2021 Symposium for Student Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

The question of whether or not Mars will ever be inhabitable to humans has been a topic that scientists and researchers have been inquiring and studying for years. In more recent years, scientists have discovered that an uninhabited island in the Canadian High Arctic, Devon Island, allows for realistic mission goals to be tested. In this project, I will be studying how this location is ideally suited for practicing living on Mars. During the FMARS 2007 Long Duration Mission, a four month period allowed for research and breakthroughs to occur. There are operational scenarios that can withstand on this island, similar to what a real crew would experience on Mars. In this human factors research project, certain aspects were studied to determine what a real crew would face on their eventual mission to space. These included countermeasures to stress and isolation, analysis of group dynamics, analysis of environment habitability, cognitive performance, sleep disruption under the Arctic Martian Sol conditions, and food choice, preparation, and overall satisfaction. What do these endeavors mean for future living conditions on Mars, and how does this research contribute to further scientific discoveries and breakthroughs? As I further my research on Devon Island and its correlation to Mars, I am hoping to gain more knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of the suitability of this location as a testing ground for a Martian terrain.

Approximately three million Americans use wheelchairs to increase active participation in life, but these devices are helpful only in specific circumstances. While increasing mobility for the user, wheelchair use risks injury to the user and their caregivers. Frequency of wheelchair transfers by the over 50 population increase the risk of injury, falls, and even death. Environmental barriers may limit wheelchair use to the primary living area, limiting access to the outside world and social participation. Although power wheelchairs may reduce the physical strength and stamina required to propel the device, the inability to transport the power wheelchair to different locations with ease also limits their use. Wheelchair users report feeling a loss of independence and volition which limits their enjoyment of life activities. Occupational therapists (OTs) are frequently part of the mobility team and positively contribute to improve a client's ability to complete daily activities. Interventions provided by the OT aim to increase independence and support social participation which have been found to support overall health and well-being. Power wheelchair use can enable a client to enjoy a greater quality of life by decreasing the physical burden of locomotion . The transition from a manual to a power wheelchair has shown to have a greater psychosocial impact. Through custom adaptation and real-time training with power wheelchairs, OTs ensure that their clients' participation and socialization are maximized. The use of all-terrain power wheelchairs enables clients to experience life beyond the boundaries imposed by the physical environment. Combining OT expertise with custom all terrain power wheelchairs allows for greater active participation in preferred life activities while ensuring a safe fit and effective learning of safe wheelchair use. A prospective study among people with mobility restrictions identified eight aspects of mobility that became easier to perform for approximately half of the participants using a power wheelchair including: visiting restaurants/cafes/pubs, shopping groceries, other shopping, posting letters, visiting the bank pharmacy, going for a walk/ride, and visiting with family/friends. The current lack of funding for all terrain wheelchairs makes their use unattainable for many people, leading to dissatisfaction in life and social isolation. Further study of all terrain wheelchairs establishes a need for alternative funding to increase access for more wheelchair users.

It is widely accepted that beliefs play an important role in teaching and learning (e.g. Ambrose, 2004; Pajares, 1992). In recent years, learners' beliefs regarding personal attributes have surfaced as influential and sometimes detrimental pieces of the learning process. These beliefs about personal attributes are generally known as mindset. In particular to these beliefs, the idea that one is either born a math person or not forms the notion of a fixed mathematical mindset. On the other hand, the notion that an individual's mathematical ability is something that can be developed through perseverance and hard work forms the notion of a growth mindset. Although mathematical mindsets are fairly well-defined in the research base (Boaler, 2016), measuring those mindsets has been more problematic. A prevailing issue rests in the fact that the bulk of data collected on mindset identification has come from self-reporting surveys (e.g. Blackwell, Trzesniewski, Dweck, 2007; Dweck, 2006; Dweck, 2012). This project will report research data in an attempt to provide preliminary insights related to the relationship between espoused and enacted mathematical mindsets of prospective middle school teachers. Previous data collected by the faculty sponsors hold that prospective teachers tend to self-identify as having a growth mindset even when their actions may suggest otherwise. In response to these findings, this project utilizes a self-reporting protocol and observation protocol that have been created to distinguish fixed and growth mindsets in an effort to provide further insights related to the relationship of the espoused and enacted mindsets of future middle school teachers.

Memes are a popular form of communication messages in online environments that represent and form social mindsets (Shifman, 2014). The term meme refers quite broadly to an idea or concept that spreads rapidly (Dawkins, 1974). Within the context of the internet, the term meme is used to represent concepts or ideas that are spread virally on the internet. These memes often couple still or video images with text which in turn convey an idea or commentary on an issue (e.g., Diaz, 2013; Shifman, 2014). Because of their popularity and implications, examining the content of memes is a worthwhile endeavor.Memes convey emotional components (e.g., Guadagno et al., 2013; Harvey et al., 2019). Recent research indicates that digital content, such as memes, have profound effects on emotion regulation processes (e.g., Wadley et al., 2020) and further indicates that internet memes have the ability to regulate emotion in clinically depressed populations (Akram et al., 2020). While the current body of research indicates that memes contain emotional elements and that memes may regulate emotion, there has yet to be an empirical examination of emotion regulation themes present in memes. The present project seeks to understand if memes contain emotion regulation themes similar to those laid out by Gross (1998) in their process model of emotion regulation.This paper presentation will present the preliminary results of a quantitative content analysis in which a random sample of memes originating from the year 2020 were coded for their emotion type and emotion regulation strategy present. It is hoped that results from this study will be used to shed light on the emotional components of memes, which in turn will help to explicate the emotion regulation processes related to meme viewing.

