Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Parent Intervention Via Tele-Practice On Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Rural Mississippi, Erin Bowens

Honors Theses

Background

The present study explored the use of parent intervention via tele-practice for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and how effective that intervention was in increasing the child’s language and communication skills and the parents’ strategy use in the rural state of Mississippi.

Methods

Two dyads of participants were used. Dyad 1 included a mother and her 4-year-old son with high-functioning ASD, and Dyad 2 included a mother and her 4-year-old daughter with severe ASD. Standardized tests were administered to gather data about the children’s diagnoses. The study included four phases across four months, including pre-test, intervention, post-test, and …

Development Of A Non-Invasive Dna Extraction Method From Teeth, Monalisa Heng

Honors Theses

Forensic dentistry has evolved from simple morphological investigations to genetic and molecular analysis. One of the most important techniques is DNA analysis which requires viable samples from an individual or crime site. The orofacial region can be a good source for DNA samples because the tissues can resist environmental, thermal, electrical, and mechanical challenges. Teeth are especially useful as a source of genetic material because the DNA located in the pulp is surrounded by protective mineral tissue. The DNA in the pulp tissue is currently accessed through destructive methods involving crushing, pulverization, and splitting the tooth. Unfortunately, destructive methods destroy …

The Effect Of Estrogen On Gdnf Production Of Skeletal Muscle In Vitro, Hope Welter

Honors Theses

As life expectancy continues to rise, the number of people over age 65 in the U.S. is increasing. An aging population brings with it impacts on the national health system and associated economic expenditures. As individuals age, the skeletomuscular system suffers reduced function due to disease or conditions such as sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is characterized by muscular atrophy resulting from reduced muscle innervation. Exercise has been linked to prevention of sarcopenia, a suspected result of increased production of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). GDNF promotes neuronal survival, regeneration, and the formation of neuromuscular junctions. Therefore, treatments like exercise that increase …

Literature Review On Outer Hair Cell Regeneration And Potential Hearing Restoration, Serena Karlov

Honors Theses

The cochlea is the portion of the inner ear responsible for hearing, containing both the organ of Corti and auditory hair cells. Sound wave vibrations mechanically bend the stereocilia on the three rows of outer hair cells and one row of inner hair cells. These hair cells transduce this mechanical energy into electrical impulses that are relayed from the auditory nerve to the brain, where sounds are processed. In this review I provide an overview of inner ear anatomy, ear physiology, and auditory transduction. I then move on to specifically focus on the importance of outer hair cells, their regeneration, …

Comparing Behavioral Activation With And Without A Values Component: A Systematic Review, Natalie Komoll

Honors Theses

Major depressive disorder is one of the most prevalent psychological disorders within the global population and has been for many years. Over the years, numerous interventions have been developed to treat major depressive disorder, including cognitive-behavioral therapy. One form of cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression, known as behavioral activation, focuses on increasing contact with pleasant activities that are reinforcing. Many modifications of behavioral activation have been made over the years, including the version Martell and colleagues (2010) created which modified the traditional approach by decreasing the number of sessions. This new approach, known as brief behavioral activation, also asks clients to …

The Gibbs House: Visual Storytelling Through Brand Identity And Placemaking, Elizabeth Tran

Honors Theses

Managed by Western Michigan University’s (WMU) Office for Sustainability, the Gibbs House has a rich history of existing as the functioning university urban farm since the late 60s. Throughout the years, the location has transformed into a learning laboratory as well as a permaculture research and demonstration site for WMU students and the Kalamazoo community. As individuals scramble to come up with solutions to combat climate change, the two-acre plot becomes a vital resource where students are able to participate in sustainable practices that are both hands-on and outdoors. It pushes forward transformative ideas like composting, food forestry, and permaculture …

Fast Photochemical Oxidation And Footprinting Of Proteins Via Trifluoromethyl Radical Chemistry, Elaine Morrow

Honors Theses

Fast photochemical oxidation of proteins (FPOP) is a useful tool in proteomics because of the ability for modifications to occur on the scale of microseconds which reduces the modifications to tertiary and quaternary structure allowing for more accurate labeling of the protein. Labels for FPOP are generated from various radicals in our experiments which include hydroxyl radicals and trifluoromethyl radicals. Hydroxyl radicals are easily generated by using an excimer laser (KrF laser, 248 nm) or a UV flash lamp (as a part of the Fox™ System) by the photolysis of hydrogen peroxide. Trifluoromethyl radicals, however, need hydroxyl radicals to be …

