Digital Commons Network^™

Listening Fatigue And Response Time In Normal Hearing Listeners, Rachel E. Pittard

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Individuals with hearing loss undergo exertion with the change in the auditory environment they are exposed to throughout the day. This fatigue causes individuals with hearing loss to expend more effort in order to achieve the level of speech understanding that a normal hearing individual would under the same environmental circumstances (Gosselin and Gagné, 2011). Because of this, hearing aid users experience listening fatigue by the end of the day, especially in the presence of background noise (Rabbitt, 1991). This listening fatigue affects school aged kids and their ability to perform and succeed on grade level in the classroom. Older …

Family And Child Development Education For Harrisonburg Adolescents, Mollie M. Moran, Jennifer E. Corser, Julia M. Glauber

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The pregnancy rate among 15- to 17-year-old women in Harrisonburg is double Virginia's state rate (Townsend, 2008). While meeting administers and guidance counselors of Harrisonburg High School we learned that Harrisonburg High School views this issue as one that cannot be addressed by teaching abstinence in their public school. They have found that because of cultural beliefs, abstinence is not an effective tool for preventing teenage pregnancy. Instead, HHS teaches their students about safe sexual practices and how to have a healthy pregnancy in the event they were to become pregnant. The high school offers a class called “Child and …

Mentoring Under-Resourced People, Virginia M. Sandlin

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Fighting hunger has been a global problem for many generations. Public and private businesses, churches, along with nonprofit organizations, have joined national, state, county, and local government agencies to assist under-resourced people attend to some of their needs as measures in improving the quality of their lives. Although there are many resources available, statistics show that the under-resourced clients of these organizations are not using all the resources available to them. One major factor is that applications for these resources are available on the Internet, and under-resourced heads of household do not know how to use a computer to access …

"Debate: Millennials Don't Stand A Chance" Devised, Documentary And Immersive Theatre: The Story Of Everymillennial, Sean R. Byrne

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This thesis aims to discover how communitas can be created through theatrical performances by blurring the line between audience and performer as well as performer and character. The topic of the Millennial generation is used as a thematic element in performance to emphasize the creation of community. A theatrical form will be introduced, called the “Living Biography:” a method of devising based on devising, documentary, and immersive theatre. This form will be shown as one possible option in creating communitas in a performance. While other forms of audience inclusion are frequently used, it will be argued that the “Living Biography” …

Human-Animal Communication In Captive Species: Dogs, Horses, And Whales, Mackenzie K. Kelley

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

My hopes for this project are to collect and analyze the current research in the field of animal communication. In the first part, my goal is to define animal communication, specifically within human contexts. I will look at how the history of humans and certain species have intertwined to result in their modern day relationships. I will also explain why we should care about animal communication. In the second part, I will look at three specific species I have chosen to study: dogs, horses, and cetaceans. I will provide a brief history of our roles as humans in the evolution …

An Investigation Of On-Campus Composting Among Undergraduate College Students, Ashleigh Beben

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Composting among college students can promote a healthy environment and encourage the appropriate disposal method for generated organic wastes. The purpose of this study was to observe composting behaviors and attitudes among students and foster an increase in knowledge of suitable composting behavior in on-campus dining halls. Questionnaires containing questions related to composting behavior and knowledge, demographics, and place of residence were distributed to 140 James Madison University (JMU) undergraduate students. Of those students 26.4% were males and 73.6% were females. Freshmen made up 77.9% of the sample followed by sophomores making up 14.3% of respondents. The sample was made …

The Research And Creative Implementation Of Dance Therapy Practices For Female Survivors Of Sexual Abuse, Caitlin M. Mcavoy

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Dance Therapy focuses on the body as the medium to the mind (About Dance/Movement Therapy). Dance Therapy has documented benefits in helping victims of sexual abuse, because many of these victims undergo the emotions of body shame and self-hatred as well as the distinct feeling of loss of their physical selves. (Liu 112). The country of Romania has one of the highest numbers of rape victims under the age of 18 than of any other developed country in the world (Liu 121). With this information a Dance Therapy camp was created and implemented in Sibiu, Romania for a group of …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Self-Esteem And High-Risk Sexual Behaviors In College- Aged Black Women, Deborah P. Cameron

