Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

S.A.D. Survival Kit: A Podcast On Seasonal Affective Disorder, Kate Lincoln

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This document explores seasonal affective disorder through the lens of the accompanying mini podcast series S.A.D. Survival Kit. Over the course of five episode transcripts, the audience will gain a better understanding of seasonal affective disorder and its associated interrelations with the surrounding environment and any individual’s internal physical and mental health. The podcast is available on Spotify and SoundCloud. (Links are on page 1.) Seasonal affective disorder is a form of seasonal depression marked by a significant change in one’s behavior or thinking patterns when seasons shift. Episode 1 explains the basics of S.A.D. and concludes that many people …

Student Perspectives On Returning To In-Person Learning Modalities, Lance K. Tulloch

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Following the pandemic-induced shift in educational modalities from in-person to online, the calls for a return to “normalcy” or in-person learning guided institutional policy making and culture more broadly. This study is an initial step towards tracking and interrogating this shift and the artifacts brought into view at Western Washington University. A quantitative survey and two rounds of qualitative focus groups and interviews were performed in order to assess student perspectives on this transition or 'return' to in-person learning. The resulting code, FIRBO, calls attention to Folk Knowledge, Interaction, Resources, Barriers, and Openness. These themes highlight and interact with a …

A Closer Look At Interrogation Strategies: Confabulation, False Memories, And False Confessions Due To Interrogator Pressure And Information Exposure, Annika Fiala

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This literature review seeks to explore how interrogation strategies, such as compliance pressure and provision of information, can result in subject confabulation, false memories, and false confessions. These effects reduce the reliability of subject statements, and overall reliability of the criminal justice system. Additionally, differences in subject cognitive ability can make some more susceptible to interrogation methods. These factors must be accounted for when conducting interrogation procedures in order to mitigate their effects and prioritize the reliability of information relied on by the criminal justice system.

Confronting Ptsd In The Aftermath Of Abuse, Ayla A. Bilyeu

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This narrative follows a young woman through seven clinical sessions with a psychiatrist as she confronts her diagnosis of PTSD following abuse sustained in a romantic relationship.

Who Are You? The Relationship Between Language And Personality, Gwendolyn Cooley

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The relationship between language and personality is one that has been ruminated upon for decades, leading to a plethora of often contradictory scholarship. This project examines that relationship from an outsider perspective, utilizing both existing research and original questionnaire data to draw conclusions about how one's second language learning impacts personality.

By The Campfire: How Representation In Video Games Can Be Improved, Hunter Smith

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

By the Campfire is a video game designed with accurate and thorough representation in mind from the start of development. Its purpose is to showcase the ways in which the player character in a video game can accurately represent anyone who plays it, and that the non-player characters in a video game can be generated in a way that diverse groups can be represented without harmfully misrepresenting them. This project includes a document that explains the process by which this game was created and why certain choices were made when implementing the games systems. The document details a survey that …

Development, Line By Line: An Introspective Case Study On Narrative Identity And Development Through Poetry, Milla Miller

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Situated at the intersection of creative writing and psychology, this project analyzes the author’s adolescent poetry alongside her current work to explore psychosocial and narrative identity development. Specifically, the work contrasts poems written about developmental stages in process with those written in reflection of previous stages in order to reveal how the understanding of self evolves. In addition to the complexities revealed by these temporal differences, structural elements unique to the poems provide further levels of understanding: choice of form and figurative dexterity show cognitive and narrative advancement; themes reveal psychosocial conflicts; and repetition across a poetic lifespan identifies the …

Archaeological Photography: The United Kingdom, Madeline Scholten

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Archaeological photography is an interdisciplinary aspect of archaeological endeavors that is key in allowing archaeological finds to be accessible to a general audience. This facet is key in data collection and distribution within the field as it is to the general public.

