Digital Commons Network^™

Optimization Of An Airboat Design, Adam P. Leppek

Honors Theses

Airboats are a common recreational vehicle in southern regions of the United States. A functional prototype of an airboat design was constructed utilizing the manufacturing processes and components available to gain knowledge and experience with the design process. The hull, rudder framework, seating structure, propeller shroud, drive train, and drive unit framework were fabricated at a machine shop. Remaining components were purchased, such as the engine, rudders, and propeller. Welders, mills, lathes, band saws, grinders, hydraulic presses, and power tools were employed in the construction. Drive train and drive unit framework was designed and analyzed using RomaxDesigner, a simulation software …

The Modernity Of La Mode: A History Of The French Revolution Through The Lens Of Fashion, Culture, And Identity, Bithy R. Goodman

Honors Theses

In my thesis, I explore the cultural history of the French Revolution and its relation to the modern era which ensued. Many historians have studied the French Revolution as it relates to culture, the rise of modernity, and fashion. I combine the unique histories of all three of these aspects to reach an understanding of the history of the French Revolution and fashion’s role in bringing about change. In the majority of literature of costume history, discussion of fashion surrounds its reflective properties. Many historians conclude fashion as a reflection of the broader cultural shifts that occurred during the Revolution. …

Disability Determination Services And The State Of Michigan Media Project, Eric Hartstein

Honors Theses

I designed two informational brochures as part of a media project for both the State of Michigan Internship Program (SoMIP) and Disability Determination Services (DDS), which were both host agencies for my student internship during the spring 2012 semester. The purpose of the project is to raise awareness about the programs among college students, as well as to recruit talented students to become future interns for either of the programs. I chose this project because I felt that brochures would be a simple and effective way to distribute information regarding the programs across campuses statewide. I corresponded with both WMU …

Witness For The Prosecution: Erasure Poetics, Samantha M. Schaefer

Honors Theses

My Honors Senior Thesis is centered around the art of Erasure poetics. My definition of Erasure is most concisely stated as: a process of simultaneous poetic addition and subtraction to preexisting text, which results in a product whose creation process ultimately echoes the same revision process that human beings undergo; a process by which a new and beautiful truth is both created and uncovered in a paradoxical manner. I initially endeavored to complete a simple erasure of a collection of short stories by Agatha Christie called Witnessfor the Prosecution; but was soon so inspired that I ended up creating four …

Reconstruction /Redesign Of The I-69/I-94 Highway Interchange, Manuel A. Torreira

Honors Theses

The focus of this senior design project was to reconstruct the interchange consisting in I­94 and 1-69, which were not up to Michigan Department of Transportation's (MDOT) standards. Many problems exist throughout this interchange, including flooding issues, current ramp configurations, low design speeds, and safety considerations. As a result, three alternatives were made and a unanimous decision from the client, faculty advisor, and our group was made in order to further analyze one of those alternatives. Once a certain alternative was selected, then the geometric designs were further analyzed.

The many factors that had to be taken into account were …

Wmu Mobile 2.0 For Iphone, Nathan R. Shiff

Honors Theses

As part of Western Michigan University's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the department of Computer Science requires that each undergraduate completes a senior design capstone project. The Lee Honors College allows the senior design project to fulfill the senior honors thesis requirement. In Computer Science, a senior design project can be a website, a desktop program, or in the case of WMU Mobile 2.0, a mobile application. Building on the work of the previous year's team, the app extends the functionality of WMU Mobile for iPhone. WMU Mobile 2.0 provides smooth support for the iPad, a redesigned visual interface, …

Hydraulic Test Cell Power Recovery System, Peter M. Kanda

Honors Theses

Wasted power during testing and development of fluid power components is a major concern due to the negative environmental impact and overall associated energy costs. This report describes a developmental hydraulic test stand and several configurations that could result in recovering wasted power. In this test stand, a hydraulic pump capable of 300 horsepower and above is in the design stages within the testing facilities at FEMA Corporation. The pump contained on this test stand will be designed to create a flow that would simulate what a customer directional control valve would see in a real-world application. The standard hydraulic …

