Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Vaccine Coverage And Exemptions On The Resurgence Of Vaccine Preventable Disease: A Review Of The Literature, Kara Costantino

Honors Theses

Vaccinations are a safe and effective way to prevent the spread of disease. In recent years, vaccine coverage rates have declined while nonmedical exemption rates have increased. These changes have contributed to increased prevalence of vaccine preventable diseases. Declining vaccine coverage and increasing nonmedical exemptions are a threat to public health and the relationship between these factors needs to be understood. Clusters and outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases have occurred as a result of more people declining vaccination. Factors that may incline someone to refuse vaccination include safety concerns, lack of trust, freedom of choice, decreased understanding for the need, …

Understanding Individual Color Perceptions Within Print And Digital Media, Morgan Haskins

Honors Theses

Color is a subjective attribute that is seen differently by each individual and this research is intended to build upon the subjective nature of color perceptions. This research aims to determine the effect of subjectivity on print and digital design and of extended gamut printing and effective color management on color perception. The significance of understanding color perception is directly applicable to consumer perception of designs using color. If designers want their brand to be immediately recognized and be positively accepted, they must be able to accurately reproduce their brand colors with little to no color difference and be able …

Examining The Prevalence Of Loneliness And Social Support Of Undergraduates In Western Michigan University's Sociology Department, Michael Kemme

Honors Theses

Humans, by nature, are social beings. This is evident by any number of examples, ranging from the psychological effects of solitary confinement in prisons, to the plethora of social media platforms available today. Humans, clearly, have a desire, if not a need, to be surrounded by and interact with others. Because of this, loneliness, especially its relationship to social support, has been a strong topic of research in academia.

This present study sought to complete a descriptive, cross-sectional analysis that addressed five demographic characteristics (gender, race, relationship status, RSO [Registered Student Organization] or Fraternity/Sorority Membership, and on-campus v/s off-campus living …

Charting A New Course Through Meaningful Occupation, Jennifer K. Fortuna

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Rory Odom, an artist and United States Marine Corps Veteran based in Florida, provided the cover art for the Spring 2020 issue of The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT). “Turtles All the Way Down” is an 8”x10” oil painting on canvas. After a tragic accident changed the course of Rory’s life, painting gave him hope. During rehabilitation, Rory sought opportunities to challenge himself and build technical skill as a painter. His bold use of color and signature impressionist style convey emotion and movement. In the face of adversity, meaningful occupation helped Rory chart a new course in life.

Social Media As Occupation: Implications For Occupational Therapy Practice, Sheryl Eckberg Zylstra, Kimberly Erler, Wendell Nakamura, Brenda Kennell

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

No abstract provided.

Are We Missing Opportunities? How Occupational Therapists Would Benefit From Connecting Mindfulness To Occupational Participation, Barbara P. White, Paige Brousseau, Jessica Daigneault, Emily Harrison, Virginia Lavallee, Kaleigh St Cyr

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

No abstract provided.

Examining Occupational Therapy Students’ Responses To Integrative Seminars, Robyn Wu, Chi-Kwan Shea

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

The integrative seminar is an innovative teaching-learning approach that focuses on active learning and peer collaboration, characteristics that align with millennial learners’ preferences. The use of integrative seminars has been reported by various health professions with positive outcomes. Course feedback survey data from the first cohort of occupational therapy students who participated in a new four-course integrative seminar series were analyzed. Findings suggest that the format of the courses was engaging for the learners. The students particularly valued the small class; the opportunities for peer collaboration; and the variety of active learning opportunities, including simulations. The students also indicated that …

Development Of The Occupational Performance Inventory Of Sexuality And Intimacy (Opisi): Phase One, Beth Ann Walker, Kasey Otte, Kelsey Lemond, Pamela Hess, Kandyse Kaizer, Tori Faulkner, Davis Christy

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: The occupational therapy profession needs a framework to guide understanding of the occupational nature of sexuality and intimacy, assessment, intervention design, and measurement of outcomes. This study aimed to define the occupational nature of sexuality and intimacy and develop a theoretical and occupation-based screen, in-depth self-assessment, and performance measure.

Method: The Occupational Performance Inventory of Sexuality and Intimacy (OPISI) was developed following DeVellis’s (2017) guidelines for scale development that involved mapping the construct, generating an item pool, determining the format for measurement, and reviewing the initial item pool.

