the prevalence of a routine on a scale from 1-5, with 1 indicating the routine is not regularly implemented, and 5 indicating that the routine is frequently implemented. Data on children's academic performance will be taken from assessments conducted through the Preschool Promise Project using the Bracken test and the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment. This data was collected at various preschools and day care centers across the Dayton area, assessing children ages 3 to 5. The Bracken test measures a child's school readiness through assessing various different academic concepts that are necessary for learning at school. The Bracken test includes five subsets that apply to school readiness, including colors, letters, numbers/counting, size/comparison, and shapes. The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment measures a child's school readiness in social, physical, and academic areas. The assessment consists of four subsets including social foundations, language and literacy, mathematics, and physical well-being and motor development.

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  The Centrality of Trees

  Morgan Ball

  The study of the middle of graphs has numerous real-life applications. In this presentation I will focus on identifying the most logical place to put a Hospital in West Jefferson, OH, using the different measures of the middle of trees. As part of this discussion, I will introduce the importance of the processes of eccentricity, radius, diameter, and status in regard to the graph, in addition to the reasoning behind why each vertex of the graph was chosen. Lastly, I will discuss the significant different between the center of a graph and the median of a graph and distinguish the correct time to use each.