The Impact of Crawling Acquisition on Movements and Waking During Sleep

Sarah Abdel Fatah, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed major in SLS (1-6) 

Sarah, Lizebet Rodriguez, Dr. Sarah Berger

In 2023, I worked in Dr. Berger’s Child Development lab. I worked in her lab during my last two years of high school, left in my first year of college, and later returned in my third year. I worked on was the same study during those times, when the study was in the beginning stages and still in development, and assisted with the completed version of the study. It was bittersweet to end the work in Dr. Berger’s lab, remembering the development and the people I worked with throughout the years.

During my final year, I learned a lot. I had to watch infants sleep and correctly note the observations. During this time, I also worked in a group to complete a poster presentation for the 2023 Undergraduate Research Conference. I discovered how much goes into data collection and analysis. We spent day and night collecting data, conducting analysis, and writing our lab poster.

In the spring semester, I was under the direct supervision of Dr. Aaron DeMasi while he was finishing his Ph.D. My role was to support and learn. I read many articles and collected data, along with other jobs. During the summer and fall semesters, my role changed, and I stepped up to my new position. I learned to train other lab interns, conduct data analysis, organize lab meetings, and perform other tasks. Most importantly, I learned how to write up an honors thesis and the other projects needed in order to complete the thesis, including analysis, writing, editing, etc.

If I were to continue, I would love to see the application of the study. I would also like to see other trends observed. Because of the short time, I could only do so much; it almost felt like I opened Pandora’s box. I have to close it now, but I would love to see where it leads and how this information can help future parents and psychologists. I want to thank those who worked with me and helped me during this time. Until next time!

Supermarket Accessibility in Staten Island, NY by Zip Codes

Keair E. Brown, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed major in Sociology/Anthropology

I was afraid of the thought of writing, researching and collaborating with faculty on my capstone project, but when I was able to take a topic that was personal to me and dig deeper into the research and data, the feeling of being scared quickly changed to exhilarating.

This research isn't just about numbers and policies; it's about understanding the daily challenges faced by myself and neighbors to finding ways to make our community healthier and more sustainable. In doing so, I was able to apply the suggestions from Professor Grace Cho, from the Sociology/Anthropology department, for the research portion of the project to construct a cohesive paper that had information to back up my topic.

Nora Santiago, who is the Sustainability Program Manager in the Office of Sustainable Community Planning at CSI, guided me with the GIS (Geographic Information System) visual portion for the presentation, and introduced me to a new skill that I can use later in my career endeavors.

The photo of me is how I mostly conducted my research, in front of my laptop. I reviewed several NYC websites, had multiple zoom meetings with my two faculty advisors and read a book to help me put together a research project that I am happy to share.

Residing in the 10303-zip code area of Staten Island since 2007, the lack of access to supermarket options has been evident. Currently, there are only three supermarkets, two of which are considered specialty grocery stores. One is Mediterranean and the other is an Asian food market.

This study aimed to investigate the qualitative and quantitative aspects of access to supermarkets for residents within a two-mile radius of the 10303-zip codes. Factors such as mode of transportation, travel time, cost comparisons, ease of access, and the number of supermarkets within both 10303 and neighboring 10314-zip codes were analyzed. The 10303-zip code encompasses the Arlington and Mariners Harbor sections of the North Shore of Staten Island.

This research was made possible with the invaluable guidance of two faculty advisors: Professor Grace Cho for research and Nora Santiago for Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

 

 

Computational Thinking and Creativity Skills in Autistic Youth in a Game Design and Employment Program: Examining Potential Predictors

Theresa Antony, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed major in Biology

Since I graduated early, I had only one semester to complete my capstone thesis, compared to the usual time period of a year. Nevertheless, I learned a lot through the process and am glad that I ended up doing a thesis for the Psychology department.

My thesis focused on examining computational thinking (CT) and creativity skills among autistic students who were enrolled in a Game Design and Employment workshop. I wanted to examine these skills since previous literature has shown that CT and creativity are skills that are necessary in the workplace. Autistic students have difficulty attaining their employment goals compared to their neurotypical counterparts. As a result, fostering these skills might be useful in helping autistic students to overcome systemic barriers and discrimination in the workplace. Additionally, it will allow us to guide autistic youth to be better prepared for their future jobs and as a result, ultimately improve employment outcomes among autistic people.