Results: The Occupational Therapy Sexual Assessment Framework (OTSAF) was developed to …

Assessing Unmet Needs Of Caregivers After Stroke: Occupational Therapist Practices And Perspectives, Deborah R. Clymer, Hadley A. Fields, Kathy Kniepmann

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Family caregivers of stroke survivors often feel unprepared and overwhelmed post discharge with numerous unmet needs. Occupational therapists can play an integral role in addressing family caregivers’ needs. Limited research exists on assessment practices of occupational therapists in identifying caregivers’ needs poststroke. This study explores the practices and perspectives of occupational therapists in assessing unmet caregivers’ needs.

Method: A cross-sectional, mixed methods research design was used to electronically survey 15 occupational therapists. Part 1 of the survey explored participant methods for identifying caregivers’ needs and their views on using formal caregiver assessment tools. Part 2 gathered participant perspectives on …

A Survey Of Occupational Therapy Services Provided For Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alisha Ohl, David Schelly, Dustin Brown, Nette Schulze, Maria Smith, Beth Davies

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: We examined the services provided to adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by occupational therapists across the United States.

Method: This cross-sectional study used an online survey, with a combination of structured and open-ended questions, to collect data from a nonprobability sample. Descriptive, inferential, and nonparametric statistics were used to analyze data.

Results: In our sample (N= 57), the majority of the participants spent less than half of their workweek intervening with the adult ASD population. Caregivers were instrumental in both referral and discharge, and Medicaid was the most common payer source. The Adult …

Exploring How Older People Living At Home Alone Occupy Their Time – A Time-Geographic Study, Alison Wicks, Megan Blanchard, Ingeborg Nilsson

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Knowing what older people choose to do with their time informs occupational therapists in their everyday practice. This study explored how sixteen older Australians living at home alone without support occupied their time.

Method: People aged 70 years and older living alone in one’s home and receiving no support services were voluntary recruited. The participants completed time-use diaries for 5 days and recorded how, with whom, and where they spent time. Data were coded and analyzed using the software program Vardagen.

Results: The participants reported 217 different daily activities. While patterns of daily participation varied, all …

Effectiveness Of A Multimodal Mindfulness Program For Student Health Care Professionals: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Sharon A. Gutman, Martha Sliwinski, Justin Laird, Jennifer Nguyen

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: The effectiveness of a multimodal mindfulness program incorporating traditional and nontraditional forms of active and nonactive meditation practices with a sample of occupational and physical therapy students was assessed in this study.

Method: Thirty-six participants were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. The 8-week mindfulness program consisted of one weekly 40-min in-person group session and four weekly 10-min online guided meditations. Pre and postintervention measures included the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Student Stress Management Scale (SSMS), mindfulness activity log, open-ended qualitative questionnaire, GPA, and counseling visit frequency.

Results: Statistically significant differences, with large effect …

The Effects Of Ai On Children’S Use Of Politeness, Pooja Mandagere

Honors Theses

This project is a study of the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on children’s politeness by providing positive reinforcement for good verbal behavior. How children communicate with artificial intelligence is identified. There is an observation as to how positive reinforcement will influence their behavior. The survey administered before and after the introduction of the Google Nest Hub into the homes of participating families (pre-intervention survey and post-intervention survey) is included in this document. There was an observation period during which the Google Nest Hub recorded queries made by the child participant within each of those families. These records were used …

Biological Evaluation Of Fda-Approved Drugs As Mirna-31 Inhibitors Using Real Time Qrt-Pcr And A Luciferase Assay, Nicholas Sienkiewicz

Honors Theses

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of post-transcriptional, negative regulators of gene expression, consisting of ~19-24 nucleotides. Since their discovery in 1993, miRNAs have been found to be involved in a diverse amount of cellular and disease pathways, including certain types of cancer. Overexpression of certain oncogenic miRNAs, including miRNA-31, have been shown to play a role in cancer cell development. Recent findings have suggested that miRNAs play a significant role in every stage of colorectal cancer (CRC) initiation, progression, and development, as well as induce resistance to chemotherapy drugs like 5-FU. In particular, research has shown that increased levels of …

