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  Finding Physicians Fast: Making finding a doctor easier for ESL students

  Katherine J. Gross, Marissa Christine Jama, Charles Conner Yancey

  In the realm of healthcare, it is often difficult to decipher how to locate personal and primary physicians. Those living in the United States are familiar with the role of family care physicians, however, individuals who have immigrated to the U.S. may not fully understand how to find a family physician. The topic of family physicians is important because many other countries do not have primary care physicians that require appointments. For our project, we took two documents that tested at a reading level of 12th grade. We did this by testing the original documents with the SMOG test and the Flesch-Kincaid Test. The SMOG test was performed manually and evaluated the documents’ sentence structure and individual word syllables. The Flesch-Kincaid Test was performed via the program Word and measured the documents’ average reading level. We then presented this document to students in the Level 2 Intensive English Program (IEP) at the University of Dayton to gauge how readable our revised document was. In addition to lowering the level of the vocabulary, we provided the students with a visual step-by-step guide outlining the process of finding a family physician in America. The processes included routes that the individual can take to find a physician if they do possess health insurance or if they do not possess health insurance. Through several meetings with the IEP students we were able to obtain feedback as to how to improve the quality of our document. By lowering the readability level of our documents to a 6th grade level, we made the information of locating a primary care physician in the Dayton area to these students.

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  Frame Redundancy Elimination Technology for Big Data Analysis

  ALmabrok Essa Essa, Sidike Paheding, Daniel P Prince

  Rapid advances in the area of sensor technology have enabled the use of video acquisition systems to create large datasets for analysis. However, processing big data requires extensive effort for human analysts. On the other hand, it is observed that many data, such as high-frame rate video, contain redundancy that cause extra work for analysis. Therefore, there is a need to develop an automated frame selection technique to reduce work load. In this research, we develop a method that can extract the most important and meaningful video frames from a large amount of data, while removing the insignificant ones to ease further analysis. These key frames can be selected based on the statistical analysis such as computing the mean and variance among a set of frames or between subsequent frames. We believe this technology benefits the computational performance of many real-world data processing systems, especially in current big data problems.

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  Fundamentally Based Portfolio Weighting Models: A Multi-Factor Approach

  John P Klingler

  Over the last decade, based on the pioneering work of Rob Arnott, a growing number of investment managers are now using fundamental indicators to determine portfolio weights for stocks within exchange traded funds (ETFs). In this study I use fundamental metrics to evaluate the performance of three sector ETFs. In addition, I test the efficacy of using a concentrated portfolio of stocks for each sector as a proxy for total sector performance. The sector ETFs included in the study are consumer staples, consumer discretionary, and health care. The fundamental metrics used are Price to Book, Price to Sales, Price to Cash Flow, Price to Earnings and expected earnings per share growth one year ahead. The year of analysis is 2014.

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  Get in the Box: The Impact of Male Socialization and its Relation to Conformity Among College Football Players

  Vet A Smelko

  Masculinity is a social construct that allows all men to use their manliness as status symbol. Often times, men who have a narrow definition of masculinity will see it as a competition where they must conform to societal norms of traditional manliness in order to prove their worth among their peers, teammates, or other men in general. In turn, this does not allow many men to develop a genuine and authentic sense of self. This study was distributed to the entire varsity football, which consist of 96 players ranging from freshman to fifth year seniors. Using quantitative data from the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory, this study illustrates that the rate of conformity to masculine norms among college football players at a Division 1 non-scholarship, religiously affiliated institution. The conformity is based upon a player’s prior socialization experiences, athletic identity, and their ability to make meaning within a college environment. The data represented show that as a whole, college football players at the division one non-scholarship level have a high rate of conformity in regards to traditional forms of masculinity. Specifically the data show the highest ratings of conformity among college football players who have a defensive position, and are first or second year student-athletes.

