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Senior Independent Study Theses from 2015
A Study of College Students' Family Background and Perceptions of Family Television, Emily Turnbull
Department: Communication Studies
On the Effects of Guru Avatars as Forces Encouraging Social Welfare Activism, Will Turner
Department: Religious Studies
Our Crimea or Our Can of Worms? (Крым Наш или Нам Крыш?): A Russian media portrayal of the 2014 Crimean crisis, Katherine B. Tuttle
Department: Russian Studies
The Effects of Short-Term Starvation and Subsequent Re-Feeding in The Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium Castaneum, Chase Ullman
Department: Biology
Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Effect of Unemployment Rate on an Employee's Decision to Quit, Kenneth F. Vance
Department: Business Economics
Entering Stage Left: An Examination of Masculinity and Education Among Black and Latino Adolescents, Emilio A. Vargas
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Man vs Wild: An Anthropological Examination of Big Game Hunting Culture within the United States, Emilie Vermilyea
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
The Mental Game: An Analysis of Game Theory and Baseball, Ian M. Vernier
Department: Mathematics
“Forgiving The Unforgivable”: An Exploration of Post-Ethnic Conflict Peacebuilding and The Effects On The Durability of Peace, Casey Diane Wade
Department: Political Science
The Institutionalization of Social and Ethnic Divisions in Democratic States, John K. Wagner
Department: Political Science
Avalanches on a Critical Conical Bead Pile: Exploration of Tuning Parameter Space and Mathematical Foundations, Elliot Wainwright
Department: Mathematics; Physics
How Do We Get There From Here, Emily Watt
Department: English
"Women are not just reproductive beings": A Qualitative Analysis of Sexual and Reproductive Rights in India, Leslie A. Weaver
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Turkey's New Islam: A Study of Religious and Political Identity in the Kemalist Political State, Nathaniel D. Weaver
Department: History; Religious Studies
Development of Azobenzocrown Ethers as Selective Photoresponsive Supramolecular Host by way of a Novel Photoassisted Synthetic Step, Lucas C. Webber
Department: Chemistry
The Scope of Fractals: Geometry, Iteration, Application, Sebastian E. Weber
Department: Mathematics
Planting Seeds, Growing Youth: An Ethnographic Study of the Role of Urban Agriculture in the Dudley Neighborhood of Boston, MA, Alissa Elaine Weinman
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Extended Vocal Technique: An Instructional Guide for Beginners, Victor J. Welsch
Department: Music
Long-Term Experimental Evolution of Environmental Microbes to Degrade the Antidepressant Venlafaxine (Effexor®), Maxwell Werman
Department: Biology
Pittsburgh Steel: Cultural Identity in the Mill Towns of Pittsburgh, Jonathan McLaren West
Department: History
An Exploration of the Relationship between Personality and Play Behaviors in Captive Red Ruffed Lemurs (Varecia variegata rubra), McKenzie G. Witzke
Department: Biology; Psychology
The Steady Path to Prominence: World War One and the Development of U.S. Global Engagement, William Wojtkiewicz
Department: History
The Effects of Paternalism and Conditional Giving On Prosocial Behaviors, Stephanie Rachel Woodring
Department: Communication Studies; Economics
The Use of Data and Statistical Analysis to Predict an Outcome, Colin G. Woodward
Department: Mathematics
"The Living Tree": a Conservationist Journey Through J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, Robert C. Worrell
Department: English
The Therapeutic Effects of Environmental and Physical Enrichment on Motor Behavior Function in a Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease, Rachel A. Wortman
Department: Neuroscience; Psychology; Biology
The Business of Busyness: The Welfare Implications of Digital Technologies, John Wu
Department: Economics; Sociology and Anthropology
The Mind, Body, and Identity through Trauma in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon: A Psychoanalytic and Poetic Reflection on Healing, Juan Wynn
Department: English
The Impact of Rumination and Mindfulness on Attentional Control and Depression, Ragav Yarasi
Department: Neuroscience
“But I Hope You’re Not Offended”: A Look at Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park Through the Structural Perspective of Critical Race Theory, Nora M. Yawitz
Department: Theatre and Dance
Vector Space Modeling: An Intuitive Approach to Information Retrieval, Gregory R.P. Yerkes
Department: Mathematics
Ain't It The Truth?: Considering the Search for ‘Truth’ of Moral Knowledge as presented in Plato’s “Meno”, Janelle Young
Department: Philosophy
Armed with an Easel: Understanding Artistic Political Praxis Through the Works of Theodor Adorno and Chantal Mouffe, Evelyn Yu Yu Swe
Department: Philosophy; Political Science
