Digital Commons Network^™

Mgrre_Geolog_Collections Sobota, Thomas P & Rose M 1-25 21101318990000, Mgrre Western Michigan University

Geolographs

No abstract provided.

The Laureate, Brooklyn Hoover

Honors Theses

The Laureate’s mission is to provide undergraduate students at Western Michigan University a medium through which to publish their fiction, poetry, nonfiction, photography, graphic novels, and other creative works. The Laureate strives to be a professional and engaging journal that appeals to all. The 23^rd edition of The Laureate is unique in that, despite having no strict guidelines on themes, mediums, or styles, we found that many students expressed themes of grief, recovery, self-discovery, and new beginnings. Together, these works create a complex story of introspection and reflection.

Co-editors, Grace Cieslikowski and Brooklyn Hoover facilitated the launch of the …

Library At The Concert Hall: An Interdisciplinary Library Outreach Strategy For Unexpected Spaces, Michael J. Duffy Iv, Jessica M. Abbazio

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Presentations

This poster highlights strategies for staging pop-up libraries aligned with campus events. The presenters share perspectives on connecting with campus affiliates and community members at performing arts venues at two separate institutions, and share longitudinal data that illustrates the value of this outreach strategy for engaging a range of potential library users. Attendees will explore ideas for highlighting connections between potential visitors’ interests and library collections, and discover strategies for collaborating with library colleagues across disciplines to meet these needs. Participants will learn methods for leveraging this flexible approach to fit their own capacity and collection parameters. Objective 1: Explore …

Research Day 2025 Program, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School Of Medicine

Research Day

No abstract provided.

Portraits Of Nyc Graphic Design, Avery Mandigo

Waldo Library Student Exhibits

No abstract provided.

Beyond Barracks: Addressing The Psychological Impacts Of Military Housing Through Design, Malia Hunt

Interior Design Capstones

Military personnel sacrifice their lives to safeguard the country yet often return to inadequate living conditions that fail to support their needs after facing the rigors of duty. Beyond Barracks explores the impact of military housing on the mental health and well-being of service members.Prevalent concerns such as insufficient privacy, limited space, and poor facility conditions can exacerbate the physical and emotional challenges already faced by those in service, diverting their energy from service duties to unnecessary complications.

This body of research and design examines the shortcomings and successes of current military housing to provide a comprehensive overview and identify …

The Internal Flame, Bailey Robydek

Interior Design Capstones

This body of research and design explores the vital relationship between interior environments and the well- being of firefighters. Challenging the traditional assumptions about how fire station design impacts their health and recovery. Firefighters endure significant physical exertion, psychological stress, and exposure to traumatic events, yet many fire station interiors remain focused primarily on operational functionality rather than personal wellness.

This research underscores the urgent need for fire station design to transcend traditional assumptions and evolve into a model that actively supports holistic recovery. Firefighters require spaces that address the cumulative impacts of their profession, both physical and mental taxation. …

Building Better Communities, Abby Simandl

Interior Design Capstones

This project explores how innovative design strategies can build better communities by enhancing mental health, physical well-being, and social engagement, ultimately creating a sense of belonging and growth in cities.

Motivated by the challenges of affordability, accessibility, social isolation, and environmental degradation, this project emphasizes the transformative power of design. By integrating community-centered design (CCD) and human-centered design (HCD) principles, the project aims to learn about resilient, inclusive, and sustainable communities. These approaches involve active community participation, ensuring that solutions are culturally relevant, inclusive, and responsive to local needs.

Key strategies include promoting social connectedness, improving public access to health …

To Build A Home, Liset Diaz-Cortes

Interior Design Capstones

Multigenerational housing allows for a more compassionate and whole-hearted alternative to other forms of elder care while addressing the needs of vulnerable groups. The multigenerational housing model emphasizes dignity and comfort, while increasing the quality of life overall. It is crucial to focus on living as individuals gain years of “living in place”. Living in place provides more than just physical care—it cultivates a life enriched with meaning, purpose, and the comforting familiarity of home. This research demonstrates how individuals can thrive within the home environment, enriching quality of life and preserving independence through intergenerational support. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored …

Preservice Teachers’ Experiences With Critical Self-Reflection As A Means For Identifying Resistances To Becoming Culturally Competent: A Phenomenological Study, Susan Elaine Huff

