Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

“Have You Seen Me?”: Forensic Art For Human Identification, Mckenzie Stommen

Honors Theses

Forensic art for human identification is used to identify victims, suspects, and unidentified decedents. The field is highly interdisciplinary, and forensic artists draw on a broad range of skills, knowledge, and relationships with colleagues to complete this work. This paper will focus mainly on age progression and forensic facial reconstruction, although more applications of forensic art do exist. The case study in forensic art discussed here took the form of an age progression.

New developments in artificial intelligence, facial recognition, computed tomography, and DNA have implications for forensic art, and have already begun to find a place in the field. …

The Fall Of The Pakatan Harapan (Ph): Contesting Nationalism In Malaysia, Cheng Kidd Sun

Honors Theses

The collapse of the 22 months-old Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition-government in 2020 was the ultimate manifestation of contestations over nationalism that have continued in Malaysia since the nation’s inception more than six decades ago. The “middle ground” platform — a political moderation strategy to win across ethnic lines to obtain multiethnic support — that helped the PH coalition to win the 14th Malaysian General Election was shattered due to identity tensions. The current political discourse has persistently insisted that the betrayal of politicians and political parties, along with economic insecurity and media fragmentation, had contributed to the downfall of this …

From The Farm To Higher Education: Interpreting The Experience Of Students With A Migrant/Seasonal Farm Working Background And Have Participated In The College Assistance Migrant Program (Camp), Elizbia Xaxni-Capula

Honors Theses

The following thesis presents research on the experience of scholars with a migrant and/or seasonal farmworker (MSFW) background and have participated in the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) in a 4-year institution. This research begins the methodology that was used to select the subjects being interviewed individually. This is followed by a literature review of the data that is already available specific about this demographic presenting 3 common barriers. The barriers focused on this are economic constraints, family role in higher education, and the imposter syndrome. An analysis of the respondents' answers will contribute to the sections of this thesis, …

Refugee And Asylee Policy In The United States, Hannah Domsic

Honors Theses

This study aims to objectively examine the impact that the global refugee crisis has on the United States, and vice versa. Research was conducted on the history of refugee resettlement in the United States as well as current statistics in order to create an overview of the refugee process to the United States and how resettlement is handled. A map was also created of the top countries refugees flee from to visually illustrate the extensive process of refugees’ journeys to the United States. This project is rooted in communication theories to provide a framework of understanding how refugees in the …

Examination Of Sedentary Behavior And Stress Levels In Undergraduate Students At Western Michigan University, Samantha Putman

Honors Theses

The intention of this research project is to provide a snapshot of current sedentary behavior and stress levels of undergraduate students at Western Michigan University (WMU). This project investigates two variables of interest in current undergraduate students at WMU to understand how much sedentary behavior and stress students are experiencing whilst pursuing their undergraduate degree. Both sedentary behavior and stress are often seen as underlying causes of multiple health issues, which is why they are variables of interest. Understanding these two variables can help the university support aspects of an undergraduate’s life affected by increased stress and sedentary behavior while …

Campaigning In The Digital Age: How Social Media Changed The Framework Of Elections, Faith Hamelin

Honors Theses

Throughout the 21st century, it is normal for social media users to see politics on virtually every platform an individual uses, ranging from LinkedIn to TikTok. Broadcast news, including television and radio have always aired political discussions, as mass communication became the most common and favorable way for politicians to communicate with constituents. However, politics were not a prominent aspect of social media use until less than a decade and a half ago. As the internet became further integrated into our daily lives, through radio, television, and cellular or smart phones, we found ourselves invested in politics at a previously …

Age As A Moderator In The Relationship Between Coping Strategies And Well-Being During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Hailey Owens

Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with an increase in social isolation, which is correlated with a decrease in psychological well-being. Previous research has found that the coping strategies individuals use most frequently change with age. Previous research has also outlined the mental health benefits of positive coping strategies across age groups, but the appropriateness of various coping strategies for different age groups during pandemic conditions has not been explored. Using data collected in a 3-week period beginning in April of 2020, the current study explored the moderating effect of age on the relationship between coping strategies and psychological well-being. …