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  Ghetto University: A Critical Analysis of a Word's Power in a Community

  Amanda Jean Dee

  I am investigating the contexts that shape a name or symbol and how that name establishes, counters, and/or reinforces power within a community. This name is “The Ghetto,” the name ubiquitously used by outside media outlets and University of Dayton students, alumni, and some of its faculty and administrative staff to describe the university-owned student neighborhood, until questions of the name’s use began to gain widespread traction on public platforms and in conversation during the 2014-16 academic years. Partially as a result of a community collaborative art exhibition, GHETTO, and columns addressing the name in the student newspaper, Flyer News, debate over the word has ignited across campus and beyond. A conversation about race underlies this debate, which I hope to capture to start a dialogue. Based on voices of university and city community members from public platforms and original interviews in tandem with comparative cases at other universities and in pop culture, I will offer an analysis of this moment of discourse from a critical perspective. This is not the end of this study on “ghetto,” but rather a starting point—a case study—which will hopefully serve as a resource for others at the University of Dayton and other universities and studies broaching similar documentations and critical analyses of the power of language in our social lives.

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  Greek Life and Catholic Universities: Do the Values of Greek Life Match with Those of the Catholic Church?

  John A. Goebel

  Greek Life organizations face many negative stipulations across the United States due to several allegations of disrespectful actions. Due to these negative actions, there are Catholic institutions across the United States that do not allow Greek Life organizations on their respective campus. Such reasons Catholic institutions give is that Greek Life is not needed on campus for students to live out Catholic values. Instead, students have service, special interest and sports clubs to join to live out Catholic values. As a student apart of Greek Life on the University of Dayton’s campus feel that the values between Greek life and the Marianist match up. If Greek life can encourage members to live out their catholic values at Dayton, then why is their trouble on campuses such as the University of Notre Dame to accept Greek life? I used a data and statistical approach to understand the amount of Catholic institutions that accept Greek Life. I discovered there are many institutions that find Greek Life valuable to living out Catholic Values. In this presentation, I am comparing the schools that accept to those that don’t accept Greek Life. Secondly, I am explaining the reasons why and why not Greek Life is acceptable on Catholic campuses. Lastly, I am covering the survey answers from University of Dayton graduate and undergraduate students.

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  Honor's Thesis Proposal: Effects of Tactile versus Electronic Games on Attention, Distraction, and Understanding

  Samantha A. Malick

  The ability to attend to relevant information and resist attention to distractors is important for children’s cognitive development. Difficulties with attention can impede memory development and impact learning. Much has been written in the news about the impact of electronic media on children’s development of attention skills, but little research has been done explicitly comparing children’s attention to relevant information and resistance to distractions across activities that are presented in either tactile or electronic format. The goal of this study is to compare levels of attention and distraction among preschool-aged children while they engage in a common childhood activity, playing a board game, which is either presented in an electronic or tactile format. Also, comparing children’s basic understanding of the game across conditions will provide information on whether tactile or electronic games are more beneficial for children to get the most out of the task. Previous research is mixed on the potential benefits of electronic activities compared to tactile versions. One recent study suggested that the use of electronic media increases attention problems while decreasing executive function skills, but that it improves visual attention (Swing, 2013). Recent research also indicates that interactive websites appear to have many benefits for learning, but there is little empirical evidence to show media is more effective for learning as opposed to other types of instruction (Schmidt & Vandewater, 2008). Therefore, I hypothesize that while children’s visual attention to the game may be greater while playing the electronic game, the use of tactile pieces and the tactile game itself may serve as an interactive way to boost understanding. Therefore, I hypothesize that children will have a greater understanding of the game when it is a tactile board game. I will observe 10-20 families playing either the tactile or electronic version of Linear Numbers Board Game (Siegler & Ramani, 2009). Children’s attention, distraction, and understanding will be coded by the experimenter to determine how tactile and electronic games affect these skills.

