Digital Commons Network^™

Demographics Impact On Feelings Towards The Democratic And Republican Parties, Quinn Layden

Honors Projects

The purpose of this paper is to determine how the demographics of gender, race, religion, age, income, education, and political party affect feelings toward the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States. The American National Elections Study (ANES) data was used to create a multivariate linear regression for each of the Democratic and Republican parties that modeled how the demographics felt towards the parties. The ANES feeling thermometer was used to represent the group’s feelings towards each party. The model showed that there was a slightly strong correlation between demographics and feelings towards the Democratic and Republican parties. With …

Oma1-Mediated Mitochondrial Dynamics Balance Organellar Homeostasis Upstream Of Cellular Stress Responses, Robert Gilkerson, Harpreet Kaur, Omar Carrillo, Isaiah Ramos

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

In response to cellular metabolic and signaling cues, the mitochondrial network employs distinct sets of membrane-shaping factors to dynamically modulate organellar structures through a balance of fission and fusion. While these organellar dynamics mediate mitochondrial structure/function homeostasis, they also directly impact critical cell-wide signaling pathways such as apoptosis, autophagy, and the integrated stress response (ISR). Mitochondrial fission is driven by the recruitment of the cytosolic dynamin-related protein-1 (DRP1), while fusion is carried out by mitofusins 1 and 2 (in the outer membrane) and optic atrophy-1 (OPA1) in the inner membrane. This dynamic balance is highly sensitive to cellular stress; when …

The Association Between Telemedicine And Patient Satisfaction Among Older Patients In Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas, Mimi Byrd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Understanding effective provider communication may help improve shared decision-making and overall patient satisfaction using telemedicine among older patients. Using Donabedian’s lasting framework for healthcare quality as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the association between effective provider communication and shared decision-making and overall patient satisfaction with the healthcare system among older patients aged 65 years and older who were treated with telemedicine in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas. Although researchers have studied patient satisfaction, the literature on the role of patient satisfaction in telemedicine is limited, and healthcare organizations have little evidence relating to how effective …

Perceptions Of Secondary School Educators About English Language Learners Underrepresented In Career And Technical Education Programs, Nancy King Wang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the rapid increase of English language learners (ELLs) in schools in the United States in recent years, they remain marginalized in various educational settings. The underrepresentation of ELLs in high school Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs is one of the inequitable applications in the schools of New York and many other states. The concept that supports this study is rooted in Ladson-Billings’s theory of culturally relevant teaching, which can also be found in the literature on the culturally responsive sustaining education (CRSE) framework published by the New York State Education Department. The key questions for this research study …

Lived Experiences Of Young Adults Exposed To Negligent And Permissive Parenting Styles, Jessica Hernandez Sanchez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of young adults of permissive and negligent parenting styles and their experiences of resilience and self-sufficiency. The theoretical frameworks were Lazarus and Folkman’s diathesis stress model and Baumrind’s theory of parenting styles. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 20 individuals ages 18–25 who met the inclusion criteria and parenting style experiences for this study. Data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed and three themes and seven subthemes emerged. The interpretation of the findings led to five themes: (a) the impact of attachment and parenting styles on the …

Hospital Staff Members’ Lived Experiences Of Facilitating Yalom Focus Groups With Inpatient Adults In Psychiatric Units, Yemisi T. Abiona

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An increase in inpatient psychiatric admissions across the United States with a decrease in funding necessitated a need to investigate clinical and cost-effective interventions to meet the demands. Research indicated that therapeutic group interventions are clinically sound and cost-effective. However, there are few evidence-based group interventions designed for acute and chronically ill psychiatric patients. The objective of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Yalom group facilitators to determine whether the group could be further researched and adopted as a specialized group intervention for this population. Existential theory served as the theoretical framework for this study. …

Parental Expectations For Academic Achievement And Self-Critical Perfectionism In Black Women, Brandy Elizabeth Nichols

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black women are diagnosed with depression at exponentially higher rates than their White counterparts, and maladaptive perfectionistic traits such as self-critical perfectionism may be a significant factor in this trend. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to investigate the potential moderating effect of education level on the relationship between parental expectations for academic achievement and self-critical perfectionism in Black women. A sample of 144 Black women aged 18–50 completed an anonymous survey. Out of the total responses, 96 completed the entire survey. SPSS (Version 28) excluded one case from the analysis, yielding 95 viable cases. Through bivariate and …

