The honors thesis is a time-honored tradition in the Lee Honors College. It is an opportunity for students to demonstrate to themselves and others the knowledge and skills they have developed during their undergraduate studies and honors experience. The general purpose of the thesis is to create a capstone work that reflects the expertise they have developed in their major field of study or interest.
Honors theses completed at Western Michigan University are entered into ScholarWorks. Some may be embargoed or restricted by the authors or we have been unable to reach the authors, so the theses may be only available from on-campus computers. If you are an author of an honors thesis and would like to make it available off campus or if you have any questions, please contact wmu-scholarworks@wmich.edu.
Theses from 2010
'A Great Disturbance in the Force:' Thematic Dissonance Between the Two Star Wars Trilogies, Lauren Baiers
Stuck Together: Searching for a Model of Peritoneal Adhesions Using the August Rat, James W. Bathe
Trombone Honors Thesis Senior Recital, Hana Belogavec
Ethical Views of Nursing Students on Voluntary Assisted Suicide (VAS), Amy Bowron
How Much Did the Germans Know about the Final Solution?: An Examination of Propaganda in the Third Reich, Issa A. Braman
Consumer Opinions and RFID Implementation, Anna K. Brown
Variables Affecting the Cognitive and Linguistic Outcomes in School-Aged Survivors of Traumatic Brain Injury, Brianna A. Chapman
Programming Activities for International Graduate Students at Western Michigan University: Assessing Demands and Services, Cara Cheevers
Permanent Souvenirs: Bilingual Creative Writing Across the Atlantic, Laura Citino
Corporate Media: Deregulation, Profit, and the Way Out, Alyssa B. Coffey
Formation of Culture in Chinese Diaspora: Identity, Authenticity, and Food, Sarah Cook
The American Dream Turns into Reality: Home Ownership in America, Abigail Dame
Creation and Development of a Service-Based Organization: An Executive Summary, Stephen Denuyl
[re]Counting my Blessings, Daniel Ebenhoeh
Visualization of Actin Cable in Roots of Arabidopsis Thaliana eEF1A T-DNA Knockout Lines, Caroline Eskander
Text in Vocal Music of the Renaissance and 20th Century, Maura C. Foley
Japan's Economic Malaise, Janelle Garchow
Cyberbullying: Nurses' Role in Detection and Prevention, Lisa Gasser
Best Practices in Environmental Management with Golf Course Operations, Jay Parker Gibson
The Role of Family Systems Therapy in Improving the Academic Attainment for Children from Single-Parent Families, Natalie M. Grandy
Kennedy Row: "Shimmer in Style", Katelynn Gray
Heart Accessory Efferent Target Innervation in the Leech Hirudo Verbana, Danielle Harik
Design of a Near-Constant Force Spring for Orthopedic Implants, Christopher Hartman and Paul Rotarius
A Collection of Reviews and Essays on Film, James Henry
OT and Accessible Gardening with a Low-Income Older Adult Population, Kimberlee Hojna and Liza Timmons
A Multi-Subject Unit Plan with the Theme of Alaska, Mary Holysz
The Northwest Forest Plan: Up to our Neck in Owls?, Ashley N. Horvat
Stopping for Death: Plays, Poetry, and Prose, Sally Johnson
Medical Spanish and Cultural Competency, Alia Kaakani
Jamie Lee Kakes: A Bakery Business Plan, Jamie Koyl
Harley-Davidson, Inc.: A Strategic Audit, Sheila Lenz
Statement Games: How Sport and the Olympic games of the 1920s-30s helped Usher in an Era of Political, Social, and Personal Freedom for American Women, Michael J. McPhillips Jr.
