Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Drawing The Line: Ancient Hominins And The Species Question, Erin Hurley, Carolyn Dillian

Honors Theses

he present paper asserts that groups such as Neandertals and Denisovans should be considered subspecies of H. sapiens. This contention is based upon the biological species concept and the fact that these groups interbred to create viable offspring. It is also stated that introgression from these groups made several positive contributions to the evolution of H. sapiens and their genome that may have served to promote the persistence of H. sapiens in Eurasia.

Comparing The Effectiveness Of Frameworks For Religious Motivation: A Secondary Data Analysis Of Four Seventh-Day Adventist Samples, Michele Prodans

Honors Theses

My project examines two theoretical frameworks for understanding religious motivation and corresponding instruments, which need to be tested for reliability and consistency. Religious orientation theory defines religious motivation as pursuing religion for either extrinsic or intrinsic reasons. Self-determination theory defines motivation as internalization of religious practices. I examined four surveys of Seventh-day Adventists from 2005 to 2018 that had either a religious orientation scale or a self-determination theory religious internalization scale. Confirmatory analysis found the structure of the scales based on self-determination theory to be more acceptable and identified problematic items that caused the religious orientation instruments to be less …

Experiential Learning In Collegiate Academia: The Silicon Valley Immersion, Kirsten Settle

Honors Theses

A thesis in an examination of experiential collegiate learning, specifically that are found within the vocational field of entrepreneurship and business management. This student-driven project’s objective primarily is to recruit a dedicated team of diverse students from Western Michigan University (WMU) to engage in a systematic, site-based experiential learning in one of the world’s biggest tech-metropolitans, San Francisco, California. The mission is to stimulate an experience-based approach to studying a business centered curriculum through field research with some of the country’s most successful companies. Participants evaluated company culture in diverse business settings to comprehend professional prospects and project management best …

The Effects Of Feliway On The Stress Of Cats During Veterinary Examination, Colleen Doonan

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Feliway® during veterinary examination. Feliway® contains a synthetic version of the F3 pheromone, secreted from the cheeks of Felis sylvestris catus when rubbing against objects in the environment. It is presumed to allow cats to establish a home range to feel secure. A double-blind study was conducted to address the limitations of another study that concluded Feliway® is useful for reducing stress experienced by cats during veterinary examination. The current study found that Feliway® is not useful by itself for adequate stress reduction during feline examinations. It was concluded …

Becoming Your Brand, Blake Kuzma

Honors Theses

As many young professionals now, starting a career is a very important and scary time. We are taught more and more how important it is that you present yourself in a way that is marketable to employers not only in person, but online as well. As a survey done by Jobvite in 2015, “75% of HR departments are required to search job applicants online” and also that “75% of HR professionals have rejected candidates based on information they have found online.” (Jobvite, 2015).

But beyond the advice we receive from our parents and mentors, there is very little that is …

Discovery From Failure: Understanding Developing Countries' Battles With Poverty And Culturally Appropriate Answers To Them, Daniel Tennant

Honors Theses

This paper is an examination of a failed research attempt, followed by examination of successful research literature on the subject of the informal economy and poverty. The research is centered on peripheral regions of the world, namely in Sub-Saharan countries such as Senegal. The informal economy continues to grow without thorough understanding or measurement of it creating greater problems in the future. The examination highlights the need for culturally appropriate questions, methodologies, and answers to issues of poverty in developing countries. Western World bias needs to be considered when creating and executing research in developing countries if the results are …

Sexual Harassment Of Biology And Biomedical Sciences Undergraduates: A Study On The Effects Of Larry Nassar And William Strampel, Kathleen Ryan

Honors Theses

Sexual harassment amongst undergraduate women of science is a prominent issue, gaining much media attention. The goal of this study is to determine if, and how, major sexual harassment cases impact women pursuing science-related careers, and what the sexual harassment climate is like for these individuals. The study will examine prevalence of harassment, common types of sexual misconduct, perpetrators, and severity through an anonymous survey. Additionally, this study will look into the effects of the Nassar and Strampel cases regarding desire to report harassment, and students’ fear of experiencing harassment in their future educations and careers. It is hypothesized that …

The Use Of A Celebrity In Advertising A Potentially Unhealthy Product: Using Psi And The Effects On Consumers’ Body Image, Oliver Taylor

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Community-Based Research Methods To Inform Public Health Practice And Policy: The Case Of Lead In The Mississippi Delta, Mary Alexandra Fratesi

Honors Theses

Environmental health issues are complex and require interdisciplinary and community engagement approaches to better understand them and inform policy. As one example, lead exposure has a number of dangerous neurological effects, including developmental delays and learning deficits. Potential lead exposure through drinking water and paint are areas of concern. In a 2018 document, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that up to 20% of lead exposure comes from drinking water alone. By using a type of engagement research called community-based research (CBR), this project began to address this major public health issue. CBR can be used to connect residents, their …

