Digital Commons Network^™

A New Approach To Financial Literacy Education Through An Introductory Business Course, Megan Klein

Honors Theses

This study discusses the overall definition of financial literacy, dissects the shortcomings of financial education, and identifies key factors that influence financial awareness of young adults. The survey is conducted through the use of classroom-based survey on a population of collegeage students at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. As a result, we found that although significant improvement was not present between the pre and post-course surveys, the student’s perception of their personal knowledge and confidence in applying the topics tested significantly improved throughout the course of the semester. In conclusion, we believe that further research should be examined into …

An Artful Examination Of The Stories Within The Story One Thousand And One Nights As They Evolve Through History And The World., Jacquelyn Stout

Honors Theses

The artworks for and associated with One Thousand and One Nights have had many influences over time. This thesis examines the effects of these influences on 27 examples of the artwork through five of the many tales. The tales used for this examination are Shahryar and Scheherazade, Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, the Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor, and the Fisherman and the Jinni. One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of stories and tales by various authors that have been collected over many centuries. The earliest written example of …

The Life Of Una Estudiante Americana: Here Y Allí, Madeline Kastel

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to analyze the differences between studying Spanish at an American university, Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, Michigan to that of a study abroad program at La Universidad de Burgos, in Burgos, Spain in three main areas: teaching styles in classes, extracurricular activities and student experiences.

To begin this study, it is important to note the differences in demographics and available public transportation where each study took place: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA and Burgos, Spain. In Kalamazoo, students have the option to use the city bus system, the Metro, for free, but tend to use their …

Anti-Microbial Peptide Screen For Crop Protection, Sydney Chen

Honors Theses

Vestaron currently uses an established and reliable peptide discovery and development research platform, particularly for the development of insecticidal peptides. The platform centers around a proprietary yeast expression system for peptide production (“Vestaron’s yeast expression system"). Vestaron aims to expand their portfolio and provide clean solutions in crop protection using peptide technologies to protect plants not only from insect pests but also microbial pests including phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been studied extensively. However, it is questionable whether Vestaron’s yeast expression system can express AMPs heterologously. In this study, thirteen promising antimicrobial peptides were selected from literature …

Characterization Of Shinella 6-Hydroxy-(L)-Nicotine Oxidase (6hlno-Se), Kaitrin Funckes

Honors Theses

6-hydroxy-(L)-nicotine oxidase, isolated from the organism Shinella sp. HZN7 (6HLNO-SE), is an enzyme that during the catabolism of nicotine catalyzes the oxidation of (S)-6-hydroxynicotine to 6-hydroxypseudeooxynicotine. This enzyme is a member of the monoamine oxidase (MAO) structural family of flavoproteins, which contain a highly conserved FAD-binding domain. Within the binding domain is a conserved lysine residue that can be traced throughout evolutionary history in this family. 6HLNO isolated from Arthrobacter nicotinovorans serves as a model enzyme for the one isolated from Shinella as both catalyze the same reaction in this biochemical pathway and much has been studied about the Arthrobacter …

Identification Of Factors Contributing To No-Show And Appointment Cancellation Rates In Outpatient Cardiovascular Services., Sarah Bergman

Honors Theses

Appointment no-shows and same-day cancellations have been an ongoing issue in Bronson outpatient cardiovascular services (CVS). Further investigation was needed and is crucial in identifying barriers to care. Consequences of nonattendance may include negative health outcomes for patients and scheduling and financial burdens for the department. Knowledge of barriers of care is helpful in implementing interventions to encourage patient attendance for the benefit of patients’ health and department revenue. The goal of this project was to identify and analyze trends in no-show and cancellation rates and cancellation reasons given by patients. Doing so allowed for the identification of common barriers …

Impact Of Cultural Perceptions Of Education On Mental Health Outcomes Among Asian And Asian-American Students, Firzana Syazania

Honors Theses

Many Asian countries are greatly influenced by Confucianism and are labelled Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) countries (Tan & Yates, 2010). Confucianism incorporates teachings of filial piety, respect for elders, emphasis of social values, benevolence, and the importance of education ("Confucius”; Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2021). In CHC countries and other Asian countries like India, bringing honor and pride to one’s family is highly valued. In India, bringing honor to one’s family through obtaining a career with a higher salary could be perceived as a form of duty to one’s family. These values are taught and emphasized at an early age, …

Mental Health In Aviation: A Study Of Aviation Students On Their Perceptions Of The Federal Aviation Administration’S Rules Governing Mental Health, Laila Stein

