In order to combine my passion for creativity, my love for children, and my engineering background, I decided to create a very personalized thesis project. Princess Catie Goes to College is a children’s book about a young girl whose older sister leaves for college. I chose to write about this...
This study sought to conduct an in depth analysis of women’s first sexual experiences looking for factors contributing to the experience and the emotional outcomes of first intercourse. Fourteen heterosexual, female, college students were interviewed about their first sexual experience and sexual background using a semi-structured interview format. The narratives...
Vox comm is a digital wireless, voice-operated personal communicator developed as an electrical engineering Senior Design project. It is designed to provide a method for hassle-free, short-range communication. The product platform boasts of low power and small size for a host of usage models. This thesis details the product design...
Winter hardiness in barley (Hordeum vulgare) is a trait targeted by breeding programs in order to expand the potential area of adaptation of fall-sown cereals. Vernalization requirement is an important factor in winter hardiness. A vernalization requirement is an extended period of low temperature required for transition from the vegetative...
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a phenotypically variable disorder of hemoglobin that leads to abnormally shaped and dysfunctional red blood cells. Several studies have attempted to construct early predictive models for SCD, including Miller et al.’s (2000) model which uses easily identifiable predictors in early life. The primary aim of...
The purpose of this project was to investigate play and our cultural assumptions as to its usefulness or lack there of. The concepts of hard work versus hard play were explored in order to discover when human beings are operating at their best. In terms of innovation and productivity in...
Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) is an emerging form of liver disease associated with obesity, type II diabetes and dyslipidemia. As the prevalence of these metabolic conditions increases, so too has the occurrence of NASH in all sectors of the population. The pathology of this disease is similar to its alcoholic form,...
As genetically modified products come under greater production, tensions surrounding the potential benefits and harms of the technology have appeared in divergent policy between the European Union (EU) and certain member states. The purpose of this thesis is to consider whether some type of international law, also called an environmental...
The end of the Cold War brought about changes within international political relations that resulted in expanded interest in global civil society. Such developments, like globalization and democratization, have encouraged the growth of social and political organizations. Political scientists have found that these inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations have a significant...
Science is difficult for even its researchers to understand. Science journalists must understand scientific discoveries well enough to write clear, accurate explanations of scientific discoveries for laypeople. A sense of ethical judgment will help journalists ensure that their accounts are reliable and appropriate. Responsible science journalists will maintain a working...
Wind energy is a cornerstone to the world of renewables. It is widely used in many parts of the world as a clean and effective form of power generation. However, wind power has a number of drawbacks, which limits its use in many regions. Solar power has been used not...
The decisions in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 531 U.S. 159 (2001) (SWANCC) and Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. ___(2006), deviated from the more broad interpretations of congressional intent granted by the court in past assessments of the constitutionality of environmental...
During the 1970’s the United States experienced several periods of high inflation that have been at least partially attributed to positive oil price shocks. The effectiveness of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries at controlling the price of oil has varied over time, as well as the responsiveness of U.S....
The LIGO interferometers have reached their designed sensitivity level which is greater than any other interferometer ever built. At this point, it is important to have a proper understanding of small perturbations that might still exist (until now these issues did not come to the forefront because other more critical...
Biological introductions may considerably alter the composition and community dynamics of invaded areas thereby changing many ecosystem processes including productivity, decomposition, nutrient cycling and hydrology. The effects on native species may be obscured by a lack of information on distribution and abundance patterns. The Japanese eelgrass, Zostera japonica, was introduced...
Many economic development methods over the years have tried to solve the problem of poverty with varied success. Microenterprise development is a method that works with the poor to create small self-run businesses to increase their income, and therefore bring more freedom from disease illiteracy and discrimination. Within microenterprise development...
Spending time in a German speaking country may aid in vocabulary acquisition and production. This study hypothesized a concrete link between written language use and experiences abroad. Intermediate German students’ vocabulary uses in impromptu essays were evaluated by counting the number of total word, unique words, and content words. This...
Celiac disease, an autoimmune response triggered by the consumption of seed storage proteins of cereals, affects an estimated 1% of the human population. In the case of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), one of the world’s most consumed cereals, alcohol-soluble proteins, the gliadins, have been identified as the allergy-eliciting agents. Previous...
The Harderian gland (HG) of the red-sided garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis, is a secretory structure that plays a role in the vomeronasal system by solubilizing semiochemicals such as prey chemoattractants and the female sexual attractiveness pheromone. The HG produces secretions containing pheromone-binding proteins that form a complex with pheromone...
The prey consumption rates of two estuarine crab species were compared: the introduced Carcinus maenas and the native Cancer magister. Similar sized crabs of each species were placed into individual perforated plastic boxes and then placed in a seawater table. Each crab was offered 50 Mytilus trossulus mussels (15-25mm) per...