Undergraduate Research Posters 2024

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  The Origin of ISIS and its Founding Father

  Nadia Cruz

  This paper examines the life of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the founder of ISIS, and the events that led up to him becoming a terrorist. United States officials have implicated al-Zarqawi for 700 deaths during the invasion of Iraq in 2004, the number rising to the thousands since. There is no denying the violent nature of his acts of terror, but one must look at his history and rise to infamy to determine why he went down this path of radicalism. The methods used to delve into al-Zarqawi’s history and feats ... Read More

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  Generating a Dataset for Deep Reinforcement Learning

  Lewis Davis

  Reinforcement Learning (RL), is a subfield of Machine Learning where a computational agent interacts with the environment, learning an optimal course of action by trial and error. Deep Reinforcement Learning (Deep RL) uses neural networks to learn to perform tasks directly from raw data, such as images or text, without hard-coding task-specific knowledge. In this context, datasets are collections of data used as a single unit for analytic and prediction purposes. Datasets are made for specific tasks with raw data specific to the task or machine being used. There is ... Read More

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  A Guide to Ensemble Styled Machine Learning with JavaScript and Brain.js

  Michael Angelo De La Cruz Ortiz

  Currently, there are few comprehensive guides with detailed development procedures by which brain.js is used for creating ANNs (Artificial Neural Networks) that can recognize patterns in large amounts of data (big data) in sequential and multi-dimensional form.This work is a guide detailing the development of AI (Artificial Intelligence) using brain.js, a library of features which allow for the high-level development of ANNs, all purely written in the JavaScript programing language. It details an Ensemble Styled ML (Machine Learning) procedure with brain.js. The methods in this guide include: the creation of ... Read More

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  Thought Quantification with a Single-Channel EEG BCI System

  Michael Angelo De La Cruz Ortiz

  BCI (Brain-Computer Interfaces) implement various aspects of brain activity monitoring and analysis technologies. EEG (electroencephalogram) has proven to be a viable way to safely probe electromagnetic brain activity through non-surgical means. However, these devices are not viable for everyday consumer use, specifically amongst people with disabilities. This project aims to develop a means of processing data to optimize the use of a single-channel EEG. For this purpose, the output of a mind flex headset by Mattel was processed to quantify six different thought commands (up, down, left, right, forward, backward) ... Read More

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  Examining the Relationship Between Intimate Partner Violence, Trauma, Attachment, and Help-seeking Self-Efficacy

  Dalton Hundt

  Intimate partner violence (IPV) negatively affects victims. However, traumatic experiences and anxious attachment are often overlooked in IPV studies. This study examined effectiveness of relationship perpetration between various types of IPV victimization, the perception of one’s ability to help-seek as a victim and a bystander, and how traumatic experiences and anxious attachment can play a role in the ability to help-seek. The data for this project was obtained from the Dating in Young Adults Study (studies 1 and 2). This secondary, archival dataset that examined relationships in young adults ages ... Read More

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  The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Child Development and Communication: A Systematic Review of the Literature

  Tyler Johnson

  Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can be defined as possible early childhood traumatic and stressful events that could result from a variety of sources including abuse, neglect, toxic stress, or household dysfunction. The original ACE study described ten ACEs. In the United States, 34.8 million children are estimated to have been exposed to more than one adverse childhood experience. ACEs have been studied by several healthcare professionals. However, there is very little work investigating ACEs in the Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD; Speech and Hearing) literature. This study sought to explore ... Read More

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  The Examination of the Forbidden Fruit

  Dominique Ryder

  The dominant subculture in each region significantly influences long-term behavioral changes. Strict social norms can result in deeply internalized punishment. Since enculturation and acculturation play a significant role in shaping established and accepted social norms, a complex interplay of sociocultural phenomena can be held accountable. Anthropology, sociology, and religious studies provide an interdisciplinary framework that can help explain how religion influences systemic discrimination. This study utilized interview techniques, short-term ethnography, and grounded theory methodology to collect data for an innovative framework and form a coherent theory to support this framework. ... Read More

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  Assessment of the Intersectionality of Muslim and Queer Identities

  Elisha Sledge

  Queerness can be a taboo subject in many Muslim communities. However, little academic research explores the intersection between queer and Muslim identities. This project employs an audio-ethnographic approach to explore the intersections of familial judgment and sexual identity among Queer Muslims. We believe that familial judgment plays a critical role in shaping the experiences of Queer Muslims, potentially leading to heightened levels of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts and attempts because of anticipated familial rejection. By integrating ethnographic methods with audio recordings, this study seeks to capture the nuanced personal ... Read More