Digital Commons Network^™

Implementing Palliative Care Pre-Cardiothoracic Transplant, Sarah E. Bakker

Honors Projects

Palliative care is defined as a specialty of medicine that improves the quality of life of patients and family members facing a life-threatening illness, by providing early detection and prevention of pain, psychological, and other physical struggles. Patients diagnosed with diseases such as congestive heart failure or lung disease will face an ongoing list of problems that impacts their quality of life, yet most do not receive the proper tools to manage their disease until the last stages of their life. Implementing palliative care at the initial diagnosis of a chronic cardiothoracic disease improves precision of patient-centered goals, symptom management, …

Analysis Of Michigan Juvenile Detention Facilities, Loredana M. Cunningham

Honors Projects

The world of juvenile justice is a relatively new concept in today’s society dating back to the nineteenth century in comparison to the ancient structure of the criminal justice system. It is no wonder that the development of juvenile detention centers has been a slow process considering the late start to having modern research for this contemporary structure of a justice system for youth. While there are licensing standards for each juvenile detention facility to meet in order to continue having the beds to be occupied, there are unique ways that each facility can achieve that. The research focused on …

Trauma Therapy And The Need For Cross Cultural Competence, Marijke Sommer

Honors Projects

This project addresses the relevance of cross cultural competence for work in trauma therapy. I begin with a review of the literature on approaches to trauma therapy, identifying similarities and differences in key approaches, and comparing outcomes where that information is available. I then review a variety of cross cultural variations in mental health conditions and symptoms, attempting to roughly position each within the ethnic group or groups in which the variation is mostly likely to be found. Finally, I review the very small existing literature examining the impact of culturally sensitive approaches to trauma therapy in several non-Western ethnic …

A Critical Analysis Of Bumblefoot: Care And Preventative Measures In Captive Penguins, Jamie A. Wolanin

Honors Projects

Bumblefoot is a progressive and sometimes deadly infection that afflicts penguins living in human care. The most prominent cause of the disease is the extended amount of time that captive penguins spend standing in comparison to their pelagic and wild counterparts. For years, facilities have treated bumblefoot with surgery and antibiotics. However, this approach is palliative rather than preventative and has become problematic as bacteria develop stronger resistance to antibiotics. To address the behavioral abnormalities underlying the onset of bumblefoot, zoos and aquariums should utilize environmental enrichment. Many forms of environmental enrichment, including the relationship penguins have with their keepers …

The Reality And The Perception Of Greek Life At Grand Valley State University, Katherine Smigelski

Honors Projects

This research was conducted in order to determine whether Grand Valley’s Greek life atmosphere is stereotypical of Greek life around the country, as portrayed in the media, or if the reality is better than the perception. 179 responses were collected from current Grand Valley State University members of Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Association organizations to determine whether their reality of their organizations is accurate compared to the perception of their organizations.

Student Engagement: What Is The Best Way To Motivate Students In The Secondary Classroom?, Michiah Arguello

Honors Projects

In the secondary education classroom, the question often arises: How do we engage our students? Often, we are faced with heads down on desks, glassy eyes, and students who don’t remember content taught to them the day before. How can we engage them? How can we motivate them to want to learn?

In this study, I will examine five procedures determined by educators to enhance student engagement. In each section, I will discuss the procedure, discuss what the procedure’s steps are and how to approach it, and share a way I have utilized this procedure and reflect on its effectiveness. …

A Global Analysis Of Corporate Litigation Risk And Costs, Matteo P. Arena, Stephen P. Ferris

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

We analyze a unique hand-collected international sample of 475 corporate lawsuits involving 361 publicly-traded defendant firms headquartered in 16 developed countries to explore how country factors influence litigation risk, equity market value, lawsuit outcomes, and settlement costs. Unlike U.S.-focused studies, we do not find a significant relation between stock turnover, equity performance, and the probability of litigation. Defendant firms headquartered in civil law countries or countries with less efficient judiciary systems face lower litigation risk and costs as well as less share price decline at filing. Countries whose courts are less independent demonstrate a significant bias against foreign defendant firms.

