Hydration Assessment and Protocol: Emergency First Responders

Emergency first responders around the world are called upon to act in a moment\u27s notice. These community members are exposed to high levels of physical exertion in unknown environments and stress, while responsible for the safety of civilians. Due to this responsibility, these first responders must be physically able to perform the best they can. In the same manner as athlete hydration, being heavily researched and implemented, hydration assessments and protocols must be made and acted upon for this specific population. There are many ways to assess hydration, such as taking body weight measurements before and after an emergency event, urine osmolality and color, and blood variables. With more resources for our emergency first responders, they are able to perform their profession at the best of their ability.https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/rcac_2025_posters/1157/thumbnail.jp

Statistical Analysis of Matchup Advantages in Clutch MLB Situations

This project is an analysis of 210 walk-off events from the 2024 MLB season. A walk-off is a clutch plate appearance that results in a game-winning play by the home team in the bottom of the final inning. As the presence of analytics continues to grow throughout Major League Baseball, teams and organizations are always looking for new ways to use these statistics to give them a competitive edge. One such application is evaluating head-to-head matchups against opposing teams and pitchers to inform lineup decisions. When creating starting lineups, managers consider factors like how well their offense performs against pitchers similar to the opposing starting pitcher or how batters fare in the given ballpark. If a certain player has particularly outstanding success in one of these areas, the manager is more likely to include him in the lineup for the day. This project uses statistical analysis and hypothesis testing to explore the question: To what extent do offensive matchups influence success in clutch situations? Specifically, it investigates whether many of these walk-off events were the result of a favorable matchup, or if there is no true way to predict who will come up clutch. The results suggest that walk-offs are often not the result of a good or great matchup, defying the predictable odds.https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/rcac_2025_posters/1053/thumbnail.jp

Empowering Children, Strengthening Schools: A Systematic Review of Effective Interventions for Childhood Anxiety

Childhood anxiety is becoming an increasing concern among elementary-age children in school settings. It is significantly impacting their emotional well-being and academic performance. This systematic literature review examines three key school-based interventions in managing childhood anxiety, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), play therapy, and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) for elementary-aged students (ages 5-11). With childhood anxiety becoming more prevalent, this review explores which interventions are most effective in reducing anxiety symptoms, enhancing coping strategies, and fostering emotional regulation. It also examines how group dynamics, therapeutic rapport, and intervention structure influence student outcomes. By analyzing existing research, this review aims to provide school social workers with evidence-based strategies for addressing anxiety in a diverse student population, taking into account culture, gender, and socioeconomic factors. The findings will help to improve mental health support in schools, ensuring that interventions are both accessible and effective for all students. The review will also explore the role of early intervention, as anxiety during elementary school years can hinder long-term academic and emotional success.https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/rcac_2025_posters/1045/thumbnail.jp

The Implementation of an Executive Functioning Curriculum in Middle School Students Diagnosed with ADHD

This quantitative study measures the effectiveness of the Homework, Organization, and Planning Skills (HOPS) curriculum. HOPS is an intervention that focuses on helping students with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) improve their executive functioning skills. Ten students diagnosed with ADHD from a predominately white, suburban middle school participated. A pre/post survey was used to collect feedback on the effectiveness of the HOPS Curriculum from both students and teachers. Students participated in a sixteen-session focus on skills for homework recording, time management, assignment completion, and binder organization. After completion, both teachers and students completed the post-test survey. The results provide insights into the impact of the 16-week HOPS intervention.https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/rcac_2025_posters/1010/thumbnail.jp

Pearl City African American Culture & Historic Preservation

The significant legacy of Pearl City’s culture and heritage is a testament to African American resilience and has endured the challenges of urban development and gentrification. The importance of preserving its cultural legacy allows historians to teach each generation about its culture, history and traditions. Pearl City\u27s legacy will inspire other communities to celebrate their own cultural histories, fostering a sense of pride for their own past. This project’s focus is to explore Pearl City\u27s historical significance through multidisciplinary means: educational curriculum, workshops, cultural exhibits, oral histories and a mobile guided tour. The expectation is to foster community pride and increase cultural awareness of African American history in Boca Raton. These initiatives are intended to promote pride and unity among Pearl City residents, encourage financial empowerment, as well as benefit others by creating a deeper appreciation of cultural history. The data collected from this project was gained through focus groups and interviews from community members and experts in the field of historic preservation. The results from both interviews and focus groups varied however topic questions focused on the concerns and issues faced by African American communities in South Florida. The importance of this project is to discover strategies and initiative to preserve Pearl City\u27s Culture and heritage

Strategic Analysis of Target

A highly researched report of the foundation and operations of Target as a company. Through comparison to its competitors and market leader, you can uncover their strengths and weaknesses and areas where they have room for growth. This poster will also demonstrate their financial health by observing multiple key metrics and ratios as well as an analysis of their stock price. Further there are key elements of their history, the company’s offering, growth analysis, comparative analysis, financial analysis, as well as recent news. This project highlights knowledge of Target in all aspects of business and reflects my personal knowledge in all of these areas as well.https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/rcac_2025_posters/1002/thumbnail.jp

Therapeutic Potential of Nitric Oxide Supplements for the Enhancement of Sleep Quality in Chronically Under Slept Active Individuals

Sleep plays a critical role in physical and psychological well-being. However, numerous challenges face athletes and servicemembers that contribute to an observed trend of insufficient sleep duration (ISD) in these populations. ISD is connected to numerous physiological and performance decrements. A primary contributor to ISD is an increase in sleep onset latency (SOL) and research points to peripheral blood flow redistribution as a potent initiator of sleep onset. Vasodilation of the endothelium facilitates an increasing distal-proximal skin temperature gradient (DPG), aiding in sleep onset. The role of nitric oxide (NO) in vasodilation suggests the potential beneficial effect of NO precursor supplements, such as l-arginine (L-ARG) and l-citrulline (L-CIT), toward reducing SOL. These amino acids interaction in the urea cycle may also contribute to the buffering of hyperammonemia-induced fatigue in periods of extreme sleep deprivation (SD). This narrative review demonstrates the potential effect of NO supplementation as a novel nutritional intervention for sleep enhancement in chronically under slept active individuals.https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/rcac_2025_posters/1156/thumbnail.jp

The Role of Mental Health and Lifestyle Factors on Cognitive Function among Older-Adult People with and without HIV

The of role mental health and lifestyle factors on cognitive function and aging in HIV patientshttps://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/rcac_2025_posters/1151/thumbnail.jp