Dissertations

Preservice teacher programs have been charged with finding ways to make programming more multiculturally inclusive due to the student population in K-12 public schools across the United States becoming increasing racially, culturally, or ethnically more diverse each year. The majority of current educational research surrounding multicultural education, explores the limited diversity in teacher education programs, understanding the cultural competency of the current teachers, and investigating discrepancies within current classroom application. There is little research that considers how preservice teachers use critical self-reflection as a tool for working with diverse student populations during clinical work in their program. Therefore, the purpose …

Analyzing The Resilience Of Infrastructure-Based Vs. Camera-Based Lane Detection In Autonomous Vehicles, Pritesh Yashaswi Patil

Masters Theses

Traditional autonomous vehicle perception subsystems that use on-board sensors have the drawbacks of high computational load and data duplication. Infrastructure-based sensors, which can provide high-quality information without the computational burden and data duplication, are an alternative to traditional autonomous vehicle perception subsystems. However, these technologies are still in the early stages of development and have not been extensively evaluated for lane detection system performance. Therefore, there is a lack of quantitative data on their performance relative to traditional perception methods, especially during hazardous scenarios, such as lane line occlusion, sensor failure, and environmental obstructions. This need is addressed by evaluating …

Reading Between The Lines: Examining The Literacy Preparation And Classroom Realities Of Teachers Of Color, Dr. Cathy D. Kea, Fanica Young, Joy Banks, Annette Teasdell

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This study examines the importance of literacy preparation in educator preparation programs (EPPs). Specifically, the authors examine the need to merge literacy practices with culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies to increase reading outcomes for diverse students with disabilities. This article reports on a survey that was distributed to 18 dually prepared teachers of color to explore their collective literacy preparation experiences. The participants were graduates of a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). The findings indicate that regardless of the institution’s location, EPPs, including those at HBCUs, should be intentional about addressing topics related to diversity. For early career educators …

Alvar Aalto: Past. Present.Future, Matthew Collins

Interior Design Capstones

Alvar Aalto serves as a timeless guide for architectural and design principles. These principles are not of universal rigidness but are flexible based on the givenconditions of site, culture, and people. His traditionalmethods of sketching and drawing create a hand to mind connection to the design process. This process, much like his work, develops a mindful and thoughtful outcome of decisions. With computer technology become more increasingly apart of our lives, it is important that we not forget the human point of view rather than purely a rational mode of thinking. This capstone project address how it is possible to …

Architecture Of Union: Exploring Community-Supported Wedding Venues, Erica Keillor

Interior Design Capstones

Weddings, as deeply symbolic rituals, often rely heavily on the venue to set the tone and enhance the emotional resonance of the event Yet, the rising cost of wedding venues often excludes couples from lower-to-middle income backgrounds, creating a barrier to access for many. This design project explores the potential of a community-supported greenhouse wedding venue—a model that not only offers affordability through shared community investment but also enhances the symbolic resonance of weddings through its nature-integrated architecture. The design investigates how intentional spatial planning within a greenhouse structure can serve both the practical needs of wedding ceremonies and the …

Food, Design & Desire, Emily Harnden

Interior Design Capstones

The research presented in Food, Design, and Desire examines the impactful role of interior design in shaping the connection between humans and food, with a focus on fine dining environments. Grounded by the thesis, the ideal dining experience creates a profound connection to oneself and the environment around you. This project investigates how built environments influence diners’ emotional and physical experiences, enhancing their intimacy with food. The research addresses the interplay between space, desire, and the human relationship with culinary experiences, aiming to develop design strategies that increase customer retention and deepen the human connection to food.

This project utilizes …

Tria Prima, Mack Booth

Masters Theses

Tria Prima is a three-movement alternative rock and metal song cycle based on the three primes as described by 16th century alchemist Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, most commonly known as Paracelsus. Paracelsus hypothesized that the three primes - sulphur, mercury, and salt - are a representation of the human experience. He also believed they are the basis upon which the seven celestial metals are made, as well as the source of and cure to all diseases by nature of their imbalance.