Photography is something that people are exposed to, possibly even partaking in, on a daily basis, but photography goes a lot deeper than simply capturing a still image. The history of photography, and the ways photography has improved so many disciplines are things that are just as important as the camera itself, and yet not necessarily needed to …

Language Planning, Education, And Linguistic Identity In The Republic Of Ireland, Margo Digiacinto

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This paper explores Irish-Gaelic language policy in educational domains in the Republic of Ireland and how educational policy connects to the greater language revitalization movement of the Irish language. The history of language policy since Ireland's independence in 1922 is presented for context, along with statistics and background information about the status of the Irish language in the country overall and in Gaeltacht communities. Then, the paper explores the three main educational contexts in which Irish is learned: English medium education, Irish medium education, and Gaeltacht schools. Potential solutions are then put forth to address some of the challenges students …

Social Impact Of Covid-19 In India And Among Asian Indians In The United States, Rajeswari Venkatesh

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This article is a culmination of the social challenges faced and the solutions found by people in India during the COVID-19 pandemic. The problems faced during the pandemic are still getting unraveled, even after three years. This paper examines the social challenges, such as mental health awareness, including suicide and physical health issues, the effects of loneliness and the reason for the loneliness felt during the pandemic, and the solutions created, such as the usage of technology and religion in positive and negative ways to reduce mental health issues faced during the pandemic. Additionally, this article includes two studies. The …

Recreation: Work That Makes A Difference, Logan Cornwell

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The recreation industry is a growing field and this project was aimed at highlighting possible career opportunities for students. This project culminated in a map showing 656 past internship sites from the Recreation Management and Leadership (RML) program here at Western Washington University. Fifteen years of internship feedback has been compiled into this map, and viewers can easily sort by year to find places of interest. This was created as a tool for future students to learn from previous internship experiences, and recognize the wide range of impactful careers you can find in the recreation field.

Verb Strings And Other Weavings: An Exploration Of Grammatical Structures, Visual Arts, And Language Teaching, Mae Bash

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In language education, visual arts are sometimes used as a tool to inspire communication and convey cultural concepts. However, limited research has looked into the application of visual arts in the classroom for the exploration of linguistic patterns. Both languages and weavings are complex systems governed by distinct sets of rules, yet they still permit infinite unique productions. This project explores this relationship by presenting five bandweavings, each of which is designed based on the rules and structures of different languages. These weavings show that it is possible to connect art and language through practical, structural methods, not only abstract …

Frankenpop, Elliott Windrope

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This presentation is about my work at Whatcom Health and Community Services where I analyzed and compared two population estimates. The presentation gives an overview of how population estimates work in the United States as well as applications for this data. My project focuses on two datasets both based on the 2020 census. It was unknown how these two datasets differed or if they differed at all. I found that the data is identical in the aggregate post-2020 but for the data based on the 2010 census, there were important disparities, especially in certain age and racial groups.

(A transcript …

Inversed Research: A Study About How Psychology Research Impacts Researchers Themselves, Ayanna Stewart

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This paper focuses on how research impacts the people who are conducting the research. There is literature surrounding how a researcher's biases impact their results, but how are researchers impacted personally by the scientific method of collecting data? This paper weaves together Western and feminist scientific methods in order to understand what happens to a researcher when they conduct research.

This study interviewed four research assistants who were part of the Eating and Body Image lab at Western Washington University. Using their responses to questions, an analysis of the impacts of research and subjectivity was conducted. Results showed that participants …

Beyond The Meeple: Ttrpg's Impact On Wwu Students, Nicolas Mendez

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The present study sought to develop a stronger understanding of the impact of Tabletop Roleplaying games (TTRPG’s) on college students. Data from 17 one-on-one interviews as well as 18 survey responses from students attending Western Washington University were used. The qualitative data was coded using first, second and third order coding with the use of digital coding software Atlas.ti. Of the 12 codes found from the interviews, the “Beyond Part” and the “Player versus Character” themes were examined. My analysis found that players experience the impacts of TTRPG’s beyond the table on both an individual level as well as on …

