Digital Commons Network^™

The Benefits Of Using Inclusive Literature In Kindergarten Through Fifth Grade Classrooms, Guidelines For Selecting Inclusive Texts, And Resources To Help Teachers, Librarians, And Community Members Use Inclusive Children’S Books, Erin Lynch

Honors Projects

This project outlines the great importance of inclusive children’s literature and the benefits of implementing high-quality, inclusive picture books within elementary school classrooms. Additionally, the project provides suggested guidelines for selecting inclusive literature as well as copious examples of high-quality picture books within a variety of subject matter categories. In addition to a thorough paper, this project contains a large online resource referred to as the “Virtual Library” that utilizes technology and graphic design to simulate a real library full of inclusive literature.

Tinder Usage On Bgsu Campus: A Collection Of Interviews, Autumn Zeller

Honors Projects

The purpose of the study is to explore the mental effects Tinder has on Bowling Green State University students. My project explores in-depth interviews of 8 BGSU students, and their usage of the popular dating app Tinder. Dating apps have become very popular since the creation of Tinder in 2012, and research explores the negative self-esteem effects it can cause. My research found that many people use the app simply because they are bored, and stray away from trying for something serious because of the stereotypes attached to the app. I also found that women tend to become more critical …

Practice Habits Among Collegiate Music Majors: Relationships With Everyday Self-Regulatory Behaviors, Lydia Stricker

Honors Projects

This study examined self-regulatory behaviors among collegiate musicians. In the fall of 2022, a total of 73 participants from a large midwestern university responded to an online questionnaire soliciting information regarding self-regulatory behaviors both in and outside of the classroom. Items were adapted from the Carey, Neal and Collins Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire (2004). Findings support previous research suggesting a strong, positive relationship between everyday self-regulatory behaviors and those demonstrated in the practice room. Implications include a discussion on the possibility of transferring self-regulation strategies from one domain to the other.

Undergraduate Study Abroad Perceptions Post Pandemic – A Study On Bgsu Students, Jay Prenger

Honors Projects

The purpose of this project is to answer the following research questions:

1). What benefits of doing a study abroad are most impactful in a BGSU undergraduate student’s decision on whether to study abroad?

2). What are the most significant barriers for students of taking action to study abroad at BGSU?

I will be generating primary data from interviewing undergraduate students and analyzing the data using statistical tools. I will use this data to figure out which groups of benefits and which groups of barriers are most impactful for different demographic groups so I can provide insightful recommendations to policy …

Shakespeare And The Supreme Court: How The Justices Reveal Their Ideologies By Referencing His Works, Rachel Anderson

Honors Projects

The works of William Shakespeare have been referenced many times throughout history, even by Supreme Court justices. Building off of an observation of a mock trial by James Shapiro, this project puts the utilization of Shakespeare from three Court opinions in relation to its context within the play and the opinion to examine what the reference reveals about the authoring justices' ideology. In doing so, this project concludes that the justices utilize Shakespeare's works in their opinions for various reasons, including to infuse their beliefs into their argument. This implies that Supreme Court justices do not base their opinions on …

Pause And Possibility: Pre-Service Teachers’ Perspectives On Creative Writing Clubs, Stephanie Altier

Honors Projects

Creative writing clubs can enrich the lives of writers and facilitators. These clubs provide many opportunities to enrich their members’ academic, social, and personal development (Clifton, 2022; Siskel & Jacobs, 2011; Lawton, 2021). This project uses a focus-group study of five pre-service Integrated Language Arts teachers to explore the teachers' perspectives on advising creative writing clubs. Their insight informs a web-based teacher resource, Creative Writing Club Hub. Major findings are that participants harbor low self-efficacy towards creative writing and that the most effective method for encouraging them to advise these clubs may be to create a creative writing community …

Main Factors Contributing To The High Femicide Rate In Mexico, Mikensi Ehlinger

Honors Projects

Femicide has become an urgent issue in Mexico. Many young women and girls are murdered or disappear every year. There are three main factors contributing to the high rate of femicide in Mexico. These factors are the ramifications of the cultural practice of machismo, a lack of detailed laws, and negligence by figures in authority. Despite domestic and international demands for action, the government has yet to make effective change.