CT was measured using assessments derived from previous literature, and creativity was assessed in two ways. One way was to examine the games the students created by the end of the program. This was done by looking at the diversity and the number of frontend game elements, elements in a game that a player can view and interact with that were incorporated into the games by the students. Another way was to look at the originality of the responses the students had to the Alternatives Uses Task (AUT). AUT required the students to list as many possible ways to use a specific item that was provided. After assessing these skills, we investigated the relationship between these skills and constructs we selected before the study commenced. These constructs included student-reported engagement, self-efficacy (the belief in oneself to complete a goal/task), and cognitive skills (sequential reasoning).

I was surprised to see that income was a predictor of creativity in the context of the games. This suggests the need to close the gap between lower and higher income neurodivergent students to reduce digital inequality. Additionally, cognitive skills, in this case, sequential reasoning, and student-reported engagement with workshop activities were predictors of computational thinking. These findings showed that educators can work to facilitate predictors such as engagement in the classroom or cognitive skills such as sequential reasoning to help foster CT and creativity skills among students. From these results, I learned the importance of fostering skills among autistic youth and the need to do so to help them toward their employment goals. I also learned that even within a marginalized group, there can be differences between the individuals (e.g., income level) that place them at an advantage compared to their counterparts.

From this project, I expected more significant relationships between the constructs, but I had interesting findings. I learned a lot from this process, especially since I was on a time crunch. I learned to manage my time, work with new types of data, and write a paper that was quite long. I am also grateful for my mentor and other readers who have provided me with helpful feedback which I believe helped me develop a strong thesis.

A Reflective Journey Through the Lab

Yasmin Bahloul, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed majors in Biology and Political Science

As I navigated through the initial phases of my junior year, the planning of my capstone hadn't yet crossed my mind. Biology was a recent addition as a second major, and I immersed myself in what some may deem the “boring” introductory classes. It wasn't until I completed a general biology course with Dr. Phillips, my course instructor and future mentor, who invited me to join his lab to conduct research.

By the time I began doing research with Dr. Phillips, I had the chance to complete a few additional courses and thus felt more confident in my grasp of fundamental biology concepts. However, the transition from attending class and taking multiple-choice exams to experiencing the tangible and hands-on nature of the lab was undoubtedly a challenging adjustment. Topics that were explained in lectures and demonstrated in laboratory classes suddenly became very relevant and I was able to apply the information I had previously learned to independently conduct my own experiments.

Dr. Phillips’ lab researches protocadherins, which are a family of cell adhesion molecules that mediate adhesion between the same type of molecules and are primarily expressed in the nervous system. Understanding the significance behind these proteins and the intricacies of their trafficking and expression within the cell proved to be a gradual process. Reading scholarly sources and previously published papers occasionally added to my confusion on the topic. In these moments, the value of experimentation and practice became evident, helping to bridge the gap between the theoretical concepts discussed in literature and their concrete portrayal in the lab.

Something that was very important for me was being in a supportive lab. Dr. Phillips would always take his time to thoroughly explain and guide me through the basic cellular biology methods I’d be using. Whether it was training me on how to keep a cell line growing or showing me how to run a western blot, these moments helped me get more acquainted with the lab. Consequently, I felt more confident with my ability to conduct experiments on my own and address possible challenges that may arise. Dr. Phillips was also a very supportive mentor, constantly reassuring me that it was okay that my results weren’t coming out the way I had hoped, and that working in the lab meant that it was okay to make mistakes and constantly repeat the same experiment over and over again until you get it right (And that’s exactly what I did! I can’t count how many western blots I’ve run over the past few months before getting significant results).

The few times that I did manage to do things right and get the results I was hoping for felt extremely rewarding and made me realize how attached to my projects I had gotten. As I approached the end of my project, it was very satisfying to see how each of my standalone experiments suddenly came together to form a cohesive narrative that related back to the lab’s hypotheses and research goals. As I reflect on this past year spent in the lab, I can undoubtedly say that I’ve grown a fond appreciation for research and the scientific method. I’m eager to continue doing research with Dr. Phillips and the rest of the team after graduating and I’m excited about the further possibilities this experience may bring!