Digital Commons Network^™

Drug Trafficking Related Violence And Corruption Among Specific Populations In Mexico, Matthew B. Courtney

Honors Theses

The trade of illegal narcotics through Mexico has resulted in the rise of powerful and organized criminal businesses that are not afraid to bribe, or kill, any who cross them. This has caused a dramatic increase in violent crime and government official corruption. This document will begin by defining these organizations and examining their creation. Next the violence caused by these organizations will be analytically categorized in order to better understand the criminal's motivations and tactics. This study will examine current data to determine which populations are more prone to violent crime or corruption by looking at the victims relationship …

Who Says I Should Leave? Factors Determining The Decision To Leave Home During Disasters, Vondragas J. Smalley

Honors Theses

In an effort to minimize casualties during natural catastrophes, specifically hurricanes, researchers have found that risk perception, socioeconomic status, and past evacuation experience are important determinants in evacuation behavior. This study argues that these factors as well as race are important determinants in the decision of individuals to evacuate in the face of natural disasters. My investigation employs chi-square analysis and cross tabulation to determine the importance of these factors. The findings indicate that these hypotheses may impact the decision of residents to evacuate in the face of natural disasters and warrant further study by those doing evacuation behavior research.

The Effectiveness Of The Adult Tutoring Program In Increasing Reading Levels Within The Kalamazoo Literacy Population: A Research Proposal, Sarah Beu

Honors Theses

Purpose: The results of this study will examine the effectiveness of the Adult Tutoring Program in increasing adult reading levels within the population served by the Kalamazoo Literacy Council (KLC). Method: The data in this study will be collected using a quantitative design comparing the reading levels of subjects who participated in the Adult Tutoring Program to those who dropped out of Program. The researcher will collect subjects' reading levels using the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE), and will compare subjects' previously reading levels (collected between 13 weeks and two years prior to implementation of this study) to their …

"The Living Building Challenge", Giovanni Roberto

Honors Theses

As we look around our community and the world, it becomes very apparent that we are facing many environmental, social and economic issues. In hope to make strides toward a positive future, the International Living Future Institute has developed many stringent programs, one of them being the Living Building Challenge (The Challenge). The Challenge is working to fix the problems of the built environment and to restore the negative impacts our building, landscapes, structures, etc. are having on the Triple Bottom Line (People, Planet, Profit).

The Challenge’s mission states:

To encourage the creation of Living Buildings, Landscapes and Neighborhoods in …

Webmail Crisis 2012: A Case Study Analysis Of The Western Michigan University Webmail Plus Failure, Matthew Vargo

Honors Theses

Background Electronic mail, or email, can trace its origin to Arpanet. Arpanet was a network of interlinked computers created by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (Harrison, 2003). The proliferation of email from Arpanet in the 1970's to modern use has been apparent. Today, over 3.4 billion email accounts exist worldwide with expected growth (The Raticati Group, Inc., 2012). Webmail Plus is the email platform used at Western Michigan University. The system is a third-party cloud based service provided by Merit Network Inc. (Merit Network Inc., 2013). On September 2ih, 2012, five hard drives failed at Merit Network in Southfield, Michigan. …

Co And Cr Adsorption On Maghemite, Quartz, And Maghemite-Quartz Mixtures, Amy Troy

Honors Theses

In aquifers and other natural systems, single mineral systems are rare. Solids are commonly heterogeneous, containing multiple minerals, and mineral interactions are expected. Mineral interactions such as formation of coatings and physical blocking of adsorption sites have the potential to significantly change the adsorption of ions onto solids. To investigate such interactions, batch experiments using Co(II) or Cr(VI) were conducted to compare adsorption edges of these sorbates on pure and mixed mineral systems. Specifically, sorption of 10^-5 or 10^-6 M Co(II) and Cr(VI) was measured as a function of pH, with a background electrolyte concentration of 0.01 M …

Female Roles And Fan Fiction In Charmed, Supernatural, And Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Krystalle Double

Honors Theses

The objective of this paper is to investigate the portrayal of female characters in Charmed, Supernatural, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the relation it has to which sexes were represented in romantic relationships within fan fiction for the three shows. This investigation was conducted through content analysis of the scripts and fan fiction to determine number of female roles and their depth in the scripts, and the number of romantic relationships and the sexes involved in the relationships in the fan fiction texts. It found that Charmed and Supernatural had the greatest proportion of individual female characters introduced …

The Reaction Of Small States To The Advancement Of The People's Republic Of China In The South China Sea, Michael Miller

Honors Theses

This paper will outline the internal and external factors that have spurred the People's Republic of China (PRC) to issue strong rhetoric and naval expansion in the defense of their claims to territory in the South China Sea (SCS). An analysis of the PRC's posturing will provide the contextual background necessary for answering the following research question central to this paper. What strategies have relatively less capable states engaged in the region as a reaction to the advancing capacity of the PRC? The escalation of tensions between the PRC and other states in the region, namely , the Republic of …

Sisters Of The Spirit: Black Women In The Civil Rights Movement, Terra Warren

Honors Theses

No abstract available.

