Digital Commons Network^™

Trauma Therapy And The Need For Cross Cultural Competence, Marijke Sommer

Honors Projects

This project addresses the relevance of cross cultural competence for work in trauma therapy. I begin with a review of the literature on approaches to trauma therapy, identifying similarities and differences in key approaches, and comparing outcomes where that information is available. I then review a variety of cross cultural variations in mental health conditions and symptoms, attempting to roughly position each within the ethnic group or groups in which the variation is mostly likely to be found. Finally, I review the very small existing literature examining the impact of culturally sensitive approaches to trauma therapy in several non-Western ethnic …

22q Deletion Syndrome Awareness, Emily Cavarretta

Honors Projects

The final outcome of the 22q11.2 Deletion syndrome project is a brochure to be used for public awareness. The brochure can be used in physician offices, university health colleges, and classes for health students. Individual research and input from the interviews are included. It includes pictures of children with 22q Deletion and the categories "What is 22q," "What Everyone Should Know," "Who works with individuals with 22q," "Advice to Parents from Parents," and "Tips for Teachers." Lastly, there is a Resources section for further information and picture citations.

Examining The Rosary Of Francisco Marto, Austin Mazur

Honors Projects

Within this document you will find an analysis of the young Catholic saint, Francisco Marto, and how the Holy Rosary drastically changed his life.

Analysis Of Michigan Juvenile Detention Facilities, Loredana M. Cunningham

Honors Projects

The world of juvenile justice is a relatively new concept in today’s society dating back to the nineteenth century in comparison to the ancient structure of the criminal justice system. It is no wonder that the development of juvenile detention centers has been a slow process considering the late start to having modern research for this contemporary structure of a justice system for youth. While there are licensing standards for each juvenile detention facility to meet in order to continue having the beds to be occupied, there are unique ways that each facility can achieve that. The research focused on …

Honors Student Ambassador Kit, Sophia Hall

Honors Projects

The goal of my senior project is to help the GVSU Honors College become more distinctive and distinguished by making it more visible to potential student recruits. Provided here is a kit that gives suggestions about how to present as an Honors Student Ambassador and outlines a template presentation.

Implementing Palliative Care Pre-Cardiothoracic Transplant, Sarah E. Bakker

Honors Projects

Palliative care is defined as a specialty of medicine that improves the quality of life of patients and family members facing a life-threatening illness, by providing early detection and prevention of pain, psychological, and other physical struggles. Patients diagnosed with diseases such as congestive heart failure or lung disease will face an ongoing list of problems that impacts their quality of life, yet most do not receive the proper tools to manage their disease until the last stages of their life. Implementing palliative care at the initial diagnosis of a chronic cardiothoracic disease improves precision of patient-centered goals, symptom management, …

Analysis Of Maternity Practices In Ghana With The Implementation Of Telemedicine, Pierce Henderson

Honors Projects

This paper will specifically examine the similarities and differences between maternity practices in Ghana and the U.S., and identify how telemedicine can be used to improve these practices.

Let's Talk About Dementia: The Effects Of Dementia On Communicative Functions, Mary Kate Hoeve

Honors Projects

A general outline and presentation designed for a seminar setting aimed toward an audience of medical staff in skilled nursing facilities. The purpose of this training is to educate frequent communication partners of those with dementia about effective communication tactics, as well as, a brief definition of dementia. Additionally, a small portion is dedicated to dysphagia. The possible role of a speech-language pathologist in dementia care is also discussed throughout the training.

The Reality And The Perception Of Greek Life At Grand Valley State University, Katherine Smigelski

Honors Projects

This research was conducted in order to determine whether Grand Valley’s Greek life atmosphere is stereotypical of Greek life around the country, as portrayed in the media, or if the reality is better than the perception. 179 responses were collected from current Grand Valley State University members of Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Association organizations to determine whether their reality of their organizations is accurate compared to the perception of their organizations.

A Pilot Study Of Airborne Hazards And Other Toxic Exposures In Iraq War Veterans, Chelsey Poisson, Sheri Boucher, Domenique Selby, Sylvia P. Ross, Charulata Jindal, Jimmy T. Efird, Pollie Bith-Melander

Honors Projects

During their deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) , many Veterans were exposed to a wide array of toxic substances and psychologic stressors, most notably airborne/ environmental pollutants from open burn pits. Service members do not deploy whilst unhealthy, but often they return with a multitude of acute and chronic symptoms, some of which only begin to manifest years after their deployment. Our findings, while preliminary in nature, suggest that Iraq War Veterans who participated in our survey reported a decrease in overall physical fitness and increased respiratory clinical symptoms compared with pre-deployment periods. The objective …

Student Engagement: What Is The Best Way To Motivate Students In The Secondary Classroom?, Michiah Arguello

Honors Projects

In the secondary education classroom, the question often arises: How do we engage our students? Often, we are faced with heads down on desks, glassy eyes, and students who don’t remember content taught to them the day before. How can we engage them? How can we motivate them to want to learn?

