Education Commons^™

Reduced Light Availability Diminishes Mycorrhizal Growth Response Of Invasive Forb, Regina O'Kelley

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form mycorrhizae, a common, well-studied symbiotic relationship. Controls on the magnitude and direction of plant mycorrhizal growth response (MGR) remain obscured. Specifically, the influence of light availability in the MGR of an invasive forb, spotted knapweed Centaurea stoebe, has not been studied. Greenhouse studies exploring the growth response of knapweed to arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) often fail to report light intensity levels, which could impact the quality of their data. I conducted a greenhouse experiment studying the MGR in spotted knapweed under shaded and unshaded conditions, designed to approximate light availability in ambient greenhouse and full-sun …

Victimizing Cap-And-Trade: How Policy Narratives Influence Policy Realities, Alyssa Rehwald

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

When a cap-and-trade bill was introduced to the Washington legislature in 2009, it was met with staunch opposition from a coalition of businesses and industry leaders. In the end, the opposing side won when cap-and-trade legislation was removed from the bill. My goal was to better understand if there were differences in how the Pro and Con Coalitions presented policy narratives, and how they may have influenced the policy outcome. Using the Narrative Policy Framework, I analyzed public testimony produced by both coalitions and examined the use of narrative elements, narrative strategies, and policy beliefs between and within the coalitions. …

The Albigensian Crusade: The Intersection Of Religious And Political Authority In Languedoc (1209-1218), Alexis Nunn

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The Albigensian Crusade saw religious goals conflict with political realities in Languedoc as crusaders attempted to establish secular and religious authority in a region that saw the crusade as a war of aggression rather than one of religious reformation.

Magnum Opus: A Satirical Rock Opera, Alynn Sobolik

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

"Magnum Opus" is a satirical rock opera about the college experience and what's to come after graduation.

Plebeian Adventures: Documenting Travel Via Blogging And Memory Collage, Sara Kate Johnson

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Plebeian Adventures is an ongoing travel reflection blog that explores the documenting of memory using photography, personal essays, drawings, and videos. This CEDAR document contains links to the blog as well as a copy of the script from the original Senior Symposium presentation at Western Washington University on December 8^th, 2017.

Plebeian Adventures Tumblr URL: http://www.plebeianadventures.tumblr.com/

Science And Society: A Creative Reflection Centering Perspectives Of Emerging Scientists, Kelly Melville

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In a series of poems, I reflect on what it means to be a scientist in society today, focusing on the fields of environmental science and biology. My project challenges the conception that science functions separately from social processes and societal structures. Reflecting on articles, books, and interviews conducted with Western students, I explore ideas concerning how the sciences could become more democratic or just. The readings were recommended to me by my faculty advisor based on my inquiry interests. The interview subjects were students and recent graduates of Huxley and the Biology department at Western Washington University. I was …

The Global Energy Crisis, Katie Calhoun

Facing the Future Lessons

The world is at an energy tipping point. Countries and communities can choose to be proactive or wait and be reactive, however it is much less costly to do the former. In this project, high school environmental science students will examine the current energy use and concerns in a named country or community, analyze the pros and cons of the current energy situation and how it effects the social, economic and environmental aspects of the culture, then create a more sustainable, resilient plan for that country.

Increasing Sustainability In Global Supply Chains, Daniel Stuesse

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Increasing stakeholder concerns about sustainability have recently led businesses to consider environmental, economic, and social issues in supply chain management. This three-component approach to sustainability is known as the “triple bottom line.” The triple bottom line was developed in the 1990s with the intention of providing a framework for evaluating organizational economics along with social and environmental impacts. Climate change and resource depletion necessitate improvements to the sustainability of the current global supply chain to avoid the planet becoming unable to meet the needs of future generations. This paper uses the triple bottom line to examine the current sustainability of …

Set Your Mind On Growth: A Path To Opportunity-Based Learning, Nadya Sharif, Cejay Johnson, Lauren Jackson

Undergraduate Studio Assistant Research

Given that the growth mindset is essential to learning, we will guide practice in reframing fixed mindsets and show how doing so increases learners' self-reflection, agency, and confidence.

Life And Death, Joan Houser

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

A collection four short stories that center around environmental themes, specifically relationships between people and how those differ from people's relationship with the environment.

Childbirth Through Time, Quinn Rathkamp

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This is a collection of essays that explores historical childbirth from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia through the 2010's with a primary focus on maternal mortality rates in the U.S. and U.K. between 1850 and 1950.

Keep Calm And Learn O-Chem, Hope Spargo

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This project is an illustrated introductory guide to organic chemistry, featuring stories, metaphors, and fundamental concepts.