The Nuclear Triangle: A Case Study In Nuclear Operations Policy, Jordan Lewis

Honors Theses

As nuclear power has evolved from the mid-twentieth century to today, it has experienced phases of rapid growth, regulation, and distrust concerning operations and waste disposal. This study will analyze the policy community active in these changes as they have progressed through the policymaking process and will examine the actors within an "iron triangle" framework to evaluate the community's relationships, power structure, and effectiveness. Specifically, this thesis seeks to answer two research questions: 1) how does interest group behavior influence nuclear policy communities, and 2) does the iron triangle framework explain the nuclear policy community relationships and outcomes. While historical …

Choosing The Nominee: How Presidential Primaries Came To Be And Their Future In American Politics, Ryan Rainey

Honors Theses

The presidential primary is an event that is crucial to determining potential presidents. It allows the public to see how these politicians stack up against one another and how they conduct a campaign. While the general public has a basic idea of how presidential primaries work, very few know the history and details of them. That is what this thesis will do. In part one, the early history of presidential primaries and how nominees were first chosen will be covered. Also in this section, the different reforms that the Democratic Party has undertaken in order to reform the primary and …

Determination Of Trace Metals, Volatile Organic Compounds, And Other Water Standards In Wmu Drinking Water, Tyler Walter

Honors Theses

The USEPA creates drinking water maximum contamination levels to support safety in all environments. Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), Watersafe® Drinking Water Test kits, and solid phase microextraction with gas chromatography were used to assess the safety of drinking water in three buildings (Davis Hall, the Chemistry Building, and the Dalton Center) on the campus of Western Michigan University. ICP-OES was used to determine the concentration of several trace metals (Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and As), Watersafe® Drinking Water Test kits were used to determine the concentration of common contaminants and conditions (E. coli, pesticides atrazine and …

The Effects Of Eutrophication And Salinization On Methane Production In Urban And Rural Lakes, Rebecca Kiekhaefer

Honors Theses

Asylum lake is an urban lake in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The lake is located near the intersection of two major roadways which are heavily salted during the winter. Wintergreen lake is a rural lake that is on the property of the Kellogg Biological Station in Augusta, Michigan. The lake is surrounded by the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary and is relatively isolated from major roadways. Both lakes are eutrophic, Asylum lake because of high salinity and lack of turnover (Macleod, et aI., 2011) and Wintergreen lake because of high nutrient inputs (Threlkeld, 1979). Previous work suggests that road salt deicers can change the …

Prevalence Of Pregnancy Folkloric Beliefs Among Nurse-Midwifery Client Populations, Iris Aleece Campbell

Honors Theses

OBJECTIVE: To explore prevalence of pregnancy related folklore beliefs by conducting a survey of CM/CNMs in the United States. Research questions included: What folklore beliefs are most commonly encountered by nurse-midwives? Does the prevalence of folklore beliefs differ by geography? Does the type of folklore beliefs differ by the ethnicity and culture of the nurse-midwifery clientele?

METHODS: After IRB and ACNM approval, a geographically diverse sample of 1,000 active CM/CNM members was sent an invitation email. The survey was developed following a literature review to include 12 pregnancy beliefs. Responders were asked to rate how frequently they heard each (never-I, …

Portraying Sense Of Community Through Communication: How To Maximize The Benefit Of Social Media For A Community Agency, Julia Walter

Honors Theses

Perceptions of social media networks are changing rapidly. Their purpose, function, effectiveness, and relevance are being widely debated while their global popularity and societal influence escalate. While individuals used the networks to share, manage, and change their personal lives, organizations jumped at the chance to benefit from low-cost public relations, advertising, and market research. Many organizations speedily adjusted their communication strategies to access these low-cost resources. Due to historical marginalization many nonprofit community agencies were slower to integrate this new media costing them the opportunity to compete for audience attention on level with the private industry. Neglecting to integrate these …

Examining The Effects Of A Mirror On Imitation In Children With Autism, Chelsea Vanderwoude

