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Senior Independent Study Theses from 2016
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
Trade and Wage Inequality in the Upper-Middle-Income Countries, Sandeep Bhusal
Department: Economics
Arginine Kinase in Myxococcus xanthus: Investigation of Specificity for Arginine Kinase during Cellular Motility and Fruiting Body Formation, Scott K. Bingman
Department: Neuroscience
Discussions in and of Conceptual Art: Different Modes of Conveying Experience, Anthony J. Black
Department: Art and Art History
The Changing of Just War Theory: Understanding how just war theory needs to evolve with modern warfare, changing conceptions, and various ethical systems, Christopher J. Blaikie
Department: Philosophy
The Clash of Norms: An Examination of Emerging Governance Norms in Cyberspace, Daniel J. Bloomberg
Department: Political Science
Metamorphosis and Persona in Ned Rorem's Poems of Love and the Rain, Jacob Boca
Department: Music
The Development and Impact of Investigative Journalism, John Michael Bogusz III
Department: History
"Nie Wieder...Was?": An Analysis of German Foreign Policy During the First Gulf War and the Bosnian Civil War Using Role Theory, William D. Bolte
Department: German Studies; International Relations
Modeling the Optical Emission Line Profiles of Active Galactic Nuclei: Working Towards a Continuous Optical Classification Scheme Beyond Type 1/Type 2, Shawn M. Bowman
Department: Physics
The Functions of Nab2 On Cellular Growth Regulation in Drosophila Melanogaster, Brittany N. Boychuk
Department: Biology
Where Should We Look? Accountability, Stakeholder Relationships, and the Role of an NGO as a Secondary Political Institution in Tanzania: A Case Study Analysis, Ellen R. Boyd
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
The Widespread Appeal and Advocacy of Hayao Miyazaki: A Transnational Feminist Analysis of How Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away Unveil and Dismantle the Gendered Effects of the Nation-State and Globalization, Larissa Branovacki
Department: Communication Studies