Digital Commons Network^™

Analysis Of Robert Schumann’S “Fantasy Pieces For Clarinet And Piano”, Opus 73, For A Greater Understanding Of A Standard In Western Classical Solo Repertory, Kaleigh Alwood

Music Undergraduate Honors Theses

In a mere two days, Robert Schumann composed a duet that would become a lasting symbol of romanticism in chamber music. “Fantasy Pieces for Clarinet and Piano”, Op. 73 is now a standard in clarinet repertoire. As such, the piece is frequently performed and analyzed. Schumann and his “Fantasy Pieces” are well known and broadly discussed, which leads one to wonder: how does one contribute to and interpret such a standard? To answer this question, it is proposed that research is utilized to examine the history surrounding the composer and the work alongside theoretical analysis to find and interpret key …

A Deep Dive Into The American And Italian Healthcare Systems - What Can We Learn?, Natalie Woodland

Honors Projects

It is no secret that the American healthcare system needs improvement. Yet, little has been done to effectively make those improvements. The United States healthcare system has substantial challenges and is underperforming on almost every measure when compared to other health systems. Comparing systems and seeing which ones excel at which dimensions and how they do it can help inform the design of particular reforms in other countries. This paper aims to break down the healthcare systems both in America and Italy, compare each system on critical measures like cost, health outcomes, access to care, and quality of care, and …

Equity In The Classroom For Individuals With Disabilities At Grand Valley State University, Abagail Boyd

Honors Projects

The purpose of this project is to identify areas of equity and inequity for students with disabilities at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) pertaining to their ability to successfully complete their degrees. GVSU has a history of being at the forefront of accommodations with their creation of the LINKS program for students with autism spectrum disorders and their policies on assistance and service animals in the classroom. However, it is not known whether the accommodations and policies currently in place offer the students with disabilities an equitable opportunity for academic success as GVSU students without disabilities. To obtain this information, …

The Fractal Geometry Of Grand Rapids, Nathan Vandermeer

Honors Projects

The fractal nature of cities' geometry has been widely studied. By analyzing a city's fractal pattern, we can obtain its fractal dimension, or measure of how complex it is. We will create models on how Grand Rapids' complexity changed since its inception, and use those models to predict what the complexity is like today.

Mental Health Concerns In The Pediatric Population Following Covid-19, Kristina N. Yaczik, Ashley M. Komosinski

Honors Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to an increase in stress and mental health concerns in the pediatric population. Research indicates a decrease in pediatric mental health incidences in 2020, followed by an increase in 2021 and 2022. It is thought that the initial decrease may be due to the intensity of the pandemic at the time and a lack of hospital beds available. The increase suggests a response to the high levels of adversity and stress children and adolescents faced both during and after the origination of the pandemic. The evidence supports the idea that the COVID-19 pandemic had a …

Xenotransplantation: Using Animals To Save Human Lives, Casey Restau

Honors Projects

The United States currently faces an extreme shortage of organs available for those in need of life-saving transplants. Xenotransplantation, using tissues or organs from non-human animal sources, could provide a solution to this daunting problem. The science behind xenotransplantation has been studied for several decades, however, there is yet to be a truly successful case of xenotransplantation. Major breakthroughs in this experimental treatment have been made within the past couple of years, but progress is slow. Many ethical and moral issues surrounding xenotransplantation have attributed to its controversial nature that could prevent the treatment from becoming reality.

