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  Examining the Experience of Choosing a Major among First-Year, First-Generation, Undecided Undergraduates at the University of Dayton

  Adam Thomas Solomon

  Over half of all students who withdraw from college do so within their first year, resulting in a first-year attrition rate of over 25% at four-year institutions, and roughly 50% at two-year institutions (Cuseo, 2005). Undecided students and first-generation students represent two populations who are at the greatest risk of attrition. Since the 1980s, both populations of students have increasingly become the focus of study in the retention literature, and yet little has been written about the intersection of these two student characteristics. This qualitative, phenomenological study attempts to address this intersectionality by highlighting the experience of decision-making around choice of major among first-year, first-generation, undecided undergraduates at the University of Dayton. Data collected via one-on-one interviews with participants reveal their extrinsic and intrinsic motivations for choosing a particular course of study, how they conceptualize choosing a major based on post-college aspirations, concerns about being undecided, and key figures who helped guide them through the process of choosing a major.

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  Examining the Stability of the Purrsonality of Felis catus, the Domestic House Cat.

  Taylor Nicole Chambers, Alexander N Lawriw

  People have a tendency to believe that their beloved furry felines have their own unique personalities. However, according to the traditional definition of personality, a set of characteristics that are stable across both time and different circumstances, this may not entirely be true. Previous research into this area has resulted in dimensional groupings of cat personality traits similar to those found within the well-known human equivalent, the Big Five (Feaver, Mendl & Bateson, 1986; Karsh & Turner, 1988; Bennett, Rutter, Woodhead & Howell, 2017; Ha & Ha, 2017). While the number of labels and dimensions discovered typically differs, these studies have all come to the conclusion that cat personality traits do exist, and that they vary from individual to individual. Yet, none of these studies have intentionally examined the stability of these traits, a key component of overall personality. The current study addresses this issue by asking primary caregivers of cats to rate, on a scale from one to five, how well 29 adjectives (taken from Bennett et al, 2017) describe their cat in three different situations and at two periods of time. The 29 adjectives rated by the participants were scored on the six dimensions of cat personality (playfulness, nervousness, amiability, dominance, demandingness, and gullibility) following the method of Bennett el al. (2017). Separate repeated measure ANOVAs were conducted with either situation or time as the independent variable. A Bonferroni adjusted α level of .05 / 6 = .00833 was used. Significant effects of situation were found for playfulness, nervousness, amiability, dominance and demandingness. Gullibility was not statistically significant. Significant effects of time were found for amiability, dominance, and demandingness. Playfulness, nervousness, and gullibility were not statistically significant at the Bonferroni corrected α level. In conclusion, while certain personality traits were found to be stable either across time or across situations, others were not; therefore, overall personality was not stable.

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  Experimental Validation and Reliability Testing for Center of Mass Body Tracking

  Kevin Michael Brand

  Determining and then tracking the center of mass is difficult for a connected system of segments, such as a human, animal, or humanoid robot. Available techniques to perform these operations are complicated, time-consuming, or expensive. The technique known as Statically Equivalent Serial Chain (SESC) modeling promises to be inexpensive, using only an Xbox Kinect and a Wii Balance Board for equipment, and quick because only a modest number of subject poses are needed. Although SESC models have previously proven to reasonably estimate the center of mass (CoM) of systems of bodies from a limited number of experiments, recent validation testing shows the capacity for significant improvement. This research aimed to improve upon current testing protocols, reduce sensor error through improved calibration, and refine the algorithm employed to produce more meaningful parameters. As the CoM is an important parameter in gait analysis, SESC methods are prominent when considering in-home rehabilitation techniques that are versatile enough to improve potentially offset CoM problems for people of differing body types and sizes. Due to this significance, the research performed continued the development of the SESC technique toward its use in individualized rehabilitation protocols.