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  Hours Worked and Earnings: A Closer Look At Demand Pull Effects on Inflation

  Luke A Bir, Evan J Schatz

  Federal Reserve Economists consider average hours worked and average hourly earnings as key factors in explaining inflation trends. In this study, we look at the trends in hours worked and average hourly earnings from 2006-2015. We also look at the period 2009-2015 to see if the hours worked and earnings trends have materially changed after the 2008 recession. Demand pull effects are evident in both hours worked and earnings if they exhibit upward trend patterns. Using linear trend equations, we hypothesize that if the b coefficients are >0 demand pull inflation forces are at work in the economy. A flat or downward sloping trend line i.e. (b=0 or b<0) would indicate that demand pull inflation effects, at the margin, do not exist.

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  (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction With my College Major: Impact of Motivation to Choose a College Major on First-Year Students’ Satisfaction and Sense of Belonging

  Andrew J Morrow

  Social norms, parental desires, peer influence, and money. Some students resort to these extrinsic motivations to choose their major, while ideally, students should be utilizing intrinsic motivations to inform their decisions. Choosing a major can be a difficult process for first-year students, as the complex and stressful decision influences a multitude of future implications. This study connects the motivations first-year students at the University of Dayton used to choose a major to their self-identified satisfaction and sense of belonging as they approach their sophomore year. Findings provide a glimpse into the procedures that first-year UD students prioritized and how their satisfaction and sense of belonging has been affected while at the institution due to choice of academic program. Satisfaction and sense of belonging are integral to understand further due to the retention and persistence consequences for student and institution. Attendees will walk away from this poster presentation with a framework for understanding the research and strategies for advising students who are embarking on, or inundated in, the multifaceted processes of choosing a major.

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  Identification of English Learners as Gifted Students

  Riley Catherine Weber

  The United States educational system has faced several challenges and reforms regarding assessment and identification in the past fifty years which continue to change as the nation develops new goals and needs (Giuliani & Pierangelo 2012). In recent years, schools have included a large population of immigrant students from families with native languages other than English (Carter 2005). The need for educating students in English as a second language has led to new policies and programs developed specifically for ELL or English Language Learners (Elizalde-Utnick 2008). Another current topic of educational policy concerns the emphasis on assessment and high-stakes testing. In 2004, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA, provided legal rights and expectations for special education students which includes students with learning disabilities; however, English Language Learners are not covered under IDEA unless they are identified with a learning disability. IDEA also does not cover the rights of students who qualify for gifted and talented programs, even though students who qualify for these programs require a form of specialized education. Due to these recent educational initiatives, this research study will focus on how the assessment of English Language Learners impacts their identification and placement in gifted and talented programs. This is a current topic to research because most studies have focused on the overrepresentation of English Language Learners as learning disabled or the misidentification of students of color in learning disabled programs. However, some case studies and other forms of research have considered the underrepresentation of ELL in gifted and talented programs and whether or not students learning English as a second language can be successful in gifted and talented programs. For this Honors Thesis, the research questions include: What are the most appropriate and effective assessments to accurately identify gifted and talented English Language Learners? Are there appropriate accommodations for ELL that may assist in their identification and success as gifted and talented?

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  Identification of Potential AcrAB-TolC Efflux Pump Inhibitors in Escherichia coli using an Ethidium Bromide Method.

  Tyler Thomas Mack

  Many bacteria are known to exhibit antibiotic resistance through overexpression of efflux pumps. In this experiment, inhibition of a bacterial efflux pump through the physical binding of small molecule inhibitor compounds was explored as a way to combat substrate expulsion. The TolC protomer of the AcrAB-TolC efflux pump in Escherichia coli was targeted in a virtual screen for novel small molecule inhibitor compounds. PyRx AutoDock Vina was used to virtually dock the various small molecules to the TolC protein and rank the compounds based on favorable binding energies. Five lead-compounds from the virtual screen were ultimately selected for in vivo efflux testing with and without prolonged incubation of the bacterial cells with the test compounds. Efflux activity was monitored using an ethidium bromide substrate to determine the relative extent of inhibition. Results showed little to no effect on efflux activity unless the bacterial cells were cultured with the test compound for an overnight incubation. Bacteria with prolonged compound incubation displayed significantly decreased efflux activity for several small molecule compounds that were tested. These findings suggest that efflux pump inhibition should be focused mainly on halting underlying synthesis and assembly mechanisms rather than hindering the functionality of the pump.