The Symbolic Politics Of Same-Sex Marriage Legalization, Kaden Sinning

Honors Projects

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, many commentators highlighted increasing resistance to the ruling. Some observed typical public backlash, but others noted targeted LGBTQ rights bills from state legislators. While much of the scholarly literature suggests that public backlash is short-lived and tends to resolve toward Supreme Court doctrine, less clear is the impact of state legislative efforts following judicial decisions. To help clarify this discrepancy, this research examines the effect of Obergefell on state bill proposals. I argue that Obergefell acts as a trigger for state legislators to …

The Yellow Qipao, Feibi Wang

Honors Projects

This is a creative project centered around the pre-production of a short film about queer Asian American Christianity and the research that went into it. The synopsis of the script written for the short film is a life in the day of Aspen. Aspen prepares for church and is indecisive of the clothes they want to wear, because they are gender non-conforming. They come out to their mom and there is conflict. My research going into this project consists of researching media representation of queerness, Asian American identity, and Christianity, and how the three identities intersect in Aspen’s life and …

Payton's Final Master's Portfolio, Payton Boshears

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

Here is my final Master's Portfolio. I did not have specialization for the English program, so for the portfolio I chose four different projects that represent the variety of courses I have taken during my time here at BGSU.

Investigating Mindfulness And Practice Strategies In The K-12 Music Curriculum, Emily Foltz

Honors Projects

The purpose of this project was to uncover how music educators teach students to practice effectively and to discover effective mindfulness tools and strategies that could be used to enhance music practice. My aim was to uncover methods of mindful practice and integrate them into a model for effective music practice that teachers can incorporate into their instruction. The research questions that guided this project include: 1) How are music educators teaching students to practice effectively? 2) How does mindfulness affect music practice? 3) What are effective strategies for teaching mindful instrumental music practice in the K-12 classroom? Is there …

The Economics Of Altruism: An Exploration Of Self And Collective Identity, Catherine Krempasky

Honors Projects

There is a belief that students in college often pursue an undergraduate business degree due to the money that comes with the industry. Whereas students pursuing an undergraduate degree in health and human services are believed to be more altruistic, pursuing jobs such as social work, nursing, criminal justice, and other careers that give back to communities despite their often lower-than-average salaries. While this difference in altruism is a common belief, it has rarely been a proven one. Therefore, this study seeks to examine the difference in altruism between students from the Schmidthorst College of Business and the College of …

Final Master's Portfolio, Carol V. Grinage

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This is the final master's portfolio for a Master's in English with an emphasis on professional writing and rhetoric.

Pursuing Personal And Professional Passions: A Final Master's Portfolio, Eileen Tse

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

As an English Language Arts teacher at the secondary level with some publishing experience looking to expand my professional writing repertoire, I sought to expand and transfer my knowledge and skills in rhetoric and technical writing in different realms of interests and areas of my life. The following is my final portfolio for the Master of Arts in English, fusing my various intellectual interests and professional pursuits. My first substantive project explores the technical communication that occurs in casual online spaces by exploring the documentation and interactions in an Animal Crossing: New Horizons Facebook fan group. The project blends my …

On Analyzing Literature And Visual Rhetoric With Practices Of Teaching Grammar In The Context Of Writing, Julie Schwab

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio contains three analytical works and a lesson plan for a college composition course. The first piece analyzes technology and the Internet and discusses how the ideas presented in M.T. Anderson’s dystopian novel Feed can apply to our world today. The second piece analyzes J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit as a piece of children’s literature and considers how one may use this novel to help teach college students how to write children’s literature. The third piece analyzes the social media trend of fitspiration (fitness inspiration) and discusses the impact this has on viewers and what can be done about it. …

Public School Administrator Perspectives Of Social Media Impacts On The Students They Serve, Alonzo Stotler

Honors Projects

Interviews with high school administrators on the effects social media has on adolescents and schools.

Final Master's Portfolio, Anji Straayer

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

The following is a final portfolio for the Master's of English with a specialization in teaching. It is the culmination of my course of study and includes pieces reflective of the various courses I took and my various interests with literature and teaching. It opens with an analytical narrative overviewing my growth and learning at BGSU. The substantive research project is on multimodality and incorporating multimodal techniques into the secondary classroom. The second piece is a unit plan for the Greek play Antigone. The third and fourth pieces are literary analyses; one is a critique of the Victorian mindset as …

Developing Marketing Strategies To Enhance Students’ Perception Of Service Within The Thompson Scholarship Program, Emileigh Kleps

Honors Projects

Understanding the perceptions of Thompson Family Scholars to suggest improvements of marketing strategies within the Thompson Scholarship Program for the benefit of current and future Thompson Family Scholars.

Final Master's Portfolio, Consuela Jones

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This body of work focuses on illuminating the radical modes of womanhood centered in the featured texts.

Final Master's Portfolio, Stephanie Fryer

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio contains three works: a unit plan and rationale for teaching grammar rhetorically, an analysis of the ethos of early 20th century rhetor Juliet V. Strauss, and a revision reflection.