The Influence of Christianity and Chinese Culture on Chinese Christian Married Couples in Northeast Ohio, Mone S. Zafra
Department: Religious Studies
The Dragon, Mearsheimer and the Rising Sun: An Examination of Offensive Realism through the Sino-Japanese Dyad, Samuel P. Zais
Department: Political Science
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2014
Transcriptional Response to the Phytophthora Sojae Avh110 Effector Protein Using a Yeast Expression Study, Gabriel J. Abud
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
See Spot Read: How the Presence of a Therapy Dog Influences the Reading Skills of Children in the First-Grade, Chelsea Addison
Department: Communication Studies
The Sacred “In-Between”: The Multiple Narratives of Multiracial and Transnational People, Parisa R. Ahmadi
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Relationship Status, 2D: 4D Ratio and the Prediction of Risky Behavior Among College Students, Mariah N. Alderman
Department: Psychology
The Moroccan Example: “Coming Movements,” Communities, and Lived Experience in Contemporary Protest, Paige I. Ambord
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Investigating the Effects of Small Molecule Inhibitors of Potassium Channels on Mortality Rate and Urine Excretion in Female Aedes aegypti, Sheila O. Amoako
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Sight May Leave You Blind to Beauty, Edith M. Anderson
Department: Sociology and Anthropology; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
The Silent Protest: An Investigation of the 1988 Deaf President Now Movement, Rachel L. Appleton
Department: Communication Studies; History
“嘿，基佬！”中国电子媒体和同性恋的空间 “Hey, gay person!” Chinese Electronic Media and Homosexual Space, Kathleen Arnold
Department: Chinese Studies
Evolution of Negative Cooperativity in Phosphagen Kinases, Manish Aryal
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The Effects of Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) on ApoE Gene Expression Levels Working Through RXR Receptors in Rat Liver and Hippocampus Samples, Aundrea Atwell
Department: Neuroscience
Breaking Ground: The New Farmers' Movement in the United States, Ellen Baird
Department: Environmental Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
The Effects of Human Facial Expression on Task Performance, Aurielle Baker-Coleman
Department: Psychology
Le Français Québécois et la Lutte pour Graver en Pierre une Variété Linguistique, Katherine G. Baker
Department: French and Francophone Studies
La Preservación y la Reconstrucción de la Identidad Judío-Argentina a Través de la Memoria y los Museos, Mallory Band
Department: Spanish
The Unjust Society, Richard A. Barnes II
Department: Philosophy
The Dogeater, Nicholas J. Barrow
Department: English
El Arte Y La Justicia Social: Un Análisis del Papel Del Muralismo Y El Teatro Alternativo en El Movimiento Chicano, Daniela Bartlett Asenjo
Department: Spanish
A Wilderness of Mirrors: Intelligence in the Revolutionary War, John T. Battaglia
Department: History
U.S. Foreign Aid and Geostrategic Interests: Does USAID Positively Impact Education Levels in Developing Countries?, Angela M. Bauman
Department: Political Science
An Investigation of the Diagnostic and Management Protocols Audiologists Follow for Pediatric Patients with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder, Donna J. Bell
Department: Communication Studies
Independent Study Is-Real (Israel): An Examination of American Immigration to Israel, Kristen Bell
Department: History; Sociology and Anthropology
Goodbye to All of That: 104 Days of Cancer, Ian T. Benson
Department: English
Beauty is in the "I" of the Beholder: An Analysis of the Effects of the Internalization of Media's Ideals on Body Image, Catherine A. Benton
Department: Psychology
‘Tewo Zamani’—Sickness of this Generation: The Feminization of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa, Weyni T. Berhe
Department: Africana Studies
Propelling Them to Greatness? Helicopter Parenting Effects on First Year College Students, Ann Berkow
Department: Psychology
Audiologists' Knowledge of Tinnitus Treatment Among United States Military Veterans, Jacob T. Bernard
Department: Communication Studies
Once Upon a Time: How the Oral Narrative Abilities of Children with Cochlear Implants Compare with their Hearing Peers, Autumn M. Berry
Department: Communication Studies
Green Technology Transfer: Analyzing the Impact on Developed Countries through Environmental Technological Transfers between Developed and Developing Countries, Varun R. Bhandari
Department: Business Economics
"You Laugh and Cry from the Same Mouth": An Exploration of Successful Aging in Contemporary Russia, Caroline Bilsky
Department: Russian Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
Clean Air - A Luxury Only the Rich Can Afford? An Analysis of International Environmental Policy Using a Development Framework, Nicholas J. Biniker II
Department: Political Science