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  Image Interpolation Using Fourier Phase Features

  Evan W Krieger, Sidike Paheding

  Image interpolation has been widely used for enhancing spatial resolution of the input images. Generally, the spatial resolution enhancement techniques are categorized into single frame and multiple frame super resolution. Multi-frame super resolution techniques use a set of low resolution frames, while single image super resolution only requires one single input to reconstruct a high resolution image. In real life applications, single image super resolution is preferred when lacking of multiple frames in the data. In this work, we present a single image interpolation approach for reproducing high frequency missing components of the input low resolution images. The high frequency feature is first extracted in Fourier domain, and then the system is trained to regenerate better pixel values, which contribute to better resolution. We evaluate the method visually and quantitatively using several test images.

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  Imagery Solutions Geospatial Information System (GIS System)

  Jana M. Sztuk, Eric Albert Taglieri, Colin Elliot Wilson

  Imagery Solutions is a small start-up company that specializes in imagery gathering technology using aerial methods for customers who need precise imaging data, such as those in precision agriculture and energy distributing industries. The purpose behind this image gathering functionality is to provide decision oriented information derived from image data. The mission for the company is to have this information come to the customer in a timely, accurate, and relevant way. Open GIS is the established open source application for this process. The task presented to our team is to create a business process for the organization from the point of sale to final delivery of a finished product where the users access this information and recommend an appropriate software package to support this.

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  Increasing Retention in Male Students of Color Through Student Leadership Experiences

  Nakita M. Saxon

  This study explores the implications of leadership experiences on undergraduate male students of color and its impact on their sense of belonging at a private, religious, Predominantly White Institution. Enrollment statistics depict a low retention rate among minority students, especially male students of color identifying as Black, Latino, Asian American, and Pacific Islander. A sense of belonging is a vital component to the academic success of all students, and essential to the experience of multicultural students on Predominately White Institutions. According to researchers, a student’s sense of belonging comes as a result of many different factors. For many students, their leadership experiences cultivate a sense of belonging and stronger connection to the institution. The exploration of involvement and leadership experiences, sense of belonging, and campus climate assist in visualizing the complexities of this problem for male students of color. Through in-depth one-on-one interviews on the lived experiences of male students of color, this research examines the impact of student leadership roles on their collegiate careers. Findings included insight on the interrelated concepts of retention, campus climate, sense of belonging, and servant leadership for the participants of this study. As expected, students are impacted by the university's faculty and staff but are also heavily influenced by their peers and the leadership opportunities as they engage in student organizations on campus. Recommendations will allow both faculty and staff to identify the benefits of cultivating environments where male students of color are encouraged to seek out and actively participate in student leadership roles on campus where they feel their differences are welcomed, valued and supported.

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  Inflation Trends in Personal Consumption Expenditures, 2001-2015

  Courtney E. Cady

  The Federal Reserve, as a key element in its monetary policy, uses a 2% target inflation rate to determine if the federal funds rate needs to be increased. The purpose of this study is to evaluate long, intermediate, and short term trends in inflation to determine if the inflation policy objective has been reached. My inflation metric is Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) and the period of analysis is 2001-20015. I develop linear trend equations for both PCE and PCE less food and energy using the b coefficients from the regressions as a proxy for the PCE inflation rate. Out of sample forecasts are made for 2015 and the first couple of months in 2016.

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  “Instafamous” Women and the Question of Empowerment: A Feminist Reading of Popular Constructions of the Female Body on Instagram

  Sarah E Spech

  Instagram has skyrocketed in popularity over the last few years, catapulting some of its users into a new type of fame--"Instafame." Female users who achieve "Instafame" do so in large measure by carefully constructing an identity that articulates a popular ideal of the female body. Many commentators see this presentation of self as a new means of empowerment. But others argue that these "Instafamous" women are pressured to objectify themselves in order to accumulate thousands of “likes” to create and sustain their celebrity status. In this presentation, I analyze the images on some popular fitness Instagram accounts using the feminist work of Kate Millet.