Holiday Jazz Lead Sheets, Tumaini Sango

Honors Projects

Featured in this manuscript are 10 Holiday songs in lead sheet form. Each song has lyrics for the players and audience to sing along to. A left-hand accompaniment is paired with each song, which focuses on a different aspect of jazz piano playing. The accompaniments include sample bass lines, introductory left-hand voicings, chord shapes, and rhythm patterns. Pedagogically, this manuscript serves a wide range of playing levels. First, the accompaniments are great for young and beginning jazz pianists, who are learning how to add flavor to their right-hand melodies. Secondly, the lead sheets on their own offer a great supplement …

A Review Of The Benefits, Risks, And Guide To Adopting Barefoot Running, Joe Wallace

Honors Projects

This presentation discusses the history of barefoot running including empirical evidence of the effects on injury prevalence, rehabilitation, and performance enhancement in runners. Prehistoric humans made use of their endurance running skills to run down their prey for food, so humans are built to be endurance runners. Modern human runners experience high injury rates even after a lot of research has been put into designing the most effective running shoes for injury prevention. Careful selection of scholarly research articles was performed to develop a guide for runners or practitioners interested in the adoption of barefoot running. The research found that …

Attitudes Of University Students, Faculty, And Staff Towards Stuttering, Allison Shattuck

Honors Projects

People who stutter (PWS) can experience negative reactions and judgment from people who do not stutter. They are stigmatized and threatened with social exclusion, placing them at risk for compromised quality of life (Przepiorka et al., 2013). Furthermore, it is imperative to evaluate attitudes of university faculty and students relative to stuttering because it will identify negative attitudes that could be harmful to people who stutter.

This poster analyzed the following research questions: (RQ1) Are there differing beliefs regarding stuttering or people who stutter between faculty and students? (RQ2) Are there differences between beliefs across different colleges? (RQ3) Are attitudes …

A Comparison Of The Treatments Of Al-Razi To Those Of His Contemporary Physicians And To Modern Medicine, Nicholas E. Brough

Honors Projects

Introduction: The Golden Age of the Islamic Empire was a time of great scientific advancements. Due to the support of the Abbasid Caliphate, centers of learning such as the Baghdad House of Wisdom produced translations of Greek medical texts which formed the basis of medicine in Medieval Islam. This led the Islamic Empire to produce some of the greatest physicians of all time including al-Razi. Analysis: The treatments used by al-Razi in his thirty-three case studies from al-Hawi are all theoretically effective through the lens of humoral medicine. Additionally, many of al-Razi’s treatments are backed by research into the phytochemical …

The Role Of Virtual Reality In Art Therapy To Mitigate Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd) Symptoms, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

Traditional art therapy sessions are designed for face-to-face engagement with patients as with other mental health services such as counseling. However, the pandemic of 2019 severely limited access to these services and, initially, led to widespread cancelation and postponement until the nature of COVID-19 could be better understood. When treatment resumed, video conferencing was the preferred method of holding therapy sessions one-on-one to diagnose patients and provide services. Similar approaches were taken in art therapy with less efficacy given the hands-on nature of the required activities. With the rise of virtual reality (VR) as a more widely accessible technology since …

Crystal Structures Of (Z)-(Ethene-1,2-Di­Yl)Bis­­(Di­Phenyl­Phosphine Sulfide) And Its Complex With PtIi Dichloride, Brain Rawls, Jeremy Cunningham, John E. Bender, Richard J. Staples, Shannon Biros

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

The crystal structures of (Z)-(ethene-1,2-di­yl)bis­(di­phenyl­phosphine sulfide), C₂₆H₂₂P₂S₂ (I), along with its complex with Pt^II dichloride, di­chlorido[(Z)-(ethene-1,2-di­yl)bis­(di­phenyl­phosphine sulfide)-κ²S,S′]platinum(II), [PtCl₂(C₂₆H₂₂P₂S₂)] (II), are described here. Compound I features P=S bond lengths of 1.9571 (15) and 1.9529 (15) Å, with a torsion angle of 166.24 (7)° between the two phosphine sulfide groups. The crystal of compound I features both intra­molecular C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds and π–π inter­actions. Mol­ecules of compound I are held together …

Conducting A Needs Assessment To Inform The Development Of A Burnout Mitigation Program For Critical Care Nurses, Leighann Marie Brock