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this research study was to examine the relationship between self- esteem and high-risk sexual behaviors. This project aimed to determine if there was a significant difference in this relationship in Black females and non-Black females. Exploring self-esteem and high-risk sexual behaviors could enhance sexual health programs. A pilot survey was developed to measure high-risk behaviors, self-esteem and intentions of practicing safe sex. The survey was distributed via email to all female undergraduate students attending James Madison University during the Spring 2015 semester. SPSS was used to analyze the data collected. The participants of the study (n=268) were …

A Portfolio Of Experiences In Communications Sciences And Disorders, Dakota Michael Sharp

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

N/A

The Effect Of Communication Type On Knowledge Retention Of Brain Injuries, Alyson Cregger

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Misconceptions about traumatic brain injuries have been seen in the general population since 1988. Previous research has demonstrated that the misconceptions are not limited to geographical area and have been seen in health care professionals. A possible explanation for these misconceptions could be the ineffective transmission of knowledge. The current study examined the effect of an educational intervention on eight misconceptions and their ‘real life’ applications, as well as the general knowledge surrounding traumatic brain injuries. Comparative and absolute risk were also examined. Thirty undergraduate students were given a pre-test consisting of four surveys (misconceptions, application of misconception, general knowledge, …

The Effects Of X-Axis Rotation On Data Estimation Accuracy, Catherine Mathers

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Researchers, pollsters, marketers, and others use graphical displays to reduce the need for wordy, and often unclear, descriptions of their findings. Numerous studies have attempted to determine important graphical attributes that aid readers’ graphical perception. For example, does three-dimensionality (3D) of a graph help readers to accurately assess the graph’s data? The present study is the first to use eye movement data to quantify how 3D graphs, graph type, the use of gridlines, and data positioning affected readers’ perception and accuracy. Participants viewed 24 different graphs while their eye movements were recorded. Time, fixation, and accuracy were recorded for each …

Judging Laura, Rebecca E. Richardson

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Laura Audax is a sixteen-year-old girl who has an interesting set of characteristics. She is a dynamic mixture of compassion, stubbornness, brilliance, recklessness, imagination, and arrogance. The way the world understands these personality traits has transformed and evolved over time. If a girl like Laura lived in four different time periods, society would react differently to her in each era, but the overall question is how different these reactions really are. Does the definition of what makes certain personality traits “good” or “bad” change over time?

The following four stories take place in 1850, 1920, 2015, and 2100 respectively, and …

Quality Of Life Indices In Brain Injury: A Pilot Investigation, Lauren Kristine Maher

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This IRB approved study explores the scope of acquired brain injury (ABI) as it affects an individual’s perceived quality of life and how measurement informs clinical decisions. Quality of life is an important consideration for persons with ABI, since research indicates acquired brain injury can lead to personality changes such as depression, anxiety, and aggression not previously exhibited (Greve et al., 2001). When treating persons with ABI, healthcare professionals must be able to reliably measure and track their client’s perceived quality of life. This pilot study included 35 clients receiving community-based intervention at Crossroads to Brain Injury Recovery, Inc. (Crossroads) …

Intuitive Thought And Consumer Decision Making, Morgan M. Moore

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Anytime the human mind makes a decision, intuitive thought has played a hidden role. There is more to consumer decision making than just logical, slow cognition. Exploring the intuitive mind through the works of Johnathan Haidt and Daniel Kahneman helps researchers understand the roles and origins of intuition. Proof of the presence and power of intuitive thought in cognitive processes is offered. A subset of the intuitive mind, termed the righteous mind by Haidt, is shown to be responsible for moral intuition. As the role of intuitive thought in consumer decision making is considered, numerous marketing applications are applied. Whether …

Can Small Details Bring Big Success? Construal Levels As Academic Goal Strategies, Christopher R. Deitrick

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

One avenue to help students reach educational goals is implementation intentions, a tool encouraging

planning the “when, where, and how” of goal-oriented actions (Gollwitzer, 1999). However,

implementation intentions need validating outside of the laboratory (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006). To

help do so, they can be viewed through Construal-Level Theory (CLT), which explains why we may have

trouble setting intentions before we can fulfill them (Trope & Liberman 2010). A study was conducted

wherein 56 participants from a section of PSYC 330 either wrote about their college study habits or

completed implementation intentions preparing them to study for an upcoming exam. …