Honors Theses

This study aims to understand collegiate aviation students, faculty, staff, and flight instructors’ perceptions of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) regulations governing mental health assistance. It also aims to examine the impact of the perceptions held by students, faculty, staff, and flight instructors regarding their desire to seek mental health assistance. A study at Western Michigan University’s (WMU) College of Aviation (COA) was developed to test the hypothesis that students, faculty, staff, and flight instructors had a restrictive perception of the FAA rules regarding seeking mental health assistance, and that students, faculty, staff, and flight instructors had lower desire to …

Aviation Mentorship Program, Joseph Zynda

Honors Theses

The Aviation COR Mentorship program is a test for efficacy of a mentorship program for Western Michigan University’s College of Aviation. This paper describes what the mentorship program is and the values it is founded on. The description will break down each Core Value (these are renamed to Core Principles in the “Facilitating Improvements” section). The paper then dives into the criteria for being a mentor or mentee and the schedule of the test program. The goals are then outlined for this initial program in a chart. There are five goals for the program to assist students with the transition …

Race, Gender And Rawls' "A Theory Of Justice.", Robert Carico

Honors Theses

Should we use the concepts developed by John Rawls in his A Theory of Justice to guide research questions relevant to issues concerning race and gender? This paper argues not only that the concepts from A Theory of Justice should not be used as the primary tool in any debate concerning race and gender, but it also challenges the abstract thinking of 21st Century Western Philosophers to develop a theory of justice that acknowledges the fact that people have their own interests and depending on what race and/or gender they identify with, might not have equal rights protected under the …

The Cut To The Heart Of The Matter: Justice, Morality, And Virtue Ethics In Intimate Relationships, Quinn Heiser

Honors Theses

Since the Enlightenment project to reconstruct morality using purely rational grounds failed, modern moral debate has been fragmented. Furthermore, intimate relationships, whether romantic or marital, are plagued with all kinds of injustices that have not been formally addressed in a philosophical investigation. The purpose of this thesis is to argue that the moral theory to restore interpersonal justice in intimate relationships is the notion of ‘practice’, founded by Alasdair MacIntyre under the Aristotelian virtue ethics tradition. What is meant by the notion of practice is any human activity with goods exclusive to its extent, as well as cooperative, objective, and …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On New Graduate Nurses And Their Nursing Judgement And Decision Making, Chase Rosengarten

Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic led to major changes in the field of healthcare. COVID-19 has changed how providers and staff interact with patients and each other, limited access to healthcare in some groups, and led to changes in healthcare education in academia. To date, there has been little research conducted on the pandemic and the effects it had on nursing students. Current literature focuses on the pandemic and how it impacted already practicing and licensed healthcare workers such as registered nurses. Additional research is needed to assess those who were in school during the pandemic. In nursing education, there was a …

The Commutant Of The Fourier–Plancherel Transform, Brianna Cantrall

Honors Theses

One can see that this matrix is unitary and has eigenvalues {1,−i,−1, I}, each of infinite multiplicity. Throughout the remainder of this thesis, we will convince the reader that the above linear transformation is actually the Fourier transform. We will compute the commutant, as well as its invariant subspaces. The key to do this relies on the Hermite polynomials. Why do we recast the Fourier transform from its well-known and well studied integral form to the matrix form shown above? As we will see, the matrix form allows us to efficiently discover the operator theory of the Fourier transform obfuscated …

The Impact Of Staffing Shortages In Healthcare, Sana Syed

Honors Theses

Healthcare is an industry in which staff is imperative. No matter the advancement of technology, people are always needed to fulfill certain roles that are crucial for the patient’s quality of care and safety. Adequate staffing is a fundamental component of healthcare. As safety is a top priority for patients and healthcare workers, it is important to understand how this is compromised when there is inadequate staffing on the floor. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced retention rates as employees reached burnout during a time of distress and uncertainty. As hospital units were flooded with patients becoming increasingly ill, the safety …

A Gis And Economic Analysis Into Solar Electricity Generation Siting Within The Greater Kalamazoo Area, Devon Kelly

Honors Theses

The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) contains a significant number of incentives, both grants and loans, for state and local governments to institute clean energy-related projects. As such, and to aid in the development of decision-making support tools for solar investments in the City of Kalamazoo, this research contains a ground-mounted solar project suitability map with an additional development siting potential map for the municipal government of Kalamazoo. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and specific parcel-by-parcel siting potential of land for the construction of solar projects in the Kalamazoo Area. In doing so, …

Ivermectin: Covid-19 "Miracle Cure?": A Case Study On Public Health Communication To Combat Disinformation, Ashley Dittmar

