Title: | Doane IST E-Portfolio System |
Author: | Stacy Sillasen |
Abstract: | An individual pursuing a computer science or information systems major at Doane College is required to maintain a developmental portfolio of experiences relevant to their course of study. This portfolio includes entries for classes, projects, activities, and work experience. It is formally reviewed by the student's faculty and peers twice during one's Doane career. The current portfolio system is completely paper based, and is stored in Lied 238 within a file cabinet. It is difficult to access and therefore to update and maintain one's portfolio. In order to improve the portfolio system, I designed and developed a database to store all of the portfolio entries and reviews for each student. Interaction with the database is possible through a web site consisting of Active Server Pages (ASPs). The site allows students the ability to interact with their personal portfolio from any location with an Internet connection. My poster session will include a description of the IST portfolio requirement, the design of my portfolio system, and a demonstration of my portfolio system . In addition, I will be discussing the process that I went through in analyzing, designing, implementing, and testing my portfolio system. |
Title: | Internet Collaboration |
Author(s): | James Hays |
Abstract: | Organizations require communication, and are largely organized around the easiest and best methods of communication. My online community effort focuses upon improving organizational communication through the use of modern internet-based tools, and by improving individual and group communication skills. In many ways, a community cannot be created. It consists of the common focus and interactions of its members. The primary objective of an online community is to introduce tools and procedures, which improve an existing community and extend the discussions within and throughout the membership. A community is a group of people who interact and work towards a common goal. An online community is a community, which utilizes Internet and extranet-based tools to enhance aspects of their interactions and efforts. Creating online communities within a company will continually and efficiently aid in the creation of a living knowledge repository, enable a productive distributed organization, increase developer's learning and mentoring, increase developer focus and productivity, spread corporate culture across distributed organizations, and improve knowledge assets. Together, with the community and these described tools, we can create a way to interact within an organization to share common focus and create value for customers, present and future. My poster session will specifically describe solutions involving the creation of an online community, struggles attained, and final results. This will include a demonstration of my online community as set in place in a testing environment and a comparison to similar applications in place in common workforces. |
Title: | Database for a Knowledge Assessment Exam |
Author(s): | Fukuko Hikima |
Abstract: | My project involves designing and implementing an Access database for a student's knowledge assessment examination. The examination is given to students majoring in information systems or computer science twice during their course of study. The database will be used by the Department of Information Science and Technology as a repository of assessment questions. In addition, the application will generate assessment examinations. This project has allowed me to obtain a deeper understanding of database programming as well as other information technology topics. Questions for the examination will be randomly chosen from questions related to a student's major. Therefore, a challenge in designing the application was how to categorize each question and how to make the relationship between an examinee's major and category of questions. There were also several matters of programming technique I needed to master including creating forms, reports and interfaces. |
Title: | Developing Interactive Physics Media For The World Wide Web: Digitized Video |
Author(s): | Justin Stark |
Abstract: | Digitized video allows real experimental situations to be investigated by students in a variety of settings. To facilitate greater use of this interactive media students and faculty at Doane College have developed a Web-accessible library of short video clips on a variety of physics subjects, including kinematics, collisions, and wave phenomena. In this paper, I discuss issues related to using a DV camcorder and an IEEE 1394 digitizing board, including scaling problems that must be corrected to obtain an accurate analysis of motion. An example of using digitized video to study wave motion will be shown. |
Title: | Measuring Aggressiveness in Convict Cichlid Fishes, Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum, Using a Model for Turbidity |
Author(s): | Kody Kraemer |
Abstract: | Fish of the family Cichlidae often exhibit territorial aggression, and have been studied for such behavior in both the wild and in laboratory settings. With the increasing problem of eutrophication in lakes around the world, many Cichlid species are indirectly suffering from human impacts such as deforestation and other activities that lead to increased water turbidity. Cichlids in Africa's Lake Victoria have been particularly affected by the hindrance of mate recognition, resulting in significant interbreeding activities. This study investigated the effects of turbidity on intraspecific territrorial aggression in the species Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum. After allowing a resident fish to establish a territory in a ten gallon aquarium over a 24 hour acclimation period, an intruder fish was added to the tank in a confined glass tube. To model turbidity, layers of acetate were placed within the glass tube containing the intruder fish, inhibiting the visual perception of the resident fish. After numerous trials, it was found that six layers of acetate yielded a statistically significant difference in the number of strikes by the resident. The control used no acetate and another set of runs used 12 layers of acetate, both of which resulted in a lower number of strike responses by the resident fish. |
Title: | Water in Crete Homes |
Author(s): | Christopher Frey |