Sulfur corresponds to the soul — it is combustible and unstable, and represents emotions and desires. Mercury …

Exploring Ballast Water As A Vector For The Spread Of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease, Kathleen Beadling

Masters Theses

Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) has led to high mortality rates of reef-building coral species throughout the greater Caribbean region since it was first documented off the coast of Miami in 2014. The pathogen is currently unknown, but it is suspected that ballast water discharge is a vector of disease transmission. As a step towards better understanding SCTLD transmission, this study aimed to identify locations of ballast water exchange that coincide with outbreaks of the disease. Spatial and temporal patterns of SCTLD outbreaks and ballast water exchanges conducted within 50 nautical miles of coastlines were explored using Density-Based Spatial …

Bridging Climatology And Energy: Understanding Michigan’S Wind Speeds For A Sustainable Future, Carson Evans

Masters Theses

This study investigates Michigan wind speeds by combining climatology with wind energy, identifying wind drivers and applying them to wind farm infrastructure. Using eXtreme Gradient BOOSTing (XGBoost), this thesis develops a highly accurate predictive model for wind speeds. Coupled with Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis, it is found that proximity to the nearest Great Lake is the ultimate influencer of wind speeds, followed by local environmental variables and finally remote climate phenomena. Other analyses find wind speeds are greatest near the Great Lakes and during fall and winter, while inland summer wind speeds were lowest. Wind energy infrastructure is assessed …

Experimental Evaluation Of Friedel’S Salt For Chloride Removal In Road Salt-Impacted Stormwater And Lakes, Marwan Alhinaai

Masters Theses

Road salt (e.g., NaCl) application in cold-temperature regions has increased Cl- concentrations in freshwater. Removing Cl- from water is challenging because it’s highly soluble. This paper is the first to demonstrate and characterize the removal of Cl- from stormwater by Friedel’s salt (Ca4Al2(OH)12Cl2(H2O)4) precipitation (FSP), achieved by adding calcium oxide (CaO) and sodium aluminate (NaAlO2). Laboratory tests were done on Cl- removal with FSP using a range of Ca/Al/Cl ratios in deionized (DI) water and in stormwater samples impacted by road salt. Even the lowest doses resulted in significant removal of Cl- with maximum removal rates for comparable Ca/Al/Cl ratios …

Identifying Universal And Language-Specific Features In Play-Based Writing Of Young Children, Shaya Helbig

Dissertations

Young children’s marks when writing consist of universal features such as scribbling and drawing, and language-specific features such as letters or letter-like forms and spaces (Clay, 1979; Puranik & Lonigan, 2011; Rowe & Wilson, 2015; Teale & Sulzby, 1985). It is widely agreed that exposure to words and written language play a pivotal role in children’s writing development (Clay, 1979; Teale & Sulzby, 1986). However, it remains unclear whether children form more complex writing skills through specific developmental stages, and if age plays any part in this progression (Clay, 1979; Justice & Vukelich, 2008; Teale & Sulzby, 1986). The lack …

Emeriti News Spring 2025, Emeriti Council

Emeriti News

No abstract provided.

Divided Motherhood: Narrative Within The Domestic Vessel, Jacqueline Denaway

Masters Theses

This research explores the story of motherhood through that of art, craft, and the domestic vessel. It analyzes how the installation, Motherhood Divided, can be viewed as an exemplification of the conflicted divide inherent within contemporary motherhood. I posit this divide to be a result of the tension created between the impossibility of the current normative maternal ideal of intensive motherhood, and its contradiction to that of the private hidden realities of mothering.

The historical origin of intensive mothering is explored, along with its impact on current societal maternal standards. These concepts are juxtaposed with the art of Camille Henrot …

Estimating Climate Risk In Financial Markets, Olanrewaju Oluwadamilare Olaniyan

Masters Theses

The growing impact of climate change on financial markets necessitates a rigorous approach to climate risk assessment. This thesis examines methods for quantifying climate-related financial risks, with a focus on distinguishing climate risk from broader market movements (represented by S&P 500). Using a factor model, we isolate climate risk factors to better understand sector-specific volatility. The insurance sector is used as a proxy for climate risk exposure, given its sensitivity to climate-related losses and regulatory changes. We apply Extreme Value Theory (EVT); the Block Maxima Method and the Peaks Over Threshold Method, to identify excess risk patterns in financial portfolios. …

Deadtime In The Vale Of Soul-Making: Hermeneutics, Humanization, And Higher Education In Prison, Dale Michael Brown