Institutional Logics Influencing Human Services Nonprofit Board Members Adoption Or Nonadoption Of Good Ethical Governance, Cynthia Felici Jewell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Board members of human service nonprofit organizations (HSNPOs) perform within the self-governing nonprofit sector influenced by complex logics (reasoning) from institutions. Unknown are the origin, identity, role, or purpose of institutional logics or their influence on HSNPO board members to adopt or not adopt existing good ethical governance. This generic qualitative inquiry study explored HSNPO governance and ethics as experienced, described, and narrated by HSNPO board members. This study utilized the theoretical frameworks of institution theory, complexity theory, institutional complexity theory, and institutional logics metatheory. The concepts within these selected theories are interconnected in contextualizing institutional logics (reasoning of institutions) …

Benthic Community Response To The Impacts Of Proposed Sediment Diversions In Louisiana Estuaries, Jillian C. Tupitza

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sediment diversions designed to mitigate land loss in coastal Louisiana will likely cause ecosystem-wide shifts. The first diversion, planned for Barataria Bay, will divert fresh water and sediment from the Mississippi River into the surrounding wetlands to help them keep pace with high rates of relative sea-level rise (RSLR). Estuarine benthic communities were used in this study as tools to characterize ecological patterns in the context of anticipated salinity changes. I reviewed relevant literature, conducted a two-year survey of Barataria Bay benthos, executed a reciprocal transplant experiment to describe changes that might occur in both community composition and trophic dynamics, …

Demonstration Of High-Impedance Superconducting Nbre Dayem Bridges, S. Battisti, J. Koch, A. Paghi, L. Ruf, Armen Gulian, Serafim Teknowijoyo, C. Cirillo, Z. Makhdoumi Kakhaki, C. Attanasio, E. Scheer, A. Di Bernardo, G. De Simoni, F. Giazotto

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Here, we demonstrate superconducting Dayem-bridge weak-links made of different stoichiometric compositions of NbRe. Our devices possess a relatively high critical temperature, normal-state resistance, and kinetic inductance. In particular, the high kinetic inductance makes this material a good alternative to more conventional niobium-based superconductors (e.g., NbN or NbTiN) for the realization of superinductors and high-quality factor resonators, whereas the high normal-state resistance yields a large output voltage in superconducting switches and logic elements realized upon this compound. Moreover, out-of-plane critical magnetic fields exceeding 2 T ensure that possible applications requiring high magnetic fields can also be envisaged. Altogether, these features make …

Exploring Pedagogical Approaches: A Comparative Analysis Of Information Delivery Methods In Fish Dissection Instruction, Kiara Smidt

Honors Projects

The Covid-19 pandemic prompted a global shift to remote work and education, challenging traditional teaching methods. This research explores the effectiveness of audiovisual versus visual-only guides in teaching perch dissection anatomy, safety, and procedure. The study involves a cross-sectional experiment with students from an Introduction to Biology course at Bowling Green State University. Participants were divided into groups using either a video or a written guide, and their knowledge was assessed before and after the dissection. Results calculated through a Student’s t-test indicate no significant difference in overall effectiveness between the two methods, apart from labeling an anatomy diagram and …

The Effect Of Natural Light On Mental Health, Gianna Arquilla

Honors Projects

All students have experienced low motivation at one point in their academic career, but what are the factors that can affect this? Is it solely based on their personality and work ethic, or can the environment have an effect? This study discusses the effects on mental health through architecture. Can the amount of natural light in a building affect the motivation of students? Natural light is something that is often overlooked, mostly considered as a perk rather than a necessity. How can students truly feel passionate about their work sitting in a dark place? To evaluate this data, this study …

The Reproductive Politics Of Maiolica: Birth, Abortion, And Gendered Authority During The Italian Renaissance, Rose Brookhart

Honors Projects

In the aftermath of several plagues that decimated the population of the Italian peninsula since 1348, men and women from all socioeconomic backgrounds safeguarded their individual corporeal health and collective societal well-being through a variety of routines and rituals, which were prescribed but at the same time extremely personalized. This increased attention in personal and civic health promoted new trends in both literal and material consumption during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Purgative drugs and medicines were a common facet of medicine during the Italian Renaissance and were ingested regularly to alleviate commonplace bodily discomforts in addition to more serious …

Medicine Men: Medicine Match A Program To Increase Male Participation In Targeted Areas Of The Healthcare Field, Anthony Paul Huffman

