2021 Symposium for Student Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Young adulthood represents a developmental transition that can be stressful. Past research has shown that stress is comorbid with psychological disorders and adverse early childhood experiences, implicating its importance in wellbeing. Drug use is a coping mechanism that is used by some adults to reduce stress. The purpose of this study is to examine alcohol use, mental health, and childhood experiences of neglect as predictors of stress in adults. The sample for this study included participants from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Add Health was designed to collect economic, social, health, and psychological information about young adults in the United States. Wave I data was collected from 20,745 adolescents (grades 7-12) from 1994-95. For this study, Wave IV data were used. Data were collected in 2008 from 15,701 adults ranging in age from 24-32 years. Retention in the Add Health Study from Wave I to IV was 80.3%. A secondary data analysis on the Add Health dataset was completed. A multiple regression showed increased self-reported childhood emotional neglect (feeling unloved by parents) and a lifetime diagnosis of depression or anxiety (past medical diagnosis) were positively associated with increased stress (Cohen Stress Scale) in adults. In addition, a higher intake of alcohol (per drinking occasion) predicted lower levels of stress. The advantage of this study was that variables known to be predictive of stress were evaluated together in one statistical model in a large, nationally representative dataset. This study showed an inverse relation between alcohol use and stress suggesting that future studies should consider whether alcohol use is a method coping with stress. The implication of this study is that previous experiences including childhood neglect and a past mental health diagnosis are important variables in understanding the current experience of stress in adulthood.

Hydropower, also known as hydroelectric power, is the use of water to produce power. Harnessing water to perform work has been going on for thousands of years. Hydropower has been the leading source of traditional, clean, renewable energy globally, and hydropower electricity generation is considered one of the cheapest technologies regarding electricity generation costs. This paper examines the overall technology of hydroelectric powered dams and all their functions, leading to potential energy produced. Also discussed are hydropower's environmental impact and future development and sustainability.

In recent studies, an inter-arm difference (IAD) in blood pressure (BP) at rest has been deemed clinically significant; and may be an early predictor of hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, and predictive of an adverse cardiac event. However, little is known of the relationship between exercising IAD and common clinical markers. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between IAD and common clinical markers obtained during vigorous exercise using the Bruce Graded Exercise Test (GXT). Participants were assessed for height; and weight, body mass index, and body fat percentage using bioelectrical impedance analysis (SECA mBCA). Participants were outfitted with bilateral BP cuffs (80% rule) and prepped for a standard 12-lead electrocardiogram. Participants rested for 25 minutes (with bilateral BP measures taken at 15, 20 and 25 minutes). Participants then completed as many stages as possible of the Bruce GXT before volitional failure, followed by a five-minute active and thirty-minute seated recovery, with BP measures being taken every two minutes. Preliminary findings revealed moderate correlations between resting IAD and the Duke Treadmill Score (DTS; -.365), maximal metabolic equivalents (METs; .314), double product (HR*BP; .234), exercise time (.297), maximal systolic BP (.467; P<0.05), and maximal diastolic BP (-.451). DTS was correlated with exercise time (P<0.05), and maximal systolic BP (P<0.05). There was also a correlation between HR*BP with METs (P<0.05), and maximal systolic BP (P<0.05). In conclusion, preliminary findings appear to demonstrate weak relationships between resting IAD and common clinical markers of cardiovascular disease. However, clinical markers during a GXT were related to each other as expected in healthy, normotensive adults.

As part of my master's level course in Interpersonal Violence, I will be conducting a literature review about the impact of pornography use and its relation to intimate partner violence (IPV) on women. For the purposes of this, pornography is visual material depicting explicit or implicit sexual activity. This topic is important because pornography is very prevalent, yet rarely discussed. Background: My research will focus on whether men who regularly view pornography has an impact on whether they commit intimate partner violence, including rape and other sexual assaults. My research will explore whether watching pornography relates to gender role conflict, anxious/avoidant attachment style, and a deterioration in relationship quality and sexual dissatisfaction. My preliminary research findings indicate that men who reported regular and uncontrollable use of pornography also reported higher levels of physical and sexual intimate partner violence. There also appears to be a correlation between the amount of pornography watched and non-sexual controlling behavior within a relationship. Women with male partners who regularly watched pornography reported that their partner attempted to imitate humiliating, degrading, and/or violent acts they had seen in pornography, without their partner's consent. Other factors that may impact intimate partner violence include impulsivity, compulsivity, and experiential avoidance in males who frequently use pornography. Methods: I will conduct a literature review of the correlation between pornography use and IPV to learn more about the impact pornography viewing has on relationships. The literature review will include an annotated bibliography of my literature review and an academic poster that will share the results of my research findings. Results: The results of my literature review will be to prepare an academic poster to educate the public about exploring the harmful results of viewing pornography on a regular basis.