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  Exploring Issues Pertaining to Bilingual Education

  Natalie Elizabeth Blank, Taylor Lou Flight

  This presentation will discuss the tactics and overall benefits of bilingual and immersive education. In addition, cost and accessibility of these types of programs will be discussed.

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  Exploring the impact of El Niño and La Niña on δD and δ18O patterns in global precipitation using ArcGIS software

  Amber Johnson

  This study aims to determine the impact of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events on the environmental factors (including temperature, latitude, elevation and precipitation amount) controlling stable isotopes in precipitation utilizing regression models in the ArcGIS software. Stable isotope ratios (δD and δ18O) of precipitation have been documented to be directly dependent on changes in temperature and precipitation amount in temperate and tropical regions of the world, respectively (Dansgaard, 1964). During El Niño and La Niña Southern Oscillation events, many regions of the world experience changes to temperature and precipitation amount, with some regions becoming cooler and wetter, others becoming warmer and drier, and many others experiencing patterns in between (Trenberth, 1997). Using ArcGIS, global maps will be created showing the variation in δ18O, temperature, latitude, elevation and precipitation amount for six selected years corresponding to strong El Niño, strong La Niña, and normal climatic conditions. Regression models will be performed by climate zone of the world (temperate, tropical, polar) to determine the relationship between environmental factors and δ18O. For normal years, the relationship between temperature and δ18O in temperate regions should be approximately linear (R2~1) and a positive trend, while the relationship between precipitation amount and δ18O in tropical regions should show a negative trend. The δ18O ratios in regions of the world that become cooler and wetter during ENSO events could be more depleted than during normal years, while regions that become warmer and drier will have more enriched ratios than during normal years. This project has immense significance in its potential to predict future patterns of δ18O globally during ENSO events, impact groundwater mass balance models, influence resource allocation in regions heavily impacted by ENSO events, and produce more accurate isotope-based paleoclimatic reconstruction models.

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  Exploring the knowledge and attitudes toward concussions among college football players

  Ian James Chennell, Megan Irene Grace, Marissa Ann Melaragno, Jamie Grace Squillante

  There have been increasing concerns on the issue of concussion in the world of football. The concussion effects are becoming more evident as the players get older and the more technology grows. Because of this, we wanted to look into the knowledge level and attitudes about concussions. Our study looks at multiple college football players and what their knowledge level and attitudes are about concussions. We will measure this by conducting interviews and administering surveys based on "Rosenbaum Concussion Knowledge and Attitudes Survey (RoCKAS)". We also took aspects of the Planned Behavior Theory and related them to our findings. The Planned Behavior Theory looks at an individual's drive and motivation to engage in a specific behavior. Specifically, we are interested in seeing if the knowledge level or attitudes about football among college football players would play a part in their athletic performance.

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  Exploring Undergraduate, International Student Retention at the University of Dayton

  Emily Mitolo Grasso

  The purpose of this qualitative, case study is to explore the challenges, responses and best practices of academic units in the retention of undergraduate, international students moving from their first to second year at the University of Dayton. The Deans’ offices were surveyed (n = 4) and interviewed (n = 4) electronically, revealing that there are not current retention initiatives for this student population within the academic units. The findings will be shared with the units as well as other support services across campus who may be able to take action to increase persistence of undergraduate, international students past their first year.

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  Extracellular biofilm polysaccharides-mediated antibiotic resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

  Celeste Claire Bergman

  High density surface-attached growth of bacteria are called biofilms. This bacterial community secrete extracellular matrix materials, of which the major components are polysaccharides. The polysaccharides serve as adhesion molecules as well as a protective barrier against antibiotics and other antimicrobial compounds. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen, and its propensity to grow biofilms in infected sites causes serious medical problems, often untreatable due to their antibiotic resistance properties. The two major biofilm polysaccharides of P. aeruginosa are the PEL and PSL polysaccharides. In this project, we show the relationships between antibiotic resistance and PEL/PSL polysaccharides of P. aeruginosa biofilms.