Cigarette Smoking Prevalence On The Tamu-Commerce Campus: An Investigative Study Of Smoking Rates And Smoking- Related Factors Among The Campus Population, Faith Clay

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: Cold War For Kids, Kaitlyn Shaw

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

An Ethnographic Analysis Of The Struggles And Priorities Of Medical Missionaries Serving In The Dominican Republic, Randi Hafele

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

A Certification In The Knowledge Of Six Sigma At Texas A&M University-Commerce, Tyler Mcfarlin

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Bucknell's Waste Stream, Hallie S. Kennan

Honors Theses

This thesis examines three questions regarding the content of Bucknell University‟s waste stream and the contributors to campus recycling and solid waste disposal. The first asks, “What does Bucknell‟s waste stream consist of?” To answer this question, I designed a campus-wide waste audit procedure that sampled one dumpster from each of the eleven „activity‟ types on campus in order to better understand Bucknell‟s waste composition. The audit was implemented during the Fall semester of the 2011-2012 school year. The waste from each dumpster was sorted into several recyclable and non-recyclable categories and then weighed individually. Results showed the Bison and …

A Certification In The Knowledge Of Six Sigma At Texas A&M University-Commerce, Tyler Mcfarlin

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Incite, In Mind, Ashley M. Deran

Honors Theses

I create because I am more fluent in the language of movement than any other dialect. Performing and choreographing serves as an outlet through which I convey my feelings, thoughts and opinions in the most direct and innate way possible. My capstone project illiustrates that movement and language hold equal potential to impact an audience. This comprehensive work serves as a culmination of artistic exploration and includes a video of original choreography entitled Under Ouse for the 2012 Graduating Presentation Concert, Incite, In Mind. Under Ouse explores weight and momentum as well as dependence in relationships while drawing from the …

The Effects Of Prenatal Exposure To Altered Melatonin Levels On Hippocampal Gene Expression In The Male Rat, Anna Uehara

Honors Theses

The stability of the circadian rhythm for mammals depends on the levels of serotonin and melatonin, neurohormones that signal for lightness and darkness, respectively. Disruption in the stability of neurohormones has been shown to be a critical factor in psychopathological disorders in humans. For example, altering levels of melatonin in utero through administration of melatonin or the melatonin receptor antagonist, luzindole, has been shown to cause changes in developmental growth and adult behavior in the male rat. Analysis of relative adult hippocampal gene expression with RT-PCR revealed differences in ARNTL expression that suggested abnormality in clock gene expression of the …

Two Viable Ways For The U.S. To Raise Revenues: A Discussion Of A National Lottery In The U.S. And Advertising On Dot-Gov Websites, Lisa R. Nelson

Honors Theses

This paper was written to inform the reader of two viable options for the United States government to raise money that is not an explicit tax. The paper will investigate opportunities to raise revenue to decrease federal debt and fund programs that are currently being funded by tax revenue. The first idea in part one is a national lottery that the federal government could implement. I discuss the possible positive and negative outcomes of a national lottery and use the UK national lottery as an example. Part two will explore allowing the sale of advertising space on dot-gov websites. It …

The Laureate Eleventh Edition, Bridget Dooley

Honors Theses

Editor-in-chief of the 2012 Laureate.