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  Intellectual Property and The NCAA

  Mitchell W. Pollard

  The research aim of this project is to examine the legal issues regarding intellectual property with student athletes who participate in sports under governance of the NCAA. Intellectual property rights are for creative works which are designated to specific people or businesses by law. This research thesis will examine the conflict the NCAA has with student athletes that argue they should be obtaining revenue from autographs, jersey sales, etc. The Ed O’Bannon case, which just concluded and is now in the settlement phase, will be a major focal point of this research project. Ed O’Bannon sued the NCAA for using student athlete images commercially. The NCAA holds that these “athletes” are amateurs, and should not profit from sales of their jersey or autographs. In essence, this research project will examine the documents and court cases dealing with intellectual property and the NCAA, and other cases outside of the NCAA that present the same issues.

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  Intention Based Upper-limb Exo-skeleton

  Manoj Kumar Sharma

  Exoskeletons, a wearable robot that intelligently augments the physical power of a human being. Lately these robots are finding their way towards the military and consumers as well. Our body has a skeleton that helps in maintaining the posture. Often times fatigue becomes an important issue, especially those who regularly carry heavy loads; one solution to this is to attach a structure that can cling to a human body that can bear the load on its own. One of the biggest challenge is to design a structure that can fits snugly and feels natural during operation. The approach proposed here, focuses on a simple 3DoF upper limb exoskeleton; to actuate the exoskeleton, pilot’s intention is read and parsed through a Dynamic Intention Filter (DIF) and then to a feedback loops that eventually controls the torque of the motors. As a result, the final design feels so natural that there is, almost, no learning curve to its operation.

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  International and Domestic Students Relationships: Impact of Interpersonal Relationships on the Development of Cultural Understanding

  Sandra Leigh Nickell

  Contributing to the campus diversity, the population of international students attending American higher education institutions continues to rise. Higher education institutions strive to develop a diverse campus community that will enrich students prospective of other cultures. It is through examining how relationships between international students and American college students will provide an understanding of how these relationships evolve and affect the campus community. Although, research has explored the topic of the cause for international students’ disengagement to form relationships, there is limited research focus on building interpersonal relationships with their American peer. This research examines the impact of interpersonal relationships between international students and American students contribute to the development of cultural understanding within a university community. Five international undergraduate students and five American undergraduate students participated in the study.

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  Internship Experience Through the Wild Encounters Program of the Cincinnati Zoo

  Sarah Michelle Lesiecki

  In the summer of 2015, I participated in an internship in the Wild Encounters department at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens. The internship required an extensive amount of training in proper animal handling, husbandry, and interpretation. This training allowed me the opportunity to work with a wide diversity of wildlife including several endangered species. The internship gave me access to a wide range of biodiversity including invertebrates such as the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, and smaller vertebrates, such as Sand Boas and Spiny Tailed Lizards. In addition, I spent time interacting and educating the public on larger species of wildlife, such as the Greater Flamingo, Maasi Giraffes and the endangered Sumatran Rhino. Throughout the summer, I attended lectures that covered zoo related topics on anything from sustainability to elephant foot care to animal behavior. At the end of the internship, I spent weeks researching and observing the behavior of the Andean Bear. I compiled my findings and personal observations of Cincinnati’s Andean Bear into a five-minute interpreter program that will be used by future interns in the Wild Encounters department.