The program Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) is an initiative within the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that works towards providing the nation's K-12 schools, school districts, and postsecondary institutions with a safe and healthy learning environment for students, faculty, and staff members. With the education system being one of the most important subsectors of the 16 Critical Infrastructure Sectors, it is fundamental that all schools, regardless of whether they are public or private, large or small, and institutions of higher education (IHEs), are prepared and have plans in place to ensure the safety and protection of all members involved with the school. Threats towards the education system can present itself in a variety of ways, including, fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, active shooter situations, and widespread viruses. While programs such as REMS are very important to support the health and safety of school aged children and their educators, there are further steps that need to be taken to promote improvement within the program REMS. This poster presentation will present the background and necessity of the REMS program and also ways in which the program can be improved.

Student veterans often suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of combat (Yarborough et al., 2018). Service dogs can help student veterans to live their lives despite these challenges by helping these individuals minimize anxiety, reduce hypervigilance, reconnect with humans, improve sleep quality and duration, and remain present (Morris et al., 2019; Scotland-Coogan, 2019a; Yarborough et al., 2018). Service dogs are an excellent resource, but there is a lack of information available to student veterans on their benefits, so this valuable resource is often underutilized. This poster will explain the benefits and challenges of service dog utilization for veterans, along with implications for occupational therapy practice

Although the correct way to play percussion instruments is used in a professional performance setting, some of the techniques and physical requirements may not be practical for all clients in a Music Therapy setting due to a client's physical or cognitive abilities. The American Music Therapy Association defines Music Therapy as the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program. Within a Music Therapy session, it is not uncommon to use a percussion instrument, however, it may be uncommon to see the instruments being played as demonstrated in a percussion textbook. Just like most things in life, there is never only one way of doing something. In my presentation, I will demonstrate six alternative ways of using percussion instruments in a music therapy setting with a focus on specific domains. These domains include gross motor, fine motor, sensory, social, and musicality. Each technique is presented in the form of a Music Therapy intervention.

Research supports the idea that travel, especially abroad, can be influential in the broadening of an individual's personal and professional perspectives. The shift and change in perspectives have shown to be especially important for pre-service teachers in their ability to address diversity in the classroom (Asteskan, 2016; Constantiou, 2015; Egeland, 2016; Francis, 2015; Marcus, Moss, 2015; Salmona, Partlo, Kacynski, Leonard, 2015). Our goal is to understand how international travel and education experiences can change pre-service teachers personal and professional identity and cultural understanding. We modeled the current study based on the theoretical framework developed by Constantiou (2015), which encompasses four themes: (1) teacher identity, (2) cultural competencies, (3) attitudes and behaviors, and (4) empowerment and confidence boosting. To execute this study, we adopted the City as Text model developed by Braid and Long (2000). City as Text is a program where students immerse themselves in communities exploring the culture and geography of immediate neighborhoods. Students are challenged to be sensitive and reflect about the human experience in the local environment. Students explore the local communities observing the architecture, the people, and daily life activity by interacting with local peoples. For this study, we are expanding this framework to include teaching experiences within local school systems. Data analysis will be conducted using procedures for qualitative content analysis described by Schrier (2012) to apply the theoretical framework developed by Constantiou (2015) and the City as Text model (Braid & Long, 2000) to the data. We will use the NVivo 12 data analysis software to analyze the data in the following order: (1) decontextualize, (2) recontextualize, (3) categorize, and (4) compile. Data collection will begin during the March 2020 Spring Break Programs; IRB approval is pending for this study.

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU) recommends a set of 10 high impact practices that are known to improve student learning and retention, including collaborative assignments/projects and writing intensive coursework. By combining these approaches through paired, in-class work, in-class laboratories can be used to enhance student learning in elementary statistics classrooms. Our research uses a quasi-experimental design to compare the use of in-class laboratories against traditional teaching methods. Specifically, professors were randomly assigned into the treatment (laboratory) and control group. Pre- and post-assessments of both statistical concepts and attitudes towards the statistics field were administered to the experimental cohort of 200 students. We will share the results of the experiments and made recommendations as to the structuring of the elementary statistics coursework based on those results.

Long before George Floyd's murder was caught on camera in May of 2020, white supremacists had profound impacts on our national culture, profound oppression of people of color, and profound support for white privilege. Black Lives Matter has thrust the idea of racism and white supremacy to the forefront of American attention and mediated discourse. Thus, people today are becoming more educated on structural racism in America. However, the history and current impacts of white supremacist organizations remain largely absent from those discussions. In my digital presentation, I discuss the historical roots of white supremacy, the feverish commitment of so many people today to white nationalism, and the power and scope of white nationalist organizations. Even those concerned about systemic racism might be inclined to dismiss white supremacists as disorganized, disenfranchised, and uneducated. This would be a mistake. They are a true power and danger, and as feminist scholar Kimberle Crenshaw said, you must see a problem before you can solve it.