Undergraduate Research Day 2015

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The Fourth Annual UC Undergraduate Research Day was held at Southern New Hampshire University on Wednesday, April 8th, 2015. This year’s Undergraduate Research Day was our largest event yet, with 73 projects and 95 student participants.

This collection includes the abstracts of all projects presented at Undergraduate Research Day as well as the full text of those projects submitted for archiving. It represents the diversity of projects presented on April 8th, and it is a testament to the intellectual rigor and sophistication of the students of Southern New Hampshire University. This year students presented research in the form of panel presentations, works-in-progress roundtable presentations, and poster presentations. Student projects this year also included a Student Housing Design STEM competition and robot roundtable. Projects were submitted from across the three schools and represented research in numerous disciplines. Many projects represented traditional research practices while others were an example of community-based research.

View the abstracts with links to full text of all Undergraduate Research Day 2015 items.

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    The value of reading aloud
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Mullen, Adam; Fenton, Marilyn
    “The Value of Reading Aloud” aims to provide a credible, thorough counter-argument to theories suggesting that reading aloud is detrimental to children developing literacy skills. Multiple topics are discussed throughout the piece including, but not limited to: literacy in the classroom, literacy and child development, literacies’ tie to the brain and psychological development. The argument shares theories regarding why some suggest reading aloud can be detrimental. Theories suggest that while reading aloud some children are inattentive, distracted, and inconsistently participate (Rhalmi, 2010, n.p.). While this may be true, many resources are at an educator’s disposal to help remedy issues. Overall, reading aloud is an important part of teaching learners of all ages how to read, listen, and communicate. (Author abstract)
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    The moon, the creature, and the creator
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2014-04-23) Worth, Elizabeth; Cook, Susan
    Throughout history the story of the werewolf has been iconic and represented by the full moon. When the phase of the moon is full, typically normal people grow fangs and hair similar to a dog. Thus the symbol of the full moon has been associated with insanity. In most stories the full moon means that people turn into monsters that roam around and instill terror in people. This symbol has been a part of society for a long time and can even be seen in older works, not just modern ones. Because of this association of being crazy the term lunatic was coined, meaning “affected with the kind of insanity that was supposed to have recurring periods dependent on the changes of the moon” (OED). In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley the moon is used to help make the creature into a monster. The creature’s violence increases whenever the moon is out, and this violence leads to Victor’s downfall. Whenever the creature does something evil the moon is described depicting the insanity that is slowly consuming Victor. There is the relationship of the moon, which affects the monster who then affects Victor, so the moon is indirectly causing Victor to be consumed by insanity. There is a close association of Victor and the moon because nature is showing the violence of something unnatural like the monster. The moon is showing Victor the unnatural horror of the creature he has created as his punishment for being the creator. The notorious symbol of the moon illustrating insanity is used throughout the novel to show how the creature is slowly making Victor insane and the moon is very much demotic in character because it reveals the creature to Victor. (Author abstract)
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    Proposal for the establishment of the SNHU arboretum
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Weinstein, Michael; York, Kate
    Southern New Hampshire University’s Manchester campus is currently experiencing tremendous growth. With rapid development following increased enrollment, the school’s natural and ecological heritage is quickly disappearing. This paper proposes an alternative form of development: the preservation and cultivation of ≈20-35 acres of forested land on the campus for the purposes of creating an Arboretum. This research shows the immense benefits to both the school and community at large by such an initiative, including, briefly: providing unparalleled and unique educational and academic opportunities for students both on campus and at local schools; increased recruitment and retention of both highly-qualified students and faculty; serving as a flagship for support and promotion of the school’s sustainability efforts; raising local awareness of environmental and social issues; and benefiting the health and safety of the entire community. Additionally, this research shows high levels of support for the Arboretum from the community and the faculty of SNHU, as it directly supports responsible school growth, the UC Strategic Plan, the Manchester Neighborhood Health Improvement Strategy, the State of New Hampshire’s Priority Forest Landscapes, and the Governor’s proclamation of 2015 as “A Year of STEM,” among many other initiatives. With suitable forested land rapidly being swallowed by “hard” development and construction, and a critical need for unique STEM education opportunities, it is imperative that the school act now to set aside this natural landscape. The Arboretum has unequaled potential to provide the utmost benefit to the students, staff, faculty, and local and statewide communities for generations to come. (Author abstract)