Coal Trains And Home Values: The Effect Of The Gateway Pacific Terminal Project On Housing Prices In Bellingham, Washington, Rose G. Howe

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The proposal to build the Gateway Pacific Terminal generated much controversy in Bellingham, Washington. As a deep-water port slated to export large quantities of coal and other commodities, the Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT) threatened to increase the amount of rail traffic passing through the region.The following study uses a hedonic price model to test whether proximity to the railroad affected the sales price of houses in Bellingham after the announcement of the GPT environmental review process. Little previous research focuses on the effect of rail traffic on housing prices in the Pacific Northwest and no empirical studies have examined the …

Comparing Education And Policy Outcomes In Brazil, India, And South Africa, Sarah Allen

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In my research I ask, "What features of education policies are conducive to successful educational outcomes, and what types of policies should be encouraged in developing countries to compliment their development efforts?" Discussions regarding education policy are highly polarized between supply-side and demand-side views. I engage in a comparative case study between three emerging BRICS countries who are dynamic economic and political players in their respective regions-Brazil, India, and South Africa-to analyze the extent to which each country has used supply-side and demand-side education policies and to what extent these policies have been effective. I conclude that either supply-side policies, …

Lipid Binding Studies Of Blood Coagulation Factor Viii C1 And C2 Domains, Rachel L. Blazevic

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Blood coagulation factor VIII (fVIII) is an essential cofactor in the mammalian blood-clotting cascade. fVIII must bind the phospholipid membrane of activated platelets to function as a cofactor for fIXa. The blood coagulation cascade culminates in the formation of a stable blood clot. In humans, the C1 and C2 domains are implicated in binding phospholipid membranes, however the relative contribution of different residues in the lipid-binding mechanism is unclear. Using site-directed mutagenesis, expression of the isolated C1 and C2 domains in Escherichia coli cells, protein purification with metal affinity chromatography, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, liposome sedimentation assays, …

“Did It Change Your Life?”: An Evaluation Of Student Growth On Western Washington University International Service-Learning Programs, Tess Bentley, Elizabeth Mogford

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of three service-learning study abroad programs at Western Washington University through a survey administered to seven cohorts of these programs over six years. Pre-trip and post- trip self-assessment questionnaires are used to analyze student growth in topics related to global citizenship.

Postcolonial Citizenship And Identity In The Netherlands And France, Claire Harris

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Colonial constructions of race in colonial Algeria and the Dutch East Indies became problematized during the process of decolonization, especially regarding issues of citizenship. The Netherlands and France, during the process of decolonization, often denied substantive citizenship to those postcolonial migrants. This paper explores the process of becoming citizens for those migrants, and how those citizenship policies have created distinct postcolonial identities in which postcolonial citizens have a connection to both the former colony and the former metropole.

Crime Blindness: The Impact Of Inattentional Blindness On Eyewitness Description Accuracy, Claire Tyler

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Eyewitness misidentification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions in the United States. Inattentional blindness, the failure to become fully aware of an object or event despite its presence in the center of one’s visual field, may render some eyewitnesses unable to accurately describe the culprit of a crime that had occurred right in front of them. The members of Ira Hyman’s research lab explored the relationship between inattentional blindness and the ability to provide accurate eyewitness testimony. We asked participants to watch a video of a staged theft, instructing the experimental groups to either count the number of people …

Gyno Girl: Power, Practice, Podcasting, Rosa Tobin

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Gyno Girl is a women's health podcast, produced with the aim to simultaneously stimulate and de-stigmatize open dialogue on women's health. Podcasting as a medium creates a space for practicing open dialogue on women's health. Rosa wants women to hear other women talking about women's health—She wants women to be walking around in public with other women's voices in their ears openly sharing their experiences getting a Pap Smear, signing up for health insurance, or getting the birth control shot in their butt.

Additionally:

Gyno Girl Website - http://gynogirl.org/

Gyno Girl Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/gynogirl

Recorded Version of May 5th Presentation …

Interlude: Pursuit Of The Present, Emily Bartlett

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This 12-piece tea and coffee set is the pinnacle of my design education at Western.

Theatre Makers And Social Issues: How Art Imitates Life, Marlena Mchenry

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

A reflection on a devised theatre process and the creation of form and content for performance.

