Undergraduate Works, Honors College
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Browsing Undergraduate Works, Honors College by Content Type "Poster"
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- Comparison of Energy Efficiency, Eco-Friendliness, Cost, and Convenience of Phase-Change and Biosolar Materials in Solar PanelsVaughan, Clint; Richardson, Kelly; Yang, Jiongzhi (2019-05-08)Solar energy is a clean, renewable energy source that is a good alternative to nonrenewable energy sources. Currently, the two major materials utilized in solar panels are phase change materials (PCMs) and biosolar materials. The purpose of this study is to determine whether biosolar materials or phase change materials are better overall, in terms of energy efficiency, cost and convenience, and eco-friendliness in solar panels. Utilizing solar panels that implement phase-change materials or bio-solar materials, this study explores the energy efficiency, cost and convenience, and eco-friendliness, in a variety of different conditions and designs, for each type of material. To ensure that an overall finding on the better type of material can be found, this study uses a rating system, based on government regulations, industry standards, experimental data, and common scientific values. It is expected that there is higher energy efficiency with the utilization of phase-change materials than with bio-solar materials. However, it is expected that the bio-solar materials are more eco-friendly than the phase-change materials. Overall, it is expected that bio-solar materials are the better choice for solar panels because of their eco-friendliness, low cost, and similar energy efficiency to phase-change materials. The findings of this study can help to push communities to make an informed decision on a switch to renewable energy methods. More importantly, this study supports the use of clean, renewable energy with biosolar material solar panels, to combat rapid change in global climate and negative impacts of most nonrenewable energy sources.
- The Effect of Reading Workshops on Ability to Identify PseudoscienceLou, Lan; McCartney, Abby; Makwana, Sunny (2019-05-08)Pseudoscience, or scientific research presented with manipulated data or conducted with flawed methods, has measurable and potentially dangerous impacts on society. With increasing media focus on pseudoscientific data, learning how to identify pseudoscience is vital to the modern public. As such, this research project seeks to assess if the average person can distinguish pseudoscience from peer-reviewed science based on visual cues within the writings, such as experimental methods, tone, and organization of the paper. A critical reading workshop will be implemented to train individuals to recognize pseudoscience so that they may base important, life-altering decisions on reliable sources. Individuals in six different age groups will be presented with two medical research articles, one peer-reviewed and one pseudoscientific, and will be asked to label which is which and explain their answers. Afterwards, we will lead a short language workshop designed to develop critical reading skills. Next, we will survey the age groups again. We expect to find close to half of each age group in the sample will be unable to determine the pseudoscientific article from the initial survey. Our estimates may increase for specific age groups based on prior research. After completing our workshop, we expect meaningfully larger portions of individuals will be able to recognize falsified work. In summary, the workshop strategy suggests that workshops should be implemented into educational systems so that citizens are better prepared to analyze scientific research when making important decisions for themselves and their children.
- "Got Water?" - Water Sanitation ProjectGliga, Vera; Hallworth, Julia B. (Virginia Tech, 2021-12-10)Local waterways in Northern Virginia are at risk of significant loss of quality due to contamination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which have proven to be cancer causing. Fairfax Water stated that the most important step in keeping the tap water drinkable is protecting the source water. For example, a lot of the chemicals found in the tap water is due to the waterways being polluted and contaminated. When runoff occurs during and after a rain or snow event, the chemicals and litter that are located on the roads and grass, end up being distributed into the rivers and streams. In order to prevent this, there needs to be a stricter policy on what chemicals are used around the town that could possibly be swept up. Along with this, construction work tends to have a large impact on waterways as well and cause a lot of illicit discharge, such as from cement, concrete, etc. To try and prevent this from occurring, there should be stricter policies and more surveillance during construction projects.
- The Impact of Microplastic Ingestion on the Bivalve Filtration Efficiency of the Hooked Mussel (Ischadium recurvum) from the Chesapeake BayBetsill, Matthew; Gonzalez, Juan; Woods, Allison (2019-05-08)Microplastic pollution is an increasing issue as sea animals are observed with pollutants within their bodies and cells. Mussels and other marine bivalves have the capability to filter phytoplanktonic organisms and chemical pollutants, but cannot break down microplastics if ingested. Because bivalves filter pollutants out of the water, many kinds of debris enter their systems. It is hypothesized that microplastics will reduce the efficiency of the Ischadium recurvum and its ability to filter toxins that deteriorate water quality. This study will determine the effect of intaking 5 to 50-micrometer diameter plastic on the filtering efficiency of Ischadium recurvum. The experiment will prepare two 10-gallon water samples with 34% salinity and water turbidity of ~100 NTU from the algae concentration for mussels’ environment. Twelve mussels will be collected from the York River to measure the nutrient concentration, dissolved oxygen concentration, water transparency, and chlorophyll concentration to determine the water quality before and after the filtration in both the controlled and polluted environment. A comparison of the two water quality results will determine how microplastics have affected the mussels’ filtration. The mussels are expected to completely filter out the contaminants in the control test and experimental trial with microplastic contaminants, albeit at a slower rate. With a bivalve system, mussels can capture particles at a low nutritive value, which will slow down consumption, but leave little filtration difference. The study will provide information for bay restoration projects to utilize different mussels to filter bay water at a higher efficiency.
- Mental Health Treatment in United States Prison Systems: The Influence of Varying Treatment Methods on Inmates with SchizophreniaMarr, Corinne; Morris, Jill; Francis, Kathryn; Schmidt, Mattie (2019-05-08)Schizophrenia is a psychological disorder that produces symptoms commonly of hallucinations, delusions, movement disorders, and confused thought or speech. Americans diagnosed with schizophrenia are three times more likely to be imprisoned than hospitalized for their symptom expression, thus necessitating prison reform to treat individuals and reduce repeat offenses. The influence of mental health treatments on inmates with schizophrenia (IWS) in the United States will be analyzed. In order to conduct the research, surveys will be distributed to IWS in 100 prisons across the United States. Five caregivers and 45 IWS within each prison will fill out six surveys over a six month period with questions that measure changes in levels of delusions, hallucinations, interpersonal distress, and disorganized thought that IWS express while incarcerated. Changes in symptoms will be analyzed over the six month period to observe how medications and other forms of treatment affect symptoms of IWS. Federal prisons fail to classify serious mental illnesses in prisoners and only require treatment in 3% of inmates. In comparison, California prisons classified over 30% of inmates in need of regular treatment for serious mental illness. Lack of treatment causes many IWS to experience heightened negative symptoms which, without treatment, drove some inmates to attempt suicide. Administering antipsychotic drugs, providing counseling, and offering emotional therapy to people with schizophrenia reduces their negative symptoms, which would help current inmates, and keep non-incarcerated people with schizophrenia out of prison.