Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

American Sign Language As A Foreign Language Equivalent At James Madison University, Abigail E. Compton

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

ASL is increasingly gaining acknowledgment as a foreign language in the university setting. At James Madison University, sign language classes have traditionally been housed within the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. This research makes a case for considering ASL as an equivalent to courses in the Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures and argues that ASL meets the university standards for the study of a foreign language with regard to fulfilling Bachelor of Arts requirements.

Considering the linguistic history of ASL and the language’s accompanying culture, we will demonstrate the standards for teaching ASL are identical to the …

No Soy De Aquí, Ni Soy De Allá: How Stateless Individuals In The Dominican Republic Construct National Identity, Lindsay Wright

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Resolution 12, a piece of national legislation in the Dominican Republic, retroactively revokes citizenship from individuals whose ancestors came to the country illegally. The resolution was proposed in 2007, signed into law in 2008, and ratified in 2013, rendering a large number of Dominican-born individuals stateless. Using the framework of Communication Theory of Identity (CTI), the researcher analyzed the communication processes and cultural elements stateless individuals utilize to form their national identity. The researcher used a qualitative approach to gather data, which were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Responses from the participants, provided through in-depth individual interviews, indicate that …

Student Awareness Of The Daily News-Record, Molly Margaret Jacob

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The Daily News-Record is a local daily newspaper located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, a city with a population of about 52,000. The Daily News-Record's print circulation is 26,000, while its digital circulation is 800. The paper also houses other local publications, such as the Rocktown Weekly, a free weekly publication that covers local news and the local music scene. James Madison University is a mid-sized public university also located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The researcher wanted to understand JMU student awareness of local news sources, student consumption of news sources, student intention to read the local paper and whether there was a …

The Relationship Between Conflict Resolution Styles In Cross-Gender Sibling Relationships And Romantic Relationships, Kristen M. Friel

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Previous research demonstrates that there are several similarities between sibling relationships and romantic relationships and the former may even impact the latter. Further, research has shown that sibling relationships of mixed-gender dyads more significantly impact later romantic relationships. As conflict is a normative and frequent aspect of both relationships, the purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between a female’s conflict resolution style with her male sibling and her conflict resolution style with her romantic partner, if relational closeness and distance in years between her and her male sibling are moderating factors of her conflict …

Ngo Collaboration In Natural Disaster Response Efforts- A Comparative Case Study Of Earthquakes In Asia, Richelle S. Grogg

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper examines the response of NGOs to natural disasters, specifically in regards to collaboration efforts. The study utilizes a comparative case study methodology of most-similar design to look at three specific disasters- The Kashmir Earthquake, The Sichuan Earthquake, and The Japan Earthquake. Within each of these earthquakes the organizations Doctors Without Borders, the International Red Cross, and Oxfam International’s specific responses will be highlighted. The collaboration efforts will be examined utilizing general questions focusing on willingness to collaborate, commitment, and compatibility of objectives. Ultimately, this study found that all three components seem to be hypotheses worthy of further study.