The Effect Of Weight On The Perception Of Political Candidates, Kennedy Alix Costantino

Honors Theses

Chris Christie recently visited the famous “Wailing Wall” in Jerusalem, Israel, during his first trip abroad as governor of New Jersey. The New York Post reported on his trip with the headline “The Whale at the Wall” (Campanile 2012). Given headlines like this, it is easy to see anecdotal evidence of the stigmatization that surrounds obesity within contemporary American society. What’s more important is that these social stigmas that Americans are faced with every day are not merely surface level jokes bantered about for a cheap laugh. They are often prejudices that permeate every aspect of human life. Whether it …

The Relationship Between Live Coral And Macroalgae In South Caicos As Influenced By Herbivorous Fishes, Sarah Byce

Honors Theses

Marine life is the basis for most industries in the Turks and Caicos Islands, located on the outskirts of the Caribbean Sea. Few studies have been carried out to assess the current status of reefs in this region, especially those off the shore of South Caicos Island. The AGRRA v.4.0 methodologies were employed create baseline assessments of stony corals, macroalgae and associated fishes and to explore the relationships between these key reef organisms. This study was based on 10 different locations both inside and outside of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and including exposed and sheltered reefs in proximity to South …

Characterizing The Role Of Pax And Six In An Emerging Model System, The Freshwater Sponge, E. Muelleri, Ian P. Winters

Honors Theses

Sponges can be viewed as a remnant branch of the earliest successful experiments in metazoan multi-cellularity. As such, these organisms hold many clues into the genetic elements fundamental to the formation of complex animalian life. Two of these elements are the transcription factor encoding genes PaxB and Six1/2. Homologs of these genes in animals more complex than sponges have been shown to be members of a gene regulatory network involved in organ development. This is of particular intrigue since sponges do not possess such organ systems. Here, I discuss the putative function of PaxB and Six1/2 in sponges, and whether …

Black Bahamas : Political Constructions Of Bahamian National Identity, Maria A. Lee

Honors Theses

On Tuesday, 27 April 1965, in the House of Assembly an event known as “Black Tuesday” struck the capital city of Nassau, New Providence in The Bahamas. A political furor arose in response to the failure of the ruling government to accurately determine voter distribution and boundaries. In frustration, the leader of the opposition motioned towards the mace, shouting, “This is the symbol of authority, and authority in this island belongs to the people.” With a burgeoning crowd below, he then lifted the mace in front of the Speaker, and threw it down from the window of the House. “Yes, …

Elucidation Of The Pax/Six Gene Regulatory Network In Ephydatia Muelleri, Anna Rued

Honors Theses

The evolution of gene regulatory networks accounts for much of the diversity we observe in the animal kingdom. In particular, the Pax/Six/Eya/Dac gene network has been known to play critical roles in development of all bilaterians and cnidarians. However, this network has not been characterized in Porifera. These studies focus on tracing the evolutionary history of the PSED network back to the most basal organism in the metazoan phylogeny through demonstrating the presence of a direct gene regulatory network between PaxB and Six1/2 orthologs in sponges. To this end, putatitve Six1/2 cis- regulatory elements were identified while the PaxBprd transcription …

The Relationship Between Level Of Expertise And Holistic Processing In Chinese Character Recognition, Shirley Yin Ming Leung

Honors Theses

Evidence from past research suggests that when people process objects in which they are experts, such as faces and Roman letters, they usually engage in holistic processing which is the processing of multiple parts of a stimulus (Bukach, Gauthier, & Tarr, 2006; Wong et al., 2011). However, Hsiao and Cottrell (2009) found the opposite result such that novices used holistic processing in Chinese character recognition while experts did not. The current study explored the correlation between expertise and holistic processing of Chinese characters. We used the composite task to measure holistic processing of Chinese characters from English native- speakers who …

Garvey Revisited : The Legitimacy And Consistency Of Marcus Garvey As Demonstrated By His Latter Movement, Bridget Wiede

Honors Theses

The following analysis examines Marcus Garvey in his entirety, during his life pre... and post­ deportation, as well as his life in the United States and abroad. Although historians have debated the significance and character of Garvey this paper will definitively argue that conclusions can be drawn about this complex character. Such a broad examination of Garvey's life will prove that Garvey remained consistently devoted to his aims -the fostering of racial pride and consciousness, the advancement of the Back to Africa movement and the development of a black economy. Despite his ultimate failure Garvey advanced this aims throughout the …

