Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Rain Garden Community Communications Intern, Isabella Jones

College of the Environment Internship Reports

To restore and protect the marine environments of East Jefferson County by raising community awareness of issues, engaging volunteers in stewardship, and generating support for Northwest Straits Commission programs and activities.

S.A.D. Survival Kit: A Podcast On Seasonal Affective Disorder, Kate Lincoln

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This document explores seasonal affective disorder through the lens of the accompanying mini podcast series S.A.D. Survival Kit. Over the course of five episode transcripts, the audience will gain a better understanding of seasonal affective disorder and its associated interrelations with the surrounding environment and any individual’s internal physical and mental health. The podcast is available on Spotify and SoundCloud. (Links are on page 1.) Seasonal affective disorder is a form of seasonal depression marked by a significant change in one’s behavior or thinking patterns when seasons shift. Episode 1 explains the basics of S.A.D. and concludes that many people …

Difference In Parental Reactions When Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Gender-Diverse Individuals Come Out, Hannah Dahlke

WWU Graduate School Collection

In general, attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community have been becoming increasingly more favorable in the United States in the past two decades (Rosenfeld, 2017). However, in recent years there has been some pushback, particularly regarding transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) identities, as opposed to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) identities. Growing transphobia is evident, especially in the political realm, as several anti-TGD bills are being introduced that limit access to bathrooms, sports, and gender-affirming care (Freedom For All Americans, 2022). As the difference in acceptance between LGB and TGD people is becoming more evident on a large scale, it raises the …

An Ecocentric Turn: Emerging Narratives In The Growing U.S. Rights Of Nature Movement, Raechel E. Youngberg

WWU Graduate School Collection

This research project utilizes the Narrative Policy Analysis framework to analyze print news media coverage of the Rights of Nature (RoN) movement in the United States. This burgeoning movement draws upon Indigenous principles of animism and interconnectedness to recognize the existence rights and legal personhood of non-human animals, plants, and ecosystems. This project highlights the legal and legislative challenges the RoN movement has faced. Including the complexities of attempting to incorporate Indigenous epistemologies into a colonialist legal system and highlighting the narrative strategies and emerging coalitions present in the U.S.-based movement.

Excavating Archaeological Knowledge: An Archaeological Ethnography Of Indigenizing Practices Within A Collaborative Field School Landscape, Isabella Pipp

WWU Graduate School Collection

This thesis outlines the results of the ethnographic archaeological research on the community-based participatory field school program undertaken in partnership between the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians and Western Washington University–the Stillaguamish-WWU Collaborative Archaeological Field School. The use of an ethnographic reflection of Indigenous and university collaboration offers lessons for institutions teaching archaeology that transform pedagogical practices, uphold Tribal sovereignty, and challenge academic standards to archaeological field schools and research. Goals of this research include exploring the efficacy of methodology implemented within the field school and to create a body of work about the field school that is relevant to the …

Environmental Scan Of Accessibility, Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Library Collections, Sidonie Devarenne, Madeline Kelly, Emily Spracklin

Western Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

This document presents the result of an environmental scan of collections practices, projects, and policy language related to accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI). The scope of this scan is ADEI collections projects within the functional areas represented on the Western Libraries’ Scholarly Resources Groups (SRG). It excludes literature with a focus on:

• Cataloging and metadata
• Circulation
• Course reserves
• Publishing
• Hosting
• Discovery

If issues related to these functional areas are deemed to be future priorities, the units and departments responsible for these functional areas will need to be involved in the development of related goals and projects.

This scan focuses …

Student Perspectives On Returning To In-Person Learning Modalities, Lance K. Tulloch

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Following the pandemic-induced shift in educational modalities from in-person to online, the calls for a return to “normalcy” or in-person learning guided institutional policy making and culture more broadly. This study is an initial step towards tracking and interrogating this shift and the artifacts brought into view at Western Washington University. A quantitative survey and two rounds of qualitative focus groups and interviews were performed in order to assess student perspectives on this transition or 'return' to in-person learning. The resulting code, FIRBO, calls attention to Folk Knowledge, Interaction, Resources, Barriers, and Openness. These themes highlight and interact with a …

Who Are You? The Relationship Between Language And Personality, Gwendolyn Cooley

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The relationship between language and personality is one that has been ruminated upon for decades, leading to a plethora of often contradictory scholarship. This project examines that relationship from an outsider perspective, utilizing both existing research and original questionnaire data to draw conclusions about how one's second language learning impacts personality.