The Rebrand Of Sheamoisture, Anna Lechard

Honors Theses

I would like to start with why I chose the company SheaMoisture to rebrand. SheaMoisture was introduced to me by a hairstylist. I was looking for a product that was affordable and healthy for my hair. Before knowing of this company I would not have picked it off the shelf for myself. Not many hair care companies are affordable, hair type specific, and ethically sounded meaning they have good company values, an interesting origin story, and contain clean ingredients. However, with all these good things said, I did not understand that with the current branding in place which is why …

The Effects Of Covid-19 On Well-Being Of Healthcare Workers, Hannah Meissner

Honors Theses

The development of the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19, led to the spread of turmoil across the United States and further around the globe. With the virus creating uncertainty among the population, the evidence began to demonstrate that individuals could have devastating health effects, including death. Healthcare workers are among those who were on the frontlines in order to care for the infected, ultimately increasing their own chances of acquiring the virus and putting their health at risk. These workers have experienced a direct impact due to this exposure in the form of isolation, anxiety, depression, suicide, and sleep disturbances. With …

An Analysis Of The Extent To Which Responsible Technology Is Taught In R1 And R2 Research Universities In Michigan., Maisie Blaukamp

Honors Theses

Responsible technology development, use, and communication is crucial as technological innovations scale. An increasing topic of conversation in the technology and education industries is how to educate individuals to interact with technology in an ethical way, as harmful technologies and use of technologies are creating negative impacts on individuals, businesses, and society. This research examines the extent to which responsible technology is taught in major Michigan universities.

An analysis of courses and course descriptions at 8 R1 and R2 universities shows that there is a lack of responsible technology education in business colleges, courses teaching technology development, and courses teaching …

Tropical Cyclone Translation Speeds In The Northern Atlantic Ocean, Marybeth Melcher

Honors Theses

Over the past 40 years, tropical cyclones have caused over $1,076.9B in damage in the United States. The fatalities from tropical cyclones are just as devastating. Hurricane Katrina of 2005 caused over 1,800 deaths; Harvey in 2017 just under 90 deaths; Ike of 2018 took 112 deaths; and horrifically, Maria of 2017 claimed nearly 3,000 lives. The destruction that tropical cyclones have caused is astronomical, and a factor of tropical cyclones that is responsible for this level of destruction is their translation speeds. Tropical cyclone translation speed (TCTS) is the speed at which a hurricane is moving--the duration of time …

Racial Health And Productivity Inequalities In The United States, Elissia Vecere

Honors Theses

Across America, it is frequently seen that there are may differences by race in economic and social outcomes. This variability can be seen in judicial, social, and economic systems. The breakdown of economic systems presenting racial variability can be displayed via workplace statistics. There is a general discrepancy between the workplace statistics represented with Black and White employees. These differences frequently are blamed on the productivity and background education supplied by the employee upon being hired. However, the levels of variation across these two races varies minutely in comparison to the differences in wages supplied. When all factors are kept …

Black Carbon And Meteorological Parameters At Two Locations In Northern Mississippi, Ashton Swader

Honors Theses

Black Carbon, which is a component of fine particulate matter, is a known pollutant that has been linked to the development of several diseases including cardiovascular disease. This pollutant can be measured by taking samples of air within a certain region and analyzing them using a transmissometer. It is known that black carbon concentrations tend to be higher in urban areas when compared to rural areas within a region. Black carbon concentrations can also vary depending on certain meteorological parameters such as temperature and humidity. There were no current studies that analyze the air quality in northern Mississippi due to …

Ethical Monetization For Social Media Companies, Leo Phillips

Honors Theses

The most popular social media companies today all monetize primarily through the same revenue stream, advertising. Popular social media strategies have developed similar methods to increase the advertising revenue that each user generates. These strategies for monetization have become ever increasingly exploitative and harmful to the social media user population as these major companies are gripped in a technological arms race to capture as much of their user’s time and attention as possible. The effects of increased social media use are a general overall decline in our society’s physical, emotional, and social health (Haugen, 2021 & Harris, 2019). These health …

Effects Of Acute Exercise Intensity On Memory: Considerations Of Timing And Aerobic Endurance, William Meyers, Caroline Loeb, Mary Collins West, Bailey Bass