Kelly Miller's Master's Portfolio, Kelly Miller

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio fulfills the requirements for my MA in English with a specialization in English Teaching. The two works selected for this portfolio are a sampling of the type of work required for the program. The first project focuses on pedagogy, and the second project focuses on research and analysis.

Final Master's Portfolio, Amy Hromiak

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio represents the work I completed over the two-year Master of Arts in the field of English program with a focus on teaching. The first paper, “Dystopian Literature IS a Call to Action: Teaching The Hunger Games in High School,” is a teaching-based project that discusses positive ways to incorporate dystopian young adult literature, and more specifically, The Hunger Games, in high school ELA curriculum. The second paper, “Chaos is Monstrous in Wuthering Heights,” is a research-based analytical project that discusses the idea that what makes Heathcliff monstrous is the chaos that he embodies. Overall, these projects …

A Selection In Horror Studies: Final Master's Portfolio, Shane Hesketh

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio represents the best of the author’s work (Shane Hesketh) from his time pursuing the Master of Arts in English (Individualized Track) at Bowling Green State University. Both research papers are within the field of horror studies, the author’s primary field of study, and feature the discussion of two major slasher franchises as another genre through the analysis of the other genre’s tropes. The first paper analyzes the Candyman series as crime noir, and the second analyzes the A Nightmare on Elm Street series as action films. These papers were written in an attempt to shed light on the …

Brenda Jackson Final Master's Portfolio, Brenda Jackson

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

Best Practices for English Teachers: Effective Writing Assessment Techniques

How Technical Communicators Enhance Training Knowledge Transfer: A Diverse Approach

A Sense Of Belongingness Among Undergraduate Students Across Race/Ethnicity, Class, And Gender, Francesca Marino

Honors Projects

Research has shown that feelings of belongingness within an educational setting are likely to improve outcomes in various academic-related areas. In the present study, I examine BGSU undergraduate students’ sense of belongingness, feelings of value, and understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts on campus. Using an online campus climate survey, I explore differences in perceptions and experiences among students with different social identities. In particular, I focus on differences across race/ethnicity, social class, and gender identity. Findings show that there are racial/ethnic and gender differences across feelings and perceptions of the general campus climate, DEI, belongingness and value, …

She Speaks Her Truth: Black Female Self-Empowerment In African-American Centric Texts, Britt N. Seese

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

A Master's Portfolio that looks into African-American Women in African-American literature and theatrical works.

The Musical Rhetoric Of Aretha Franklin And Nina Simone And The Civil Rights Movement, Hannah Hawk

Master of Arts in Media and Communication Plan II Graduate Projects

Acclaimed artists such as Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone were able to use their music as a way to communicate change during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Through their public platforms they became powerful influencers who were able to spread awareness for social justice and create an image of strong Black womanhood for listeners. By using the Illusion of Life theory, this project examines how the listener is brought into a rhetorical moment that the artist creates through song. Black Feminist Thought allows inclusion of the artists’ life experiences to the analysis of the rhetorical power …

Outside The Box: Gender Roles, Gender Incongruence, And Psychological Wellbeing, Ashton Boffa

Honors Projects

My project explores the impacts of gender roles and gender identity on psychological wellbeing. Previous research has shown that gender roles are negatively associated with psychological wellbeing, and transgender individuals have lower psychological wellbeing than the cisgender population. Since transgender individuals have had unique experiences with gender roles, it leads to a question of how these individuals have been affected by gender roles. Participants responded to a confidential questionnaire about their experiences with gender roles as they were growing up, their gender incongruence, and their psychological wellbeing. The results were consistent with previous research. Furthermore, my results suggest that transgender …

An Exploratory Data Analysis On Covid-19 And Its Effects On Crime In New York City, Lanlie Nguyen

Honors Projects

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has affected the crime rates present in New York City over the years of 2019 and 2020. There is limited criminal research that investigate the connection to pandemics, and how it can be used to reduce crime rates in similar situations. The goal of this study is to reduce crime rates and provide possible policy implications.

This project analyzes the crime rate trends present before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and compares it to the number of COVID-19 cases. Analysis of the statewide …

2022 A Legal Odyssey: This Mission Is Too Importaint For Us To Allow Computers To Jeopardize It, Cameron P. Cordell

Honors Projects

The purpose of this paper is to discover if Artificial Intelligence could and should replace human jurists. By looking at the two theories that offer a way to apply the law (legal formalism and legal realism), multiple different answers to this question emerge. Looking at the corner stone of legal realism which is considered empathy, reasons as to why A.I. in the court room begin to emerge. Many studies and data were included in this study that covered a variety of topics such as A.I. experiments, legal data, and psychological emotions. In summary, the results of the research are that …