A Closer Look At Interrogation Strategies: Confabulation, False Memories, And False Confessions Due To Interrogator Pressure And Information Exposure, Annika Fiala

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This literature review seeks to explore how interrogation strategies, such as compliance pressure and provision of information, can result in subject confabulation, false memories, and false confessions. These effects reduce the reliability of subject statements, and overall reliability of the criminal justice system. Additionally, differences in subject cognitive ability can make some more susceptible to interrogation methods. These factors must be accounted for when conducting interrogation procedures in order to mitigate their effects and prioritize the reliability of information relied on by the criminal justice system.

Confronting Ptsd In The Aftermath Of Abuse, Ayla A. Bilyeu

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This narrative follows a young woman through seven clinical sessions with a psychiatrist as she confronts her diagnosis of PTSD following abuse sustained in a romantic relationship.

Affordable Infill, Virginia Macdonald

WWU Graduate School Collection

This graduate research field study delves into the design of land use and municipal policies aimed at fostering the creation of entry-level homeownership opportunities in Bellingham, Washington. Drawing upon recommendations from the Final Report of the Washington Department of Commerce Homeownership Disparities Working Group and the American Planning Association's "Planning for Equity Policy Guide," this study prioritizes affordable homeownership. Methodologically, it incorporates insights from a thorough literature review, an analysis of diverse case studies across North America, and guidance from the Incremental Development Alliance. Furthermore, it integrates proposed modifications to Bellingham's municipal code, as advocated by the Kulshan Community Land …

The 2026 Fifa Men’S World Cup Games: Implications For Cross-Border Travel In Cascadia, Border Policy Research Institute At Western Washington University

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

The FIFA Men’s World Cup Games are coming to North America in 2026. The games will be held in 16 cities throughout North America, with Seattle hosting 6 games and Vancouver hosting 7, and undoubtedly selling out their respective stadium capacities. With the games being held in both Seattle and Vancouver, a mere 145 miles away from each other, many fans will be crossing the border between B.C. and Washington to attend events in both places. The Games present a rare opportunity to innovate and advance the cross-border travel experience in our region and build on past successes such as …

Jay Treaty And Indigenous Student Mobility Across The Canada-U.S. Border: A Focus On The Cascadia Region, Michael O'Shea

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

This Border Brief describes the latest developments in the use of the Jay Treaty for international tuition waivers at U.S. and Canadian higher education institutions. It is based on research conducted through surveys, interviews, and the author’s previous publications to illustrate opportunities for universities and policy makers to support Indigenous student mobility across the Canada-U.S. border by recognizing the sovereignty and self-determination of Indigenous Nations.

Archaeological Photography: The United Kingdom, Madeline Scholten

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Archaeological photography is an interdisciplinary aspect of archaeological endeavors that is key in allowing archaeological finds to be accessible to a general audience. This facet is key in data collection and distribution within the field as it is to the general public.

Photography is something that people are exposed to, possibly even partaking in, on a daily basis, but photography goes a lot deeper than simply capturing a still image. The history of photography, and the ways photography has improved so many disciplines are things that are just as important as the camera itself, and yet not necessarily needed to …

Language Planning, Education, And Linguistic Identity In The Republic Of Ireland, Margo Digiacinto

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This paper explores Irish-Gaelic language policy in educational domains in the Republic of Ireland and how educational policy connects to the greater language revitalization movement of the Irish language. The history of language policy since Ireland's independence in 1922 is presented for context, along with statistics and background information about the status of the Irish language in the country overall and in Gaeltacht communities. Then, the paper explores the three main educational contexts in which Irish is learned: English medium education, Irish medium education, and Gaeltacht schools. Potential solutions are then put forth to address some of the challenges students …