Tools For The Investigation Of Reduced Exercise Capacity In Fontan Patients, Akash Gupta

All Theses

Univentricular heart defects represent one of the most complex forms of congenital heart defects, which left untreated, is fatal. Univentricular patients typically undergo three highly invasive surgeries that culminate in the Fontan procedure. The Fontan physiology is associated with several long-term complications, one of which is reduced exercise capacity. Previous studies have found an empirical correlation between the fluid power losses in the Fontan junction (indexed to body size and flow rate), and reduced exercise capacity. There is evidence suggesting that the narrowing of vessels in the Fontan junction results in increased indexed power loss and lowered exercise capacity. Several …

Do Open Spaces Provide Refuge For Anurans Within An Urban Matrix?, David Ruple Hutto

All Theses

Urbanization is among the largest threats to amphibian populations through habitat fragmentation, isolation, and outright destruction. Urban open spaces, such as parks and golf courses, have the potential to provide amphibians with suitable habitat within an urbanized matrix. During the spring and summer of 2018, I conducted dip net surveys and active call surveys to determine the presence and abundance of anurans at 51 wetland sites within the Piedmont ecoregion of South Carolina. Nearly one-third of these wetlands were located within urban open spaces, while the others were situated along a rural – urban gradient. Impervious surface and road density …

Are Values Valuable? Individual Difference Moderators On The Effects Of Economic Stress On Job Satisfaction, Elyssa Johnson

All Theses

Economic stress and financial strain have been shown to have a negative impact on both physical and mental well-being thus making it an important area to continue to perform research on to fully understand how stress impacts individuals (Leana, Mittal & Stiehl, 2012; Sinclair & Cheung, 2016). The proposed study looked to advance research on economic stress by understanding the mediated and moderated mechanisms that impact the relationship between economic stress and job satisfaction. By using a subjective measure of economic stress, perceived income adequacy, as opposed to an objective measure of economic stress such as income, individual differences were …

Job Insecurity Across Borders: An Examination Of Job Insecurity, Perceived Organizational Support, And Turnover Intentions In The United States And China, John Alexander Morgan

All Theses

Job insecurity is growing around the world, with employees staying at their jobs for shorter durations and part-time, contract, and even extremely short-term “gig” work becoming increasingly common. Job insecurity has been linked with several undesirable outcomes for both the individual and the organization, such as higher levels of employee burnout and increased turnover. This thesis seeks to extend the job insecurity literature by treating job insecurity as a demand within the Job Demands-Resources model, with perceived organizational support (POS) as its resource opposite. In addition, I utilized data collected in both the United States and China, providing insights into …

Knowledge Of Mental Health Disorders And Resources By Military Personnel, Savanna Taylor

All Theses

With more soldiers returning home to the United States than any war era before, there is a need for research to understand military personnel’s mental health and how they use resources, like the Veteran’s Affairs and non-profit organizations. This study serves to further our understanding about service members’ knowledge on this subject. This study adds to the literature by conducting semi-structured interviews with 15 service members who had deployed on either United States military bases or ships, or peace-keeping missions, overseas after 9/11. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and thoroughly analyzed using a narrative approach. Five important themes emerged from …

Sanctuary: A Virtual-Reality, Immersive-Environment Mobile Application To Promote Mindfulness, Meditation, And Relaxation, Amanda Caroline Smoak

All Theses

The World Health Organization calls stress the health epidemic of the twenty-first century [40]. Finding ways to manage stress – not just for our own health, but also for the health of our communities and children – is one of our most significant challenges for wellness. Virtual-reality (VR) therapy is the use of stimulated, interactive, and immersive environments as a tool for physical and psychological healthcare applications [31]. VR therapy and mindfulness practices have both been shown to alleviate stress and anxiety. The mobile application detailed here attempts to aid in stress reduction using virtual-reality therapy by immersing the user …

Same But Different: Characters With Developmental Disabilities In Current Juvenile Literature, Tina Taylor, Kellie Egan, Kimberly T. Moss, Hannah P. Grow, Sharon Black, Mary Anne Prater

Faculty Publications

As many children first encounter individuals with developmental disabilities (DD) through characters in children’s literature, these individuals must be depicted authentically. Using descriptive analyses, we evaluated 38 books written for children and adolescents (11 picture books, 17 chapter books) for their portrayals of characters with developmental disabilities, comparing the portrayals against those published in three previous studies. All books considered were eligible for the 2018 Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award. Data were analyzed regarding personal portrayal, social interactions, and exemplary practices. Results indicated that most characters portrayed have ASD (80%) and the majority are male (65%). Generally, characters with DD …

Tired Consultation To Improve And Maintain Teachers’ Behavior Specific Praise, Mariangely Melendez Galan-Torres

Dissertations

Many teachers are ill prepared in behavior management and literature has demonstrated the relationship between poor classroom management and academic outcomes. Common strategies to address teachers’ skill deficits in classroom management include didactic training and school-based consultation. Literature suggests that traditional didactic training can immediately increase knowledge acquisition, and school-based consultation is used to respond to ongoing academic and behavioral outcomes. However, both of these methods commonly fail to result in implementation fidelity and long-term maintenance of skill utilization. Research in the education field has demonstrated large to very large effect sizes for systems such as Response to Intervention (RtI) …