Honors Theses

Those with autism often show deficits in imitation skills (Freitag, Kleser, & Gontardf, 2006; Killen & Uzgiris, 1981; Rogers, Bennetto, McEvoy, & Pennington, 1996; Stone, Ousley, & littleford, 1997). Previous research has suggested that imitation is a prerequisite for major developmental milestones including social communication skills. Past studies have shown Video Modeling to be an effective intervention for teaching imitation skills, especially Video Self Modeling (VSM). However, VSM can cost researchers a great deal of time and resources. The purpose of this study is to find a new intervention that applies the mechanisms of VSM, while expanding on past research. …

How The Media Covers Lawmaking: The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act, Savannah Priebe

Honors Theses

The mass media holds extreme gatekeeping and framing functions. It is the media's ability to frame stories that tells viewers what to think about during a particular period of time, if not explicitly how to think about a topic. Over the course of health care reform in January of 2009 to April 2010 when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed, key concepts in news coverage were analyzed. The New York Times and The Houston Chronicle's articles at this time were researched in order to provide insight on the use of ideological bias in reporting on policy and …

What Is Your Informatics Skill Level? The Reliability Of An Informatics Competency Measurement Tool Developed From Kaminski's Assessment Tool., Xiaomeng Sun

Honors Theses

Objectives: To determine the reliability of the nursing informatics self- assessment tool which was developed and extended from Kaminski’s assessment tool among health care students. It was hypothesized that there would be no significant difference in participant responses for a test/retest survey completed by nursing students. Methods: A survey was administered (N = 25) via a test/retest methodology at Western Michigan University. Results: For the majority of the statements, there were no significant differences between test and retest responses (p>0.05). Conclusions: The study showed that the majority of the statements were reliable. Recommendations related to the study were discussed.

The Gluten-Free Diet: An Effective Treatment For Autistic Spectrum Disorders?, Susanna Zammit

Honors Theses

In 2006, autism was recognized as a national problem due to a sharp increase in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Characteristics of autism include impairments in the areas of social interaction, communication, and play, while demonstrating restricted or repetitive interests and activities. Children diagnosed with ASDs may also develop angry outbursts or feeding difficulties. An estimated one-third of autistic children have a gastrointestinal (GI) disorder. Theories as to why GI distress is common with autism have resulted in the research of different therapeutic treatments. Most notably, researchers have completed studies on the gluten-free, casein-free (GFCF) diet as a …

The Effect Of Oral Contraceptives On Performance In Sexually Dimorphic Cognitive Tasks, Kathryn Sears

Honors Theses

The goal of the current study was to further extend limited research assessing the effects of sex, menstrual phase, and oral contraceptive use on sexually dimorphic cognitive tasks, as well as emotional regulation. Studies have found that menstrual cycle phases have cognitive and physiological effects on women’s brains depending on the concentration of female sex hormones, progesterone and estrogen (Epting & Overman, 1998). Oral Contraceptive pills (OC) contain a concentration of these female sex hormones that have been shown to alter gray matter volume to resemble men’s brains in areas associated with learning, memory, spatial navigation, and emotional regulation (Pletzer …

Differential Diagnosis Of Adhd And Bipolar Disorder : An Analogue Study, Sarah Yurinich

Honors Theses

Bipolar disorder (BD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) share an overlapping number of symptoms. These shared symptoms may result in the misdiagnosis or over diagnosis of these two disorders. The purpose of this study was to look at the diagnostic practices of clinicians and clinicians-in-training to see what diagnosis they would give to a hypothetical patient who presents with ambiguously ADHD and bipolar disorder symptoms. Clinicians and clinicians-in-training (N = 40) read two vignettes, one child and one adult, where the patient presented with both ADHD and BD overlapping symptoms, and then were asked to provide one primary DSM-IV diagnosis, …

Masculinity In The Virtual World Of Video Game : A Question Of Agency, Long Trinh

Honors Theses

Masculinity is an understudied topic in video games. Traditional literature considered video game as a traditional media and focused mostly on video games content, thus contributed to the common myth that playing video games make people more violent. However, recent studies suggest that video game is distinctive compared to traditional media, and that violence is not the motivating factor in video games. This study involves a content analysis of 22 video game reviews and a non-participant observation of 4 gamers playing The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. The results suggest it is not violence, but rather agency that governs the dynamics of …

A Comparison Of Mindfulness And Incremental Theory Based Interventions, Kelsey Greenfield