Honors Projects

The Medicine Men program addresses the imbalance in gender representation in low and middle-level healthcare careers. The program uses a website named Medicine Match to achieve this goal, which offers shadowing, talking, and additional resources with verified medical professionals. Medicine Match provides an engaging platform for individuals interested in exploring healthcare careers. The program's methodology involves creating connections between aspiring professionals, following the path of role models, fostering a sense of community, and educating and empowering target populations. Through a theoretical test and analysis, Medicine Men seeks to demonstrate its efficacy in increasing interest, knowledge, and comfort among male students …

Utilizing Special Interests: Developing A Storybook For A Minimally Speaking Autistic Child To Support Communication, Olivia Fordyce

Honors Projects

The purpose of my Honors Project is to develop a framework for designing a storybook that can be used as a communication tool with minimally speaking autistic children. The project answers two clinically relevant questions within the field of Speech-Language Pathology.

1. What do we know from prior literature about the use of storybooks to support communication in minimally speaking autistic children?
2. What factors are important to consider in designing a storybook for minimally speaking autistic children?

I conducted a literature review exploring adapted storybooks and autistic children’s special interests to answer the project questions. Informed by this knowledge, I have …

Censorship Of Lgbtq+ Books: Causes And Consequences, Merrick Glass

Honors Projects

Censorship in the United States of America has accelerated over the past four years. LGBTQ+ books are specifically being targeted and banned within high school classrooms. Banned books are nothing new--court cases today are influenced by Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982) plurality decision on censorship. Students and professionals alike have power in their rights and voices. In the framework of bell hooks, the classroom can be perceived as a site of resistance in order to take power back into students' hands. Without a diversity of books, students will lack cognitive development and community.

First Comes Love, Then Comes Disparage: How The Production Code Impacted Women’S Roles In Romantic Comedies, Emma Hoback

Honors Projects

Through the analysis of twelve films, I looked to see how the creation and dissolving of the Motion Picture Production Code impacted women’s representation on screen. I looked at six films from the pre-Code era of film (1930-1934) and six films from the newly defined post-Code period (1968-1972). In this paper, I break down the Production Code itself and conduct genre research. The romantic comedy sub-genre was selected for this project. The romantic comedy creates a space for women to have leading roles and have comedy make fun of or reinforce gendered stereotypes. This paper looks at how women went …

Cultivating Excellence: A Literature Review On Harnessing The Power Of The Gut Microbiome For Athletic Performance, Maya Katharine Dean

Honors Projects

The interplay between our gut microbiome and health is immense. This literature review analyzes the current research assessing the interplay between gut microbiome and athletic performance. Knowing how to improve gut microbial diversity via nutrition and supplementation can take athletic performance to the next level; namely improvements in immune, mental, and physical health.

The Effect Of Nutrition Education On Perceived Fatigue Of Collegiate Endurance Athletes, Quinn Murphy

Honors Projects

Background: Based on previous research, athletes have low knowledge when it comes to nutrition. This puts them at a greater risk for poor dietary choices that could ultimately impact their ability to perform optimally, increase fatigue, and increase the risk of injuries. The purpose of this study was to determine if after taking a nutrition education class, the athletes would better fuel their bodies and improve their perceived fatigue levels.

Methods: Initially, five BGSU club runners were recruited to participate. They were asked to track five sequential days of food and drink intake and the level of daily fatigue (consisting …

Examining Liberty In France And The United States Through Religious Accommodations In Education, Carly Hitchcock

Honors Projects

Liberty is a key value of the United States of America and France as seen in their key phrases « Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, » and “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. Liberty can be broken down into two forms, positive liberty, or the freedom to something, and negative liberty, or the freedom from something. The separation of church and state is a primary pillar of both France and the United States, as it determines how the government of each country interacts with different religions. Public education is a primary socialization experience of citizens in both countries, where …

Effectiveness Of The Law School Admission Test, Sydney Snyder

Honors Projects

Examining the influence and effect of the LSAT on graduation and bar passage rates.

