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Senior Independent Study Theses from 2016
Climbing Uphill, Ananya Shrestha
Department: English
Regional Volcanic Extinction as a Mechanism for Subsidence in the Vatnsdalur Structural Basin, Skagi Peninsula, Northwest Iceland, Adam M. Silverstein
Department: Geology
The Putative Regulatory Role of Hydrogen Cyanide in Ethylene Signaling and Biosynthesis in Arabidopsis seedlings and tomato fruit, Heather Skinner
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Can Music Therapy be the Next Breakthrough in Therapy for Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients? An Analysis of the Integration of Music Therapy into Cochlear Implant Teams, Bridget Slone
Department: Communication Studies
Gift Exchange with Firm Performance Adjustments: Behavior in Random-Assignment, Perfect Labor Supply Setting, Douglas Small
Department: Business Economics
Judging A Book By Its Cover: Web & Mobile Interface Design, Kinsey Small
Department: Computer Science
Acoustic Quieting Provided by Plants and its Effect on Stress, Bryan Smith
Department: Psychology
The Role of the Army Rangers From D-Day to the Rescue Mission at Cabanatuan, David Smith
Department: History
The Elephant in the Room, The Fetus in the Womb: Disability Rights Activists’ Perspectives on Prenatal Genetic Testing and Selective Termination of Down syndrome, Evangeline Maria Smith
Department: Religious Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
Enhancing the Bioavailibility of the Dietary Supplement Curcumin through Nanodispersions, Kevin B. Smith Jr
Department: Chemistry
The Investigation of Concurrent Validity of the Baby SPEAK Measure and Parental Knowledge of Early Language Development, Lena Grace Smith
Department: Communication Studies; Psychology
An Investigation of the Burning Number of Graphs and Trees, Michael Sokolich
Department: Computer Science; Mathematics
To Blend or Not To Blend: Understanding the Impact of Technology in Mathematics Education, Jacob Solomon
Department: Education; Mathematics
Our Children are Our Future: An Evaluation of the Role of Children’s Health Insurance Program in Improving Children’s Health and Educational Outcomes, Ke Song
Department: Business Economics
Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Prejudice and Perceptual Face Processing, Gillian Spangler
Department: Psychology
The Influence of Self-Concept Clarity and Empathy on Social Justice Concern, Grace Sparks
Department: Psychology
Being Asian, Becoming American: The Life and Practice of Religion in East Asian Immigrant Communities, Whitney A. Spaulding
Department: Religious Studies
"School is not a business": Chicago Educators' Perceptions of the Neoliberal Turn in Education, Dana Stamos
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Exploring the Unknown: A Ceramic Journey Through the Sea of Imagination, Kaitlin N. Starr
Department: Art and Art History
Reconstructing Glacial History from Forests Preserved in the Wake of the Catastrophic Retreating Columbia and Wooster Glaciers, Prince William Sound, Alaska, Kaitlin N. Starr
Department: Geology
Conceptualizing Female Punk in the Theatre: The Riot Grrrl Revolution as a Radical Force to Inspire a Devised Solo Performance, Summit J. Starr
Department: Theatre and Dance
Colonizing Wilderness: Alaska's Imagined Identity, Audrey Steiner-Malumphy
Department: History
Critical Systems: An Exploration of Cohesion and the Moments of Distribution, Nathan Stone
Department: Physics
Evolving Standards of Decency: The Intersection of Death Penalty Theory and Supreme Court Jurisprudence, Rachel S. Sullivan
Department: Political Science
From Hitler to Hippies: The Story and Impact of the Volkswagen Beetle, Harrison Suttle
Department: History
The Effect of Attachment Style on Auditory Looming Perception, Kristyn M. Swanson
Department: Psychology
The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Learning and Memory in a Rat Model for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Peter Szeltner
Department: Neuroscience
Synthesis of a Potential Phospholipid Analog: trans-1,4-cyclohexane-diphosphoserine, Abby Szlachta
Department: Chemistry
Exposing Mental Illness in New Light, Isabel R. Taccheri
Department: Art and Art History
The Somewhere We Wish Were Nowhere: Dystopian Realities and (un)Democratic Imaginaries, Benjamin B. Taylor
Department: English; Political Science
It Takes Two to Tango: A Comparative Case Study Analysis of Social Movement Framing Contests on Traditional and Social Media Venues, Arianna N. Thomas
Department: Political Science
The Problem of Positive Right, Shawn M. Thomas
Department: Political Science
A Quantum Monte Carlo Study of Hard-core Bosons on a Pyrochlore Lattice with Six-site Ring-exchange Interactions, Catherine E. Tieman
Department: Physics
De monstruo a modelo: Cómo el mito de La llorona refleja los cambios en la sociedad, la identidad y la cultura como se ve en tres libros infantiles, Charlotte P. Tierney
Department: Spanish