Social Impact Of Covid-19 In India And Among Asian Indians In The United States, Rajeswari Venkatesh

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This article is a culmination of the social challenges faced and the solutions found by people in India during the COVID-19 pandemic. The problems faced during the pandemic are still getting unraveled, even after three years. This paper examines the social challenges, such as mental health awareness, including suicide and physical health issues, the effects of loneliness and the reason for the loneliness felt during the pandemic, and the solutions created, such as the usage of technology and religion in positive and negative ways to reduce mental health issues faced during the pandemic. Additionally, this article includes two studies. The …

By The Campfire: How Representation In Video Games Can Be Improved, Hunter Smith

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

By the Campfire is a video game designed with accurate and thorough representation in mind from the start of development. Its purpose is to showcase the ways in which the player character in a video game can accurately represent anyone who plays it, and that the non-player characters in a video game can be generated in a way that diverse groups can be represented without harmfully misrepresenting them. This project includes a document that explains the process by which this game was created and why certain choices were made when implementing the games systems. The document details a survey that …

Recreation: Work That Makes A Difference, Logan Cornwell

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The recreation industry is a growing field and this project was aimed at highlighting possible career opportunities for students. This project culminated in a map showing 656 past internship sites from the Recreation Management and Leadership (RML) program here at Western Washington University. Fifteen years of internship feedback has been compiled into this map, and viewers can easily sort by year to find places of interest. This was created as a tool for future students to learn from previous internship experiences, and recognize the wide range of impactful careers you can find in the recreation field.

Verb Strings And Other Weavings: An Exploration Of Grammatical Structures, Visual Arts, And Language Teaching, Mae Bash

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In language education, visual arts are sometimes used as a tool to inspire communication and convey cultural concepts. However, limited research has looked into the application of visual arts in the classroom for the exploration of linguistic patterns. Both languages and weavings are complex systems governed by distinct sets of rules, yet they still permit infinite unique productions. This project explores this relationship by presenting five bandweavings, each of which is designed based on the rules and structures of different languages. These weavings show that it is possible to connect art and language through practical, structural methods, not only abstract …

Teleworking Across The Border: Insights From Cascadia, Andrzej Jakubowski

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

The COVID-19 Pandemic, supported by the rapid improvements in digital communication tools, has accelerated profound changes in how work is performed as millions worldwide started working remotely. Washington State and British Columbia were among the states/provinces with the highest percentage of people teleworking in the United States and Canada, respectively, mainly due to the developed industries of high technology, including the IT sector. However, as digital solutions allow for working from anywhere, they also boosted the rise of international virtual labor migration (cross-border telework), making labor mobility an even more diverse phenomenon. What remains an open question is whether telework …

Development, Line By Line: An Introspective Case Study On Narrative Identity And Development Through Poetry, Milla Miller

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Situated at the intersection of creative writing and psychology, this project analyzes the author’s adolescent poetry alongside her current work to explore psychosocial and narrative identity development. Specifically, the work contrasts poems written about developmental stages in process with those written in reflection of previous stages in order to reveal how the understanding of self evolves. In addition to the complexities revealed by these temporal differences, structural elements unique to the poems provide further levels of understanding: choice of form and figurative dexterity show cognitive and narrative advancement; themes reveal psychosocial conflicts; and repetition across a poetic lifespan identifies the …

S.I.F.T. Notebook Assignment, Christine Espina Dnp, Rn, Emily Spracklin

Western Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Purpose:

• Demonstrate engagement in the S.I.F.T. lessons and critical thinking on social media literacy
• Develop knowledge practices and dispositions connected to the Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Frame “Authority is Constructed and Contextual” (ACRL, 2016).