Bio-Mass To Bio-Oil: Direct Conversion Vs Companion Coal Gasification, Gabriel Hayes

Honors Theses

Biomass is produced in agriculture and forestry, and can be converted to use as a fuel substitute for petroleum. Direct conversion of biomass to bio-oil is conventionally accomplished with a process called fast pyrolysis, in which the biomass is heated to promote the chemical breakdown of its components. This produces some condensable vapors which, when condensed, yield bio-oil. Such a process was compared to a process that gains heat from companion coal gasification instead of traditional heating media such as heated sand. The conversions were then compared to determine the more cost-effective method for producing bio-oil. Additional parameters investigated include …

Glut5 And Fructose Metabolism Inhibition In A Simulated Small Intestine Environment, Isabella Trainor

Honors Theses

This thesis describes an experiment that was designed in order to obtain information that could be useful for treating individuals with HFI. The author hypothesized that MSNBA would inhibit GLUT5 and fructose metabolism in the small intestine. The final experimental design involves exposing a small intestine cell line to fructose and MSNBA. The cell line would be exposed to MSNBA over the course of three different periods, and data was intended to be obtained using western blotting and a fructose assay kit. Although the final experimental design project was not fully carried out due to circumstances surrounding COVID-19, a plausible …

April 2020 Newsletter, Haworth College Of Business

Haworth College of Business News

• WMU researchers study food consumption behavior during COVID-19 pandemic
• From college to career
• Food marketing students clinch first place at national university case competition
• Students take first place at finance competition
• Sales students claim top spot at regional competition
• Startup that takes the tangle out of power strips wins Bronco Pitch Competition

Assessing Student Needs To Clear Obstacles For Retention And Persistence, Josh Conley, Kelly Reed

Assessment Grants

The Invisible Need Project works to support WMU students with unmet basic needs. This assessment project was implemented to help gain a better understanding of those needs and barriers faced by current Western students. As a part of this project, three focus groups were held during the Fall 2019 semester. Results found that students who are aware of INP are grateful for what it provides, but much more work can be done around raising awareness, for students and campus as a whole. Additionally, students helped to shed light on other barriers they face, including clothing and transportation. The Invisible Need …

Somos Y Estamos, Primavera/Spring 2020, Western Michigan University

Somos y Estamos

For Friends of the Department of Spanish at Western Michigan University. In both Spanish and English.

The Western Insider, Western Michigan University

The Western Insider

• Faculty stepping up to support transition to distance education
• Grad student uses creativity, collaboration to keep her students learning
• Units across WMU donate personal protection equipment to medical professionals
• WMU researchers study food consumption behavior during COVID-19 pandemic
• Safeguarding our future in a period of uncertainty
• An opportunity for empathy
• On distance education, resiliency and coming out stronger: Q and A with Dr. Jim Eckert

Convents And Novices In Early Modern English Dramatic Works: In Medias Res, Vanessa L. Rapatz

Late Tudor and Stuart Drama

Convents and Novices in Early Modern English Dramatic Texts: In Medias Res attends to the religious, social, and material changes in England during the century following the Reformation, specifically examining how the English came to terms with the meanings of convents and novices even after they disappeared from the physical and social landscape. In five chapters, it traces convents and novices across a range of dramatic texts that refuse easy generic classification: problem plays such as Shakespeare's Measure for Measure; Marlowe's comic tragedy The Jew of Malta; Margaret Cavendish's closet dramas The Convent of Pleasure and The Religious …

College Of Arts And Sciences: April 2020, College Of Arts And Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences news

• Faculty stepping up to support transition to distance education
• Solidarity fund set up to help WMU employees and students
• Recognizing Bronco Heroes
• Launching the WMU Alumni Book Club
• Download a Bronco Family Fun Pack for activities to do at home - there's something for all ages!
• Faculty stepping up to support transition to distance education
• WMU 3D printers producing face shields and masks for health care workers

Engagement Through Wmu Signature: The Student Perspective, Allison Grime, Evan Heiser

Assessment Grants

WMU Signature validates WMU students out-of-class learning experiences to help them stand out to future employers and graduate schools. Through WMU Signature students explore and identify a passion, and then complete a unique experience of putting that passion into action, earning them a designation on their diploma. WMU Signature is built on research showing that co-curricular/extracurricular involvement, especially involvement that includes reflection, increases student’s cognitive and intellectual growth in college, as well as their overall satisfaction and retention. The purpose of this assessment project was to gather student feedback to continue to improve WMU Signature.