Effects of Arginine Kinase Gene Deletions on Muscle Physiology and Mitochondrial Volume in Caenorhabditis Elegans, Kathryn Timar
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Drama in the Work Place: Examining Predictors of Behavioral Work Outcomes Among College Level Student Employees, Julio A. Torres
Department: Psychology
Home is Where You are Needed?: The Role of Government-Provided Incentives in Determining the Outcome of International Student Mobility in the Source Country, Elisa Priscilla Toto
Department: Global and International Studies
Authentically Ethical: An Ethics of Being, Zachary R. Towner
Department: Philosophy
Lessons from Andøya: The 1995 Black Brant XII False Alert as a Lens on Post-Cold War Relations, John W. Trainor
Department: Film Studies; History
The Vision of Thomas Malory: The Failure of an Ideal, Mark F. Trankina Jr
Department: English
Misunderstood and Mistreated: A Case Study of Drug Court as a Functional Treatment Method for Drug Addicts, Claire E. Trescher
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
American Apparel: Queer People of Color Aesthetics and Professionalism, Jackson Tribbet
Department: Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Effects of FDI on Economic Growth in Eastern European Transition Countries, Nikoloz Tsereteli
Department: Business Economics
Effects of FDI on Economic Growth in Eastern European Transition Countries, Nikoloz Tsereteli
Department: Business Economics
The Effect of Relationship Length on Empathy toward a Victim of Sexual Assault Using Benevolent Sexist Ideology as an Explanatory Variable, Darleny Urena
Department: Psychology
To Invest or Not To Invest: Effects of Poor Corporate Governance on Paper-Bill Spread during Asian Financial Crisis, Khairunnisa Usman
Department: Economics
Examining Conceptions of the Nation at World's Fairs and Expositions, 1958-2015, Elliott H. Valentine
Department: History; Sociology and Anthropology
The Queen’s Serpent: An Examination of the Serpent Vessel from Burial 61 from El Perú-Waka’, Sarah Van Oss
Department: Archaeology; Art and Art History
“I cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slave’s government also”: Forms of resistance in Antebellum Literature, Jacob D. Vellucci
Department: English
Speak English to Trade: A Study on the Impact of Language Commonality on the U.S. International Trade of Electric Machinery and Equipment, Diep Ngoc Vu
Department: Business Economics
Fifty-One Shades of Grey: New Readings of the Black Female Body in Literature, Pop Culture and Film, Ashanti Wallace
Department: English
An Empirical Analysis of the Relationship Between the Diversity in Backgrounds of a Firm’s Board of Directors and a Firm’s Innovation Levels, Marla L. Walton
Department: Business Economics
Representation Out of Formation, Tarik H. Welch
Department: Business Economics
Diversity of Glass Frogs Between Primary and Secondary Tropical Forest at La Selva Biological Station, Heredia Province, Costa Rica, Nathan G. Weltman
Department: Biology
Theory and Synthesis of Heterobimetallic Catalysts Towards Nitrogen Fixation, Joseph R. Whiston
Department: Chemistry
Pine River Camp: Welcome Home, Griffin A. White
Department: English
Parent Role Construction, Stress, and Support in Children’s Standardized Testing, Heather M. Whitlock-Williams
Department: Psychology
Beyond the Binary, Petr Wiese
Department: Art and Art History
Speech-Language Pathologists' Knowledge of Treatments Used to Remediate the Vocal Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease, Angela M. Wiley
Department: Communication Studies
Flames and Identity: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and The Vision of New Chicago, Julia L. Williams
Department: History
Emplacement Processes and Monogenetic Classification of Ice Springs Volcanic Field, Central Utah, Michael Williams
Department: Geology
From Fantasy to Virtual Reality: An Exploration of Modeling, Rigging and Animating Characters for Video Games, Sarah K. Williams
Department: Computer Science
The Dispositional and Situational Influences of Empathy, Anger and Aggression, Tawanna Williams
Department: Psychology
The Effects of Environmental and Physical Enrichment on the Motor Functioning and Cellular Plasticity in a Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease, Emily R. Wilson
Department: Neuroscience
America's Invisible Punishment: An Analysis of the History, Impact, and Public Perceptions of Felon Disenfranchisement, Katherine LA Wollmer
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Sending Signals: Examining if Brazil Experiences Multiple Signaling Effects from Hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, Zachary J. Woullard
Department: Business Economics
Effects of Allopregnanolone on Forced Swim Behavior Across Different Phases of the Female Rodent Estrous Cycle, Jamie K. Wren-Jarvis
Department: Neuroscience
Board Structure Effect on Firm performance: An Investigation of Potential Differences Between Chinese and U.S. Firms, Yanli Xiong
Department: Business Economics
Finding The Phenomenological Region of Meditative Experience, Brendan Youngquist