Helicopter Parenting And Parent-Child Attachment, Kaitlin S. Fitzgerald

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Helicopter parenting is the colloquial term that refers to a unique patterning of parenting dimensions that result in a style both high in behavioral control and levels of warmth and support, and low in autonomy-granting (Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012). Parental attachment–distinct from helicopter parenting–typically involves the initial relationship between parent and child which affects the child’s overall life satisfaction and well-being (mainly in areas associated with relationships, motivation, and health-related behaviors). Despite what areas may overlap between parent-child attachment and helicopter parenting, little research has been done on the relation among these variables. The current study examined the associations among …

The Effects Of Narrative Elicitation Task On The Verb Morphological Patterns Of Younger Adolescents With And Without Specific Language Impairment, Megan T. Taliaferro

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Specific language impairment (SLI) is one of the most commonly occurring communication disorders (Castrogiovanni (2008)). SLI is an impairment in the language of children, adolescents and adults who show no other impairment such as mental, emotional or physical problems. Individuals with SLI demonstrate normal intelligence as shown by nonverbal Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores; however, their language skills appear to be worse than their normally achieving (NA) peers. There has been an issue in identifying individuals with SLI. One factor contributing to the identification issues of SLI is the lack of a clinical marker. Although no clinical marker currently …

Does Vestibular Sensory Stimulation, In The Form Of Slow, Linear Swinging, Change The Modes Of Communication Among Children With Autism?, Katherine A. Gallaher

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this study was to determine if children with autism receiving vestibular sensory stimulation (VSS) in the form of slow, linear swinging, had any change or progression in their modes of communication when compared to children with autism who received a free-play period (nVSS) during speech-language (SL) therapy. Over the course of therapy, each child’s response mode was recorded as a gesture, vocalization, gesture + vocalization, or an utterance, and each mode was a dependent variable (DV) in this study. Participants who received VSS treatment were expected to have a greater improvement on the progression of modes, such …

Critical Thinking Skills Across The Semester In Lecture And Team-Based Learning Classes, Zachary L. Buchin

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this study was to compare critical thinking and higher-order thinking skills across the semester in lecture and team-based learning classes. Team- based learning classes utilize techniques that were thought to foster an increase in critical thinking and higher-order thinking skills when compared to lecture classes. The Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment S2 (HCTA S2) was used to measure critical thinking skill changes and Bloom’s Taxonomy coded higher-order thinking questions on the final exam. Raw score changes on the HCTA S2 and scores on the higher-order thinking questions on the final exam were compared between the two classes. No …

The Nonmedical Use Of Prescription Stimulants Among Students With High Academic Standing, Megan L. Dwyer

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

College students report one of the highest rates of the nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NPS). Research has shown that use is more common among students who have high levels of perceived stress, such as honors students. The purpose of this study was to determine whether honors students reported higher rates of NPS than their non-honors peers with high academic standing. It was hypothesized that honors students would report higher rates of use. The instrument used in this study was an email survey that was administered electronically through the online Qualtrics Survey system. The survey request was sent to 3,530 …

Critical Analysis Of The Confounding Of Clinical Trials, Eleanor L. Jordan

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

To provide a comprehensive overview of issues confounding clinical trials, Chapter 2 will discuss the parties involved in the research and development of medications and detail the individual responsibilities of each. However, the ambition of these individual entities often produces a conflict of interest especially when profits are involved [9]. Organizations and individuals such as insurance corporations, pharmaceutical companies (sponsors), pharmacy benefit managers, investigators (doctors/medical professionals) and most importantly patients, are all involved in carrying out clinical research and have definitive responsibilities they are required to follow for unbiased results. However, many rules are overlooked and biases go unrecorded causing …

Postoperative Pain Management, Taylor H. Schuler

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This literature review examined two pharmacological forms of postoperative pain

management and one nonpharmacological intervention to help reduce pain (See

Appendix A). Sources were gathered from the nursing research databases of

Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and PubMed.