The Effect Of A Toilet Training Seminar On Classroom Staff's Knowledge Of Evidence-Based Toileting Practices, Madeline Ritter

Honors Theses

Toileting is a critical life skill that may present challenges to individuals with an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD). Extensive research on toilet training has been conducted in clinical, residential, and home settings; however, limited research has been conducted on toilet training in educational settings. Educational settings present unique challenges that other settings may not, which makes research on toilet training in these settings critical (Cagliani et al., 2021). Additionally, research on toileting in educational settings have not evaluated classroom staff’s acceptance of evidence-based toileting strategies. The current study used a pre posttest design to examine the effect of a …

Teaching Kids About Media And Digital Literacy, Lauren Schuster

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Trauma-Informed Care In An Intimate Partner Violence Resource Center, Kailyn Alderman

Honors Theses

Every year, an estimated 10 million people experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in the United States (Huecker et al., 2021). The long-term implications of surviving IPV can be debilitating and limited community resources influence the likeliness of physical and psychological recovery. Trauma-informed care (TIC) is a set of practices that may produce improvements in the quality of life for IPV survivors. There are a variety of definitions of TIC and empowerment, which may serve as a barrier to implementing these practices. The present study examined employee and volunteer perceptions of trauma-informed practices and empowerment at a domestic violence agency. The …

Comparing Behavioral Activation With And Without A Values Component: A Systematic Review, Natalie Komoll

Honors Theses

Major depressive disorder is one of the most prevalent psychological disorders within the global population and has been for many years. Over the years, numerous interventions have been developed to treat major depressive disorder, including cognitive-behavioral therapy. One form of cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression, known as behavioral activation, focuses on increasing contact with pleasant activities that are reinforcing. Many modifications of behavioral activation have been made over the years, including the version Martell and colleagues (2010) created which modified the traditional approach by decreasing the number of sessions. This new approach, known as brief behavioral activation, also asks clients to …

Tropical Cyclone Translation Speeds In The Northern Atlantic Ocean, Marybeth Melcher

Honors Theses

Over the past 40 years, tropical cyclones have caused over $1,076.9B in damage in the United States. The fatalities from tropical cyclones are just as devastating. Hurricane Katrina of 2005 caused over 1,800 deaths; Harvey in 2017 just under 90 deaths; Ike of 2018 took 112 deaths; and horrifically, Maria of 2017 claimed nearly 3,000 lives. The destruction that tropical cyclones have caused is astronomical, and a factor of tropical cyclones that is responsible for this level of destruction is their translation speeds. Tropical cyclone translation speed (TCTS) is the speed at which a hurricane is moving--the duration of time …

Litigating Reproductive Rights: The Evolving Support Structure In The United States, Allison Anker

Honors Theses

The Supreme Court of the United States functions as the highest judicial body in the country, with its decisions having the capability to reverberate change across the nation. Understanding why they make certain decisions has long been a point of scholarship, with multiple theories emerging as to what exactly influences their rulings. One such theory is the support structure, proposed by Charles Epp in The Rights Revolution (1998), which is a theory exploring how social movements influence litigation and the establishment of certain rights. This theory states that legal mobilization at the Supreme Court rests “on resources, and resources for …

Factors Influencing Alcohol Use During Covid-19 With College Students, Nikki Davis

Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has had adverse mental health implications. Young adults have been identified as a particularly high-risk group for increased alcohol use during the pandemic (Capasso et al., 2021). Psychological distress, motives for drinking, experiential avoidance, COVID-19 related fears, and campus connectedness may all be factors related to drinking in college students; however, many of these factors have not been examined during COVID-19. The current study surveyed a sample of full-time, WMU college students (N = 235) who were 18 years old or older (M = 21.13, SD = 3.33). The majority of the sample identified as women (71.9%) …