College Of Arts And Sciences: April 2020, College Of Arts And Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences news

• Faculty stepping up to support transition to distance education
• Solidarity funds set up to help WMU employees and students
• Recognizing Bronco Heroes
• Launching the WMU Alumni Book Club
• Download a Bronco Family Fun Pack for activities to do at home - there's something for all ages!
• Faculty stepping up to support transition to distance education
• WMU 3D printers producing face shields and masks for health care workers

Stampede April 1, 2020, Western Michigan University

Stampede: E-newsletter for students

• Students navigate the challenges, and even advantages, of distance education
• WMU still serving students'
• Faculty stepping up to support transition to distance education
• Counseling Services helping students cope with pandemic-related anxiety, stress
• Invisible Need Project changes, broadens some services in response to pandemic
• Sew worth it- Broncos use skills to craft masks for hospital workers
• Jazz student takes composing experience to new level, livestreaming process online
• How to keep your body healthy during COVID-19
• Six ways to fight boredom during isolation
• Sindecuse Health Center is open with some changes

Cross Language Information Transfer Between Modern Standard Arabic And Its Dialects – A Framework For Automatic Speech Recognition System Language Model, Tiba Zaki Abdulhameed

Dissertations

Significant advances have been made with Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) applications. Yet, dialectal conversation ASR is still trailing behind due to limited language resources. As is the case in most cultures, the formal Modern Standard Arabic language is not used in daily life. Instead, varieties of regional dialects are spoken, which creates a dire need to address dialect ASR systems. Processing MSA language naturally poses considerable challenges that are passed on to the processing of its derived dialects. In dialects, many words have gradually morphed from MSA pronunciations and at many times have different usages. Also, …

Efficient Hardware/Software Partitioning Techniques For A Cloud-Scale Cpu-Fpga Platform, Samah Ziyad Rahamneh

Dissertations

The diversity of workload characteristics has stimulated the deployment of heterogeneous architectures to accommodate workloads’ requirements disparity in cloud data centers. In heterogeneous computing, co-processors are utilized to support Central Processing Units (CPUs) in fulfilling workload demands. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have advantages over other accelerators because of their power, performance and re-configurability benefits. In order to achieve the most benefit of a heterogeneous platform, efficient partitioning of workload between the CPU and the FPGA is a crucial demand.

This dissertation first presents a design and implementation of cooperative CPU-FPGA execution techniques, which include code and data partitioning, of …

Extremal Problems On Induced Graph Colorings, James Hallas

Dissertations

Graph coloring is one of the most popular areas of graph theory, no doubt due to its many fascinating problems and applications to modern society, as well as the sheer mathematical beauty of the subject. As far back as 1880, in an attempt to solve the famous Four Color Problem, there have been numerous examples of certain types of graph colorings that have generated other graph colorings of interest. These types of colorings only gained momentum a century later, however, when in the 1980s, edge colorings were studied that led to vertex colorings of various types, led by the introduction …

Our Shared Vision: Representations Of The Trans-Mississippi American West, Joshua D. Koenig

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the role played by museums in shaping our understanding of the American West. The history of the American West holds a place in American popular culture, evidenced by music, movies and television shows, novels, art, architecture, clothing, and numerous other examples. However, such examples raise questions of authenticity depending on medium and setting, Representations of the American West depict certain images or beliefs held by society. At the same time, the United States houses nearly 1,500 historic sites and museums focusing on the American West. These museums and sites are found scattered throughout thirty-eight states, in addition …

The Influence Of Environment: A Holistic Approach To Middle And Secondary Art Room Design, Leslie Y. Roberts

Masters Theses

This thesis takes an in-depth look at the elements within the classroom and how they affect students physiological and psychological needs and the impact those elements have on students’ academic success. I offer suggestions based on the research for changes that can be made to your current environment to increase students’ academic success. Additionally, through years of experience and additional research on classroom environments within this thesis I have created a floor plan for an ideal middle and high school art wing. This thesis also covers several different approaches to teaching, and I have used this information plus my experience …