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 2008
Sexual Assault, Simone Lindsay
A Manifesto for Generation Y, Adrienne Mesnard
The Acquisition of Spanish Possessive Adjectives by Beginning Adult Learners of Spanish, Ryan J. Minier
A Review of Literature: Men's Experience of Fear During Their Partner's Labor, Tynan K. Mohney
Establishing a Housing Cooperative in Kalamazoo, Christopher Moore
Closed Loop Cooling Systems for Fermentation Tanks, Dustin Moseley and Nathan Tate
LHC Student Assessment, Katie Lynn Nelson
Brain Sex: Toward a Biological Understanding of Human Sexual Orientation, Minh-Thu Nguyen
Beuna Vida S.A.: Search for the Good Life, Blake Nichols
Western Michigan University and the Community: A Collaboration, Ashley K. Owen
Food Marketing Association: Fund Raising Task Force, Miranda K. Owen
The Relationship between Flight Hours, Checklist Errors, and Aviation Safety, Alex Paran
Tales from Tajikistan: A Translation, Caitlyn Pelfresne
Design Portfolio, Emily Krajewski Pignataro
The Object Speaks: Women, Sound, and Contemporary Dialogue, Rebecah Pulsifer
The Marketing Strategies of the Kalamazoo Corset Company: 1910-1940, John Quasarano
The Historical Foundations, Distinctive Features, and Examinations of the Effectiveness of The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa, Matthew Reinhardt
Easy: An Integrated Marketing Communications Program for the City of New Orleans, Brett Rogers
A Senior Recital, Katherine Rohwer
The Foundation, Education, and Practice of Osteopathic Medicine, Anthony P. Salvador
Starting a Cake Bakery, Megan Savage
Ethnomedicine in Health Systems of the World: A Semester at Sea Survey of Health System Usage in 11 Countries, Stephanie Schley
The New Meaning of Marketing: How Branding Changed the Fashion Industry, Leah Shesky
Midwest Side Story: A Cabaret, Hannah Sielatycki
Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Pain Relief Labor Supportive Measures by Nurses and Patients, Jillian Steeby
Irish Immigration to Southwest Michigan: Why and Where, Halley L. Stevens
Probabilistic Discounting: Does Age Affect Risk?, Julie M. Stine
Methods for Raising Self-Efficacy in Struggling Learners: Erica's Journey, Heather Stypula
Student Recital, Danielle Terrill
The Effects of Chitosan on Wound Healing in Rats, Katrina N. Thelen
Super Comrade Oriam: Creating a Video Game from Scratch, Simon Tower
The Biodiesel Co-op of Kalamazoo: A Case Study in the Diversification of U.S. Transportation Energy, Josephine Tucker
Downtown Kalamazoo Riverfront Redevelopment, Marjorie VanHoorelbeke
The Development of a Middle School Sexual Health Education Curriculum, Lara J. Vertalka
Senior Recital, Anna Ward
Student Recital, Monica Washington
Establishment of a Method to Examine Plant Pathogen Effectors, Jessica Wayne
Oxidation Resistance Studies of CrAIN Coatings on 430 Stainless Steel, Kurtis Wickey
Theses from 2007
Strength, As I Have Come to Know It: A Memoir, Sarah Anderson
Trade Books, Student Interest, and the Classroom Library, Jarred Araujo
System for Real-Time Feedback Control of Neuron Cell Culture Electrical Activity, Ervin J. Armstrong, Nicole McCaskey, Joseph P. John, Amrith Ranganathan, Preston VanDeusen, and Stephen Westbrooks
SAP Implementation: The Difference Between Successful Implementation and Failure, Elizabeth M. Aven
Growth for the Sake of Growth: The Mismanagement of NASCAR, David G. Beach
Family History as a Public Health Tool for Risk Assessment and Disease Prevention, Umberto Berlasi
The Influence of Church Attendance on Voting Behavior, Jim Bigari
A Report on the Use of a Dog training Method for the Acquisition of Recall Behavior in a Rabbit, Katherine Binder
Process Color Profiling: Syncing a Digital Printer with an Offset Press, Kate Blout and Laura Kraft
Trials Bike Frame Concept, David Boboltz, Rob Harmer, and Caleb Vanderveen
Robotic Arm Control System, Brittany Bockstanz, Brandon Bouwman, and Trevor Francis