They Make Me An Angry Black Barbie: An Examination and Analysis of Black Women's Interactions And Experiences On a Predominantly White Campus, Shakera Blackmon
Department: Communication Studies
On Designing and Implementing Graphical User Interface for Mild Dementia and Early-Stage Alzheimer's Patients, Michelle S. Blackwood
Department: Computer Science
They Teach As They Were Taught: Teaching and Women’s Work in America’s Early Republic, Nichole Blackwood
Department: History
Words of Silence, Morgan H. Blake
Department: English
The Development of Metalinguistic Awareness of Grammatical and Morphological Errors Found in Children's Literature, Eve Boonin
Department: Communication Studies
Jury Perceptions of Neuroscience versus Psychological Explanations of the Other Race Effect, Christopher E. Bope
Department: Psychology; Neuroscience
An In-Depth Analysis of the Photophysical Properties of para-Aminobenzoic Acid and 4-Dimethylaminobenzoic Acid, Jacob A. Boroff
Department: Chemistry
First Bryozoan Fauna Described from the Jurassic Tropics: Specimens from the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic, Upper Callovian) in Southern Israel, Stephanie Bosch
Department: Geology
Lithic Raw Material Procurement at the Prehistoric Wansack Site (36ME61) in Mercer County, Pennsylvania: Evidence for Mobility and Trade Patterns from the Archaic to the Late Prehistoric in Elemental XRF Data, Stephanie Bosch
Department: Archaeology
Photochemical Degradation of the Carmine Dye Molecule in Artist Media, Leah M.R. Bowers
Department: Chemistry
Pieces of Petersburg, Alexandra Boyer
Department: English
Radically Practical: Rabbi Emil G. Hirsch’s Response to Modernity, Elizabeth J. Boykin
Department: History
Identification of the Freshwater Fish of Tobago and Comparison to the Fish of the Northern Drainages of Trinidad using DNA Barcoding, Zachary S. Bradley
Department: Biology
An Investigation of the Interaction Between Xrs2, a Double-Strand Break Repair Protein, and Elevated Pools of Deoxynucleoside Triphosphates in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Eric A. Brenner
Department: Biology
It Costs an Arm and a Kidney: A Study of the Impacts of Information Costs on Organ Donation, David A. Brew
Department: Economics
Religiously Influenced Interstate Conflict: The Role of Religiosity and Perceived Loss in International Relations, Aaron Brown
Department: Political Science; Religious Studies
Being Part of the Game: The Effects of Presence Inducing Stimuli in Video Games on Focused Attention, Connor Brown
Department: Psychology
Senior Independent Study in Music Composition, Spencer Brown
Department: Music
How Inclusive Nationalism Implemented by the State can Prevent an Increase in Religious Polarization, Erin T. Bruening
Department: Political Science; Religious Studies
Mass Incarceration: An Analysis of the Intersectionality of Oppressions and Its Effect on the African American Female during the War on Drugs, 1985-1991, Erica R. Bryant
Department: Africana Studies
The Accuracy of the Ethnohistoric Data by La Page Du Pratz about the Natchez, Jensen L. Buchanan
Department: Archaeology; Sociology and Anthropology
Why do Employers offer Retirement Plans?, Brittany Bullard
Department: Economics
“There’s a Time and a Place for Everything...It’s Called Fanfiction”: Investigating the Construction of Queer Women’s Sexual Identities through Doctor Who Fanfiction, Marissa Bundren
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
“Have you Heard about the Word 'Word'”: A Philosophical and Classical-Historical Analysis of Logos in The Gospel of John, Sarah E. Buntin
Department: Classical Studies; Philosophy
Reconstruction of Eruptive Conditions Based on Crater Rim Stratigraphy at Miter Crater, Ice Springs Volcanic Field, Black Rock Desert, Utah, Kyle R. Burden
Department: Geology
Re-Examining Carter: The President’s Relationship with Congress in Formulating and Enacting Comprehensive Energy Legislation, Jeremy E. Burke
Department: History
Trust in Business Organizations: An Analysis of Compensation Structure and the Characteristics of Trustworthy Management, Bailey E. Caffrey
Department: Economics
The Youth Unemployment Crisis Facing Welfare Regimes: How States Develop New Social Policy, Andrew C. Campbell
Department: Political Science
Convenience and Control: Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Privatization Attempts 1980-2014, Tyler M. Campbell
Department: History
La manif pour tous: pourquoi s'ppose-t-elle au mariage pour tous?, Chelsea N. Campton
Department: French and Francophone Studies
Serving Up a Cup, Mattie R. Cannon
Department: Art and Art History
An Exploration of the Neuroprotective Properties of Omega-3 Fatty Acids In a Learning Deficient Mild TBI Model, Matthew R. Canter
Department: Neuroscience
Close to Home: How a Rural Community Relates to College Decisions in High School Students, Sara L. Carpenter
Department: Psychology
Ideology Over Interest: French Foreign Policy Under de Gaulle, Katherine A. Carwile
Department: International Relations