Strengthening Collaboration Between Washington State And British Columbia, Ginny Broadhurst, Laurie D. Trautman

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

There are a variety of benefits that arise from collaboration across the Canada-US border. In some sectors, the value of collaboration is measurable. For example, travel or trade volumes can be equated with specific economic benefits. This is the case with tourism and supply chain networks. There are traceable benefits associated with cross-border business integration and the development of a shared ‘innovation ecosystem’. However, how does one measure the value of having good relations with neighbors? Or the benefits that result from developing more resilient environmental and economic conditions that are created by joint responses to shared natural disasters? The …

Appeals To Transboundary Ecology: Cross-Border Advocacy At The Skagit Headwaters Donut Hole, Derek Moscato

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

The Pacific Northwest’s regional news media has directed significant attention toward the Skagit River watershed since 2019 because of a controversial, long-simmering mining proposal at the international border dividing British Columbia and Washington State. At the center of this controversy sits the so-called “Donut Hole”—an area of 5,800 unprotected hectares situated between two B.C. provincial parks—Skagit Valley and Manning—located at the headwaters of the Skagit watershed.

As a result of concerns about impacts to wildlife and the surrounding North Cascades ecosystem, opposition to the project was substantial, led by environmental advocates representing a wide range of ecological, recreational, and community …

Frankenpop, Elliott Windrope

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This presentation is about my work at Whatcom Health and Community Services where I analyzed and compared two population estimates. The presentation gives an overview of how population estimates work in the United States as well as applications for this data. My project focuses on two datasets both based on the 2020 census. It was unknown how these two datasets differed or if they differed at all. I found that the data is identical in the aggregate post-2020 but for the data based on the 2010 census, there were important disparities, especially in certain age and racial groups.

(A transcript …

Honoring The Gift: An Epistolary Exploration Of An Alternative Approach To Learning Grounded In Reciprocity And Gratitude, Tegan Keyes

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In this project, I explore what it means to honor knowledge as a gift. This document includes a selection of letters I wrote to my teachers to express my gratitude to them, along with a written narrative in which I describe my vision of an alternative approach to undergraduate education that centers gratitude, reciprocity, and self-determination. This narrative weaves together lessons from emergence theory, Indigenous systems of education, and gift economies to tell a story of a life-sustaining education system that is grounded in the understanding that knowledge is a gift.

Anaerobic Digestion At Western Washington University, Sienna Taylor

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is the process by which organic matter (such as food waste, manure, paper products, etc.) are broken down by bacteria in a contained system lacking oxygen. The decomposition in this environment produces the byproducts of digestate, which can be used as a liquid fertilizer, and biogas, which can be used in place of natural gas. The goal of anaerobic digestion at Western Washington University is to create a closed-loop waste system to process the pre-consumer and post-consumer organic food waste from the dining halls and use the resulting byproducts. This paper provides recommendations for anaerobic digestion at …

Inversed Research: A Study About How Psychology Research Impacts Researchers Themselves, Ayanna Stewart

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This paper focuses on how research impacts the people who are conducting the research. There is literature surrounding how a researcher's biases impact their results, but how are researchers impacted personally by the scientific method of collecting data? This paper weaves together Western and feminist scientific methods in order to understand what happens to a researcher when they conduct research.

This study interviewed four research assistants who were part of the Eating and Body Image lab at Western Washington University. Using their responses to questions, an analysis of the impacts of research and subjectivity was conducted. Results showed that participants …

Rethinking The American National Narratives: Finding A Way Forward With Our Past And With Hope, Emma Stiff

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

An essay contributing to the ongoing conversation about America's national narratives through an analysis of how stories shape our country and the steps we can take towards a more inclusive, hope-based narrative.

Racism Within The Honors College, Zoe Pais

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Students of color have been advocating for a change within the Honors College for many years. Student leaders of the club Honors Students of Color Board or HSOCB collaborated with Faculty to release a climate survey in Spring of 2022. The purpose of the survey was to gather data on the differences in experiences of students within the honors program, primarily focusing on race. The results found that students of color are more likely to consider leaving Honors due to feeling isolated or unwelcome than white students. The results also found that students of color feel as though they need …