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Item set AEC 2015 Sciences
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86 item sets

50 items

  • Physiological and Neurological Correlates of a Flow State in the Musical Domain

    A flow experience is categorized as a state of effortless attention, where a mindset of complete concentration becomes so focused that it leads to total absorption of an activity (Csikszentmi halyi, 1997). Maslow (1959) regarded these as 'peak experiences', defined by moments of happiness and encouragement that ultimately give one a sense of one's true potential. The current study uses musicians as the sample group. Due to perceived controlability of flow, (Jackson, 1995) expertise will be controlled for in order to increase the probability of participants reaching a flow state. The current hypotheses states that the effortless attention that gives rise to peak performance during a flow state is due to synchronization of attention and reward networks in sensory-motor regions of the brain known as convergence zones (Damasio, 1989). Participants were asked to bring in one song to be performed over five trials. EEG, GSR, and arterial blood flow were all measured along with the Flow State Scale developed by Jackson and Marsh (1994).

  • Policy Seekers Or Vote Maximizers? Tea Party Republicans In The U.S. House

    Although scholars have focused on the legislative goals of the Tea Party Caucus in Congress, no study examines whether Tea Party members operate predominantly as policy seekers or as electorally driven vote maximizers. Therefore I ask: Did incumbent Republican legislators join the Tea Party Caucus before the 2010 elections to boost their chances of passing extremely conservative bills or to increase their reelection prospects? To answer this question, I examine the legislative records of these incumbents from 2002 to 2010 to see whether they routinely promoted a conservative strategy that conflicted with and was more extreme than the Republican platform. I also examine the level of voter support that these incumbents received before and after joining the Tea Party Caucus to see whether they enjoyed electoral gains from their new caucus membership. I find that Tea Party incumbents failed to use policy-seeking strategies and worked to maximize their electoral support.

  • Queering Sexuality and Relationship Education: A practical way to integrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning youth into Sexuality Education in the United States

    This research proposes policy changes for sexuality and relationship education in the United States. Whether or not sexuality and relationship education should be included in middle and high school curricula, and what sexuality and relationship education should entail, are both highly contested questions. With the recent progress towards welcoming gay marriage within the U.S., it is important for educators to recognize multiple sexualities and genders as respectable within our society. Only twelve states require that sexual orientation be addressed in sexual education, and of these states, nine require inclusive sexual education while three require exclusively negative information about homosexuality. This research addresses the lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer/questioning (LGBTQ) student body specifically in sexuality and relationship education, pointing out that their needs often overlap considerably with the necessities of heterosexual youth. Policy changes to address these needs include comprehensive sexuality and relationship education including multiple sexualities and gender identities.

  • Reasons Why Women In The United States Are Having Fewer Children

    Why are American women having fewer children? There are two arguments in the literature. Firstly, with social security in place, there is less reliance upon grown children to support their elderly parents. Further, rising wages for women working outside the home can lead to higher child care costs. I hypothesized that fertility depends on child care costs and the number of women in full time work. A regression with data from the Center for Disease Control and the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the 1980s to 2012 showed that child care costs had the greatest effect on fertility.

  • Redesigning Keene's Central Square Traffic Pattern: A Study on the Environmental and Social Impact of Creating a Roundabout in Downtown Keene

    Roundabouts have numerous benefits with regard to safety, cost, and environmental sustainability. Student researchers gathered questionnaire and field observation data on the feasibility of converting the Central Square traffic pattern into a roundabout. Results show that approximately two-thirds of the sample (n=72) surveyed felt that traffic in downtown Keene was 'inefficient' or 'somewhat efficient.' A majority (85%) stated that traffic flow in Keene has improved since roundabouts were installed around town. While very few cars wait at the lights in the early morning and late evening, during the middle of the day up to 18 cars idle at the lights. Other research indicates that exhaust created when cars idle at stoplights is reduced by 32-42% when roundabouts are installed. We conclude that the lights in the Square can be switched to blinking yellows during certain times of the day, or during the whole day. The City of Keene should consider options for removing stoplights to reduce the number of idling cars and exhaust created by those cars.