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  Factors that Affect Students in an Urban Educational Setting

  Jack M Dalton, Natalie Grace Kremer, Brittany K Mason, Grace C Takacs

  This presentation explores how factors such as grade retention, food insecurity, drug use, and the school-to-prison pipeline affect students in an urban educational setting.

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  Fault Lines: Geopolitical Rivalry in the East China Sea

  Nicholas Alexander Dalton

  The Senkaku Islands dispute in the East China Sea stands as a major territorial dispute between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Japan. This dispute has periodically reemerged in the interactions between these two states between 1895, when the Senkaku Islands were definitively administered by Japan, and the present day. The dispute has undergone significant changes in its emphasis by both the PRC and Japan, as well as what the dispute is about. At its early stages, the Senkaku Islands dispute was largely ignored by both China and Japan. Even between 1971 and 1978, when the Senkaku Islands dispute entered its modern form, the dispute was deemphasized to promote normalization of relations between the PRC and Japan. However, after the 1980s, with a rising PRC and somewhat economically and militarily weaker Japan, the dispute emerged with new intensity. In turning to the focus of the Senkaku Islands dispute, this has involved both economic interests, such as the resources in and around the adjacent seabed, as well as elements of popular nationalism. The Senkaku Islands dispute has created significant tensions and military development between Japan and the PRC. This paper examines how the Senkaku Islands dispute has driven militarization between the PRC and Japan.

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  Fear no weevil: insect communities as indicators of restoration in an urban prairie network

  Erin Butrica, Amanda N Finke

  Tallgrass prairies are one of North America’s most threatened ecosystems, having been depleted to 4% of its original range. Because of this, conservationists have been working to protect the remaining prairies, as well as restoring and constructing new ones. However, studies are showing that these restored and constructed prairies may not support the same biodiversity and ecosystem services as natural prairies. Most of the biodiversity within these prairies is composed of arthropods. We determined how insect communities from remnant prairies (n=5) compare to that of constructed prairies (n=5) and old fields (n=4). At each site, we collected 4 samples of arthropods by sweepnetting 25 times each, pooling samples, and identifying all individuals to order. We also sampled plant and soil community characteristics. We saw that habitat type affected the number of Coleoptera (beetles), with more beetles in remnant prairies than restored or constructed prairies. Individuals from this order were identified to family, and we saw higher numbers of Phalacridae (shining flower beetles) and Curculionidae (weevils) in the remnant prairie sites. Because few studies look at organisms other than plants to determine success of restoration efforts, we see these beetles as potential indicator species that may help land managers in determining the success of prairie restorations.

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  Feeding the City: Food Access and Grocery Stores

  Tiffany Erin Hendricks

  Several areas of Dayton are considered “food deserts,” meaning that fresh fruit and vegetables, along with other healthful whole foods, are largely unavailable in these areas. Drawing on Facing Project Narratives in Dayton as well as social science literature, the purpose of this research poster is to investigate food access in the City of Dayton. More specifically, thise poster will highlight the causes, conditions, and effects of food deserts and how the presence of a food desert can be representative of the inequalities present in Dayton citizens’ lives. Additionally, connection between poverty and food access is discussed as well as current and po­tential efforts to combat this issue such as the Urban Renewal Farm, government-subsidized grocery stores, food cooperatives, and increasing the size and resources available for urban growing.

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  Feeding the City: Food Access and Grocery Stores

  Tiffany Erin Hendricks

  Several areas of Dayton are considered “food deserts,” meaning that fresh fruit and vegetables, along with other healthful whole foods, are largely unavailable in these areas. Drawing on Facing Project Narratives in Dayton as well as social science literature, the purpose of this research poster is to investigate food access in the City of Dayton. More specifically, thise poster will highlight the causes, conditions, and effects of food deserts and how the presence of a food desert can be representative of the inequalities present in Dayton citizens’ lives. Additionally, connection between poverty and food access is discussed as well as current and potential efforts to combat this issue such as the Urban Renewal Farm, government-subsidized grocery stores, food cooperatives, and increasing the size and resources available for urban growing.