Doctoral Scholarly Projects & Capstones

Burnout among nurses is at monumental levels, contributing to high levels of job dissatisfaction and turnover. Some interventions existed in the literature to support burnout reduction programming among nurses; however, the literature failed to identify effective burnout reduction interventions based upon the specific needs of critical care nurses who face unique stressors related to high patient acuity and other environmental considerations. This project aimed to explore critical care nurses' needs and strategies designed to mitigate burnout in the clinical setting. Outcomes from this assessment would inform future interventions for the early identification and prevention of burnout among critical care nurses. …

Development Of A Pilot Educational Seminar For The Integrative Medical Management Of Adults With Anxiety, Jessica Lynn Fynboh

Doctoral Scholarly Projects & Capstones

Anxiety is a global disease that continues to rise. The COVID 19 global pandemic, natural disasters due to climate change, war, and personal stressors continue to cause the steady rise in anxiety worldwide. As many as 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety. A review of standard anxiety treatments including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac, benzodiazepines such as Xanax, and cognitive behavioral therapy revealed they only provided relief for approximately half of the patients treated. Over the past two years, provider colleagues and their clients in an outpatient private practice where this educational seminar took place had been increasingly …

La Globalización Y El Surgimiento Del Estado Fortaleza, Clyde W. Barrow

Political Science Faculty Publications

A partir de la década de 1990, la teoría de la globalización ha descartado rutinariamente el Estado-nación como irrelevante para comprender el desarrollo político y económico contemporáneo. Así, una serie de libros y artículos han defendido la crisis del Estado-nación, la retirada del Estado e incluso el fin del Estado-nación. En cambio, este artículo considera la relación entre la teoría de la globalización y la teoría del Estado para argumentar que los Estados-nación son los principales agentes de la globalización, así como los garantes de las condiciones políticas y materiales necesarias para la acumulación de capital global. Este texto argumenta …

Characterization Of Colletotrichum Nymphaeae Isolates From Apple With Reduced Sensitivity To Fluazinam And Tebuconazole, Rulyu Meng

All Theses

Apple bitter rot is caused by Colletotrichum nymphaeae and other Colletotrichum species and management relies primarily on synthetic pesticides. Very few fungicides are effective against the disease and resistance has further limited their usefulness. A recent study indicated relatively low EC₅₀ values (the concentration required to inhibit 50% of mycelial growth in vitro) of C. nymphaeae isolates from Brazilian apples to fluazinam and tebuconazole, two fungicides that are not routinely used for bitter rot control. Isolates on opposite sides of the sensitivity range were designated either sensitive (lowest EC₅₀ values) and reduced-sensitive (highest EC₅₀ values). The objective …

Surrogate Modeling Of Nonlinear Components And Circuits, Byron William Byars

All Theses

Surrogate models are simplified approximations of functions that are described by complex equations. Surrogate modeling of physical systems have been used in various fields such as biology, fluid dynamics, climate modeling, and various other engineering disciplines. This data-driven approach is used to decrease computational cost, decrease computation time, or when the output of a system is diffcult or impossible to measure, by using a \black-box" method to approximate the output given inputs. In regards to circuit analysis, surrogate models can be used to decrease computation time and computational load.

In this thesis, surrogate modeling is used to model various nonlinear …

Designing The House Of The Future: Social Commentary On Retrofuturism, Alyssa Woodruff

All Theses

This project explores the aesthetics of retrofuturism and the historical context of the house of the future. Retrofuturism captures how people perceived the future during previous eras in history. Conceptions of the future reflect the time period in which they are created. I designed and implemented a 3D model of a house of the future to express the aesthetics of mid-century modernism. I created the models in ZBrush and Maya. I took inspiration from The Jetsons cartoon, the New York World’s Fair of 1964-65, and Disneyland’s original Tomorrowland theme park. This project also incorporates contemporary features to reflect modern concerns. …

Supporting Us Army Next-Generation Ground Vehicle Simulation Modeling Using An Integrated Ontology Suite, Edward Louis