Observation of Neutron-Unbound Resonant States in 23O and 28Ne, John Novak
Army Supply Chain Management: Trends and Parellels with Industry, Matthew C. Olson
My 21st Century Expedition: Following the Route of Schoolcraft 1820, 1832 to the Source of the Mississippi River, Lorah Patterson
Using LED Lights as Prompts to Teach Receptive Identification to Preschool Children with Autism, Allison Pavlicek
Proposing Research: An Undergraduate Learning Experience (Using LED Lights as Prompts to Teach Receptive Identification of Preschool Children with Autism), Allison L. Pavlicek
Theories of Leadership, Followship, and Motivation, Amy S. Pietrzak
Design of Wind Turbine Blade, Alex Quinlan, Hannah Cooley, Andrew Koehler, and Letitia Mwangi
Consumers' Attitudes Towards Traceability of Food and Meat Products, Kulmani Rana
Site Design of a Four-Story 11,705 sq-ft Class A Office Building, Britney Richmond, Allison Porrett, and Kimberly Warners
Automobile Mass Distribution Analyzer, Eric Rifel, Donald Ragatz, and Garrett Beulle
Nursing Image in Current Oscar-Nominated Film, Melissa A. Robbins
The Elementals of Magic; A Short History of FAERIE; A Tale of FAERIE, Patricia Schultz
African Water: An Experience with Project Management in Bulima, Tanzania, Robert Sharp
Determinants of Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of College Jobs, Alexander D. Smith
A Study of: Activity Based Costing and its Role in Process Improvement, Sarah Stocchiero
Kalamazoo Center for Autism, Kirsten Strauss
Accessible Community Garden: A Grant Proposal, Anna E. Timmons
Five Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know, Ann K. Vaught
Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF) and Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) Protein Level Alterations with Physical Activity in Adult Rat Heart, Katie L. Walkowiak
The Role of Social Networks, Mara M. Wenzler
Strange Bedfellows: The Trumpet Finds New Partners, Erin Yanacek
Student Recital, Erin Yanacek
Bittersweet Ski Area Market Research, Andrew Zuehlke
Theses from 2009
Solar Car Simulator, Paul Adams, Collin Moerman, Corey Nunnery, Brandon VanVaerenberg, and Ryan Woodcox
Requiem, Ryan Andrews
Western Michigan University and Healthcare Careers Promotion, Jennifer Arthur
Factors That Affect Labor Support Behaviors of Nurses, Samantha Jean Barrett
non-things, Lynn Batchelder
The Financing and Reform of the United States Healthcare System, Sarah Georgeau Bernheisel
Gusset Plate Analysis for a Steel Truss Bridge, Paulette BeVier, Megan Montgomery, Frank Rodriquez, and Evan Selahowski
Baking Oven Exhaust Heat Reclamation, Justin Biddle, Ryan Lake, Thomas Larson, and Amy Tomczyk
Factors Related to Breastfeeding Discontinuation Between Discharge and Two Weeks Postpartum, Elizabeth Brand
Private-Public Partnerships to Improve Communities, Benjamin Brown
Reduction of Fresh Water in a Paper Mill, James Bruno
Behavioral Research Supervisory System, Russell Buero
Mock-Client Assessment, Kelly Carlson
Globalization and the Case of China, Kaitlyn M. Carr
My Trip to Spain From A to Z: A Personal Reflection on the Pros and Cons of Multilingual Literature, Michael Center
Ethical Views of Nursing and Pre-Medical Students on Voluntary-Assisted Euthanasia (VAE), Gaurav Chand
Semi-Automated Model for Production Line Scheduling, Yenni Chen, Saeed Sulemana Baba, and Wen Ken Loh
SHIFT: Exploring the Role of the Arts in 21st Century Education, Anders Christensen
The Struggle of America's "Big Three" Auto Makers, Scott Ciraulo
Treatment Approaches for Co-Occurring Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use Disorder, Dana Connor
Effects of Orexin-A Microinjections in the Lateral Hypothalamus on Conditioned Place Preference in Rats, Elyse M. Cornett
Ambulance Maintenance System, Mike Davis, C.J. Marks, and Adam Riggs
Evaluation of the Special Olympics Michigan Area 16 Unified Sports Program, Jarrod DeGroff
If I Had to Describe to You where Fremont is..., William Derks
Portfolio Review, Denise Dietrich
Supervising Undergraduate Students and Creating a BRSS Undergraduate Alumni Database, Lindsey Donovan
Analysis and Improvement of a Biomedical Implant, Brian Doorlag and Nathan Urban
From the Ship-of-the-Line to the Ironclad: The Evolution of the Royal Navy from 1815-1870, Matthew Henderson Elder IV
Nursing Clinical Practice Improvements, Damian Elrod
Three Stage Analysis of Joint Injury, Repair and Treatment: Anterior Dislocation of the Glenohumeral Joint, Kiley Eversole
Bob Dylan and The Basement Noise: big Pink and Transformation, Ian Everson
The Use of High-Intensity Interval Training in Aerobic Capacity and Endurance Training, Nicholas Failer
RF Generator for Nerve Ablation, Ray Farmer, Scott Keller, and Ryan Kerrigan
Making an Xbox360 Video Game, Daniel Frandsen
Digital Portfolio, Doss Teagan Freel
Man of the Many Coloured Eyes, Leigh Fryling
ROPES Course Evaluation: A Proposal for Study, Elizabeth Gartner
Probabilistic Discounting: Does Age Affect Risk Sensitivity?, Manish K. Goyal
The Language Facilitation Training System: Vocal Verbal Behavior, Maija Graudins
Far Away: A Fairy Tale?, Nathan Gregorski
The Importance of Sovereign Wealth Funds and the Need for Greater Transparency, Sandra Groesch
Rape Law in Islam: Cultural vs. Shariah Views and Implementation, Emily Gross
Assessment and Treatment of Poor Acoustics in a Classroom, Krisana Gutierrez and Jay Pliskow