Individual Autonomy and the Work of Resistance: How Authors of the 1950s Reject State Absorption Through Imagination and Reaffirmation of the Body, Benjamin L. Boroughf
The Influence of Humorous Positive Computer-Mediated Word-of-Mouth Communication on Student Motivation and Affective Learning, Krystal Bresnahan
Aviation Exploration, Ellen Brinks
The History of Environmental Destruction and Law in Japan, Seven M. Bryant
Plate Tectonics Unit, Grade Five, Elizabeth Campbell
Marginalized Literature in the English Classroom Working with Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, Noelle Carpenter
Senior Vocal Recital, Elyse L. Christensen
Children and Poverty, Lisa Marie Chudd
Genetic Therapy of Hematopoietic Stem Cells Using a Φ C31 Integrase Based System, Joshua R. Clevenger
Manual de Conservación, Lindsay Conklin
Market Efficiency and the Time Value of Information, Benjamin Cooper
Discovering My Local Natural Environment, Samantha Cooper
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead: A Dramaturgical Analysis, Paul Culos
Closed Head Injuries and the Long Term Patient, Emily Dannison
Why Most Mergers Fail: An Emphasis on the Human Factors, Kimberly DeFouw
Parts of a Whole: An Artistic Journey of Self Expression, Kara Dembowski
Kalamazoo Academy of Dance: Architectural Programming and Interior Design, Caroline Frances DeWick
How to Save a Life, Erica Nicole Dinino
Paris Conservatory Flute Professors and Their Impact on Flute Playing, Sarah Dunakin
Home Schooling laws of the Fifty States in America: A New Ranking System, Jamie A. Dye
Fluorescence-Based Organophosphorus Pesticide Detection, Brigitte J. Engelmann
Defense of Adolescent Self Identity: A Literature Review, Allison Fillwock
Disruptions in Foster Care, Sarah Font
Self-Management: Saving One Western Student at a Time, Courtney L. Fox
A View of Urban and Rural Teenage Pregnancy in Young Adult Fiction and the Realities in Southern Michigan, Nora A. Fox
API-LEW Grade Water Supply to Remote Locations, Brianna Gagnon
Writing Workshop: The Basics to Get Started, Molly Gauthier
Higher for Hire: A Business Plan for Amphibious Air Charter Operations in Michigan, Joel Gibbons
Communities: A Cross-Curricular Unit for First Grade, Andrea T. Glassman
Stories of WIDR: Personal Accounts from Past Employees of 89.1 WIDR FM, Allison Gruner
Decreasing Latency Through Reinforcement, Megan R. Heinicke and James E. Carr
Analysis of Acquaintance Rape on College Campuses, Marin Henderson-Posther
Finding (your)Self: A Sample 8th Grade Language Arts Curriculum, Jennifer M. Heuft
The Proccess of Creating an Original Thematic Unit: The Solar System, Jenna Hiller
Healthy Behaviors in Health Care Profession Students, Tena Hoekstra
The Behavioral Systems Analysis Project, August Holtyn
Design and Control of an Inverted Pendulum, Andrew Hovingh and Matt Roon
Developing, Engineering, and Producing a Compact Disc to be used in a Professional Portfolio, Aubrey K. Johnson
Phagocytosis-Dependent Labeling of Presumptive Microglial Cells in the Deafferented Olfactory Bulb of Zebrafish, Jamie L. Johnson
Bipolar Disorder and Music Therapy: A Description of the Effects of Music on Mood, Bethany Jones
Being Good: Senior Recital, Natalie Kaftan
Biochemistry of Creatine and Its Applications in Exercise Enhancement, Jeremy Kelley
Proposal for Collaboration Between Honors Programs at Western Michigan University and Central Michigan University, Kathryn Kelpin
Different Types of Mental Imagery Across Sports, Abigail C. Korchnak
Bishop's Bog: Forty Years of Vegetational Change, Gregory M. Korchnak
Costume Design: A Doll's House, Julia Kosanovich
Fraudulent Politics and Joe Louis: 1935-1940, Robert W. LaBre
Early Stage Detection of Marine Oil Oxidation, Loren LaPointe
Effect of Finishing on Sales, Stacie M. Lauritsen
Behavioral Academic and Career Counseling, Lisa M. LeVasseur
Exploring Personal Experiences of Volunteer Caregivers in End-of-Life Care, Meghan Lindsay