Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

Hans Von Seeckt: Reformer Of The Reichswehr, Aaron Miller

Honors Theses

During the Great War, armies saw the transition from mobile war to static war. This resulted in an astronomical death toll and a war of attrition. When the war was over, the Allied Powers wrote the Treaty of Versailles with the hope of dismantling the German military to such a degree that Germany would never again be able to threaten the world. Despite these restrictions, the German army during the Weimar Republic (the Reichswehr) sought to rebuild its fame and power in Europe. In this process, General Hans von Seeckt, the Commander-in-Chief of the Reichswehr, emerged as a …

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 …

Interdisciplinary Health Fair And The Tendencies Of Young Adults To Receive Follow-Up Health Care, Kaelyn Monroe

Honors Theses

The following proposal outlines the planning, implementation, and follow-up regarding an organized health fair that aims to promote healthy lifestyle in a minority population. The health fair will be conducted on October 9' 2012 at Climax Scott's Alternative High School. The populations addressed through this project include: 60 students ranging from 16-19 years of age, 30 individuals 19 years or older and 10 teachers. The health fair will be organized by three senior-level Bronson School of Nursing students: Alexandra Scheidt, Abby Smith, and Kaelyn Momoe. The thesis project committee consists of: Dr. Sally Vliem, Professor Wendy Kershner, and Professor Alice …

Interdisciplinary Health Fair And The Tendencies Of Young Adults To Receive Follow-Up Health Care, Alexandra Scheidt

Honors Theses

The following proposal outlines the planning, implementation, and follow-up regarding an organized health fair that aims to promote healthy lifestyle in a minority population. The health fair will be conducted on October 9' 2012 at Climax Scott's Alternative High School. The populations addressed through this project include: 60 students ranging from 16-19 years of age, 30 individuals 19 years or older and 10 teachers. The health fair will be organized by three senior-level Bronson School of Nursing students: Alexandra Scheidt, Abby Smith, and Kaelyn Momoe. The thesis project committee consists of: Dr. Sally Vliem, Professor Wendy Kershner, and Professor Alice …

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

Honors Theses

No abstract available.

Closing The Book On Libraries? Challenging The Idea That Libraries Are Obsolete And Discovering Why They Are More Important Now Than Ever Before, Kayla Hampton

Honors Theses

Libraries have been a part of civilization for thousands of years, but many people are beginning to believe that the information centers are becoming obsolete due to the Internet and other technological advancements. This thesis challenges that opinion by focusing on the past, present and future of libraries. In “The Past” section, the historical background of libraries is discussed, beginning with the first libraries in Greece during the fourth century B.C. to the first public library that opened in the United States, which was located in Peterborough, New Hampshire. During the portion of the thesis that discusses the challenges that …

The Forgotten Pandemic: A Short History Of The 1918-1919 Influenza Outbreak & The Effect On Kalamazoo And Western State Normal School, Katie Jones

Honors Theses

The influenza outbreak of 1918-1919 began its widespread destruction in September of 1918. Before the outbreak was over, more than twenty-five percent of the United States population became ill. However, the United States was not alone in this silent war. The influenza outbreak (named the “Spanish Flu” or “La Grippe” at this time) killed approximately fifty million people worldwide and is still considered to be the “world’s worst pandemic” since the onset of written history. The state of Michigan, including Kalamazoo and the campus of Western State Normal School were not immune to this highly contagious virus. From October 1918 …

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 …

Continuums: Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity Leadership Program, Jacob Smallegan

Honors Theses

In 2011, Western Michigan University was one of three Michigan universities to be ranked in the Top 25 Gay Friendly Universities according to Newsweek and the Daily Beast. This is not surprising considering WMU’s current 4.5 out of 5 score on the Campus Pride Index. The Campus Pride Index lists 362 universities and WMU is one of 22 with a score of 4.5. In the LGBT-Friendly Campus Report, there are only eight areas identified that are not currently in place at WMU, one of which is an LGBT studies program. I decided, given my interest in the Student Affairs …

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 …

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, …

Roman Religion, Medicine, And Disease, Stephanie Clark

Honors Theses

Medicine, as experienced in the Roman Empire, was rapidly evolving. Balancing the newly developed theories with the already-established religious belief sparked the beginning of medical secularization. There were separate worlds, that of science and medicine, and that of the every day public, that had to be bridged in a way that honored both traditions, yet kept their integrity. The development of science and medicine pioneered by Galen, a philosopher whose medical knowledge and theory guided practitioners for almost two millennia, hit levels of exploration and understanding in ancient Rome that warranted its basis as common medical theory. However, the world, …

Glottopoeia: A Case Study In Language Change, Ian Hollenbaugh

Honors Theses

"Glottopoeia: A Case Study in Language Change" is a thesis in the form of a I32-page grammar booklet, entitled An Elementary Ghau Aethauic Grammar, with a preface detailing what I did, why I did it, and how I accomplished it. In effect, I invented a language called Ghau Aethau. It was created almost entirely ex nihilo, borrowing nothing in the way of phonetics, morphology, or vocabulary from any real language. It does employ grammatical concepts present in many real-world languages, but also several of my own design. I chose this project for two reasons: first, to explore the art form …

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. …

When Evil Met Science: Nazi Medicine And Eugenics, Ashley Corey

Honors Theses

During World War II, millions of innocent people were murdered in Nazi Germany. For Hitler and his followers, having a pure race meant having a strong, unified country, and Germany took this idea to extreme and disturbing lengths. Corruption filled the government at all levels. As physicians were the only people authorized to run the gas chambers, traditional healers became death symbols. The Nazis and their physicians used their power to manipulate and murder for the collective goals of the country, as well as the personal gains that came with the high-end job titles. As I reveal the history and …

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 …

Behavioral Intervention To Reinforce Correct Youth Employee Behavior At A Nonprofit Boy Scout Summer Camp: A Case Study, Joshua Kallen

Honors Theses

A reinforcement plan was implemented to improve employee adhesion to set parameters in performance at a 24-hour employment scenario. The reinforcement plan successfully negated the extinction effects of the contingency across the 4 week quasi-experimental period which showed improvement compared to qualitative baseline data. These findings suggest that the reinforcement plan, rather than punishment contingencies, is a more effective tool for encouraging employee participation in activities which participation is aversive.