Honors Theses

The primary objective of this study was to find the optimal acute exercise intensity and post-exercise recovery time to enhance memory retention. A secondary objective of study was to evaluate the influence of aerobic endurance on memory and whether endurance capacity interacts with exercise intensity and post-exercise recovery period to influence memory performance. Participants were 54 undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Mississippi, with an age range of 18-23 years. Participants completed 13 visits in total. The first visit evaluated their aerobic endurance, with the remaining 12 visits including a 3 (Intensity: Control, Moderate, Vigorous) by 4 (Post-Exercise …

Litigating Reproductive Rights: The Evolving Support Structure In The United States, Allison Anker

Honors Theses

The Supreme Court of the United States functions as the highest judicial body in the country, with its decisions having the capability to reverberate change across the nation. Understanding why they make certain decisions has long been a point of scholarship, with multiple theories emerging as to what exactly influences their rulings. One such theory is the support structure, proposed by Charles Epp in The Rights Revolution (1998), which is a theory exploring how social movements influence litigation and the establishment of certain rights. This theory states that legal mobilization at the Supreme Court rests “on resources, and resources for …

Come Close And Listen: Exploring The Intimacy Of Audio Media, Eleanor Kingwell Sharples Hoover

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to demonstrate the power of the audio medium to connect speaker and listener, as a result of the uniquely intimate nature of the medium. By understanding how speakers and listeners connect through audio, the research reveals that the audio medium is a sustainable media outlet, one that is durable despite changes in culture in the media market, that has transformed over time, all while keeping itself within the principal constraints of its original form, that being sound as conveyed to a listener. Three interviews were conducted with individuals situated in different areas of the audio media landscape; …

A Walk Through Western Michigan University's History, Melissa Paduk

Honors Theses

This thesis project examines the history of Western Michigan University’s East Campus and its expansion during the 20^th and 21^st centuries. The project is made up of a digital walking tour on the website Clio and a research paper. The walking tour was created on Clio.com and consists of photographs and textual information about twenty buildings and sites that played a significant role in the development and the transformation of the Western State Normal School. The tour can be accessed at the following link: https://theclio.com/tour/2169. The research paper serves as a supporting resource that works in partnership …

Exploring The Gap: Positive And Negative Experiences Of The Clinical Nurse Educator, Ariana Johnson

Honors Theses

The overall aim of this thesis is to understand clinical nurse educator experiences. Challenges to retain and recruit nurse educators' limits nursing student enrollment and the ability to meet nursing workforce demands. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) factors contributing to nursing faculty shortages guided this thesis research study. Asking research questions, “Describe what you like about being an academic clinical nurse educator” and “Describe what you don’t like about being an academic clinical nurse educator” can support understanding clinical nurse educator positive and negative experiences. A qualitative descriptive study and thematic analysis was conducted. An anonymous 22-question …

The Impacts Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Airport Demand Forecasts And Critical Aircraft For Commercial Service Airports Serving Southwest Michigan, Matthew Wietstock

Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered the aviation industry and the nature of how airports predict their future use. This paper conducts a new analysis of the various prediction methods regarding airport demand forecasting using the commercial service airports serving Southwest Michigan. Primarily, the methods researched include time-series analysis using regressions, market-share analysis, and an examination of socio-economic factors. While no one method prevails over the other, the market-share analysis has proven to be the most realistic predictor in three of the four airports analyzed, with time-series analysis predicting the other. A thorough analysis of these forecasting methods can help …

The Effect Of Foam-Rolling On Vertical Jump And Range Of Motion Of The Hip And Ankle, Katie Davis

Honors Theses

Foam-rolling (FR) has gained popularity among many fitness enthusiasts, but whether it is beneficial or not is still being investigated. A number of studies researched its effect on recovery for athletes such as runners and bodybuilders, but the effects of the foam-rolling process was only assessed following a workout. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of foam-rolling prior to activity and whether it enhanced performance for a vertical jump and/or range of motion (ROM) in the hip and ankle joints. Thirty-four subjects were recruited from Western Michigan University and performed all necessary conditions in the Human Performance Lab …

Subdivision Site Design In Antwerp Township, Alec Denbraber

Honors Theses

Design and development of a subdivision on an empty plot of land off Red Arrow Highway in Antwerp Township, MI.