Government Influence And The Failure Of Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac, Aravind Mohan

Honors Theses

In 2008 two government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were placed into conservatorship due to insolvency. The financial bailout of the two publically traded corporations came at the expense of the American tax payer. This study investigates the relationship between direct and indirect government influence and the increasing risk taking of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from the late 1990’s through their conservatorship in 2008. As government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have many special advantages that other publically traded companies did not possess. These advantages allowed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase their profitability. Theoretical literature …

Alteration In 5ht1a Receptor Activity From A Prenatal Exposure To Dexamethasone In A Stressed And Non-Stressed Adult Male Rat, Darshan S. Shah

Honors Theses

Synthetic glucocorticoids (GC) are used as a clinical therapeutic to stimulate lung development in fetuses that present the risk of preterm delivery. Previous studies have shown that a prenatal exposure to Dexamethasone (DEX) causes a disturbance in normal GC mediation of neuritic outgrowth, cell signaling, and serotonergic systems. Our hypothesis is that a prenatal exposure to DEX during the third trimester of pregnancy alters 5HT1A receptor function. Pregnant dams were injected daily with 150μg/ml/kg of DEX from gestation day 14 through 19. Control dams were treated with and equal volume of saline. Swim stress followed by elevated plus maze testing …

Challenges Of The Cooperative Movement In Addressing Issues Of Human Security In The Context Of A Neoliberal World: The Case Of Argentina, Stefan Ivanovski

Honors Theses

The response of some Argentine workers to the 2001 crisis of neoliberalism gave rise to a movement of worker-recovered enterprises (empresas recuperadas por sus trabajadores or ERTs). The ERTs have emerged as former employees took over the control of generally fraudulently bankrupt factories and enterprises. The analysis of the ERT movement within the neoliberal global capitalist order will draw from William Robinson’s (2004) neo-Gramscian concept of hegemony. The theoretical framework of neo-Gramscian hegemony will be used in exposing the contradictions of capitalism on the global, national, organizational and individual scales and the effects they have on the ERT movement.

The …

A Dual Process Model Of Stress Effects On Alcohol Consumption, Ivori Zvorsky

Honors Theses

The dual process theory proposes two forms of cognitive processing: implicit and explicit. The goal of the current study is to further investigate the dual process model of risky drinking, exploring the roles of executive functioning, implicit attitudes, and stress. 98 students from the University of Richmond participated in this study. After reading a stressful vignette, significant changes in Implicit Association Test (IAT) scores indicated that stress does heighten implicit “approach” associations for alcohol. Interestingly, when separated into low and high self-restraint groups, only participants with high self-restraint were significantly affected by the vignette. After testing for interaction effects, our …

Corumination Among Women And Their Friends During First Year Of College, Katelin Peterson

Honors Theses

The current study examines the relationship between co-rumination and adjustment in women during the transition to college. Corumination refers to extensively discussing and revisiting problems, speculating about problems, and focusing on negative feelings (Rose, 2002). This study uses a short-term longitudinal design to examine the adjustment trade-offs associated with co-rumination in female students (including positive relationship qualities and internalizing distress). The study also examines these effects across multiple close friendships rather than only one best friend. Female first year students at the University of Richmond completed an online questionnaire including measures of co-rumination, levels of anxiety and depression, friendship quality, …

Mapping Of Stochastic Matrices Into Polynomial Form In The Complex Plane, Jordan Emile Cates

Honors Theses

This thesis originated from a specific problem from biology. Namely we need to study probabilistic models that represent molecular interactions that take place inside living cells, such as the number of molecular heat-shock proteins present in a cell. Because of the intrinsic discrete nature of the number of molecules present in cells, the fundamental mathematical models are based on Markov processes. For such processes a transition probability matrix describes the evolution of the state of the cell, whereas the state itself, i.e. the number of molecules present at a specific time, is described by a vector. The components of this …