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  Final High School GPA, What's the Big Deal?

  Katelyn Brohman

  This quantitative survey-based study explores whether or not there is a statistically significant correlation between final-year high-school GPA and first-semester college GPA among undergraduate students at the University of Dayton. The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not a final high school GPA is related to success in college. It is not rare for high school students to believe their GPA in high school directly relates to their ability to succeed in college; as a high school teacher, I believe this is incorrect. We put so much stress on high school GPA only for some students to be under-prepared when arriving at college. This study also explores the difference between students' first-semester college GPAs based on their self-identification as (a) not at all confident, (b) somewhat confident, (c) confident, or (d) very confident about being successful in college before they started as undergraduates at the University of Dayton.

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  Finding the probability of being selected an NBA All-Star

  Matthew Paul Forte

  Halfway through the National Basketball Association, there is an All-Star break where the 24 best players are selected to participate in an All-Star game. Being selected as an all-star has many implications for the player and his organization, including salary bonuses and legacy concerns. This project aims to identify the probability that players in the National Basketball Association will be selected as an all-star. The model uses a number of statistical indicators including points per game, assists per game, rebounds per game, efficiency ratings, and more.

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  Forecasting Rain Using Logistic Regression.

  Alsomali Ibrahim Y Alsomali

  Prediction and forecasting using logistic regression have exploded during recent years. Logistic regression modeling now used in almost all kind of knowledge. Rainfall is an important event in the climate system. Whether it rains or not has a big impact on several life areas such as nature, agriculture and animal life. Thus, we need to be able to predict rainfall. In this paper, we show how to use logistic regression for predicting rainfall. Ten years of daily rainfall data used to build the model. Two extra years of observed daily rainfall data used as a validation of the model. Our finding shows that logistic regression model can predict the rainfall very efficiently.

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  Forecasting U.S. Inflation

  John Martin Harmon

  The U.S. Federal Reserve relies on a target rate of inflation of 2% to determine monetary policy actions regarding raising or lowering the federal funds rate. If the actual rate of inflation is above 2%, a tightening of monetary policy usually occurs. Conversely, an inflation rate below 2% can lead to a policy of monetary easing. The purpose of this study is to develop a time trend forecasting model of inflation to determine if expected inflation rates are above or below the target rate. Using CPI and CPI less food and energy as the measures of inflation, forecasts are made on a monthly basis for both 2017&2018.The forecasts for 2017 will determine the forecast accuracy of the regression models and the forecasts for 2018 will provide comparisons to the benchmark 2% target rate. The Root Mean Square Error(RMSE) is used to measure forecast accuracy. The time trend regression models are fitted to the monthly CPI data for 2009-2016 and 2009-2017.

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  Generation of Octave Spanning Spectra directly from a Fiber Oscillator with Self-Similar Pulse Evolution

  Ankita Nayankumar Khanolkar

  The shortest light pulse that can be generated by a mode-locked laser will always be of fundamental interest to the field of ultrafast science. Mode-locked lasers that produce octave-spanning spectra and few-cycle pulses are very attractive for applications such as frequency comb, high-harmonic generation, and ultrafast spectroscopy. Ti: sapphire lasers still dominate the few cycle regimes with generation of 5 fs pulses and octave spanning spectra directly from laser cavity. Performance of the fiber lasers is improved over the years, but they still lag in terms of high energy and few cycle pulses compared to solid state lasers. We have simulated a mode-locked fiber laser design based on the double clad ytterbium doped fiber with the addition of a dispersive delay line (DDL) before photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and it produced octave spanning spectra extending from 750 nm to 1600 nm (660 nm at -20 dB level). It is scientifically important to realize and stabilize a mode-locked fiber laser with such an extreme perturbation even numerically. To our best knowledge, this is the first numerical evidence demonstrating generation of very broad spectra directly out of a mode-locked fiber laser. Further experimental investigation of this mode-locked fiber laser is currently underway.