Limited By Design: Expanding The Boundaries Of Schooling Policies From Demanded Passivity To Transformative Practice, Natalia T. Carvalho-Pinto

Masters Theses

Schooling is often imagined as the great equalizer and the primary venue towards personal and collective liberation. However, hegemonic ideals and practices have limited the ability for educators to craft and utilize policy in a way that best benefits their students. In this thesis, I utilize the state of Michigan’s Common Core curriculum to examine the limits beyond policy and practice. Specifically, I argue that the demands for student passivity and institutional measurable as signs of success, prohibit student growth. Throughout the document, I describe hope in the ability to instill a variety of transformative educational theories and practices that …

Perceived Public Opinion Vs. Actual Public Opinion And Media's Influence., Sarah Carey

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This paper examines the extent of polarization in the United States in the current political climate. It was predicted that individual beliefs would be less polarized than news media makes it seem because while the political parties are moving further toward the poles, there is no evidence to suggest that individuals are doing the same. Using Berkeley’s Survey Documentation and Analysis tool, data from the American National Election Studies (ANES) was analyzed to test this premise. The ANES measured individuals’ party identification. The analysis focused on those who identify as Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. The survey then asked those same …

Full Employment, Or A New Reserve Army? A Marxian Critique Of The Employer Of Last Resort, Michael Heubusch

Applied Economics Theses

The notion that the government should guarantee jobs is gaining political popularity in the United States. Over the past twenty years, a branch of post-Keynesians has developed a policy proposal known as the employer of last resort (ELR), which they argue would achieve full employment through direct government job creation. However, many have argued that this proposal is deficient, both in its design and its potential for implementation. While most critiques of this policy have come from other post-Keynesians, this thesis contributes to the controversy surrounding the ELR by examining it from a Marxian perspective. Specifically, this thesis aims to …

Evaluation Of Short Term Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Intervention In A Primary Care Setting, Kevin Hengeveld

Doctoral Projects

Introduction: Depression and anxiety are chronic recurring medical conditions that impact all aspects of health. When depression and anxiety are present with other comorbid diseases, mortality and health care costs are higher. Children and young adults are particularly vulnerable to mental health issues. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for this demographic. Depression is common in adolescents with an incidence of 8 to 20 percent. Primary care provides 70 percent of mental health care in the United States, and the primary intervention offered is pharmacological. Evidence suggests that a combination of medication and psychotherapy provide superior relief of …

Improving Adolescent Risk Behavior Screening: Implementation Of The I-Cloud Rapid Assessment Adolescent Preventive Screening (Raaps) Tool, Donna L. Rinker

Doctoral Projects

Adolescents are engaging in risky behaviors earlier contributing to 75% of adolescent morbidity and mortality with unintentional injuries listed as the most common cause of death among this population in the United States. It is reported that engaging in more than one risk behavior will lead to other risk behaviors resulting in the rise of indirect and direct costs in society today. The scholarly project was conducted in response to a midwestern Michigan primary care clinic need to improve the early identification and documentation of adolescent risk behaviors with evidence-based technology screening. The purpose of this quality improvement project was …

Adolescent Health: Think, Act, Grow (Tag)— A Strengths-Based Approach To Promoting Health In Youth, Emily R. Novick, Jamie Kim, Yasmin Mazloomdoost, Courtney Barthle

Journal of Youth Development

Adolescent Health: Think, Act, Grow® (TAG) is a national call to action to promote adolescent health and healthy development. Led by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health and developed with the input of national organizations, it builds on the collective wisdom of youth-serving professionals and seeks to raise the profile of adolescent health in the national discourse. Using TAG, the Office of Adolescent Health conducts outreach and delivers tools and information that support the integration of positive youth development precepts into the ongoing work of federal, state, and local public agencies; youth-serving health, public health, …

Working-Class Graduates’ Perceptions Of The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens Training And Its Impact On Their Life Choices And Future Success, Andrew Kenneth Ashley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine working-class graduates’ perceptions of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens training. This purpose was accomplished through a qualitative analysis of data. The data was collected from interviews of graduates and teachers. Following the coding process, graduate data was then reduced to the following categories: social awareness, relationship development, teamwork, communication skills, empathy, self-awareness, and self-confidence which created the themes of interpersonal skills and intrapersonal skills. Four additional graduate themes were created from decision-making data: weighing pros and cons, prioritizing outcomes, thinking long-term, and real-life applications. Additional graduate data was provided …

Understanding The Relationship Between Corporate Social Responsibility, Team Identification, And Behavioral Intention With The Mediating Effect Of Satisfaction In Korean Professional Baseball League, Jaeman Son

