Proceedings 2016: 12th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects

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Editorial Board for 2016 GRASP Symposium

Chair

Barbara Chaparro,Associate Professor, Coordinator, Human Factors Graduate Program

Members

Ramazan Asmatulu, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Mehmet Barut, Associate Professor, Finance, Real Estate, & Decision Sciences

Kerry Wilks, Associate Professor & Graduate School Associate Dean

Anthony DiLollo, Associate Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders

Kathy Downes, Senior Associate Dean, University Libraries

Jeremy Patterson, Associate Professor & Director Human Performance Lab, Human Performance Studies

Jay Price, Professor & Department Chair, History

Aleks Sternfeld-Dunn, Assistant Professor, School of Music

Sponsors of 2016 GRASP Symposium

Graduate School

Academic Affairs

University Libraries

Regional Institute on Aging

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Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 5 of 117
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    12th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects
    (Wichita State University. Graduate School., 2016-04-29) Chaparro, Barbara S.
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    World War II British propaganda to the home front, Barrow-In-Furness – weapons of mass destruction, or weapons of mass communication?
    (Wichita State University, 2016-04-29) Weatherburn, Hollie; Ballard-Reisch, Deborah
    Some wars are fought and won with weapons of mass destruction, others with weapons of mass communication. When Britain and its Allies won WWII in 1945 there were many factors that made this possible, but what motivated an island of die-hards to stand up to the domination of Hitler? This study investigates the effectiveness of the Ministry of Information's food and conservation propaganda efforts on the small town of Barrow-in-Furness, Great Britain. Contextual analysis of posters and 20 oral interviews were conducted. Findings reflect that home front propaganda helped civilians adjust to wartime life. Propaganda led to austerity and created a sense of unity, responsibility, pride and trust, and boosted morale. Interviewees claimed the posters provided safe and helpful information that influenced how they adapted to wartime realities. Thus, Britain's success in WWII can be attributed to both its weapons of mass destruction and its weapons of mass communication.
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    Food for thought: A qualitative look into the need for a campus food pantry
    (Wichita State University, 2016-04-29) Bowman, Shelby; Dockter, Ciera; Gimenez, Marcela; Young, Erik; Basham, Kayla; Ekundayo, Maureen; Newman, Jessica; Parviz, Elnaz; Pennick, Tyler; Pini, Chelsea; Watkins, Hannah; Ballard-Reisch, Deborah
    According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, ongoing research on campus food insecurity illustrates the seriousness of the problem and need for intervention. To assess the need for a campus food pantry at Wichita State University, researchers conducted three focus groups. Focus groups, facilitated group conversations, included ten questions assessing the need for a campus-based food pantry. Twenty-two participants, ranging in age from 17 to 40, took part in the study. Three themes emerged: nutrition, awareness of the need for a campus food pantry, and recommendations regarding the logistics of implementing a food pantry. Participants showed concern with food quality, suggesting healthy food options including fresh fruits and vegetables. All participants perceived the need for a food pantry and acknowledged the reality of food insecurity on campus. Moreover, students were concerned with establishing clear procedures for the management of the food pantry, including protecting the privacy of those who use it.
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    Readmission diagnosis, patient characteristics, and the development of a risk assessment tool to decrease stroke readmissions
    (Wichita State University, 2016-04-29) Wilson, Donna; Steinke, Elaine E.; Dusenbury, Wendy L.
    Hospital readmission for stroke is a major concern, and identifying characteristics contributing to readmission during the patient's index admission is critically important. Prior studies lack a consistent approach in early identification and a process for preventing hospital readmissions. The purpose of this project was to identify the readmission diagnosis and characteristics of discharged stroke patients within 30 days, and subsequently develop a risk assessment tool to help prevent future readmission. Retrospective medical record review identified characteristics of readmission and index stroke admission. The most common readmission diagnoses were ischemic stroke, urinary tract infection, acute respiratory failure, and pneumonia. The characteristics of age 70-79; Caucasian; female; risk factors of hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia; and frequency of complications during the index stroke contributed to a readmission in 30 days. Further evaluation of these characteristics is needed by applying the newly developed risk assessment tool to stroke patients to support the current findings.
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    Effects of plant protein based modifiers on structures and ferroelectric properties of dielectric films
    (Wichita State University, 2016-04-29) Zheng, Zhuoyuan; Li, Bin
    Plant proteins, as renewable and cost-effective natural resources, have gain increasing interests in non-food applications. In particular, with increasing environmental concerns of petro-polymers, biomass as substitution of traditional petro-polymers has become an important research area. In this study, soy protein isolate (SPI) has been studied as a functional modifier to tune ferroelectric behaviors of polymer dielectric films for advanced capacitor applications with desirable energy density and efficiency. To achieve this goal, SPI based modifiers were prepared via controlled denaturation and modification procedures. The modifiers were then applied to poly (vinylidene fluoride), a ferroelectric polymer. The ferroelectric analysis showed that the energy density and energy efficiency of resulting dielectric films can be effectively tuned by SPI based modifiers to satisfy different capacitor applications. To understand the mechanisms of these tunable properties, SEM, optical microscope, XRD and FTIR were utilized to characterize phase structures and crystal structures of the films.