In this study, I will examine five procedures determined by educators to enhance student engagement. In each section, I will discuss the procedure, discuss what the procedure’s steps are and how to approach it, and share a way I have utilized this procedure and reflect on its effectiveness. …

Informational Handout For Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy And Down Syndrome In Tanzania (Or Other Developing Countries), Kailee Moran

Honors Projects

Informational handout about diagnosis and symptoms, behavioral strategies, materials and intervention ideas for parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, and Down Syndrome in Tanzania (and other developing countries).

A Critical Analysis Of Bumblefoot: Care And Preventative Measures In Captive Penguins, Jamie A. Wolanin

Honors Projects

Bumblefoot is a progressive and sometimes deadly infection that afflicts penguins living in human care. The most prominent cause of the disease is the extended amount of time that captive penguins spend standing in comparison to their pelagic and wild counterparts. For years, facilities have treated bumblefoot with surgery and antibiotics. However, this approach is palliative rather than preventative and has become problematic as bacteria develop stronger resistance to antibiotics. To address the behavioral abnormalities underlying the onset of bumblefoot, zoos and aquariums should utilize environmental enrichment. Many forms of environmental enrichment, including the relationship penguins have with their keepers …

Waving The Red Flag, Christopher Cassaday

Honors Projects

"Waving The Red Flag," is a collections of three fictional short stories written using both fragmented and linear narratives.

Contemporary Civil War In Northern Ireland, The Long-Term Effects On Children, And Resulting Interventions, Danielle Bolden

Honors Projects

This paper examines the consequences of violent civil conflict for children, including academic inequality, increased behavior problems, and increased mental health disorders, as well as the interventions directly related. Focusing on The Troubles, a brief history of the conflict in Northern Ireland is presented along with theories about the causes, then the consequences of The Troubles are compared to the consequences of other civil conflicts. The interventions in Northern Ireland include integrated schools and housing, community programs revolved around open dialogues that encourage participation from both Catholic and Protestant members, and widely available mental health services. I conclude interventions like …

Creating And Conducting Intergenerational Learning In Higher Education, Andrea Lauren Holt

Honors Projects

The creation, conduction and revision of a one of a kind intergenerational course taught in the Grand Valley State University Fredrick Meijer Honors College. Elders and Traditional Honors College Freshman came together in a mixed classroom in order to bridge the gaps of communication and misunderstanding between generations.

A Glimpse Into The Ecological Communities Of Camp Greenwood, Rachael Noteboom

Honors Projects

There is a Presbyterian summer camp near Greenville, Michigan that is home to beautiful wetlands with a variety of wildlife. This camp is nestled between multiple larger connected lakes and surrounded by many large waterfront properties. The number of campers has dwindled in recent years and the council in charge of the land is desperate to sell the most ecologically important sections of the camp, if not all of the land, to developers for multi-million dollar price tags. My dad is on the committee trying to convince the council and the community to save the camp from development.

I surveyed …

Mindfulness’S Effects On Undergraduate Nursing Students' Negative Mental Health Symptoms: A Systematic Review, Erin Sartorius

Honors Projects

Undergraduate nursing students endure unique stressors that potentiate negative consequences to their mental health. Mindfulness-based interventions may improve these negative mental health symptoms in nursing students. The objective of this review is to assess available research regarding the effects of mindfulness-based interventions on the negative mental health symptoms of undergraduate nursing students. The databases CINAHL Complete, PubMed, and PsycINFO were searched for relevant research. Search terms were brainstormed and individually assessed to determine relevancy to the research question. In order to be incorporated into this systematic review, all assessed studies needed to include (1) an intervention rooted in mindfulness, (2) …

What Happens Now? The U.S.’S Withdrawal From Paris Climate Agreement, Samantha Klann

Honors Projects

This research paper investigates what possible consequences President Trump’s removal of the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement could have on world leadership position, international (trade) relations, innovation, and overall economic development of the U.S. President Trump retracted the U.S. from the agreement in June 2017, and although the withdrawal takes years to officially be completed, it is possible to explore possible ramifications for the U.S.’s future (Friedman, 2017). This paper focuses on analyzing how this withdrawal could affect the U.S. world leadership position, international (trade) relations, and innovation, and the subsequent impact on the economic development of the …

Bill Evans Senior Honors Project, Reese Lyon Rehkopf

Honors Projects

A paper on the life and music of Bill Evans and his influence on jazz music. This project consists of three transcriptions of Evans' jazz improvisations and a paper.