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  GLOF Modeling of Hongu Glacier Lake in the Nepal Himalayas: A GIS-based Approach

  Katherine A Strattman

  The objective of this project is to model a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) of Hongu Glacier Lake, located in the Mount Everest region of Nepal, using a physically-based GIS model. Due to recent climate change many glaciers in the Himalayas have experienced rapid retreat, resulting in the development and growth of proglacial lakes. Often dammed by terminal moraines composed of unstable and unconsolidated material, trigger events such as excessive rainfall or avalanches can cause the dam to be breached, releasing massive amounts of water over a short period. Large volumes of water combined with the steep and complex terrain of the Himalayas causes serious threat to downstream populations and infrastructure. Assessing and monitoring proglacial lakes using remotely sensed images has become a widely established practice as many glaciers, including Hongu, are in unreachable, remote area. Additionally, GIS-based flood models allow for spatial analysis of risk assessment. Using digital elevation models (DEMs) derived from remotely sensed images, land cover data, and soil data as base maps, the freely available WetSpa model is applied to Hongu Glacier Lake for flood prediction. WetSpa, or Water and Energy Transfer between Soil, Plants and Atmosphere, is a physically based GIS model that simulates hydrologic processes continuously over time and space on the catchment scale. DEMs from 2015 imagery are obtained freely through NASA’s Earth Explorer program, and soil and land use data are obtained from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Outputs in the form of hydrographs from the WetSpa model are imported into ArcMap for analysis. Information on extent and intensity of the modeled GLOF can be used for risk assessment or future planning of infrastructure.

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  Got Sleep: An investigation of the sleep problem on Dayton's campus

  Nathaniel Dale Brown, Lucas William Edwards, Sara M Huber, Katie Rachel Knezevich

  Sleep deprivation has adverse effects on college students impacting their diet, memory, mood, focus, immune system, and overall health. The college lifestyle creates an environment that does not support adequate sleep. We talked with UD students to gauge their knowledge of the importance of sleep in a healthy lifestyle, and found most students are not aware of the effects that poor sleep creates in their lives. We believe the University of Dayton does not have adequate educational information regarding the importance of sleep. After evaluating the resources provided by other universities, we determined more can be done at UD to raise awareness of the pros and cons of sleep as well as other recommendations to get a better nights sleep. Our poster will describe our team’s recommendation for raising awareness of this issue. We also created a document to provide a way for students to self-assess how healthy their sleeping patterns are as well as information on health issues related to sleep deprivation.

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  Gross Domestic Income and Stock Returns: An Empirical Analysis, 2009-2017

  Michael Anthony Capicotto, Evan J Willmann

  Most financial economists agree that macroeconomic factors, as exogenous variables, must be included in asset pricing models in order to explain the variation in expected returns. In this study, I test the hypothesis that Gross Domestic Income (GDI) explains stock market price movements over time. I use linear regression analysis to identify the covariation between GDI and the top ten stocks by market value in the following SPDR sectors; (1) Healthcare, (2) Consumer Discretionary, (3) Information Technology, and (4) Industrials. Based on the regression coefficients (B), I develop portfolio weights for the stocks within each sector, with higher weights given to stocks with higher B coefficients. Assuming a $1,000,000 investment in each sector portfolio, I calculate returns for the years 2009 - 2017. I also calculate out of sample returns for the first two months in 2018. The benchmark portfolio used to determine excess returns is the SPDR ETF SPY.

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  Group Songwriting as a Self-Care Practice Among College Students

  Victoria Clare Obermeier, Emily Rose Robinson

  The present study explores how group songwriting may positively contribute to self-care in the University of Dayton student community, as well as among the music therapy community. College is a time of intense stress and anxiety; thus, self-care is essential in order to maintain both physical and mental health, as well as overall functioning. Our research shows that university mental health services are highly underutilized. Some of the aims of this study are to increase visibility of self-care practices and to provide students with the additional self-care tool of songwriting, all in efforts to de-stigmatize mental illness.

