Track 1: Dichotomies in a STEM Course: How They Might Be Working Against Your Inclusive Strategies

Presentation took place May 13, 2021; presentations will be made available via WarpWire to members of the University of Dayton community in early June

A Comparative Analysis of the Patterns of Language Development between Children with Williams syndrome and Children with Down syndrome

Thesis advisor: Penny Hauser-CramWilliams syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder marked by a microdeletion of approximately 25 genes on chromosome 7. Down syndrome (DS) is a genetic disorder marked by a chromosomal abnormality in which an additional copy of chromosome 21 is present in some or all cells. A comparative analysis of language acquisition between populations of children with WS and populations of children with DS yielded largely different patterns in language development. Phonology was found to be largely intact in children with WS, while children with DS struggled to produce intelligible and articulate speech. Semantics proved an area of relative strength in comparison to other areas of language development in both populations. Syntax was found to be a relative strength in the WS population, while children with DS struggled with syntactic output. Both groups exhibited difficulties in syntactic processing. In contrast to common conceptions regarding pragmatic strengths in children with WS, results indicated that gesture, narrative and discourse were areas of relative weakness in this population. Gesture, narrative and discourse proved areas of relative strength for children with DS.Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2011.Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: College Honors Program

The Effects of Guided Imagery on Patients Being Weaned from Mechanical Ventilation

The study purpose was to assess the effects of guided imagery on sedation levels, sedative and analgesic volume consumption, and physiological responses of patients being weaned from mechanical ventilation. Forty-two patients were selected from two community acute care hospitals. One hospital served as the comparison group and provided routine care (no intervention) while the other hospital provided the guided imagery intervention. The intervention included two sessions, each lasting 60 minutes, offered during morning weaning trials from mechanical ventilation. Measurements were recorded in groups at baseline and 30- and 60-minute intervals and included vital signs and Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS) score. Sedative and analgesic medication volume consumption were recorded 24 hours prior to and after the intervention. The guided imagery group had significantly improved RASS scores and reduced sedative and analgesic volume consumption. During the second session, oxygen saturation levels significantly improved compared to the comparison group. Guided imagery group had 4.88 less days requiring mechanical ventilation and 1.4 reduction in hospital length of stay compared to the comparison group. Guided imagery may be complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) intervention to provide during mechanical ventilation weaning trials

Splitting the Difference: Heterogeneous Soil Moisture Availability Affects Aboveground and Belowground Reserve and Mass Allocation in Trembling Aspen

When exploring the impact of resource availability on perennial plants, artificial treatments often apply conditions homogeneously across space and time, even though this rarely reflects conditions in natural systems. To investigate the effects of spatially heterogeneous soil moisture on morphological and physiological responses, trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) saplings were used in a split-pot experiment. Following the division of the root systems, saplings were established for a full year and then subjected to either heterogeneous (portion of the root system exposed to non-lethal drought) or homogeneous (whole root system exposed to non-lethal drought or well-watered) treatments. Above- and belowground growth and non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) reserves (soluble sugars and starch) were measured to determine how allocation of reserves and mass between and within organs changed in response to variation in soil moisture availability. In contrast to saplings in the homogeneous drought treatment, which experienced reduced shoot growth, leaf abscission and fine root loss, saplings exposed to the heterogeneous conditions maintained similar aboveground growth and increased root system allocation compared to well-watered saplings. Interestingly under heterogeneous soil moisture conditions, the portion of the root system that was resource limited had no root dieback and increased carbon reserve concentrations, while the portion of the root system that was not resource limited added new roots (30% increase). Overall, saplings subjected to the heterogeneous soil moisture regime over-compensated belowground, both in mass and NSC reserves. These results indicate that the differential allocation of mass or reserves between above- and belowground organs, but also within the root system can occur. While the mechanisms and processes involved in these patterns are not clear, these responses could be interpreted as adaptations and acclimations to preserve the integrity of the entire sapling and suggests that different portions of plant organs might respond autonomously to local conditions. This study provides further appreciation of the complexity of the mechanisms by which plants manage heterogeneous conditions and offers evidence that spatial and temporal variability of resource availability, particularly belowground, needs to be accounted for when extrapolating and modeling stress responses at larger temporal and spatial scales

Investigation of improvement opportunities for Wee-Cycle Bartlesville, LLC. in Bartlesville, Oklahoma