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    Role-playing games
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Undercofler, Michael; Brillant, Ed
    I will be developing a role-playing/survival video game set in medieval times. The game combines many popular elements from current role-playing games, such as World of Warcraft, Runescape, and The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. To keep it simple, and since I am working by myself, I will attempt to include a little bit of modeling, art, animation, programming, and music. The player will be able to start the game, talk to a non-player character to receive a quest, craft a weapon, kill an enemy, and turn in the quest to level up. Additional functionality will be added based on time constraints. (Author abstract)
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    Hollywood novel field research
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Sudiaman, Natasha; Les Becquets, Diane
    I am going out to Los Angeles during Spring Break to experience Hollywood life in person. I will be going to a live filming of a TV show and seeing a movie premiere. The reason for my trip is to do research for my novel in progress, The Other Side of Desire. My story is about a girl from Boston who becomes a famous actress and her guy best friend who she left behind back home. It's about how their lives change over the course of three years and how fame affected her. I have never been to Hollywood and therefore I lack the expertise to accurately illustrate the life of an actress. After my trip, I can finish writing the second half of my novel and properly portray the lime light life of celebrities. (Author abstract)
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    Gini index by racial groups in the United States
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Sherwood, Rebecca; D'Agostino, Susan
    Using regression analysis and calculus, economists measure the income concentration of a population by way of a metric known as a Gini index. A Gini index is a number ranging from 0 to 1, where 0 indicates perfect income equality in the measured population and 1 indicates perfect inequality in the measured population. In order to compute a Gini index, we draw a graph that plots the bottom x percent of income earners in a population against the percent of the income (from all available income) that the group has earned. Unlike other Gini index studies, we compute a Gini index in which we omit the top 5% of income earners in each population. As a result, our study considers income distribution in the bulk of a population without the skewed effect of high-income outliers. In addition, our study further differs from other Gini index studies because we compute Gini indexes for subsets of the United States populations by race including: Whites, non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics. All of our data hails from the United States Census Bureau. Some questions that this study answers are: how successful are individual racial groups in the United States in achieving income equality? Are some racial groups faring better than others in achieving income equality? By understanding how race affects income distribution, we may inform public policy experts who are in a position to affect positive change in regard to income equality. (Author abstract)
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    Robot, tell me a bedtime story
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Ryan, Steven; Lewis, Lundy
    This project examines the possibility of programming a humanoid robot tell a semi interactive bedtime story to a child. We interested in looking at the robot as a useful tool for some purpose, e.g. contributing to the social good, rather than a novelty. Following standard software engineering practices, we start with a problem definition and then transform the problem into a set of behavior requirements. We proceed to create a design and a prototype implementation of the behaviors based on the requirements. Finally, we evaluate the prototype and list all simplifying assumption, successes, limitations, and problems for future work. The behaviors are implemented in the humanoid robot NAO. We give a demonstration of the behaviors and invite the audience to provide feedback, e.g. brainstorming about improvements or ethical considerations. (Author abstract)
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    Impact of literacy on children throughout history (1700s-1900s)
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Pelletier, Kaylie; Fenton, Marilyn
    The focus of this research project is to examine childhood-based literacy texts and connect them to lessons that children from the time period were taught. Research will include what children were expected to know from each of the time periods that will be examined through this project. The time periods that will be looked at are 1700’s, 1800’s and 1900’s. Each time period chosen will have three different popular literary novels that children were expected to read during their schooling. It will focus on specific characters from each text, quotes from the novels, all intertwined with the research gathered from the time period. The characters will be looked at in depth and analyzed as role models, both positive and negative, for the specific children they were written for. The research is centered around the main questions of what were children taught throughout different time periods and how the focus of the lessons shifted throughout each different time period. It will include a general look at what was going on historically with these children throughout each time that solidify specific themes. These themes are “adventure,” “romance,” and “whimsy,” which are seen throughout each of the chosen novels. Each of these themes will differ throughout each time period but remain very similar to their counterpart texts in each respective time period. (Author abstract)