The Effects Of Preprinted Versus Handwritten Safmeds On Fluency, Samantha Fodrocy

Honors Theses

Precision Teaching is an instructional evaluation technique used by educators to ensure that targeted skills are being achieved by learners (Moran & Malott, 2004). Say all fast a minute each day shuffled (SAFMEDS) is a specific PT influenced instructional strategy intended to develop fluency within timed trials (Eshleman, 2000). However, there is little empirical research related to the proposed effects of SAFMEDS. A recent study by Meindl and colleagues (in press) demonstrated the position of the text on SAFMEDS affected fluency. Results of this study suggest extraneous variables affect responding indicating a possible stimulus control issue. However, there were methodological …

Tendencies Of Young Adults To Receive Follow-Up Care, Abby Smith

Honors Theses

The following proposal outlines the planning, implementation, and follow-up regarding an organized health fair that aims to promote healthy lifestyle in a minority population. The health fair will be conducted on October 9^, 2012 at Climax Scott’s Alternative High School. The populations addressed through this project include: 60 students ranging from 16-19 years of age, 30 individuals 19 years or older and 10 teachers. The health fair will be organized by three senior-level Bronson School of Nursing students: Alexandra Scheidt, Abby Smith, and Kaelyn Monroe. The thesis project committee consists of: Dr. Sally Vliem, Professor Wendy Kershner, and Professor …

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 Future Of Geography In Health Policy : The Applicability Of The Dartmouth Atlas To Health Reform In The United States, Catherine Chase Eager

Honors Theses

Regardless of political ideology, most policy makers agree that the United States health care system is severely flawed and significant reform is crucial.1 However, consensus ends there. Numerous reform efforts have been made over the past few decades, but the only major successful reform has been through the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March 2010.2 With each reform effort there are many conflicting proposals considered and much controversy arises. The Affordable Care Act, as the law is more commonly called, is a controversial law and does not have unanimous support.3 However, to many, this landmark …

Life In The Hopeless Emptiness : The Search For Authenticity In Revolutionary Road, Austin Marie Carter

Honors Theses

Richard Yates’ Revolutionary Road opens, appropriately, with the “final dying sounds” of the Laurel Players’ dress rehearsal of The Petrified Forest. The suburban community theater is preparing for its inaugural show, and from these opening words, it is clear that this is a novel of performance—of failed performance, specifically. Even though the Players have little theatrical experience, both they and the community have allowed themselves to begin to believe in the “brave idea” of the show (7), and they “let the movement of the play come and carry them and break like a wave” (6). Revolutionary Road is populated by …

Exploring The Role Of Social Identities In Presidential Candidate Evaluation, Taylor Michals

Honors Theses

This research demonstrates how the social identities of race and gender can influence presidential candidate evaluation. Specifically, it emphasizes that political ideology and gender attitudes can play a significant role in how we respond to political candidates’ social identities when making our evaluations. Through an empirical study, we explore how individuals’ political ideologies and attitudes towards women in authority impact individuals’ evaluations of leaders with different social identities. Results suggest that it is not the candidate specifically nor their social identities that lead to biases in evaluations, but the perspectives of the evaluators that contribute to these biases. We find …

Generic Medicine Price Discrimination In The Emerging Market, Amy Mcmahon

Honors Theses

This paper studies price discrimination in forty emerging markets for forty-nine generic drugs for the therapeutic areas of cardiovascular diseases and infectious diseases. This paper studies how the age of a drug and how income distribution in a country affect the price discrimination of that drug in the country. Price data comes from the World Health Organization and Health Action International database. This paper shows that: (1) the longer the drug has been on the market, the less price discrimination that is present; and (2) the greater the income inequality in a country, the more price discrimination that is present. …

Morale Maintenance In World War Ii Us Army Ground Combat Units : European Theater Of Operations, 1944-45, Kevin Kane

Honors Theses

This paper examines how both the Army as an organization and its small unit leaders attempted to maintain the soldiers’ morale in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Morale was critical to the Allied victory in the war, yet the morale of frontline GIs was often neglected. This occurred with such frequency that many combat soldiers suffered from a new category of wound known as “combat exhaustion.” Through an examination of what influenced combat soldiers’ morale, a clearer understanding of what the Army did well and how it failed to support combat GIs emerges, as does an …

The Politicization Of Biblical Analysis By Protestant Army Chaplains During The American Revolution, Andrea Stevens

Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes the presence of political ideology within sermons delivered by chaplains in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. In particular, this thesis studies sixteen sermons delivered by Episcopal, Anglican, Congregationalist and Presbyterian chaplains between the years 1776 and 1802. The analysis of these sermons reveals an influence of the political climate during the Revolution on the ways in which the chaplains taught from the Bible. This essay begins with the formation of the chaplaincy as a response to four main needs of the soldiers: the need for a justifier, encourager, disciplinarian and religious teacher. The chaplains referenced …