  • Reds And Blues: How Immigration Reform Can Reshape America's Political Landscape

    In the United States today, there are roughly 12 million undocumented immigrants. As a result of exploitation, limited rights, and cultural segregation, immigrant groups are pressuring government officials to pass legislation that would enable immigrants to acquire their basic civil rights. Unfortunately, ideological differences have prevented politicians from finding a bipartisan solution. Therefore, President Obama issued an executive order, which gave immigrants a better pathway to citizenship. This action could potentially have great effects on America's political landscape. Using exit poll data, demographic and geographic statistics, this presentation attempts to display how an Executive Order of this nature, could create a new Democratic Southwest region of the United States because of the large Hispanic electorate in such areas as Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. A new Republican stronghold in the northern states of America could develop as well. These implications could be felt as soon as the 2016 Presidential Election.

  • Repunits: Natural Numbers In Which Every Digit Is A One

    A repunit (a contraction of 'repeating units') is a natural number in which every digit is a one. This talk will discuss two interesting properties that are related to repunits and prime numbers. The first property is the fact that every prime number, other than two and five, is a factor of at least one repunit. The second is that each repunit is divisible by a prime that does not divide any smaller repunit. This talk will conclude with some statements of unsolved questions involving repunits and some possible ways of approaching them.

  • Rocks, Paper, Pixels: Exploring Geographic Education In The Granite State

    Since 2004, the NH Geographic Alliance has made a New Hampshire paper atlas and accompanying lesson plans available to teachers and students across the state. Each lesson plan goes along with one or more pages of the atlas and helps students gain an understanding of geographic maps. In 2014, the NHGA released a digital edition of the atlas. With the need to prepare students for technical careers, including geospatial technology positions, the digital atlas format provides a means to incorporate technology in the classroom. A study was conducted in seven New Hampshire schools to explore differences in the effectiveness of the paper and digital atlas formats. We created grade-specific pre and post-tests and lesson plans for K-2nd, 3rd-5th, and 6th -8th grades. Test results were statistically analyzed to determine if there are significant differences in the learning of geographic skills using a paper format versus a digital format.

  • Solutions To Quartic Equations

    A quartic equation is one of the form ax4+bx3+cx2+dx+e=0. There is a formula that will give the solutions to this equation in terms of a, b, c, d, and e, but it is very cumbersome to use. This talk will present a method that transforms the quartic equation into a quadratic equation which can be solved more easily. The solutions to the quadratic equation then lead to the solutions of the quartic equation. Examples will be given that illustrate the method.

  • Synthesis and Characterization of Potential Fatty Acid Synthase Inhibitors

    Fatty Acid synthase (FASN) is an enzyme that catalyzes the production of fatty acids. It has been observed that this enzyme is elevated in cancer cells, since fatty acids are required as both a fuel source and for the synthesis of cell membranes. Thus, inhibitors of fatty acid synthase are being researched in the treatment of breast and other cancers. A series of new compounds that are similar to a previously identified fatty acid synthase inhibitor are prepared in this project in order to determine how the structure influences the biological activity. The synthesis and characterization of the new compounds will be presented. It is expected that the biological activity of this series of compounds, which will be determined by collaborators, can help identify the structural features important for fatty acid synthase inhibition. This could then lead to improved compounds for testing the inhibition of this enzyme in cancer models.

  • The Ashuelot Rail-Trail: The Art Of Commuting

    Many commuters ride their bicycles to get their destinations. Rail-trails, former railroad beds converted to pedestrian and bicycle trails, may prove to be viable routes for bicycle commuters. With the collaboration of Southwest Region Planning Commission, our group assessed baseline characteristics of the Ashuelot Rail-Trail (ART) in southern New Hampshire and collected information about the potential of the ART as a commuter pathway. Data were collected using several methods. Trail attribute data were obtained using GPS receivers and trail assessment forms. Trail user data were collected using on-trail comment cards and through off-trail surveys to local residents. Community stakeholders were interviewed to provide contextual information. We synthesized the results of our research to gain a greater understanding about the commuting viability of the ART. Our group discovered that the ART is widely underutilized as a commuter pathway, despite its relatively good physical condition.

  • The Cultural Contributions to Poverty: A Life History Study of Welfare Recipients

    Poverty is a social problem affecting everyone in a society. Previous research has shown that poverty persists even in times of great economic prosperity, suggesting that there are more causes of poverty than simply just economic causes. The objective of this research is to begin a discussion on the use of welfare in our society and the effects of poverty on the lives of the impoverished from the unique perspective of those who experience these conditions. This research is done based on a collection of life history interviews, involving open ended questions targeting specific focuses, which sought to identify a common lived experience by those who suffer in low socioeconomic status. Ten welfare recipients from the Keene Community Kitchen were interviewed as sources of data. This research will work to prove that there are shared cultural occurrences which cause certain people to live in poverty and others in relative wealth.