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    Banned books ban the future
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Palmer, Megan; Bickford, Crystal
    This project examines book banning and curriculum decisions and the effects that both have on students. Book banning has existed since before the formation of the current education system as well as far before the current status of democracy and free speech. By studying its history, and its existence in today’s culture, the research provides insight into the ways in which it influences every English classroom for both educators and students alike. The project delves into book banning in the public library system as well as the library system contained within the schools in order to provide a view of the issue in all of its forms. The research discusses the negative effect that book banning and a narrow English curriculum can have on students in a modern society. Incorporating recent research based on book banning, the project focuses on the ways in which it is affecting and hindering free speech, access to information, and the formation of a generation. Using information at a regional level and a national level, as well as an international level, the research highlights the consequences that are faced due to book banning all around the world. This project seeks to rectify a wrong that is being done to today’s students and to help stop it from being perpetuated on the students of tomorrow. (Author abstract)
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    Stories uncovered: An exploration of book covers and their effects on readers' buying habits
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Michaud, Allison; Dow, Tracy
    This project comes in two parts: an analysis of the importance of design, and a creative writing piece. Despite the popular phrase “never judge a book by its cover,” as readers people tend to do exactly that. Even though the book itself may be very interesting and well written, if a book cover is not successfully well designed, many readers choose to ignore that book in favor of one with a more eye-catching cover. In addition to the book’s cover, the book jacket can serve as a promotional piece for a book and its design can be equally as important in promoting and selling the book. As Nicole Matthews states in Judging a Book By Its Cover, “book jackets are a key conduit through which negotiations take place between authors, the book trade and readers” (Matthews et al, xi). Because of this, a book’s cover and book jacket can be crucial in the success of the book itself. In order to design covers for books, one must understand the themes within each book as well as its essence. This will lead to the success or failure of the book cover design. (Author abstract)
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    Writing a novel: Research and execution
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Lafond, Erin; Lord, Frederick
    Creating a novel is an involved and complex process necessitating research, writing, and editing. It requires ambition, discipline, and commitment. This project will include three main parts: research, the novel itself, and a ten page paper examining the process and my development as a writer. The novel is young adult and fantasy and revolves around an ancient group of women designated by a deity to protect Earth. Research is necessary, because the novel will be exploring goddess archetypes and will involve a lot of weaponry and military involvement as my characters are women warriors. I will also be reading well-written and/or popular young adult and fantasy novels in an effort to improve my writing and storytelling ability as well as clearly understand the demands of the two genres. Most important to Research Day, I will be reading many books about publishing and writing in an effort to produce the best work possible. (Author abstract)
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    Dickens as a historian
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Holland, Elizabeth; Martino, Andrew
    Charles Dickens is universally noted as one of the most influential British authors of the nineteenth century. During his career he published a number of works that are today recognized as classics. Each of Dickens most well-loved novels works to criticize the social constructs and issues of London during the nineteenth century. These satirical and brutally honest commentaries on society allowed him to “maintain popularity with the public throughout all phases of his career” (Harris 157). Dickens housed much of his inspiration for his work within the city of London itself. Each of his novels he zoned in on the successes and failures that the city was undergoing. This essay works to explain Dickens’ role in creating a historically accurate representation of nineteenth century London through his novels Bleak House, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist. (Author abstract)
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    SNHU Munchiez food truck
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Hilts, Gabryelle; Valdez, Lenny; Losapio, Susan