Honors Theses

Communicating accurate health information to the public has always been a vital role of public health professionals. This role became especially prominent in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, when public health professionals had the challenge of sharing up-to-date information about a novel coronavirus while other messages about the virus - both true and false - were being spread by other entities. This paper focuses on one case of intentionally incorrect information (disinformation) that was spread during the COVID-19 pandemic, purporting anti-parasitic drug ivermectin as a “miracle cure” for COVID-19. This case study is analyzed through the lens of the Media …

Computational Study Of The Rotational Barrier In Indole Derivatives, Javaughn Martinez

Honors Theses

The purpose of this computational study is to understand the rotational barrier in indole derivatives, leading to stereoisomers, specifically atropisomers, which will impact the research direction focused on the development of a porphyrin hosts in Professor Starnes’s group. The Starnes research group is working to synthesize a porphyrin host that can function as a sensor or to remove harmful and deleterious anions such as phosphate and nitrates (Busschaert, et al, 2015). We will utilize the data provided to understand the required energy to restrict a rotation around the indole-benzene bond. To do so, the indole derivatives will be studied using …

Optimal Method For Reconstructing Polychromatic Maps From Broadband Observations With An Aysmmetric Antenna Pattern, Brianna Cantrall, Emory F. Bunn, Solomon Quinn

Honors Theses

Broadband time-ordered data obtained from telescopes with a wavelength-dependent, asymmetric beam pattern can be used to extract maps at multiple wavelengths from a single scan. This technique is especially useful when collecting data on cosmic phenomena such as the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation, as it provides the ability to separate the CMB signal from foreground contaminants. We develop a method to determine the optimal linear combinations of wavelengths (“colors”) that can be reconstructed for a given telescope design and the number of colors that are measurable with high signal-to-noise ratio. The optimal colors are found as eigenvectors of a …

Length Bias Estimation Of Small Businesses Lifetime, Simeng Li

Honors Theses

Small businesses, particularly restaurants, play a crucial role in the economy by generating employment opportunities, boosting tourism, and contributing to the local economy. However, accurately estimating their lifetimes can be challenging due to the presence of length bias, which occurs when the likelihood of sampling any particular restaurant's closure is influenced by its duration in operation. To address the issue, this study conducts goodness-of-fit tests on exponential/gamma family distributions and employs the Kaplan-Meier method to more accurately estimate the average lifetime of restaurants in Carytown. By providing insights into the challenges of estimating the lifetimes of small businesses, this study …

Elementary School Parent Perceptions Of “Critical Race Theory” In The Curriculum, Helen Wallace

Honors Theses

Critical Race Theory (CRT) implementations within educational settings is a controversial and polarizing concept in the American political climate. Many Americans are strongly opposed to the idea of CRT within the classroom due to a misguided belief that children have no idea what race or racism is until it is taught to them explicitly. On the other hand, proponents of CRT argue that teaching children to ignore race further perpetuates racial discrimination and prevents children from adequately understanding racial injustice. There is currently a lack of research investigating perceptions of CRT implementations in education among parents. This research aimed to …

Effects Of Cannabichromene On Pain And Neuroinflammation In Hiv-1 Tat Transgenic Mice, Sydney Wheeler

Honors Theses

HIV-1 TransActivator of Transcription (Tat) is a vital regulatory protein involved in HIV replication and implicated in development of HIV-associated pain and neurocognitive deficits. Tat is thought to contribute to these pathologies through proinflammatory pathways. Developing mechanisms to curb Tat-mediated inflammation is a key step in improving the quality of life of those living with HIV. Both recreational and medicinal cannabis use is prevalent among many people living with HIV; given this prevalence and the perceived anti-inflammatory benefits of cannabis use, it is important to investigate how chemical constituents of cannabis may impact HIV. In the present study, the effects …

Could Musical Theatre Be Worthy Of Literary Analysis? (Or, An Attempt At Dismantling The Cultural Hierarchy), Sarah Meierdirks

Honors Theses

Could Musical Theatre Be Worthy of Literary Analysis?

Cultural hierarchy, or the perception that different forms of art relate to each other in terms of higher or lower sophistication, has commanded the way we view art for centuries. Artforms which the cultural hierarchy deems to be “higher” are often given more attention, respect, and appreciation in academia, but can be less accessible both physically and mentally to the masses, while artforms deemed to be “lower” tend to be simpler and more fun, making them have a more popular appeal. The tendency for art that is either simple or fun to …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On New Graduate Nurses And Their Nursing Judgement And Decision Making, Marisa Szydlowski

Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic led to major changes in the field of healthcare. COVID-19 has changed how providers and staff interact with patients and each other, limited access to healthcare in some groups, and led to changes in healthcare education in academia. To date, there has been little research conducted on the pandemic and the effects it had on nursing students. Current literature focuses on the pandemic and how it impacted already practicing and licensed healthcare workers such as registered nurses. Additional research is needed to assess those who were in school during the pandemic. In nursing education, there was a …