Articles and studies between 2004 and 2015 were analyzed to write the review. The

focus was to look at postoperative patients and determine if epidural or patient

controlled analgesia (PCA) provided the same satisfaction for individuals who

underwent surgery. In addition, music therapy was researched to explore the effects

of listening to a pleasurable sound and how it …

The Impact Of “Fearful” And “Serene” Mood On Mortality Salience, Kathryn A. Howard

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Seventy-eight participants were randomly assigned to receive either a serene, neutral, or fearful mood induction, followed by either a neutral salience or mortality salience induction. After these manipulations, participants read a political essay that opposed their world view. Participants then completed several measures examining how much they liked/did not like the author of the essay, along with a measure assessing their opinion on an ethnic out-group. It was hypothesized that participants who received the serene mood induction would derogate the author of the opposing essay and ethnic out-group members significantly less than those who received the fearful or neutral mood …

Local Flavors: An Exploration Of Food Writing In The Shenandoah Valley, Allison Michelli

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Food holds an intrinsic fascination for human beings. Not only do we rely on it biologically for nourishment, but we also identify with it culturally. This celebration of different types of food allows people to seek familiarity in a place and belonging in a community. This article discusses the rich food culture of the Shenandoah Valley through the exploration of food blogging.

Delay And Probabilistic Discounting Of Alcoholic Beverages, Frank L. Galante

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Discounting tasks were used to determine the degree to which college undergraduates discounted delayed and probabilistic alcoholic beverages. Tasks were framed in terms of gains (i.e.,obtaining a hypothetical amount of alcohol) and losses (i.e., losing a hypothetical amount of alcohol). In all gain and loss conditions, discounting was evident and was generally well described by a hyperboloid function. Gains were discounted more steeply then losses. There were no correlations between the median delay gain discounting rates and the median delay loss discounting rates. Likewise, there were no correlations between the median probabilistic gain discounting rates and the median probabilistic loss …

An Analysis Of The Journey Of Italian Immigrants And Their Contributions To American Society, Samantha Thomas

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Cultural integration is a continuous process which affects not only the immigrants arriving in a new country, but also the people native to that country. When Italian immigrants began arriving to America in larger waves they had to fight for acceptance into their new culture. In pursuit of the “American Dream,” many moved to large cities and took unwanted jobs in factories or in construction companies. They worked under hazardous conditions for low wages. In attempts to preserve their own heritage many Italians settled in groups, forming rich cultural centers. First generation Italian Americans fought to overcome prejudice and to …

Customer Complaint Management Systems (Ccms) In A Food Processing Industry, Maggie A. Macleish

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Abstract

The food processing industry must meet customers’ highest quality expectations at the lowest cost. I partnered with Nestlé’s pizza facility in Little Chute, WI, to improve the current customer complaint approach of the quality department, which aimed to improve product quality. To improve the total quality of the system, this project established a defensive method of addressing customer complaints. Some strategies used to improve the current Customer Complaint Management System (CCMS) include Quality Functional Deployment (QFD), fuzzy logic, Kano’s methods, Voice of the customer (VOC) and Go-See-Think-Do (GSTD). These strategies are all related, but have not previously been used …

The Year Of Change: Challenges Faced By First Year Students Based On Individual Identities, Holly K. Millet

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The first year of college is often a fresh start for students. For many, it is the first time away from home where students will have freedom to make their own decisions. During this year students gain new experiences, new knowledge, and a new understanding of themselves. However, it is commonly known that the transition into college is often accompanied by many challenges, including, homesickness, depression, inability to fit in, and financial instability. Often, students’ identities can influence the types of challenges they encounter throughout this transition. This study determines correlations between five social identities and challenges that first year …

Comparative Analysis Of Anti-Bd Bacteria From Six Malagasy Frog Species Of Ranomafana National Park, Kelsey Savage

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

As Malagasy amphibians are facing an impending extinction crisis from the lethal skin fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), it has become imperative to proactively mitigate the threat. Bd sporangia develop in the skin of infected amphibians and cause the skin to thicken, leading to ionic imbalance and eventual heart failure. It has been shown that certain bacterial species are able to inhibit Bd growth on amphibians by producing antifungal metabolites. Community-based probiotics are one approach used to combat chytridomycosis by inoculating an environment with Bd-inhibitory bacteria so that many amphibian species are treated at once. With this method, it is important …

A Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Feasibility Study For Green Fence Farm, Ashleigh Cotting

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this project is to assess the ability of Green Fence Farm, a 17 acre sustainable farming operation located in Greenville, VA, to become a net zero greenhouse gas farm operation. This project was conducted in several phases. First, the types and quantities of emissions were determined through an onsite fuel consumption evaluation and a greenhouse gas inventory of farm operations. Next, and calculations were used to determine the carbon sequestration capabilities of the soil and trees on the farm. Finally, ways to reduce emission and increase sequestration were examined with the intent of reaching net zero greenhouse …