    Munchiez food truck began as a business plan done by three Southern New Hampshire University undergraduate students for Professor Susan Losapio during the 2014 spring semester. At the end of the semester when the class came to an end, Professor Losapio turned to one of the three students, Victoria Wiseman, in hopes to turn an assignment into a reality. She used that original business plan as the core concentration of her OL317 Small Business Management class. With many months of hard dedicated teamwork, President Leblanc gave the class the go ahead to buy and start the Munchiez food truck. The class broke into five teams: management, finance, sales, marketing and partnerships. This allowed for the class to operate as a small business and for tasks to be completed faster and more accurately. Before the 2014 fall semester came to an end, the truck was purchased. With many thinking that the hardest part was over and done with, the journey was just beginning. When the 2015 spring semester began many students had agreed to take an independent study to continue working on the truck but the size of the “original” Munchiez team was now nearly half of that. With nothing but positive energy and continuous work both in and out of the classroom from the students, Munchiez was no longer a distant dream but a reality. (Author abstract)
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    Proposal for a green roof
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Heyman, Brittany A.; Weinstein, Michael; Veilleux, Benjamin; Collins, Michael
    This paper proposes the installation of a green roof system on the new residence halls to be constructed on the Southern New Hampshire University Manchester campus. Green roofs have been shown to benefit sustainable initiatives by reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere both onsite and offsite, mitigating storm water runoff volume and pollutants, lessening airborne and noise pollutants, and creating wildlife corridors. Economically, the long-term savings they promote quickly offset the initial short-term costs that come from installation of green roofs. Green roofs are projected to have double the service life of traditional roofs, and lower electricity costs substantially by insulating and cooling buildings, thus reducing energy loads. Based on these effects--in addition to engendering positive publicity, increased recruitment, and possibilities for local agriculture--this study recommends strongly considering the inclusion of an intensive green roof system on the new residence halls. (Author abstract)
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    The all-you-need-to-know grammar guide
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Hamilton, Sarah; Marcille, Selina
    The goal of this proposal is to preface my senior thesis, which will be a Grammar Guide for SNHU students. This guide will be directed particularly at international students, and English 099 (Fundamental Writing in English) students. I intend to divide the final product into different chapters, detailing basic grammar (parts of speech, subject/verb agreement, prepositions, sentence structure, etc.), punctuation, essay-writing (outlining, the nine paragraph essay and the five paragraph essay, structure, content, and critical thinking), citation (MLA and APA), and activities (creating examples of outlines, thesis statement formation guides, etc.). The research element of the paper will focus more specifically on some of the struggles students face while learning English at this level, as well as my own experiences as a tutor. I intend to include a section in the research on common writing styles for other cultures and languages, as these styles tend to vary greatly from American English writing formats. In this area, I intend to focus heavily on Saudi Arabian and Mandarin writings, as these two language populations make up a sizeable contingent of the international population here at Southern New Hampshire University. I intend to complete this project in the second semester of the 2014-2015 school year. (Author abstract)
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    Twenty years of life
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015-04-08) Hali, Rachael; Umen, Harry
    This multimedia memoir will about the experiences I have gone through since arriving at Southern New Hampshire University four years ago. It will contain what hurts, what feels good, what feels bad, and everything in-between. This memoir will hold no boundaries with themes such as self-discovery, depression, suicide, self-injury, drug and alcohol addiction, pregnancy, relationship, love, sex, and lastly sexual assault. Objectives for this thesis project will be to provoke certain types of emotions, using both photography and writing. Mixing these two mediums together will give the reader a lot more to hold on to. I want this memoir to inspire people, to help people, to make them less alone, because it's so easy to forget that we are not alone. Especially when it seems like the world is against us. With the influence, inspiration, and research of Joan Didion, Alfred Stieglitz, and other artists, I will use aspects of style, structure, tone, and mood in order to create a multimedia memoir that’s unforgettable. I want to create something beautiful. Meaningful. I want to create a piece of art that speaks for itself. (Author abstract)
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    Online predators
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Grover, Jayna; Bickford, Crystal
    This project explores how the emergence of social media negatively affects the youth of our nation by putting them at risk for many online dangers, most importantly online sexual predators. Children who use social media have no regard for online safety, which puts them at an increased risk for falling victim to an online predator. Additionally, parents, teachers and the general public lack knowledge on online safety that is needed to inform and protect our youth from online predators and many other online dangers, and this lack of knowledge is a crucial piece in preventing online predators from targeting children who carelessly use social media. Online predators use the grooming process to target and seduce their victims. Once a child falls victim, the perpetrator can easily convince them to have sexual relations that are both harmful and illegal. The public continues to do nothing to make children, parents and educators aware of the current threat online predators pose. This research project examines the legal aspect on the conviction of online predators, along with parental and public solutions to limit the amount of predators roaming the Internet. As a society it is our duty to protect the youth from such dangers. At age eleven kids should be out playing with their friends not being sexually and mentally abused by online predators. If society as a whole does not try to prevent this issue it is only going to become more of a threat as technology and social media progress. By having longer conviction time, more legal resources to track predators, increased public awareness and stricter parental involvement online predators can finally be stopped. (Author abstract)