Using Strength-Based Praise To Encourage Student Agency In Grammar, Abigail Ernest-Beck, Kellyn Wolden, Kayla Rafferty

Undergraduate Studio Assistant Research

How do you explain the “their, they’re, and there’s” of the English language? Find out how taking a strength-based approach to proofreading impacts confidence and agency. Traditional practices in higher education often recognize “Standard English” as the most acceptable form of language, while multilingual writers often do not have confidence in their abilities to express themselves according to these grammar conventions. This lack of confidence over grammar causes writers to think that they are unable to proofread without the guidance of writing tutors, and leads to expectations of comprehensive error correction. However, scaffolding is much more effective for long term …

When Intervention Hasn’T Done Enough Yet, Lena Donovan, Hayley Neptune, Susanna Reese

Undergraduate Studio Assistant Research

With our research showing that faculty at WWU would like to see the Hacherl Research and Writing Studio (RWS) provide proofreading services such as grammar and editing, we found that there is a discrepancy between faculty expectations and what services the RWS provides. We provide a model for how to intervene with misunderstandings by assessing the situation, addressing the misconception, and providing assistance to help facilitate understanding about the RWS. We then explore other possible intervention options. This research and our model for intervention may be used as a launching-point for further research into perceptions about the RWS, and for …

White Families And Racial Socialization: A Review, Sadie F. Strain

American Cultural Studies Capstone Research Papers

My paper brings forward research that aims to understand the role white parents play in racially socializing their children. Several studies have interrogated the way black and brown parents socialize their children, but there is far less research that attempts to understand the messages, both implicit and explicit, that white parents convey to their children about race throughout their childhoods. Color-conscious and color-blind ideologies, as well as raising children in more integrated schools, are common strategies employed by parents to aid their children in their understanding, or lack of understanding of racism, people of color, and white privilege. My hope …

Advising Undocumented Students At Western Washington University, Emmanuel Camarillo

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Residency

In the summer of 2016, as a result of undocumented students demands for more resources to support undocumented students at Western Washington University (WWU) my position in Student Outreach Services (SOS) was developed. I was assigned to be the advisor for undocumented students in Student Outreach Services. During the 2016-2017 academic year, I began my first year advising undocumented students and had a total of 112 advising appointments with undocumented students

I attended the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL) in 2017 to begin looking at advising style and methods I use while advising with students as well as to …

Western Washington University Sustainability Action Plan 2015 - 2035, Western Washington University

Western Sustainability

Western’s Sustainability Action Plan is the University’s road map for protecting local and global ecology, upholding social equity, creating economic vitality, and maintaining human health.

Female Masculinity At Work: Managing Stigma On The Job, Raine Dozier

Woodring Scholarship on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

In this study, the author interviewed 49 self-identified masculine women in the United States to examine how they negotiate stigma in the workplace. Masculine women often negotiate dual stigmas due to both their gender nonconformity and perceived sexual orientation. Participants used a variety of strategies to cope with their stigmatized identity including modifying clothing; incorporating feminine behaviors to counteract masculine appearance; working in high-demand, undesirable jobs; working in male-dominated settings; and opting out of formal work organizations. While some participants experienced mistreatment in male-dominated settings, many reported positive outcomes including strong relationships with male coworkers, opportunities for advancement, and a …

Domestic Violence And Girlhood: The Making And Breaking Of A Disordered Subjectivity, Tracey Pyscher

Woodring Scholarship on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

This article examines the resistive actions and discourses that shape and reshape the hegemonic and resistant interplay between female youth with histories of domestic violence (HDVs) and educators. Taken out of a larger critical ethnographic study, discussion demonstrates how one urban middle school girl with an HDV is positioned as an object of “emotional and behavioral disorder” and how she responded to violating pedagogies through performances of cultural resistance built out of her social experience of domestic violence. The article draws upon theoretical and methodological insights, including Butler’s notion of performativity, Scott’s theory of resistance, Hill-Collins’s standpoint theory, as well …

Que Luchen Por Sus Intereses (To Fight For Your Interests): Unearthing Critical Counter-Narratives Of Spanish-Speaking Immigrant Parents, Kevin Roxas, Maria L. Gabriel

Woodring Scholarship on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

This article reports on findings from a year-long research project conducted during the 2012–2013 school year in a PK–12 school district, located in the Mountain West region of the United States, utilizing the Photovoice method. The findings in the project point to the important critical counter-narratives Spanish-speaking immigrant parents present to the larger school community when given the opportunity to have their voices and perspectives heard and recorded in written form. The article provides teachers, counselors, administrators, and support staff in schools and school districts with insight into the hopes and aspirations of Spanish-speaking immigrant parents and highlights educational practices …

Use Of Legally Compliant Ieps For Inclusive Programming, Keith J. Hyatt, Aaron B. Perzigian

Woodring Scholarship on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

The purpose of this article is to review major components of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) from the perspective that the IEP process serves to facilitate inclusive opportunities for students with disabilities. The IEP is a legally binding contractual agreement between a school district and a family, thus it is imperative for the process to be procedurally compliant and completed in a substantively meaningful manner consistent with the six key foundational principles of special education law (Turnbull, Stowe, & Huerta, 2007). An IEP is one of the foundational principles of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004, …