Accessibility To Reconstructive Plastic Surgery In The United States, Naomi Parker

Honors Projects

This essay attempts to explore accessibility to reconstructive plastic surgery in the United States. Information was compiled from over 40 scholarly articles, as well as personal interviews with reconstructive plastic surgeons. The barriers to access addressed in this essay include cost, co-morbidity, physician bias, geography, and education. Many of the issues discussed are cyclic in nature and thus result in a self-perpetuating multifactorial problem that cannot be addressed with one simple solution. This essay describes possible reasons for why that might be, and ways we can overcome these issues so as to provide better accessibility to reconstructive plastic surgery for …

Finding My Future: Defining The Landscape, Discovering The Path, Samantha Frankhouse

Honors Projects

One of the most pivotal moments in a young adult's life is transitioning from high school to pose-secondary opportunity; whether this is to university, trade school, or right into the workforce, each student has a unique experience. Finding My Future, a local startup in Grand Rapids, Michigan, wants to give these students "the tools they need to define a future they'll love." However, as a startup that is also on a quest to be educated and informed on their decisions, FMF is in need of marker research and customer discovery to better understand and appropriately design for their audiences.

The Impacts, Implementation, And Sustainability Of Service Learning In The Classroom, Amber Gerrits

Honors Projects

This honors senior project focuses on service-learning in the classroom. Specifically, it uncovers the benefits, harms, and common potential challenges that service learning educators face when implementing community engagement activities in their schools and classrooms. The three areas surrounding this pedagogy research were: (1) impacts of the practice, (2) logistical implementation in the classroom of such projects, and (3) a look into how to suitably sustain this type of involvement for students in a post K-12 education setting.

To ascertain the answers about the impacts of service-learning, literature was compiled into a review, which unpacked terminology and answered the big …

Eqm Investment Research Report, Kaitlyn Berg

Honors Projects

The piece includes both an investment research and industry analysis report on EQM, a midstream oil company. Based on the industry environment, valuation metrics, and financial statement analysis, EQM holds a buy recommendation and demonstrates a large potential for growth and strong cash flow returns. The following analysis provides evidence to support this recommendation.

Tales Of Cherry Blossom Dreams, Kelly Dykstra

Honors Projects

I studied the writings of Female authors during the Heian era of Japan to write an original work imitating that style.

Differences In Food Store Environment In Low-Income Grand Rapids Neighborhoods Composed Of Different Ethnicities, Brenna Powers

Honors Projects

Background: Environment has a large impact on one’s health. Populations that have a lack of access to healthy foods have a higher risk for developing nutrition related illnesses. The purpose of this independent 499 study was to determine if there is a disparity in healthy food availability, food store environment, food quality and price between a low-income racially heterogeneous neighborhood and low-income Hispanic/Latino neighborhood in the Grand Rapids area.

Methods: Two low-income neighborhoods of different ethnic mixes were selected using the Johnson Center Community Profiles. The Grandville population is 2,206 with 77.2% Hispanic and Latino, 11% Black or African American, …

The Humanizer: A Much Needed Tool For Genetic Engineering, Stacy Veng

Honors Projects

The Humanizer is a program developed to solve a problem genetic researchers encounter when humanizing genes. To humanize a gene means to make modications to a model organisms gene so it may perform in a way that is more like how it would perform in humans. This is done by making changes to a model organisms gene only when a discrepancy exists between the model organisms gene and the human gene. Today, researchers in this eld spend long hours humanizing genes manually because there is no other way to do it. In addition, the length of genes can range from …

Mirrors Of Ourselves: The Spector And Its Reflections, Sara Porcaro

Honors Projects

This project is the result of one semester of studying the uses of the ghost as a literary device and one semester applying those uses. The first work is an exercise in terror, the next two are short ghost stories.

The Gray Mile was initially published in "Waxing & Waning: A Literary Journal."

New York Times’ And Wall Street Journal’S Coverage Of Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (Daca): A Content Analysis, Estefany Paniagua-Pardo

Honors Projects

This paper investigates how Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) has been depicted in the U.S specifically by examining the media’s coverage of immigration during the Obama and Trump presidencies in two elite newspapers, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal between June 2012 (when DACA was signed into law) and October 2017 (9 months into Trump’s presidential term).

The findings from the analysis indicate that the tone of the newspapers’ coverage of DACA was both negative and conflict oriented. The news articles were consistently unfavorable; out of a total of 170 articles analyzed and examined, 53.83% were …

The Evil Mad: Villainous Neurosis In Batman, Chelsea C. Riordan

Honors Projects

An analysis of Batman media-- specifically, various cartoons and comic books-- with an eye towards the franchise's representation of mental illness and disability. This honors project examines Batman through the lens of multiple genres and understands it as a cultural artifact that reflects mainstream anxieties regarding the mentally ill and mental illness.