Dissertations

This body of work examines higher education with and for justice-involved people from a descriptive, theoretical, and empirical perspective—pulling together multiple disciplines and employing different methodologies from the humanities and social sciences. The investigation is written from a philosophical perspective via educational foundations and a social science perspective via qualitative research, including an examination of carceral higher education’s connections to teaching and experiential learning. This approach reflects the interdisciplinary nature of both the author’s degree program and the topic itself, which (as a field of academic inquiry) is part theoretical and part empirical (both qualitative and quantitative). The papers in …

The Ebony Edge: A Qualitative Exploration Of Math Success Among Black College Women, April Ruiz

Dissertations

Historically, women have been underrepresented as leaders in STEM. However, according to the National Science Foundation (2022), women accounted for a little more than half of the college-educated workforce and underrepresented minority women increased in broad science and engineering occupational categories. This promising upturn underscores the importance—if progress is to continue—of better understanding why some African American women succeed in and persist with their study of college mathematics.

This study aimed to explore the experiences of Black college women attending a predominantly White institution in the Midwest, to better understand what reasons Black college women ascribe to their success in …

Moderating Effect Of Fantasy Football Participation And Location On Team Identification And Nfl Fandom, Devon Hudson

Masters Theses

This study explores how fantasy football participation in varying geographic proximities to NFL teams has altered traditional fan allegiances (i.e. team loyalty or fandom) as an alternate consumer product for the game of football. After utilizing survey data to quantify concepts of fandom and team identification amongst respondents, respondent groups were sorted into various groups based on both fantasy participation and location relevant to NFL teams. A series of hypotheses describing relationships between proximity, fantasy football participation, and fan perceptions are analyzed using a series of statistical tests. No statistical significance was found when comparing strength of team identification amongst …

Ready, Set, No: Why Not All Successful Dual Credit High School Graduates Matriculate To Postsecondary Education, Jessica Deckard Mann

Dissertations

Dual-credit programs that allow students to earn college credentials in high school have become commonplace in the United States. Early College High Schools (ECHSs) were specifically developed to support equitable access to these programs, targeting groups that are historically underpopulated in postsecondary education (PSE). ECHSs aim to close the achievement gap, increase the number of college credentials earned by high school students, better train the workforce, and improve the life-time earnings potential of a diverse population.

The purpose of this nonexperimental quantitative study was to gather data from graduates in one Midwestern state who earned a college credential in high …

Upper-Level Undergraduate Pre-Healthcare Students’ Journeys To Graduation And Health Professional Graduate Programs, Holly L. Sisson

Dissertations

Despite decades of research on undergraduate student retention and persistence, only a handful of researchers, such as Dumke et al. (2018) and Stull et al. (2021), have looked specifically at pre-health students preparing for graduate health professional programs and the complex challenges these students face while trying to achieve their goals. Very little research focused on upper-level undergraduate students pursuing graduate health professional programs, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician assistant, or similar graduate health professional programs excluding medical school. To help fill this gap, my study focused on the experiences of pre-healthcare students as they navigated their undergraduate …

Trauma-Informed Education In Inpatient Mental Health: Applying The Neurosequential Model Through Occupational Therapy Principles, Hannah Barton

Capstone Projects

This capstone experience focused on developing and delivering trauma-informed education for patients, caregivers, and staff at an inpatient mental health hospital through the lens of occupational therapy (OT). Conducted at Havenwyck Hospital in Auburn Hills, Michigan, the project aimed to address key needs: trauma-informed care training, improved caregiver education, and the integration of OT principles into inpatient care to reduce readmissions. Using the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) and trauma-informed care frameworks, the project produced two educational resources added to patient discharge packets, three live staff training sessions, and an online educational module for ongoing access. These interventions addressed gaps …

Enhancing Dementia Care: Learning Modules And Simulations For Assisted Living Facility Staff And Dominican Sisters, Emma Cole

Capstone Projects

Many nursing homes and assisted living facilities do not provide their staff with specialized training in dementia care, which can lead to decreased confidence and comfort when working in memory care units (Smythe et al, 2016). This capstone project aimed to enhance dementia care by developing recorded PowerPoint learning modules, handouts, and in-person simulation experiences focused on dementia education. To better understand the needs, preferences, and daily experiences of individuals with dementia, time was spent directly engaging with residents through meaningful activities and personal interactions. These experiences informed the development of the educational materials and ensured they were rooted in …