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  Growth Regulatory Pathway collaborates with Axial Patterning Genes to regulate Patterning and Growth in Drosophila Eye

  Neha Gogia

  In all the multicellular organisms, organogenesis requires axial patterning to determine Antero-Posterior (AP), Dorso-Ventral (DV), Proximo-Distal (PD) axes. Any deviation in these axes during development leads to congenital birth defects. In our model system, Drosophila melanogaster (a.k.a fruit fly), Dorso-Ventral (DV) patterning marks first lineage restriction event. We have identified defective proventriculus (dve), an ortholog of SATB homeobox 1 (special AT-rich sequence binding protein 1), as a new member of DV patterning genes hierarchy. We have shown that dve acts downstream of pannier (pnr, a GATA-1 transcription factor), and upstream of wingless (wg) in dorsal gene hierarchy. Loss-of-function (LOF) of dve or pnr results in dramatic dorsal eye enlargements, whereas Gain-of-function (GOF) of dve, pnr suppresses eye specific fate. We have demonstrated that Wingless (Wg), (1) is downstream target of Hippo growth regulatory pathway (highly conserved) in eye, (2) acts downstream of dve, (3) exhibits similar eye enlargement and suppression phenotypes (upon LOF, GOF respectively), and has been shown to play a role in growth. Here, we present that, DV patterning genes interacts with Hippo signaling to regulate their common downstream target, Wg during developing Drosophila eye. Our data (using GOF, LOF) states that (1) These two unrelated pathways are related and interacts antagonistically, (2) Activating Hippo signaling suppresses dve, pnr expressing cells, downregulates Wg and changes head, antennae specific fate to an eye, (3) Blocking cell death activity of hpo (using UAS-p35, anti-apoptotic) doesn’t affects its ability to undergo differentiation, (4) Growth regulatory pathway regulates the expression of DV patterning genes (dve, pnr acts downstream of Hippo pathway), and that (5) GOF/LOF of dve, pnr does not affect the expression of Hippo downstream reporters diap1 and expanded in developing eye of Drosophila. These studies present new genetic interaction between two unrelated pathways to regulate growth and patterning of an organ.

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  Handling Homesickness: Helping Transitioning First-Year Students at the University of Dayton Recognize and Cope with Homesickness

  Kennedy Glynn Hale, Wyatt Andrew Kaiser, Ali M Wiethe

  According to Academia, “Up to 95% of first-year college students report some level of homesickness.” The transition to college can be the biggest change many first-year students have ever dealt with. Quickly, they may begin to long for home and become homesick. With this in mind, we researched the issue of homesickness and the resources on the University of Dayton’s campus and other college campuses. At the University of Dayton, the issue of homesickness is briefly mentioned on the counseling center’s website. There seems to be a lack of resources and attention on our campus to this topic, which affects almost all incoming freshman at one point in time. To investigate how homesickness affects first-year students, we interviewed current freshmen to evaluate their personal experience with these issues and how they overcame their discomfort. In addition, interviews were conducted with resident assistants on their training for these issues and how they help students become acclimated to college. Through researching other universities across the country and interviewing the community on our campus, we have created multiple suggestions for supporting freshmen during this time of change. Our goal is to provide resources dedicated to help first-year students experiencing homesickness by increasing their overall happiness on campus while also helping them become successful in their future endeavors.

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  HeadEx: ​Real-time Event Extraction and Interlinking from News Headline​s

  Matthew A Weiler

  In the world today, there is a lack of useful and quality approaches to structuring and semantically annotating data-sets from real-time news outlets. This research represents an essential pipeline and implementation to such a problem and includes background data modeling, event and entity annotation, and finally interlinking events from real-time sources such as twitter headline news sources.