Money And Happiness For College Students, Robin Leonard

Honors Theses

This study was designed to expand the field of positive psychology and to investigate the relationship between money and happiness in college students. “Money” was further defined as financial satisfaction, and “happiness” was further defined as overall satisfaction with life for the purposes of the study. Existing psychological research demonstrates that many factors influence overall satisfaction with life, including face consciousness, perceived material wealth, goal setting, motivation orientation, cultural value, and the wealth of one’s home nation. However, less research has been conducted on the effects of finances on happiness. The research that does exist focuses on a specific range …

Personal Ethnography As Applied Learning: A Qualitative Explorative Ethnographic Observational Study Of Social Comparison, Tridereka Hall

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to discuss and evaluate the experience of studying abroad for college students as a participant observer as well as their perceptions of the experience. In Spring 2018, as a part of my studies and as an observational ethnography, I participated in the study abroad program through AIFS at Veritas University. In the study, I will provide my own transformative experience of studying abroad in San Jose, Costa Rica, as well as perspectives of other students who have studied abroad in different locations throughout Costa Rica, and an advisor with experience of assisting study abroad …

A Past Never Past: An Analysis Of Slavery And Reparation At The University Of Mississippi, Allen Coon

Honors Theses

The University of Mississippi was built using slaves, but the enslaved and their descendants were willfully denied admission to the university until forced desegregation in 1962. This interdisciplinary study employs a qualitative content analysis of antebellum university board of trustees and faculty minutes to investigate the benefits that slavery conferred to the university and the harms that slavery inflicted upon the campus enslaved. Analysis finds that slavery was a standard operation, that extrajudicial violence against slaves was a campus tradition, and that white supremacy was an institutional ideology at the University of Mississippi. This thesis integrates African American reparations literature …

Economic Base Analysis Of The City Of Commerce, Texas With Relation To Hunt County And Texas, Rebekah Cooper

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Effects Of Popularity On Comment Civility: A Youtube Case Study, Isaac Smith

Honors Theses

This study will explore the connection between the civility of internet comments and their popularity- through the example of two YouTube videos. By using a combination of manual review and computer analysis, to help readers discover if video popularity has a negative effect on comment civility. Findings also examined correlations between factors that indicate civility, while also including examples of notable and intriguing comments found during this study.

Social Class And Elementary Education: The Elementary Education Act Of 1870, Cameron Lowry

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Gentrification And Crime In The Crescent City, Connor Lewis Burruss

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Rise And Fall Of Gilmore Girls' Feminist Legacy, Mckenna Ahlgren

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the feminist legacy that the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007, 2016) built during its original airtime and how its later revival diminished that legacy. Gilmore Girls’ main characters are three generations of women within the Gilmore family, providing a unique opportunity to analyze their feminist identities and characterizations relative to different iterations of feminism. This paper examines how the youngest Gilmore, Rory, is influenced by her mother’s and grandmother’s embodiments of feminism. Their expressions of femininity and sexuality, their approaches to motherhood, and their behaviors in their romantic relationships throughout the series correlate with the predominate feminism …

Superheroes, Safety, And Social Policy: Induced Levels Of Physical Security May Produce Greater Liberal Policy Preferences, Jacob Berggren

Honors Theses

Preferences for conservative policies are thought to be, at least in part, the result of experiencing a more threatening world, and consequentially preferring to avoid, rather than approach, new information or situations (Hibbing, Alford & Smith, 2014; Jost, Federico, & Napier, 2013; Shook & Fazio 2009). In addition to explaining how policy attitudes may be formed, this recent research has helped to explain why attitudes may be more responsive to external influences (or manipulations) than previously thought, especially in regard to political attitudes such as ideology and partisanship. Therefore, as feelings of safety are increased, and feelings of threat are …

How To Help Kids Succeed - School-Based Programs And Social Mobility, Theresa Bell

Honors Theses

Education is the key to Social Mobility and unless children from poor families get a college degree, their economic mobility is severely restricted (Tough, 2016 pg 2). In November of 2005, the City unveiled a college tuition incentive to Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS) graduates, The Kalamazoo Promise. According to the Kalamazoo Promise website (2017), the purpose of the Promise is to, “provide a real meaningful and tangible opportunity for all students,” as “education is an important key to financial wellbeing.” Though access to an affordable college education is possible for Kalamazoo students eligible for The Promise, the numbers show that …

Batterer Rehabilitation: A Needs Assessment Of Three Texas Counties, Grace Campbell

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

American Foreign Policy Has A Masculinity Problem: A Discourse Analysis Of The Iran Deal, Rachel Emond

Honors Theses

The research in this paper seeks to analyze the rhetoric surrounding issues of American foreign policy using the Iran Deal as a case study. The main question this research intends to answer is: Are suggested soft power policy solutions, such as that of the Iran Deal, characterized as either feminine or masculine? I seek to answer this question through a discourse analysis of the rhetoric in newspaper articles from The New York Times and The Washington Post about the Iran Deal from the year 2015. I identify common themes and phrases among these articles and draw my own conclusions about …