Abstract: | It is a known fact that there are metals in the water we use everyday for washing and drinking. This project was put together to test the levels of six different metals in the water of homes in the city of Crete. Water was sampled from fifty, randomly chosen, homes around Crete. Also, information was obtained, by interviewing, about the home and its pipes. Where there were water softeners, two samples were taken, one softened and one not, for comparative purposes. All of the samples were gathered and tested using a Perkin-Elmer Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer to measure the amounts of the metals in the water. This data is useful for determining the levels of dissolved metals in the water. My poster session will include a summary of the data, a detailed description of the project, and any other important information obtained during the progression of the project. |
Title: | Supercomputing |
Author(s): | Dustin Jurena |
Abstract: | In this experiment, we are trying to find out what, if any, difference there is between running an algorithm on multiple machines (and therefore processors), and running the same algorithm on a single machine. We hope to demonstrate that running programs in parallel shows significant improvements over programs run sequentially. We started this project by getting together three computers, which were donated by Farmland. We added network interface cards to the machines and installed the Linux operating system on each. Then, we verified that the machines could communicate over the network. Next, we installed the Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) package, which will allow us to write programs that can use more than one processor. The final part of our project will be to write a parallelized program; this will allow us to demonstrate the performance gain obtained by parallel execution over programs executed sequentially. At the present time, the computers are set up with Linux and networked together. We still need to get the PVM package to work acceptably and write our parallelized program. |
Title: | Detection of Helicobacter Pylori in the Feces of Mice using PCR |
Author(s): | Adrienne V. Bambach |
Abstract: | PCR was used to determine the number of days needed for the establishment of Helicobacter pylori infection in mice and to determine if the organism remains detectable in the feces throughout infection. To determine the H. pylori status of the mice, feces were collected, DNA was extracted, PCR was carried out, and DNA was separated by electrophoresis. Once the methodology was established in the mouse model, mice were infected from cultured microorganisms and fecal material was examined for the presence of H. pylori as described. To infect mice, cultured H. pylori was suspended in a mixture of peptone water and sucrose and 0.1-ml were administered orally to the mice. Subsequently, feces were collected at 2, 5, and 7 days after infection, DNA was extracted, and PCR was carried out. H. pylori was detected using species specific primers, while universal and bacterial DNA primers were used as internal PCR controls. The PCR product was then separated on 1% agarose gel, using crude H. pylori DNA as the control. Two days after infection H. pylori bands were not present in the gel, however, at five and seven days after infection H. pylori bands were present. This work demonstrates that H. pylori can establish an infection detectable by the presence of its DNA in the fecal matter of mice within 2-5 days after infection. |
Title: | Building an Automated Telescope with CCD Imaging |
Author(s): | Andrew Baruth |
Abstract: | In an effort to further our experience in the use of digital logic, it was decided to build an automated telescope with CCD imaging capabilities. In order to complete such a task required the acquisition of knowledge in logic gates, machine language, circuit diagrams, and integrated circuits such as multiplexers, decoders, counters, as well as analog to digital encoders. Utilizing these aspects of digital electronics and ingenuity we worked with stepper motors and incremental encoders to cause motion of an eight inch Celestron Telescope. The automated telescope has the capability of locating a star and tracking it across the sky. This takes place due to the motion made by the stepper motors, which are a motor that moves a set number of degrees with each pulse of electricity causing it to be easily measured. It is also due to the incremental encoders, which are essential to determine where the telescope is looking. Next, we worked to build a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) imaging camera. This device takes an analog picture using a CCD chip; it does this by collecting light into small bins that register as a pixel. When this analog signal is converted into a digital signal and put into the computer an image can be displayed. Each of these components is then combined within a micro controller, which does all the calculations in conjunction with a standard Pentium based PC. From here the images can be processed to extract precise photometric data for astronomical research. |
Title: | Computer Certifications |
Author(s): | Joel Shoemaker, Matt Welna, Eric Sall |
Abstract: | A number of certifications are available in the IT industry. Certifications are obtained by individuals to demonstrate skills and competency with specific computer products. The requirements to obtain a certification vary based on the certification being obtained; however, all require a significant amount of independent studying, hands-on experience, and the completion of practice exams followed by the completion of one or more certification exams. This poster presentation will highlight how three students prepared and performed on certification exams in two certification areas offered by Microsoft: MCSE and Visual C++. The successful completion of the certification exams was one requirement of the senior seminar course. |
Title: | Monte Carlo Simulation of Solid State Diffusion in a 2-Dimensional Lattice with A-B Structure |
Author(s): | Nick Thorson, Andrew Baruth, Scott Barnett, Chris Dolan, Justin Stark |
Abstract: | We will develop a simple model of solid state diffusion on a 2-dimensional lattice with two kinds of holes. The lattice bears a checkboard pattern where hopping atoms have a high energy on one sublattice and low energy on another. This model will operate using a Monte Carlo computer simulation. We will discuss the Metropolis algorithm and show simulation results for the sublattice concentration as a function of Monte Carlo steps. |
Title: | Lead Uptake in Zea Mays |
Author(s): | Mary Livengood |
Abstract: | abstract: Field corn (Zea mays) was raised in an inert growing medium, with 10 grams of lead shot added near the base of the plants. The plants were watered with a nutrient solution that had been adjusted to various pH levels. The control group was watered with a pH 7 solution, and experimental group solutions varied from pH 5 to 9. Lead uptake by the corn plant roots was pH dependent; plants grown in an alkaline medium absorbed more than those in acidic growing medium. |