  • The Impact Of An Intervention On Eating Disorder Symptomology, Life And Body Satisfaction

    The proposed study will examine the impact of a media literacy-cognitive dissonance intervention on women's internalization of the thin ideal, eating disorder symptomology, life and body satisfaction. KSC females will be recruited and randomly assigned to one of two conditions: intervention or control. Participants in the intervention condition will watch a 30-minute media literacy video, engage in approximately a 30-minute discussion and complete a questionnaire packet, which includes the Body Image Quality of Life Inventory, Body Image States Scale, Sociocultural Attitudes towards Appearance Questionnaire and the Anorexia-Bulimia Inventory. Participants in the control condition will only be required to complete the questionnaires. It is hypothesized that participants exposed to the intervention will score significantly higher on measures of body and life satisfaction and significantly lower on eating disorder symptomology, compared with the control condition.

  • The Interactive Mathematics Program: An Imp-Pressive Reform

    In this talk, we will elaborate on a recent change in the high school Mathematics classroom, the Interactive Mathematics Program. More specifically, we will look at some background, why this change in education was needed, and how a high school IMP classroom is executed.

  • The Path Less Pedaled: An Assessment Of The North Cheshire Rail Trail In Southwestern New Hampshire

    This study examines a bicycle and pedestrian trail between Keene and Walpole, NH that provides recreation opportunities for local residents and seasonal visitors. The trail accommodates a variety of activities throughout the year. Our study focuses on trail conditions and the potential for the rail trail to encourage tourism in the Monadnock Region. Data from trail users and local businesses were obtained through surveys administered on the trail and through an online survey platform. These were statistically analyzed to identify trends. Data on trail conditions and use were obtained from traffic counters, GPS trackers, and visual observations. Using GIS, trail conditions were individually rated in terms of surface material, texture, and moisture, then the three ratings were combined into a final score of trail 'ridability.' A final map of trail condition rankings and amenities was produced to help promote the trail and surrounding towns as a cycling tourism destination.

  • The Relationship Between Attachment Styles And Romantic Relationship Satisfaction

    This study aims to investigate the relationship between attachment style, physiological responsivity and relationship satisfaction in dating and non-dating college students. Other than a requirement of 18 years of age, there are no exclusionary criteria for participants. Self-report questionnaires will be used to measure participants' attachment style (The Security Scale and The Coping Strategies Questionnaire) with each parent and to measure relationship satisfaction (Couple's Satisfaction Index). Physiological responsivity (skin conductance and breathing patterns) will be measured during the viewing of 5 conflict video clips. These short vignettes have been borrowed from Hollywood films for their depiction of relational conflict. For instance Revolutionary Road shows a hostile relationship, The Break-Up depicts a volatile relationship, The Pursuit of Happiness conflict avoiding, and It's a Disaster shows a validating relationship. This study is examining the correlation between hypotheses.

  • Two Communities, One Town: The Divided Culture Of Pumpkin Fest 2014

    The riots associated with the Keene Pumpkin Festival of 2014 exposed many divisions between the Keene, NH residents. This paper presents the results of ethnographic research conducted to uncover socially constructed realities embedded in responses to the 2014 Pumpkin Fest riots. This ethnographic inquiry included interviews, participant-observation, analysis of news articles, and commentary. During the family-friendly community event, participants were unaware of an extremely different type of celebration of Pumpkin Fest occurring on adjacent streets. Between the Pumpkin Fest footprint and the Keene State campus, chaotic parties escalated into riotous behaviors that carried on throughout the night, surrounded by police. While some students contributed to the clean up the next day, a buzz of opinions concerning the possible cause(s) began to flare. In the following weeks, different socially constructed narratives, roughly aligned with different interest groups, emerged.

  • Understanding Solar Flare Dynamics With High-Altitude Balloons

    Solar flares are large energy releases observed at the surface of the sun, capable of outputting the energy equivalent of 160 billion megatons of TNT. Caused by a build-up in magnetic energy, these enormous eruptions result in an emission of radiation spanning the entire electromagnetic spectrum, including large fluxes of x-rays, as well as particles accelerated near the speed of light. Both have far-reaching and harmful effects on Earth and its inhabitants. The focus of this investigation is the initial, impulsive phase of the solar flare. This includes the process of magnetic reconnection, a high-energy plasma phenomenon considered the cause of flare initiation. This presentation will examine the impulsive phase by comparing x-ray emissions of two distinct and powerful flares that occurred on January 7th, 2014 with x-ray observations from an atmospheric balloon survey conducted over Antarctica as well as multi-wavelength observations from several other Earth and space-based observatories.