All Theses

The development of the US Army’s next-generation of ground vehicle systems is supported by simulations that predict vehicle performance and inform engineering design choices in the design and acquisition process. In this paper, we describe the development of an Integrated Ontology Suite to support modeling and simulation of next generation military ground vehicles. The ontology suite is intended to address model reuse challenges and increase the shared understanding of ground vehicle system simulations. It is intended to function in a Model Library structure that stores, documents, assembles, and executes vehicle simulations. The ontology suite consists of four domain ontologies: Vehicle …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Vo2 Thin Films On Piezoelectric Substrates, Samee Azad

All Theses

Polycrystalline VO₂ thin films synthesized on two piezoelectric substrates (AT-cut quartz and GaN/AlGaN/GaN/Si) using low pressure direct oxidation technique have been characterized and compared to VO₂ grown on traditional non-piezoelectric substrates sapphire and SiO₂/Si. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy characterization performed on the as grown films confirmed high quality of the VO₂ films grown on both the piezoelectric and non-piezoelectric substrates. Changes in material properties associated with the semiconductor metal transition (SMT) of the VO₂ films were investigated through resistivity and transmitted optical power changes measured across the SMT. It was observed that …

Strangers Switching Their Identities: Cultural Identity Management And Performance On Social Media A Qualitative Analysis Of International Students’ Intercultural (Ex)Change Processes And Perceptions Regarding Their Stay In The United States And Countries Of Origin, Vivian Kretzschmar

All Theses

In this globalized world, cross-country travel for education has been a prevalent (5.6 million students identified as international students in 2020) and ever-increasing (with a predicted increase of 250% by 2030) trend through the past decades. The sojourn impacts the students’ experience of the new culture and the ensuing shocks and adaptations. The understanding of something as complicated as culture, trying to be integrated into a new culture, and its perception to individuals, of course, have their ways of distinct communication trends through social media.

The struggle of maintaining and changing one’s cultural identity and adaptation across cultures has been …

Unmanned Ground Vehicle Proximal Sensing For Forage Biomass Production Estimations, Curtis Erwin

All Theses

A large increase in productivity could be realized by small increases in efficiency and utilization on grasslands due to their large area. Pre-harvest biomass estimations can help forage producers make better informed management decisions. Producers of dry hay and hay silage can better identify plant growth stages and the optimal time to harvest. Grazers can better determine the most efficient number of animals and stocking density. The goal of this study was to create a novel pre-harvest biomass estimation method utilizing compressed height combined with an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). A compression plate named a “compression ski” was constructed and …

Optical Control System For Atmospheric Turbulence Mitigation, Martyn Lemon

All Theses

Propagation of laser light is distorted in the presence of atmospheric turbulence. This poses an issue for sensing, free-space optical communications, and transmission of power. With an ever-increasing demand for high-speed data communications, particularly between satellites, unmanned vehicles, and other systems that benefit from a point-to-point link, this issue is critical for the field. A variety of methods have been proposed to circumvent this issue. Some major categories include the manipulation of the light’s structure, an adaptive scheme at the optical receiver, scanning mirror systems, or a transmission of simultaneous signals with a goal to improve robustness.

There is an …

Multiple Objective Function Optimization And Trade Space Analysis, Yifan Xu

All Theses

Optimization can assist in obtaining the best possible solution to a design problem by varying related variables under given constraints. It can be applied in many practical applications, including engineering, during the design process. The design time can be further reduced by the application of automated optimization methods. Since the required resource and desired benefit can be translated to a function of variables, optimization can be viewed as the process of finding the variable values to reach the function maxima or minima. A Multiple Objective Optimization (MOO) problem is when there is more than one desired function that needs to …

Why Can't We Be Friends: A Training Evaluation Of Community Dialogues, Kyle Christenson