Psychological Influences On Problem-Solving Following Lab-Induced Learned Helplessness, Aqdas Khan

Honors Theses

The purpose of the present study was to examine psychological influences on problem-solving following lab-induced learned helplessness. There are several related psychological constructs in the literature that appear relevant. These have been typically examined in isolation in various sub-fields within psychology. Determining which is most influential, and their unique and overlapping contributions, could provide important conceptual clarity and point to ways to streamline and guide targets of psychological intervention. The constructs of interest were: need for cognition, psychological flexibility, grit, learned helplessness (LH) attributional style, cognitive fusion, and the Big 5 personality trait of neuroticism. A within-subjects correlational research group …

Sociological Viewpoint Of Intersectionality: A Focus On Class, Identity And Sexual Orientation, Sue Jiun Yap

Honors Theses

This thesis by Sue Jiun Yap examines the intersectional themes of class, identity, and sexual orientation in the films Saving Face, Crazy Rich Asians, and Everything Everywhere All At Once. The thesis paper will utilize content analysis methodology to explore the concepts listed. The analysis of these films highlights their groundbreaking works that challenge heteronormative and racial narratives in the film industry. In addition to these observations, the paper highlights Asian individuals and communities facing significant complications as a result of various intersecting identities - specifically class, identity, and sexual orientation. Furthermore, it highlights how such struggles contribute significantly …

The Public Trust Doctrine: Roman Law Roots And Future In Environmental Litigation, Phoebe Liccardo

Honors Theses

The public trust is an ancient and enduring legal doctrine. With roots in Roman law, the public trust persists through English law, and into the United States. Scholars and jurists in the field of Roman and environmental law do not all agree on the history and continuity of the public trust doctrine (PTD). There are those who argue the Roman law introducing a public trust did not assert the same protections present in the doctrine today. Conversely, there are those who believe the Roman law did enshrine similar protections, and further, that it calls for an expansion of PTD in …

A Review Of Pre-Clinical Studies On Meth-Induced Gut Microbiome Alterations, Payton Brabant

Honors Theses

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a chronic, pervasive disease that affects approximately 40.3 million people aged 12 and over within the United States (SAMHSA, 2021). Recent investigations have emphasized preventive measures targeting the development of SUDs and the occurrence of relapse. However, to date, FDA-approved medications are only available for those with alcohol (AUD) and opioid use disorders (OUD) (Forouzan et al., 2021). Given that about 964,000 people have methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) within the United States, investigation of novel treatment approaches for psychostimulant abuse is warranted (Forouzan, Hoffman, and Kosten, 2020). Several negative effects can occur after using methamphetamine …

The Physiological And Psychological Benefits Of Rock Steady Boxing And Their Implications For The Management Of Parkinson’S Disease., Riley Hobson

Honors Theses

According to the American Parkinson’s Disease Association (ADPA), there are an estimated 1 million people in the U.S. living with Parkinson’s disease, and over 10 million people worldwide. Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, progressive movement disorder that is characterized by motor symptoms such as tremor and bradykinesia, as well as non-motor symptoms such as sleep problems, fatigue, and depression (ADPA, 2023). Currently, there are no treatments for Parkinson’s disease, however, several interventions have been determined to provide symptom relief, slow the rate of disease progression, and improve one’s quality of life. These interventions range from medication to exercise participation. Rock …

The Impact Of The War In Gaza On Pediatric Mental Health, Noura Warsi

Honors Theses

Due to the military occupation and numerous violent wars that occur in the Gaza Strip, current research depicts that these occurrences not only suscept children to physical harm, but are also detrimental to children’s mental health, causing lasting consequences if left untreated. The purpose of this project is to understand and analyze the impact of the wars, specifically the 2021 war, and the military occupation on Gaza’s pediatric mental health. Unfortunately, children in Gaza, as well as parents, teachers, health care providers, and mental health counselors have the unique problem of navigating mental health crises in children who experience continuous …

Spiritual Care Within The Field Of Healthcare, Summer Sirrine

Honors Theses

This thesis can be interpreted as a fundamental and comprehensive resource that addresses major discussion points of spiritual care (SC) within the healthcare setting. It begins with definition of SC, information surrounding its value within healthcare, the qualifications necessary to practice it, simple yet effective tools and questions to perform SC, as well as acknowledgment of notable barriers and complications, and how those can be dealt with. SC correlates with not only the patient’s physical and mental health, but how it may impact medical practice, depending on how much an individual’s spirituality, religion, etc. affects their life. Healthcare providers should …