Framing Dr. Fauci: The Portrayal Of Dr. Anthony Fauci By Fox News And Cnn In The Early Covid-19 Lockdown, Lilian Froese Raihl

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

COVID-19 caused the severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that emerged in December 2019 (Center for Disease Control, 2022). When COVID-19 became prevalent in early 2020 in the United States, the media played a large role in communication about the pandemic, whether it was transmitting updates about the spread of the virus, posting alerts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or sharing medical research on COVID-19 (Grasso, 2021). As the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci became a leading figure in informing the public about the virus. He was featured …

Linguae Biologiae: Biomedical Terminology And Its Real World Applications, Sydney Wong

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Interdisciplinary studies between Linguistics and STEM are lacking in current educational institutions, leading to the preconception that they are separate, unrelated fields. Medical fields in particular, however, utilize extensive jargon and terminology based on Greek and Latin roots. Understanding these roots can provide a more widespread understanding of the human body and conditions affecting it, which is relevant to every person at some point in their life. Currently, biomedical terminology courses are advertised and reserved almost exclusively for students in biomedical fields. Therefore, despite its practical relevance, instruction of this topic is largely inaccessible for the general population, which encompasses …

The Evolution Of Spanish Nationalism, Anna Sutherland

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The primary objective of this study is to discover how diversity and immigration affect Spanish nationalism and learn more about the contemporary Spanish mindset. The paper contains a literature review of researchers’ findings on the history of Spanish nationalism. In addition, data from the World Values Survey on Spain from 1996 and 2023 demonstrates a shift in societal values. Following is my hypothesis based on the research and data found. A methodology is included with information about the research process. Appendix A contains survey questions and Appendix B interview questions regarding topics including immigration, nationalism, personal identity, and values. The …

The Study Of Peace: Proposing And Designing A Peace Studies Class For Wwu, Clarice Ruhlin-Hicks

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This proposed course explores the field of peace studies, examining the state of peace and conflict in the world from the perspective of international relations and comparative politics. Is peace simply the absence of conflict? Are humans naturally drawn towards war? How do we achieve peace? Where has peace worked and where has it failed? What institutions or processes lead to or inhibit the establishment of peace? The course dives into conflict prevention, the erosion of peace, methods of conflict resolution and management, the issue of peacekeeping, and the process of peace building. Through group presentations, in-depth reading, and individual …

The Silenced Migrants, Alisa Nguyen

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

I researched how the Ukrainian refugee crisis has highlighted cases of institutionalized racism all over the world and amplified the quiet part of many people's thinking. I focused on how BIPOC refugees were treated before this crisis, what has happened to them during this crisis, and how BIPOC refugees from Ukraine were treated by the world and Ukrainians.

[A supplementary file with slides is available below.)

Media Coverage On Human-Bear Encounters, Robin Hall

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Human-bear encounters are on the rise as human recreation and settlement continues to expand and encroach upon bear habitat. As these encounters increase, so does the news and media coverage of encounters that affect societal attitudes toward bears, their habitat, and their conservation. In this paper I will explore the implications of media coverage on human-bear encounters, including management techniques and critiques that influence media coverage and bear populations. The basis for my study was founded on the research question, “How does local media coverage of bear encounters impact societal perceptions of bears?” Using content analysis of 59 local news …

Sentimental Value: Developing A Model For Sentiment & Linguistic Analysis Of Cable News, Caitlin Bannister

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This project aims to provide a tool for sentiment and linguistic analysis of news content. Specifically, the intended purpose of this research is to assess the variability of language use across cable news. In order to accomplish this, a Python script was written that allows the researcher to produce a specific set of sentiment/linguistic analysis output as well as statistical analysis of that output. While the code is written specifically to analyze cable news transcripts, it can be modified to perform the same analysis on any text of interest, news or otherwise. The output of this code allows the researcher …