Evolution Of The Human Eye: As Compared To Other Vertebrates, Madison Queener

Honors Projects

There are three different types of eyes, the simple eye, the compound eye, and the camera eye (Cambridge Dictionary) (Myer-Rochow, 2014) (UCL, 2020). The retina of the eye has evolved and adapted to fit the lifestyles of the respective organisms. Because of this part of the eye, organisms are able to see different colors and use light to define the world using photoreceptors. Photoreceptors are rod cells, which are light sensitive and process light, and cone cells, which perceive the different color wavelengths, that pass visual information to the brain (Kazilek, 2010). About 5% of the photoreceptors in the retinas …

Communication Of Mental Health Diversity To The Early Childhood Age Group: “The Adventures Of Anxious Anderson, Distracted Daniel, And Organized Olive”, Jessica Gower

Honors Projects

In this project, I aim to explore various aspects of communication, cognitive ability, and mental health diversity in early child development. The three research questions guiding this project are: What cognitive and language abilities do children in the early childhood stage of development have? What are the most effective strategies for communicating information about mental health disorders to children ages 4 to 7 through storytelling? And lastly, how do anxiety, attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) manifest, particularly in children? The storybook's purpose is to create a sense of empathy and understanding of mental health diversity in children …

‘Faults To Make Us Men’: Shakespeare In The Prison System, Hannah Boyle

Honors Projects

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the positive impact of Shakespeare in prison programs on incarcerated individuals, utilizing empirical data, anecdotal evidence, and scholarly insights. It underscores the educational benefits of engaging with literature and performance arts within prison settings, as well as the various social-emotional learning opportunities, especially the ability to reduce recidivism rates and enhance incarcerated individuals' quality of life.

Drawing on the experience and narrative of many practitioners of theatre in prison and Shakespeare in prisons programs, this paper works to show Shakespeare's unique capacity to connect incarcerated populations with those who have gone through the …

The Legal Culpability Of Emperor Hirohito In The Outbreak Of The Second Sino-Japanese War, Joseph Castellano

Honors Projects

An analysis of the legal culpability of Emperor Hirohito in the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War based on primary source evidence. Combines an examination of primary and secondary sources to demonstrate that Emperor Hirohito was legally responsible for his role in the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Who Picks Where A Student Sits In A Classroom?, Kathryn Kummer

Honors Projects

This ACTION research study aims to explore who should pick where students sit in a classroom. Disruptive behavior is a common issue in managing a classroom, so in this study, the results of each arrangement will be done by observing how often disruptive behavior happens in the classroom due to the seating arrangement. Student preference for seating arrangement will also be noted to determine if that affects disruptive behavior. The three arrangements to explore are: student choice, teacher choice, and random selection. By the end, the study will provide the arrangements effect as it relates to disruptive behavior and if …

Evaluating Appropriate Participant Training Period For Anuran Auditory Surveys, Evianna Goebel

Honors Projects

Auditory surveys are common in anuran research as they can tell a lot about a species without being intensely laborious or costly. There has not been much research on training periods for those taking part in the surveys. Proper training is necessary and improper training can hinder a project and lead to skewed results. In this study, we took students from several biology 2040 classes and had them study the calls of 11 frog species in NW Ohio. From the data, we can conclude that 2 weeks of roughly 100 minutes of study time is not enough for successful results …

Two Worlds And In Between: Becoming Goth In The Virtual Spaces Of Tiktok, Marlie Unger

Honors Projects

This research explores how the initiation processes of goth subculture have changed with the introduction and implementation of social media. Using a textual analysis of social media content from TikTok, this research identifies themes present in the virtual community that provide greater insight about how someone becomes goth and the factors which influence the transformation. I highlight the importance of subcultural capital in its creation of a social hierarchy and the goth status of members which fall under the categories of "elder goth," "seasoned goth," and "baby bat." Furthermore, this research examines how commodification, education, and gatekeeping influence the lines …

The Role Of Investigative Genetic Genealogy In The Field Of Criminal Justice, Chloe Haas

Honors Projects

Investigative genetic genealogy is an investigative method used by law enforcement to solve crimes. It involves the uploading of DNA found at a crime scene to genealogy databases to narrow down the suspect pool. The research question for this study is: Is law enforcement’s use of investigative genetic genealogy ethical? I conducted ten interviews with individuals who had a background in the Criminal Justice field, the legal field, the forensics field, and the field of genealogy to see their opinions on this topic. A majority of the participants in this study stated that they believe that law enforcement should be …

Mental Illness In Modern Media, Grace Smith

Honors Projects

This paper will focus on the way mental illness is portrayed in modern media, specifically psychological thriller movies, as many of them feature main characters with some sort of mental illness. The specific mental illnesses present in the movies discussed in this paper are as follows: borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and dissociative identity disorder. Psychological thriller movies influence the way consumers view mental illness and those who suffer from mental illnesses. The potential effects of these portrayals will be explored through Stuart Hall’s theory of reception, as it was created based on television media, making it one of …