The purpose of this report was to determine potential improvements to the operations and processes used during the set up and execution of the Wee-Cycle Bartlesville consignment sales. After identifying the areas of potential improvement, the report provides analysis and recommendations for the following areas: checkout line, sale floor organization, volunteer roles, setup processes, opportunities for additional revenue, and the accounting system.The team was introduced to the current situation through discussion with Wee-Cycle Bartlesville owner, Sara Freeman, and observation of the August 2016 sale. Sara identified her biggest concern to be the length of the checkout line during peak shopping hours of the sale. Additionally, she expressed interest in upgrading her current display equipment to accommodate more items. Volunteer roles, setup processes and an accounting system were other areas with potential improvement.In order to collect data related to the checkout line, the team observed peak shopping hours during the August 2016 sale. During the observations, the team identified a lack of consistency in the checkout processes of the various cashiers. Some cashiers completed transactions much faster than others, resulting in the team's recommendation to establish and use a standardized cashier process based on that of the fastest cashier. In addition, a volunteer helping bag items is recommended to decrease transaction time.To address Sara's interest in upgrading her sale floor equipment, the team observed the current clothing racks, tables and other display equipment used at the August 2016 sale. Her current clothing racks are a combination of saddle racks and Creform racks, with Creform racks having the ability to hold twice as many clothing items per linear foot. After weighing the cost to convert the remaining racks from saddle to Creform, the team recommends replacing all saddle racks with Creform racks. Along with the clothing racks, Wee-Cycle Bartlesville also displays items on standard 8-foot tables. The team also identified potential gain in display space if a simple shelf was placed on top of the display tables to allow for the display of additional items.Sara is often the first resource volunteers and customers seek out when a problem or question arises. She expressed great interest in being able to manage her sale, rather than spread herself thin working a register, briefing volunteers, and answering customer questions. To address this concern, the team focused on improving the volunteer roles. Roles currently lack definition and volunteers lack training, which limits the volunteer's understanding of their responsibilities. The team developed and documented volunteer role definitions and a brief training guide, the use of which are recommended to reduce confusion and questions to Sara.Another potential area investigated for improvement was the setup process. At this time, consignors drop off their items on either Tuesday or Wednesday based on the first letter of their last name anytime between 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Because consignors decide when to drop off their items, Sara and her staff experience idle time due to the variation in consignors' arrival times. To limit the employee idle time, the team recommends assigning consignor drop-off times. This change will allow Wee-Cycle Bartlesville to better anticipate how much time is needed for setup, and potentially open the sale a day early.Finally, Wee-Cycle Bartlesville does not have a formal accounting system. To address this, the team created an Excel-based accounting system which allows Sara to quickly enter and easily see her expenses and revenues. The accounting system can help capture expenses and identify cost trends and potential revenues in future Wee-Cycle Bartlesville operations.Implementing these changes requires a $3,068.12 investment and implementing the changes will provide an estimated$12,066.19 in additional revenue at the next sale for Wee-Cycle Bartlesville

The Design and Impact of a Rural Community Supported Doula Program

Objective: to evaluate the design and impact of a doula program in rural Vermont by exploring client demographics and perspectives on the doula care received. This research aims to better understand the population the program serves, the specific challenges they face, and how to mitigate these challenges in the perinatal and post-partum period with a social work model of doula care. Design: a qualitative, descriptive study giving voice to the client experience of a doula program steeped in a social work model of care. Methods: semi-structured interviews carried out in July and August of 2021. Interviews were coded and analyzed thematically. Setting: A doula program offered by a mental health agency, offering doula services for clientele with a mental health diagnosis and qualifications for VT Medicaid. Results: Significant portions of participants reported life challenges due to lack of resources, abuse, and mental health concerns, of which having a social-work focused doula was helpful in terms of logistical and emotional support. Without a doula, access and experience of healthcare during the prenatal, birthing, and post-partum period would have been more challenging for the population interviewed. Themes that arose included doula as logistical support, the doula’s role in emotional/mental health support, and the doula as educator and advocate for a socioeconomically high-risk population. Key conclusions and implications for practice: The WCMHS Doula Program is serving a high-risk population which would be beyond the reaches of more typical doula models. Doula work that is within the field of social work increases access and mitigates challenges that other doula models do not. Placing doula services within a community mental health agency and offering case management style doula care allows the services to make great impact on the lives and wellbeing of people who would otherwise face significant challenges in accessing healthcare. This has large implications for increasing equity of doula offerings and makes great strides in improving birth outcomes and experiences for an at-risk population. This study indicates the value of a social work model of doula care and the importance of bringing doula services to populations that have historically been left without access. Key words: doula, case management, at-risk population, rural health, pregnancy, childbirth support, advocacy, health equit

Applying Memory Science to the Classroom: Effects of Reading Questions and Answer Keys on Test Scores

Instructors and students are constantly searching for effective ways to increase reading comprehension. Cognitive science would suggest that both additional assessment as described by the testing effect and timely feedback would increase comprehension. Our study investigated the effect of assigning reading questions on the quiz scores of undergraduate students. We also examined the effect of giving students an answer key versus verbal feedback on final quiz scores. Prior to the intervention, students completed a reading and then were given a pre-test group activity and post-test during class. Researchers selected certain class sections to complete ungraded questions prior to class as well as selecting sections to receive answer keys during the group activity. We found that students who completed reading questions had significantly higher initial quiz scores than those who did not complete reading questions. Results also showed that students who had an answer key during their class activity scored significantly higher on their final quiz than those who reviewed the answers with an instructor. This research provides insight into maximizing student tests scores and improving reading comprehension. This technique can be applied to fields outside of an educational setting to increase initial understanding of material

Sustainable Biomass Supply Systems

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) aims to displace 30% of the 2004 gasoline use (60 billion gal/yr) with biofuels by 2030 as outlined in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which will require 700 million tons of biomass to be sustainably delivered to biorefineries annually. Lignocellulosic biomass will make an important contribution towards meeting DOE’s ethanol production goals. For the biofuels industry to be an economically viable enterprise, the feedstock supply system (i.e., moving the biomass from the field to the refinery) cannot contribute more that 30% of the total cost of the biofuel production. The Idaho National Laboratory in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of California, Davis and Kansas State University are developing a set of tools for identifying economical, sustainable feedstocks on a regional basis based on biorefinery siting

Returning home: heritage work among the Stl'atl'imx of the Lower Lillooet River Valley

This article focusses on heritage practices in the tensioned landscape of the Stl’atl’imx (pronounced Stat-lee-um) people of the Lower Lillooet River Valley, British Columbia, Canada. Displaced from their traditional territories and cultural traditions through the colonial encounter, they are enacting, challenging and remaking their heritage as part of their long term goal to reclaim their land and return ‘home’. I draw on three examples of their heritage work: graveyard cleaning, the shifting ‘official’/‘unofficial’ heritage of a wagon road, and marshalling of the mountain named Nsvq’ts (pronounced In-SHUCK-ch) in order to illustrate how the past is strategically mobilised in order to substantiate positions in the present. While this paper focusses on heritage in an Indigenous and postcolonial context, I contend that the dynamics of heritage practices outlined here are applicable to all heritage practices