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    Color and symbol association across cultures
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Frazier, Alicia; Kosegarten, Jay
    This paper is a further exploration of some findings by Spector and Maurer (2011). Across six experiments they examined the association between color and letters. Testing three populations, toddlers, literate children, and adults, they found that preliterate children have a different color letter association compared to literate children and adults. By asking subjects to place the letter within the colored box they associate the letter with, they found that preliterate children base color association off of shape vs. the sound or meaning. Letters with few angles, such as O and I, were associated with white, and letters with multiple angles, such as X and Z, were associated with black. Within the present study, instead of evaluating color and letter association across age, it will analyze the association across cultures. There are four groups of symbols, each with four symbols in them. There are the first four Roman symbols (A, B, C, D), and then an equivalent order and shape for alphabetical symbols in traditional Greek, Arabic, a Mandarin languages. Subjects are asked to select from one of the given colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, black) that they associate most with the alphabetical symbol presented. The data will be analyzed for similarities across cultures for symbol and color association, which will bring to question if the nature of the chosen color is driven by cultural experience or inherent properties of the symbols themselves such as shape or order of presentation. (Author abstract)
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    Media, tigers, and bats, oh my: Hysteria in the media
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Drylie, Darci; Renaud, Emily; York, Kate
    This research explores various news outlet coverage of breaking news. In an age when media is continuously developing and reaching larger audiences, news outlets are consistently writing to outdo one another and bring readers to their story. This often leads to misrepresentation of content and an urge of public hysteria. The research examines this issue by placing a focus on the poaching and trading of tigers, as well as the spread of zoonotic diseases in bats. These two areas of news represent two different aspects of breaking coverage. By exploring the issues associated with tigers, audiences will often discover news relating to a tiger being on the loose or an attack that has occurred. Very little is reported in terms of encroachment on their natural habitat or a poaching arrest that has been made. This type of breaking news represents an area of underrepresentation. On the other hand, research has demonstrated that through zoonotic diseases in bats, the recent Ebola outbreak took center stage across news media outlets. In this particular case, coverage was misrepresented, sensationalized, and induced hysteria across large audiences. Curating performed through Health Map lends direct access to the breaking of accurate, authentic, news stories. Outside of this manner of reporting, stories are often misconstrued and duplicated to reach broader audiences. However, by curating news stories this can be prevented while the reliable source is found and accurately portrayed as the breaking source. This research examines the accurate approach to news coverage and the effects that result from misrepresentation and intensification of false news. (Author abstract)
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    Perceptual representations of physical properties: Grasp preparation and the relation between object size and weight on change detection
    (Southern New Hampshire University, 2015) Douglas, Alyssa; Ripley, Dianna; Sabbagh, Katelyn; Kosegarten, Jay
    The proposed study will examine the relationships among object weight and size, grasp preparation, handedness, and the detection of change in the perception of visually displayed objects. In a 4 X 2 factorial design, approximately eighty subjects will be randomized into one of four conditions. Subjects will be instructed to grasp one of four differently sized and weighted balls: a large, heavy ball; a large, light ball; a small, heavy ball; and a small, light ball. All subjects will be grasping a ball while participating in a change-detection task, in which subjects will watch a computer screen while two slightly differently images flicker back and forth. Once they have detected the object that has changed, they will press a key and select the object, which the subjects perceived to have changed. They will complete 12 of these trials. The grasping conditions are the independent variables, and the change-detection task is the dependent variable. We hypothesize that change detection will improve for conditions in which the grasped object's weight—as well as its size—is congruent with the changed-object will perform significantly better at change-detection than when object weight is incongruent. (Author abstract)
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