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to provide a better understanding of how sport fans’ perceptions of a sport team’s CSR activities influence the behavioral intention of sport consumers. More specifically, the aim of this study was to propose and test a theoretical model that explore the relationship among perceived CSR and team identification and satisfaction, along with the behavioral intention. This study was to investigate the mediating role of customer satisfaction in the relationship between perceived CSR and behavioral intention. Finally, the study attempts to examine whether the relationship between team identification and behavioral intention is mediated by customer …

The Effectiveness Of Using Video Modeling Techniques To Improve Motor Skills For Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Atya Abdullah Hadadi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Beside the main syndromes of socialization and communication for individuals with autism spectrum disorders, they also have impairments in motor skills, such as ball skills (catching and throwing) and postural stability (standing and walking balance). The main objective of this dissertation is to improve motor skills for preschooler children with ASD through use of video-modeling techniques. A secondary objective of this research was to find a correlation between the development and improvement of ball skills and balance tasks. Twenty-six children with ASD were divided into two groups. Twenty-six children with ASD from 3-5 years old participated in two groups: one …

The Impact Of Coaches' Character On Youth Basketball Players, Natasha Hill

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

If utilized effectively, recreation and sports can serve as major tools for developing youth, improving the educational environment, and increasing the number of productive adults that are healthier physically and mentally to positively impact society. Most research targeting recreation and sports developing youth has the perspective primarily of parents and youth. Evaluating the character strengths of coaches and youth athletes who actively participate in team basketball is vital.

An exploration of the value of basketball and character strengths of (n = 64) youth athletes, between the ages of 12 to 16 years, and the impact of their involvement with coaches …

Effects Of Task Clarification And An Adaptive Computer Software On Implementation Of Mand Training Using An Ipad® As A Speech Generated Device, Ashley Mckenzie Parnell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mand training is an evidence-based instructional method and a primary focus in behavioral language training for children with autism. A rapidly growing research base supports manding training using hand-held computing technologies (e.g., iPad®, iPod®) as speech generating devices (SGD) for establishing a manding repertoire in children with autism. To ensure optimal learning efficacy and efficiency, procedures must be implemented with high levels of accuracy, which requires that staff be well-trained. However, research evaluating methods for training staff to implement mand training procedures with the iPad® and application Proloquo2Go™ as an SGD has not yet been conducted. Therefore, this study examined …

Certified Child Life Specialists' Perceptions Of Effective Psychosocial Interventions For Adolescents In Japanese Hospital Settings, Yukari Stickley

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Adolescents and young adults need psychosocial support in the hospital because of their developing abstract thinking skills that occur during puberty. In addition, it is important to understand the cultural differences of effective psychosocial interventions for adolescents between the United States of America (USA) and Japan. The purpose of this study is to determine perceptions of effective psychosocial interventions for Japanese adolescents based on the experiences of Certified Child Life Specialists (n = 8), who trained in the USA and were presently working in Japan. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from the CCLSs in Japan through a one-time online …

Investigating The Attitudes Of Adolescent Male Singers In Gender Choirs, Heidi Joy Williamson

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of gender choirs within a middle school choral classroom to investigate (a) attitudes about singing, (b) confidence and self-efficacy of their own voices, and (c) peer perceptions of adolescent males’ participation in choir. Data were obtained from 40 students, in Grades 7 or 8, who were enrolled in a male gender choir at one of the five participating middle schools. Most participants enrolled in choir because they thought choir was fun, and they were good singers. Most participants did not think that choir was “better” when the genders were separated. …

Critical Pedagogy And The Ethics Of Care: How Values Affect The Classroom Dynamic, Colby D. Reed

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This thesis centers on the benefits of Paulo Freire’s critical and liberatory pedagogy for introductory composition classes when used as an ethical and moral template as opposed to a sociological ideology. Using care ethics as a lens, chapter one begins by addressing current difficulties and criticisms present in the discussion of care ethics and the pedagogy as the models for composition classes and then applying the ethics of critical and liberatory pedagogy to these issues. Chapter two builds on that by exploring what ethical and moral elements are present in Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed and how they relate to …

Vocabulary Depth And Language Use Of Heritage Learners, Elsy B. Shuford

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Persons whose home environment features a non-majority language are known as heritage speakers. The nature and conditions of Spanish heritage speakers’ interaction with their heritage language significantly affects their command of it. The aim of this study is to explore vocabulary depth among 10-year-old heritage language speakers in Springfield, Missouri, and its relationship to language use at home. This study adds to the body of knowledge related to heritage language development by exploring language use at home and church activities, as well as vocabulary depth in Spanish heritage speakers in the Springfield metropolitan area by investigating social and linguistic aspects …