Politics And Society In Federation Era Russia: Power Elites, Music And The Shaping And Manipulation Of Culture And Identity, Hayley Ream

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between government and society in shaping and manipulating perceptions – or even illusions – of culture and identity in contemporary Russia. Russia’s relationship with the larger world is arguably playing out in a revisionist post-Soviet era framework, particularly since Vladimir Putin first assumed the role of Acting President of the Russian Federation, following the resignation of Boris Yeltsin, in December 1999. Since, the Russian government has sought to create a perception of a healthy public space within representative democratic structure of government. This is a perception the government of Vladimir Putin is committed to maintaining. …

Self Vs. Other Perception Of Personality Through Facebook, Marianna Williams

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Cognitive And Emotional Correlates Of Improved Gait Distance During The Course Of Physical Therapy Treatment For An Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury, Danielle Miller

Honors Theses

Objective

The focus of spinal cord injury rehabilitation over the past four decades has shifted from medical management to issuses that affect quality of life and community participation (Gómara- Toldrà, Sliwinski, & Dijkers, 2014). However, the care team for spinal cord injury patients still need to collaberate in order to design and implement interventions that result in maximum participation to provide an individual with a spinal cord injury an effective rehabilitation program. In order to create such a rehablitation program, the care team must know how certain psychological and cognitive aspects, such as depression and implict memory, are related to …

Is Microfinance The Best Tool For Empowerment? Analysis Of Efficiency Of Developing Economies’S Microfinance Institutions In Empowering Women Using Data Envelopment Analysis Meta Frontier Technology, Beryl Isiji

Honors Theses

Poverty is still prevalent in developing economies, although the proportion of people living below the international poverty line ($1.90 a day) decreased by 24.6% between 1990 and 2013 according to World Bank. Women are more likely than men to live in poverty due to minimal access to resources. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) lend small funds to women thereby empowering them, encouraging entrepreneurship and creating creditworthiness.

This thesis examines the effect of MFIs on gender inequality via women empowerment by calculating output-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis using the meta frontier technology, and relating the efficiency results to the Gender Inequality Index (GII) obtained …

Extraordinary Episodes Of Ancient Money, Francis Louis Kailey

Honors Theses

The spread of coins, which occurred throughout the archaic and classical periods of Greece, was a foundational advancement toward forms of the modern economy. Modern theory has sought to explain the invention of coins with a variety of narratives. Generally, these narratives fall into two broad categories: market-driven monetization or state-driven monetization. On the one hand, some theory argues that coins developed from reducing private transaction costs. On the other hand, some theorists argue that the state benefitted from reductions in administrative costs from the use of coins and therefore undertook the cost of minting them. This thesis problematizes these …

Rural, Urban, And Suburban School Communities And Their Impact On School Psychologists, Claire Crosier

Honors Theses

School psychologists play an important role today in the education of students by helping those with and without diagnosed disabilities. Their role as a school psychologist entails assessing students, providing interventions, consulting with teachers and more. This study looks to see if school psychologists have a different role depending on their community location, specifically rural, urban and suburban locations. Past research is outdated and finds varying results with some finding that the role differs depending on the setting, while others find more similarities than differences. This study found both similarities and differences in characteristics of school psychologists, the population of …

Banking Efficiency Within The World’S Largest Banks: Application Of Data Envelopment Analysis To The Global Financial Crisis Of 2008, Devin Coffey

Honors Theses

The world’s financial system is one of the globe’s most powerful structures, however the institutions that make up this network of banking firms are certainly not immune to the pressures of market globalization and technical innovation that drive change within the financial landscape. In order to exist within such an environment, the world’s largest commercial banks must constantly reevaluate the ways in which they function in order keep pace in the competitive market. The objective of this paper is to examine the efficiency of ten of the world’s largest commercial banks during the period spanning from 2006 to 2015. Utilizing …

An Empirical Analysis Of Climatic, Geographic, And Cultural Determinants Of International Tourism, Ethan Straus

Honors Theses

Each year, billions of people visit different countries all around the world. For many of those countries, tourism is their primary industry, leading to millions of jobs and dollars in revenue. It is expected that by 2020 total International Tourism Receipts will reach 2 trillion US dollars annually. Currently, tourism employs an estimated 200 million people around the world. With the continued progression of climate change, the tourism industry is facing a newfound threat. Global temperatures and the seal level are both expected to rise significantly by the end of the century. Additionally, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has …

Los Efectos Del Machismo En El Desarrollo De Los Trastornos De Salud Mental De Las Mujeres En México, Tiffany George

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the role of machismo and how it impacts women in Mexico. Machismo dominates Mexican society where men have complete authority and control over women, thus trapping them under patriarchal rule. This thesis examines how the novel, La Genara written by Rosina Conde, highlights the detrimental effects of machismo through letters between two sisters, Genara and Luisa. This study examines the ways in which Mexican women are silenced, oppressed and abused and the ways in which societal norms affects their mental state, and sometimes to mental disorders, and it also shows that in such a society, there is …