Visualizing Animal Fire Responses, Michael Ginster

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The following document contains an assembly of 21 pie charts depicting proportions of animal during-fire responses across ecosystems and groups of specific animals within those ecosystems. For further clarification, a good example would be the Coastal Redwoods Ecosystem Pie Charts, which depict a general chart for all animal fire responses before displaying bird fire responses and mammal fire responses in separate charts. The pie charts were originally created for a group ENVS 429 capstone project before being modified based on accessibility guidelines and Edward Tufte’s graphic design principles. This project and its ENVS 429 predecessor are valuable because animal fire …

Perceptions Of Political Knowledge, Political Participation, And Political Efficacy Among Western Washington University Students, Bryndis Danke

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The way people view political knowledge, political participation, and political efficacy impacts their interactions with politics. But how exactly do people define political knowledge and participation? Political science scholars are in the midst of discussions on how to broaden these definitions to include traditional forms of both (knowledge of political facts and participation in activities such as voting, campaigning, and protesting) as well as non-traditional forms (experiential knowledge and community activities). This paper examines the results of a survey of 196 university students and 5 student interviews to determine if these broader definitions are held by the general public. Additional …

Environmental Education At An Under-Resourced And Multicultural Bellingham School: Reflections On Americorps, Culturally Responsive Education And Abbott Elementary, Allie Vandewege

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This internship report details a year of an AmeriCorps service with Common Threads Farm, working at Cordata Elementary’s school garden and teaching cooking classes in Bellingham, WA. A comprehensive summary of the systemic segregation of the Bellingham School District elucidates how northern schools like Cordata are under-resourced and underserved compared to Bellingham’s more central, wealthier neighborhoods. The author compares her experiences to that of the characters on ABC’s Abbott Elementary, discussing the importance of culturally responsive teaching pedagogies when working with multicultural school communities and collective, grass-roots movement for education reform in under-resourced schools.

Anaerobic Digestion At Western Washington University, Sienna Taylor

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is the process by which organic matter (such as food waste, manure, paper products, etc.) are broken down by bacteria in a contained system lacking oxygen. The decomposition in this environment produces the byproducts of digestate, which can be used as a liquid fertilizer, and biogas, which can be used in place of natural gas. The goal of anaerobic digestion at Western Washington University is to create a closed-loop waste system to process the pre-consumer and post-consumer organic food waste from the dining halls and use the resulting byproducts. This paper provides recommendations for anaerobic digestion at …

Rethinking The American National Narratives: Finding A Way Forward With Our Past And With Hope, Emma Stiff

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

An essay contributing to the ongoing conversation about America's national narratives through an analysis of how stories shape our country and the steps we can take towards a more inclusive, hope-based narrative.

Racism Within The Honors College, Zoe Pais

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Students of color have been advocating for a change within the Honors College for many years. Student leaders of the club Honors Students of Color Board or HSOCB collaborated with Faculty to release a climate survey in Spring of 2022. The purpose of the survey was to gather data on the differences in experiences of students within the honors program, primarily focusing on race. The results found that students of color are more likely to consider leaving Honors due to feeling isolated or unwelcome than white students. The results also found that students of color feel as though they need …

Political Rhetoric: A Personal And Scientific Exploration, Joshua Mcneal

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

An essay going over the existing Political Science and Communications research behind Political Rhetoric. Specifically: what political rhetoric is, by what mechanisms it works, and various examples of political rhetoric in practice (eg: populism, sacred rhetoric, classical rhetoric, etc.). Also a component at the beginning and end that ties the findings of this paper back philosophically to my honors education, personal realizations, and future goals.

Liberalism And Its Trail, David Nessa

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The United States has a history of utilizing liberal ideology as a justification for the appropriation of native land and resources for the enrichment of the United States. After becoming the pre-eminent superpower of the world post-WW2, the United States continued to justify intervention across the globe with liberal notions of what is good for society. David Harvey, who is a Marxist geographer, constructs the US imperial project as one that is tied up in the uneven trade of resources and thus the uneven development of these regions under the US sphere. After constructing an index measuring uneven trade and …