Subdivision Site Design In Antwerp Township, Peyton Smith

Honors Theses

Design and development of a subdivision on an empty plot of land off Red Arrow Highway in Antwerp Township, MI.

Comparison Of Bio-Mass To Bio-Oil Reactor Systems: Direct Conversion Vs. Companion Coal Gasification, Luci Evans

Honors Theses

The purpose of this project was to define, design, and optimize the economic feasibility of the production of bio-oil from a direct conversion of biomass to bio-oil using fast pyrolysis and a secondary side reaction of the production of a syngas from coal gasification. In the end, a combined process of these two was created to show the new strengths and more efficient options to produce a desired product within a budget. The main objectives of this project were to research the economic feasibility of the biomass and bio-oil industry, obtain a market survey, design two process flow diagrams showing …

Crossing The Border: A Novel Mouse Line Using Fgf10-Cre To Drive Gata3 Overexpression In Nonsensory Transcriptional Context, Lucas Cunha

Honors Theses

Hearing loss can occur in a variety of ways, and in every case, they have equally devasting effects. While hearing loss and the people who suffer from it shall not be discriminated against, attempting to offer options for treatments nevertheless should be of priority. As such, there has been much progress in the field of genetically based forms of treatment for sensorineural hearing loss. A gene that has been almost always implicated in the conversation of regeneration, Hair Cell and Spiral Ganglia development, and inner ear development, in general, is the Zing Finger transcription factorsGata3. Furthermore, since the Organ of …

Composting During Winter Versus Summer: A Microbial Analysis, Madison Ochs

Honors Theses

Pre-consumer food waste, hay, and woodchips were composted using two different methods of static composting: forced aeration (FA) and natural aeration (NA). The composting process was performed during the winter and summer for 106 and 124 days, respectively. The composting process for both winter and summer processes did not reach the temperature above the 40°C threshold of the thermophilic stage in composting. The microbial communities present during different timepoints (start, peak, and final) along the composting process were analyzed with DNA sequencing techniques and visualized using QIIME 2, an open-source bioinformatics platform. The microbial communities of the winter and summer …

Exercise Education Of Western Michigan University Students Who Use The University Recreation Center, Rachael Brewer

Honors Theses

According to the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) annual survey data, various modalities of resistance training are reported in the top 20 ways to exercise in 2022. According to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, there has been a significant increase in acute care visits resulting from resistance training as it becomes more common to train without proper professional oversight (Nationwide Children’s Hospital, 2010). Many exercisers watch, replicate, or take advice from friends in the weight room; however, professional instruction is key for a safe workout experience. Injuries can and do occur on resistance machines, treadmills, and stair mills with little …

Electromagnetically Propelled Garage Door, Connor Seifert

Honors Theses

Garage door systems are loud and energy inefficient given their many contact points and need for continual maintenance. Most garage door systems use a loud, bulky electric motor to pull the garage door up and down using a chain. To reduce noise and energy loss due to friction from the electric motor and chain, electromagnetic forces used in Electromagnetic Suspension (EMS) trains were researched and adapted to a garage door system. The electromagnetically propelled garage door (EPGD) system was designed and validated using SOLIDWORKS and ANSYS simulation with significantly less contact points due to non-contact electromagnetic propulsion (EMP). The design …

Factors Influencing Alcohol Use During Covid-19 With College Students, Nikki Davis

Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has had adverse mental health implications. Young adults have been identified as a particularly high-risk group for increased alcohol use during the pandemic (Capasso et al., 2021). Psychological distress, motives for drinking, experiential avoidance, COVID-19 related fears, and campus connectedness may all be factors related to drinking in college students; however, many of these factors have not been examined during COVID-19. The current study surveyed a sample of full-time, WMU college students (N = 235) who were 18 years old or older (M = 21.13, SD = 3.33). The majority of the sample identified as women (71.9%) …

Sound For The Cinema: A Senior Composition Recital By Lindsay Dills, Lindsay Dills

Honors Theses

Sounds for the Cinema involves the exploration of all elements encompassing the creation of film within one composition recital. Pieces were written with the intention of pursuing effective storytelling in writing the music, sound design, foley sound art, and directing videography. Every composition explores different facets of the filmmaking experience. The Batman, Spring, and Lord of the Rings: Two Towers are all rescorings opening the recital showcase to exhibit how altering the music of an already created scene can change the entire tone of a movie. Following this, the composition utilizing a clip from Antman and the Wasp …