Department: Philosophy
Euskaldunak or Amerikanuak: An Introduction to the Folklore of the Boise Basques and its Contribution to the Basque-American Identity, Leah Zavaleta
Department: English; Sociology and Anthropology
An Exposition of Support Vector Machine Classification with a purpose-built GUI for exploring some commonly used kernels, Dagm Zegeye
Department: Computer Science
A Simultaneous System of Internal Control: An Empirical Study of CEO Compensation Structure, Board Composition and Firm Performance, Jacob Zoldan
Department: Business Economics
The Effect of Charismatic Leadership Style On The Levels of Support for Self-Determination Movements, Marco Vinicio Zuniga Lopez
Department: International Relations; Political Science
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2015
Soeurs d'Empire: Trois histoires de voyage, de genre et de camaraderie dans des récits de voyage féminins d'Algérie, 1869-1900, Elisabeth Abell
Department: French and Francophone Studies; History
Mycenae and Cultural Memory: 150 to 2015 CE, Elora A. Agsten
Department: Art and Art History; Classical Studies
Parental human capital and returns to education: The divide between urban residents and migrants in China, Salma Ait Hssayene
Department: Business Economics
International Nongovernmental Organizations and Democratic Consolidation: How do These Organizations Promote Higher Quality Democracy?, Evan B. Albertson
Department: Political Science
Forming and Debating National Identity: Three Case Studies of the Ownership of Ancient Artifacts, Rachael Aleshire
Department: Archaeology
Attraction and the Other-Race Effect: Influences of Perceived Beauty on Facial Perception, Daniel A. Alfonso-Diaz
Department: Neuroscience
Altering amino acid residues at the dimer interface of the yeast peroxiredoxin Ahp1: Effects on quaternary structure and protection against peroxides, Jonathan K. Allotey
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Smelling Personalities: Preferential Personality Traits Associated With Body Odor, Emily S. Alltop
Department: Psychology
A Beautiful Self, A Beautiful Home, A Beautiful Romance: Magazine Advertisements and the Creation of Domestic Culture in the 1950s, Chelsea Amis
Department: History
Navegando por lugares, redefiniendo espacios: un ánalisis de las voces latinas en la nueva zona fronteriza de Apalaches, Erin Elizabeth Andrews-Sharer
Department: Spanish
L’identité malgache hybride : Exprimer l'identité franco-malgache à travers la langue française dans la littérature malgache, Rebecca Andriani
Department: French and Francophone Studies
Impacts of Climate Change on Species Invasiveness: Temperature Effects on Agonistic Interactions between Crayfish Procambarus clarkii and Cambarus robustus, Diego Arias
Department: Biology
Do You Have the Heart For It?: An Anthropological Examination of Portrayals of Aztec Human Sacrifice in Popular Culture, Courtney F. Astrom
Department: Archaeology; Sociology and Anthropology
Plato and Aristotle on the Ancient Quarrel: A Search for Poetic Meaning in Vergil’s Aeneid, Danielle A. Aviles
Department: Classical Studies; Philosophy
What Would Jesus Cover? An Examination of the Moral Failures of the United States Health Care System, Eleanor P. Bacon
Department: Religious Studies
Animating America: A Historical Study of How the Art of Animation has Helped to Define American Culture., Andrew J. Badger
Department: History
Sexism, Masculinity, and Entitlement as Predictors of Rape Culture Support, and the Role of Empathy as a Possible Explanation, Michelle L. Baker
Department: Psychology
Two Gods, a Dancer, and a Skeleton Walk into a Bar: an exploration of created space through puppetry and performance, Colin Bauman
Department: Art and Art History
The Right Combination: How the Coen Brothers Challenge the Boundaries of Genre and Postmodernism in Film, Olivia Baum
Department: English
And How Does That Make You Feel?: Moderating Effects of Personality on Auditory Dissonance and Emotional Reaction, Charlotte Baxter
Department: Psychology
Idolatry of Ideology: An Ideological Analysis of the Music of Bruce Cockburn, Lucas Behrens
Department: Communication Studies
Grazer Dynamics on a Relict Acroporid Patch Reef System and Their Implications for the Carbonate Budget at Coral Gardens, Belize, Sarah K. Bender
Department: Geology
Attachment and Emotions in Relation to Ideas and Concepts: A Psychological Study and Philosophical Inquiry, Bryce C. Benefield
Department: Philosophy; Psychology
American Co-eds and the Great Recession: A Study of Job Opportunities for Recent College Graduates Based Upon the Decade of Graduation, Kiara A. Bermudez
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Immediate Effects of Meditation on Negative Image Processing, Breanna Bertacchi
Department: Neuroscience
The Nuke in Our Souls: The Apocalypse Comes Down to Earth in Three Postmodern Novels, Andrew Bevis
Department: History
An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Sleep Behavior: Exploring Personality as a Moderator, Alisha R. Bhatia
Department: Psychology