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
Energy Loss in Industrial Baking Ovens, Steven Eick, Paul Fiero, Sarah Fullerton, and Brian Naiman
Theatre Design Portfolio, Rachel Engstrom
Single Motor Neurons Segregate Multiple Neurotransmitters in Leech, Christine Eskander
Guide to Becoming a Spinal Cord Injury Survivor, Patricia Fahey
From Social Bandit to Ambiguous Antihero: The Outlaw in Twentieth Century Cinema, Josh Fisher
Archipelago: Three Short Stories, Gregory A. Flynn
Word Weavers: Encore, Gabriel Giron
Description and Analysis of Bilingual Programs Implemented in Kalamazoo Public Schools, Jessica Glover
Ethics of a "Model" Health Care System, Amber Heath
Straight from the Broncos' Mouths: A Collection of Interviews with Current WMU Students, Sarah Hurd
Learning Centers: Finding Differentiated Instruction in Increasingly Diverse Classrooms, Maribeth Hutton
Design Enhancement of Hand-powered Cycle, Andrew Hyder and John Bolhuis
Cooling Tunnel Optimization, Trisha Janicki and Jason Thomas
Planning Stages and Process of Planning a Community Service Trip, Jessie Kadolph
Planning for a Successful Service Trip, Jessie Camille Kadolph
Competing Visions: The CIA, the Congress for Cultural Freedom and the Non-Communist European Left, 1950-1967, Scott Kamen
Investigating Partisanship in a Nonpartisan Election: The Michigan Supreme Court, 2008, Thomas B. Kent
Analysis of the Delivery and Circulation of a Newspaper, Trent Kenworthy, Ella Lambrix, Matt Pridgeon, and Jason Saksewski
Literacy and Language Variation in Elementary Classrooms, Maggie Konett
A Micro Study of Israel, Allison Kronzek
The Saxophonist of New York: How a City and an Instrument Changed American Music, Katy LaFleur
Nasser and Qutb: The Lives and Legacies of Two Controversial Egyptians, Rachel Leonard
Establishing a Summer Day Camp for Disadvantaged Children in Kalamazoo, Laurie L. Lijewski
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