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  Investigation of the Role of Mitochondrial Dysfunction as a Trigger for Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s Disease

  Lydia C. Payton, Ankita Sarkar

  Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects cognitive function and memory of the patient. It results from plaques formed by the abnormal cleavage of the Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP), which result in the formation of 42 amino acid polypeptide, also known as amyloid beta 42 (Aβ42). Accumulation of Aβ42 peptide triggers cell death in the neuronal cell population of central nervous system. However, the trigger for this abnormal cell death is unknown. I will investigate the role of mitochondrial dysfunction as the trigger for neurodegeneration. Since the mitochondria is the site for triggering neurodegeneration, its malfunction or loss could lead to loss of dendritic branches and alteration of dendritic spines. I will employ Drosophila melanogaster eye model of Alzheimer’s disease for my studies. The GAL4/UAS system will be utilized to misexpress the human Aβ42 polypeptide in the photoreceptor neurons of the fly retina. The mitochondrial genes pentatricopeptide repeat containing protein (ppr), pyruvate dehydrogenase, and citrate synthase will be investigated in the photoreceptor cells of the Drosophila. Loss-of-Function (LOF) and Gain-of- Function (GOF) techniques will be used to determine whether or not the death of photoreceptor and neurodegeneration can be rescued from flies expressing human Aβ42 polypeptide. My proposed studies will shed light on how these mitochondrial genes can affect the survival of Drosophila photoreceptor neurons where high levels of human Aβ42 polypeptide are expressed.

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  Is your computer sick? It might have a virus. See Dr. Math.

  Owen T Miller, Dylan P Niese

  Computers just like humans are susceptible to illness and spreadable viruses. Since computer viruses act in the same manner as human viruses, researchers developed models to study the propagation of worms/viruses. In this work, we consider a model for such a computer worm consisting of differential equations. We will use the numerical methods learnt in the differential equation class to solve this model numerically to understand the phenomena.

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  Media Issues: A Case of Distress from Blocked Public Access in Ferguson, and Pre-Trial Publicity and Fair Trial

  Enrique G Austria, Amanda Jean Dee, Annette M Taylor

  Can a defendant get a fair trial in the U.S. today? Can an unbiased juror be found when there has been widespread media coverage of an event? The press and courts have long struggled with finding a balance between free press rights in the First Amendment and rights of the accused in the Sixth Amendment. Enrique Austria explores pre-trial publicity, gag orders, prior restraint and how the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has handled such cases. Amanda Dee looks at Ferguson, when, on a summer day in 2014, Michael Brown became a symbol for thousands of lives lost. She analyzes in what ways journalists and citizens had access to information about the case, the application of local Sunshine Laws and FOIA, and how official maneuvers restricting access to information should be considered as unconstitutional instances of prior restraint.

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  Media Issues: Newsworthy Exception to Right of Publicity, and Libel Tourism in New Media Age

  Jacqueline M Berardi, Caroline E Mccormack, Annette M Taylor

  Jacki Berardi looks at one of the most important cases involving the right of publicity, Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co., in which a newscast showed the entire act of a man shot from a cannon without the performer’s consent. The U.S. Supreme Court held that while the First Amendment protects newsworthy coverage, it does not protect the press when it drastically undermines a person’s ability to make a living, as happened in that case. This research paper examines 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cases dealing with the question of how much journalists can report and record before they encroach on the commercial aspect of a person’s performance or name. This research points allows us to better understand the balance between what is newsworthy and what is a violation of the right of publicity. Caroline McCormack looks at states’ efforts to make it easier for their allegedly defamed state residents to get their cases heard at home. In the days before online publishing, defamation plaintiffs and defendants tended to live in the same state. Now they are often in different states. To deal with the problem, many states have passed “long-arm” statutes to better reach out-of-state defendants. This research explores statutes of Ohio and Virginia and compare how state courts have handled jurisdictional challenges in libel cases.

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  Metal films tapered fibers to enhance environmental sensing capabilities

  Diego F Garcia Mina

  Using a tunable laser we analyze the optical signal transmission through a bi-tapered fiber sensor. The device sensitivity can be increased by depositing a gold metal film a few nanometers in thickness on the surface. By attaching selected molecules to the surface we can determine the presence of specific biomolecules. Keywords: Refractive index, taper fiber, optical fiber sensor, biomolecule detection.