This study focused on teacher and staff perceptions of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) implementation at the middle school level. MTSS implementation at the secondary level proves to be a daunting task including many complex facets. Ensuring that teacher insights are sought out when implementing school-wide programming such as MTSS can increase program success and fidelity (Eagle, Dowd-Eagle, Snyder, Holtzman, 2015, Hollingsworth, 2019 McIntosh, Goodman, 2016). This study examined three research questions: (1) How do middle school teachers and school support staff perceive implementation of a multi-tiered system of support? (2) How do these perceptions impact the buy-in and level of understanding of MTSS implementation? (3) In what ways do middle school teachers understand the MTSS framework? Utilizing a qualitative, single subject case study design, this study sought to explore how teacher and staff perceptions and understanding of MTSS can impact implementation. The study took place in a suburban, western Pennsylvania middle school, in which the researcher is employed. The constant comparative method of coding was utilized in order to uncover themes related to the collected data. The following themes were uncovered through data analysis: support for all students and addressing individual student needs is a part of the MTSS process, the need for all staff to be involved in MTSS, insufficient communication with off-team teachers, discussion of forms as a part of the MTSS process, parental involvement was not discussed as a priority in responses, and procedures and logistics are discussed in relation to MTSS rather than the day-to-day implementation. Results of this study indicate that seeking opinions from teachers regarding program implementation can provide valuable information for schools and districts to consider and highlights the importance of professional development focused on MTSS.

This project will be taking a dive into the Cassini Mission that aimed at gathering data about Saturn and its ring system. More specifically, we will be looking at Enceladus, Phoebe, and Iapetus, and how they interact with one another. Cassini revealed to us the complexity of Saturn's rings and moons, the dynamic relationship between them, as well as shed light on potential moons with the capacity to maintain life. Our project will investigate how the main rings, including the little known E-Ring, were formed and their interactions with the moons that are embedded in them. We will analyze the data acquired from the Cassini Mission and explain the importance and impact that this had on our understanding of distant orbital bodies within our solar system. Additionally, we will include data gathered by the Spitzer Space Telescope, which discovered the largest ring in our solar system - a ring that can only be detected through infrared radiation. This ring is being generated by Saturn's moon Phoebe and could potentially solve the mystery of Iapetus's dual coloring.

In the field of contemporary dance, the term “spontaneous composition” refers to the process of composing while improvising. This process blurs the line between improvisation and choreography so that the audience sees fully developed movement invention and spatial design with the same level of refinement that one expects from choreography. This project proposes a virtual residency with post-modern innovator Dr. Nina Martin, who has pushed the boundaries of improvisational dance-making for 40 years via her systems of teaching spontaneous composition called Ensemble Thinking and Articulating the Solo Body/ReWire Movement Method. Senior BFA candidate, Kari Hoglund, will attend four workshops with Dr. Martin followed by advanced level research that results in a solo based on Martin's systems. The solo will work specifically with Dr. Martin's method of ReWire Movement Method incorporating the use of charcoal on white paper. The final product will be the solo captured through dance film and will premier in a virtual performance.

symposium.foragerone.com/2021srusymposium/submission

Forensic social work, working with individuals involved in the criminal justice system, has a highly specialized practice area of Police Social Work (PSW). Unfortunately, there is a lack of training and guidance for the development of PSW programs. This action research project compiled the experiences from a new PSW program, as students collect data, summarize benefits, identify resources and create documents and professional presentations to contribute to foundational knowledge for PSW programs. The students will report on their time developing a police social work program within a local police department. The students will share foundational training and contacts made with another police social worker to use her knowledge to help create release and consent forms. The students are keeping track of all interactions they have within the community and the data and statistics will be shared. The students have also created a community guide for officers to give to individuals they feel will benefit from outside services. Ultimately, students and faculty will share this project at a national conference. This project has the potential to make significant contributions to the field, including increasing the competence of two MSW students, assisting community residents in receiving valuable social work services, assisting others who wish to implement a PSW program and adding to the literature on PSW.

Machines learning techniques have proved useful in various fields including business, medicine, transportation and fields in the physical sciences such as particle physics. This research aims to gauge the effectiveness of deep learning techniques in modeling thermodynamic systems. Specifically, the work optimizes a multi-layer neural network to quantitatively fit the van der Waals equation of state for single component system and mixtures. Multi-layer neural networks connections each have weights and biases which represent their importance within the network. These weights and biases are adjusted with the backpropagation algorithm to create accurate predictions. The research applies these principles to predict the pressure given by van der Waals equation given volume, temperature, and number of molecules as inputs. The van der Waals model is a modification of the Ideal Gas law. The model was conceived in 1873 by Johannes van der Waals to more accurately describe the qualitative behavior of fluids within a mathematical model. The model is described by van der Waals equations: which can also be extended to mixtures. By training a neural network to fit to van der Waals model, we plan to understand how the choice of hyperparameters (number of layers, number of neurons etc.) affects the accuracy of the predictions. Future work aims to apply similar techniques to predict the equations of state for various fluids whose thermodynamic properties have no accurate mathematical description.