All Theses

Demographic and attitudinal diversity can be powerful tools within the team and organizational contexts. However, when not addressed effectively, diversity can greatly strain interpersonal relations and has been found to lead to a number of negative consequences at the individual, team, and organizational levels (Roth, Goldberg, & Thatcher, 2017; Harrison & Klein, 2007). Though there have been attempts to effectively mitigate these negative outcomes, few have found lasting success (Kessler, 2021). However, a training for students offered at a university nested in the southeastern region of the United States offers a relatively novel approach to handling these interpersonal differences. The …

Coloniality Of Power And The Curriculum Of Violence: Understanding Contemporary Educational Racism In The Americas [La Colonialidad Del Poder Y El Currículum De La Violencia: Comprendiendo El Racismo Educacional Contemporáneo En Las Américas], Noah De Lissovoy, Raúl Olmo Fregoso Bailón

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

This study shows how the notion of coloniality of power unveils the existence of a curriculum of violence by considering two contemporary cases in the U.S. and Mexico. Current restrictions on the types of content and activities allowed in civics education concerned with race in the U.S., as well as attacks on normalistas’ bodies and educational institutions in Mexico, show how racism as an international project is attached to a capital system that strategically attempts to disappear (in material and symbolic terms) educators, institutions and curriculum as part of the project of modernity underwritten by a process of coloniality. These …

Venomic Characterization Of A Medically Relevant Rear-Fanged Snake, Conophis Lineatus (Dipsadidae: Xenodontinae), From Middle America, Tristan Schramer

All Theses

Most traditional research on snake venoms has focused on front-fanged snake families (Viperidae, Elapidae, and Atractaspididae). However, venom is now generally accepted as being a much more broadly possessed trait within snakes, including species traditionally considered harmless. Unfortunately, due to historical inertia and methodological challenges, the toxin repertoires of non-front-fanged snake families (e.g., Colubridae, Dipsadidae, and Natricidae) have been heavily neglected despite the knowledge of numerous species capable of inflicting medically relevant envenomations. Integrating proteomic data for validation, we perform a de novo assembly and analysis of the Duvernoy’s venom gland transcriptome of the Central American Road Guarder (Dipsadidae: Xenodontinae: …

Impact Of Housing And Management On Production, Behavior, And Welfare Of Dairy Cows In Automatic Milking Systems, Lindsey Eve Davis

All Theses

The overall objective of this research was to determine the impact of Automatic Milking System (AMS) housing and management practices on cow production, behavior, and welfare of Holstein dairy cows. The first objective was to identify factors at the farm and cow level associated with lameness on AMS farms through decision tree analysis to allocate probabilities to each input. Results indicated this novel multifactorial approach of data analysis enabled us to highlight critical points that can be focused on to lessen cow-level complications or enhance farm-level housing and management practices to reduce the incidence and severity of lameness in AMS …

Understanding The Influence Of Excessive Fertilization And Water Relations On Peach (Prunus Persica (L.) Batsch) Skin Bronzing, Sydney Lykins

All Theses

This project evaluated possible causes of peach skin bronzing, a brown-blotchy skin discoloration on mid to late-season peaches that causes drastic decreases to grower incomes in the Southeastern U.S. It is known that there is no bacterial, insectile, viral, or fungal cause of bronzing; thus, these studies focused on potential nutrient imbalances within the peach. On the ‘PF23’ variety, factors of irrigation, potassium fertilization, and transpiration-inhibiting sprays were tested to see the various effects on the incidence and severity of bronzing. The hypothesis was that excessive irrigation and excessive soil potassium concentrations would induce a higher incidence and severity of …

Investigating Attention Modeling Differences Between Older And Younger Drivers, Kathryn Baringer

All Theses

As in-vehicle technologies (IVTs) grow in both popularity and complexity, the question of whether these IVTs improve, or hinder, driver performance has gained more attention. The ability to predict when a driver will be looking at the road or a display on the car’s dashboard or center console is crucial to understanding the impact of the recent tech-heavy trend in car designs on safety and the extent to which IVTs compete with the primary driving task for visual resources. The SEEV model of visual attention has been shown to be able to predict the probability of attending an area if …