Honors Theses

In only a span of 20 years, the prevalence of obesity has dramatically increased in the United States. Thirty five percent of adults and seventeen percent of children are obese. Every state has an obesity prevalence of over twenty percent (CDC, 2013). The Center for Disease Control and Prevention defines obesity as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. A person's weight and height are used to calculate BMI, which indicates level of body fatness that may lead to health problems (CDC, 2013). From the economy to healthcare, this weight trend has turned into a phenomenon that …

Potent Mutagens Have Positive And Negative Effects On Viral Fitness Of Reovirus In Vitro, Jennie Altman

Honors Theses

Due to the inherently error-prone nature of RNA replication, mutations to genomes of RNA viruses occur frequently and accumulate. We hypothesized that RNA versions of nucleoside analogues that increase mutation rates in DNA could cause increases in the mutation rate of a model RNA virus, Reovirus, and decrease the fitness of the virus in vitro due to the accumulation of deleterious mutations. After conducting multiple passages of Reovirus in mouse L929 cells in the presence of these potential RNA mutagens in four separate trials, there were not only virus samples with the expected decreased infectivity, but surprisingly, samples with marked …

Presidential Debate Format And Perceptions Of Personality: Warmth Matters, Joseph B. Greener

Honors Theses

Undergraduate students were asked to read or watch a portion of the second 1976 Presidential Debate between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. Afterwards, subjects listed the four most memorable statements or moments from the debate. Although both groups listed content related moments, the Video group paid more attention to the personality of the candidates. Participants took a memory test where they matched quotes from the debate to Ford and Carter. While the initial hypothesis was that the Video group’s focus on the visual and auditory cues of the speaker would hinder their success on the memory test, subjects in the …

The Inner Workings Of The Dna Copying Nanomachine : Kinetic Studies Of Dna Polymerase I From The Thermophilic Bacterium Rhodothermus Marinus, Emily P. Kornberg

Honors Theses

DNA polymerase I from Rhodothermus marinus is a high-fidelity DNA polymerase capable of operating at high temperatures and incorporating 2´,3´-dideoxynucleotides. The R. marinus DNA Polymerase I active site contains an unusual proline in the middle of a mobile “O helix.” This proline residue is hypothesized to decrease the relative free energy of a kinetic checkpoint termed the ajar conformation, and thereby slow the incorporation of incorrect nucleotides. We aim to test the accuracy of a newly developed nucleotide incorporation model, in which the enzyme allows the template to interact with the bound dNTP in the ajar conformation, whether correct or …

Curing The Obesity Epidemic : The Government's Obligation To Regulate Food, Victoria Lyon

Honors Theses

The first chapter demonstrates the impact of the obesity epidemic in the United States. The epidemic affects obese individual directly, and burdens all US citizens. The second chapter is an argument as to why the obesity epidemic should be addressed by government intervention. The US regulates risky substances such as consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, and risky behaviors such as driving. This work explores why food is morally equal to other risky substances. The final chapter explores several food regulation policy options.

Fashion Adoption Behaviors Of Women In Manhattan Related To Spring 2012 Apparel Fashion Trends, Nicole Powell

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to look at the spring trends for 2012 and then compare them that to what the women of Manhattan are actually wearing, during the same season. I wanted to understand how women were adopting the fashion trends from Spring 2012 and turning them into part of their own self-identified style. I went on a research trip to New York City from May 6th to May 12th and spent a great deal of time, on the streets, observing and taking pictures of what real Manhattan women are wearing. For this project, I focused on four …

Multiphase Screen Development, Chris Tarrant

Honors Theses

This honors thesis research project was the study and development of a compact separation device for the oil and gas industry involving a multiphase cylindrical screen filter. Cylindrical screens can be used for solids removal in multiphase flow in upstream oil and gas applications. This study focused on cylindrical wire-wrap screen test unit design and performance characterization to determine volumetric flow rate and pressure drop correlations.

The project goals were met with research, test unit design, CFD modeling, calculations, and physical testing. The comprehensive testing will take place during the summer of 2013 and is planned to consist of building …

Following The Glory Cloud: Bethel Church & Maintenance Of The Revival Church, Jenny Edwards

Honors Theses

This departmental honors project examines the effects of routinization of charisma upon Bethel Church in Redding, California. As a movement related to both the Assemblies of God and the Toronto Blessing of the 1990s, Bethel has begun to declare an eternal revival based in their city. To prevent the movement from routinizing and dissipating, the leadership has instituted several structures within the church. The overall corporate hierarchy, the recent policy of inclusion within the hierarchy regardless of gender, the involvement of the congregation in performing miraculous acts, and the discipleship of future generations of participants and leaders through established ministry …