  • Understanding the Social Deficits In Autism Via Perception Of Sound And Frequency

    My correlational study presents the hypothesis that there is a relationship between social ability, tolerance of loud sounds, and tolerance of high frequencies in both autistic and non-autistic individuals. Sensitivity to loud sound and frequency can characterize the atypical auditory sensitivity associated with autism (Lucker, 2013). However, in order to direct future research, it is crucial to conduct studies that determine if there is a correlation between perception of loudness, perception of frequency, and sociability in a non-autistic population. Additionally I elaborate on how understanding the way autistic individuals perceive a variety of stimuli allows us to provide them with better accommodations.

  • Using Cloud Computing To Develop A Botnet

    In the last decade, cloud computing has become very popular. Cloud computing is the usage of centrally located computers used for data storage and computing resources. Cloud computing is often used for web applications because it is a cheap option for using very powerful computers. In this research, we designed a botnet, a network of computers (bots) remotely controlled by one person (the bot master), that utilizes cloud computing. Bot masters often use botnets to spam email addresses, attack webservers, or distribute adware. It is often the bot master's goal to acquire as many bots as possible, usually by distributing malware to an unsuspecting victim's computers, because having more bots makes their botnet much more powerful. Using cloud computing, we are able to quickly create a very powerful botnet in minutes, without compromising anyone's computers.

  • Weird Fractions

    The fraction 16/64 has the unusual property that if one simplifies it to lowest terms the result is 1/4, which is also the result if one (illegitimately) cancels the 6's. This is an example of a weird fraction. Once a weird fraction is identified, an infinite sequence of weird fractions can be created. This talk will present the process of generating weird fractions and discuss some of their properties.

  • When Do The Quadratic Polynomials px^2+qy+r and 2px^2+qy+r Both Factor?

    One mathematical skill developed in a high school algebra class involves factoring a quadratic polynomial into a product of two binomials. For example, x^2+17x+30=(x+2)(x+15). If a 2 is placed in front of the x^2, the polynomial 2x^2+17x+30 factors as(2x+5)(x+6). A good exercise for students is to find other quadratic polynomials px^2+qy+r and 2px^2+qy+r that both factor. A pair of quadratic polynomials with this property is called a quadratic doublet. The first part of this talk will characterize values for p, q, and r that yield quadratic doublets. A Pythagorean Triple is three whole numbers a, b, c with the property that a^2+b^2=c^2 . The second part of the talk will show a connection between the quadratic doublets and Pythagorean Triples.

  • Where have all the Files Gone, Long-Time Passing?

    We as people use computers to store important information because, unlike keeping knowledge in analog(ue) machines, digital computers make exact copies of our files when told to do so.But do they really? How do we even know if they do?In this research work, we as scientists examine how computers store information in data structures called file-systems; and by such exploring, we shine a sobering light on important questions (all-too-often ignored by professional software engineers) about how fragile most people?s files really are.More importantly, we bring a message of hope for both now and the future: (1) Computer Science already provides the mathematical means to make our data safe, and (2) we can start developing new tools, and eventually a new approach to file-system design, which will make everyone?s information both safe and much easier to manage.

  • Whose Life Matters: Social Contradictions In The U.S. About The Sanctity Of Life

    How do Americans decide whose life is sacred and whose life is not? Data from the 2012 General Social Survey (GSS) documents that a majority of Americans who oppose abortion for any reason also support capital punishment. The issues of abortion and capital punishment continue to be hotly contested among Americans. After a review of the literature, theoretically based hypotheses that are key to understanding the seemingly contradictory opposition to abortion and support of capital punishment were formulated. The quantitative method Chi Squared was used to test the hypotheses with the 2012 GSS data. This secondary data analysis illuminates social factors that lead to opposition for abortion and support for the death penalty in the U.S. The social factors considered include: level of fundamentalism, political party, political ideology, education, and age.

  • x + x: Women in Mathematics

    Today's education system puts a strong emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, often referred to as STEM subjects. However, despite the emphasis put on these fields for all students in higher education and careers, these STEM disciplines are often dominated by men. Referencing case studies and surveys, this presentation explores potential reasons for why women are not as well represented in careers in mathematics, such as negative stereotyping, lack of positive support, and societal pressures. This presentation also suggests how to encourage girls to pursue this area of study and profiles prominent female mathematicians as examples of potential role models for girls.