You are getting ready to embark on what may well be the most challenging (but rewarding!) academic journey of your education thus far– writing your undergraduate honors thesis. While this process will end with an impressive piece of writing, it will also give you new connections within O’Neill and reveal to you your academic capabilities…. Read more »
Month: May 2024
Think Before You Write!
First, I would recommend taking the time to think through your question and your data collection method. This may seem obvious at first, but topics can morph and change over time to end up being something you never expected to do. Before you decide on one specific research question, just because it is something you… Read more »
So Much to Do, So Little Time: Make it Manageable with Smart Planning!
Tackling an undergraduate honors thesis is no small feat – it is likely one of the most challenging projects you will face in your undergraduate academic career. Yes, the process is definitely demanding, requiring serious commitment and even more intense focus. However, the rewards are equally as significant, offering you a deep sense of accomplishment… Read more »
The 5 Stages of Thesis Grief
The 5 Stages of Thesis Grief Writing a thesis consumes you, much like the grief that consumes one who has lost a beloved ego. It’s a constant battle of coming to terms with the fallacy that your thesis will be perfect and read by even a handful of people. However, what’s great about this class… Read more »
Words Like Bullets: 20 Years of Firearm Marketing Tactics
In the year 2021, Pew Research Center found that the United States reported almost 49,000 gun deaths, “a 23% increase since 2019, before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. According to the CDC WISQARS Fatal Injury Reports, in 2003, there were approximately 30,000 gun deaths in the United States. The change from 2003 to 2021… Read more »
Decoding Benefit Corporations: State Laws, Political Influence, and Impact on the Nonprofit Sector
The benefit corporation is a new corporate form that offers a vehicle for for-profit companies to embed a social mission into their legal structure. Prior to the creation of this structure, for-profit companies were obligated to act in the best interests of their shareholders. Typically, this meant companies had to maximize profits, and in turn,… Read more »
Use it or Lose it! Language Revitalization Online
According to the most conservative estimates from the United Nations, over half of all languages in the world today will be extinct by the year 2100. Maintaining Indigenous languages involves providing uses for the language. Tribal natural resources departments can provide opportunities to engage with language through communicating local ecological knowledge with citizens through social… Read more »
Wee Beasties (Bacteria) and Climate Change Uncertainty
If you go off of weight alone, plants are by far the most prevalent life form on the planet, making up greater than 80% of the total biomass on Earth. This is intuitive as trees are known for being very heavy. What is less intuitive is that the second most prevalent form of life on… Read more »
Impacts of Indigenous peoples on Tree Species Distribution in Eastern North America
Have you ever taken a walk through a forest in the Midwest? Have you ever wondered what determines which species of trees are found where, within a given forest? The temperate forests of Eastern North America (ENA) comprise the second largest temperate forested region on Earth. Historically, regional species richness, composition and associations of tree… Read more »
The Keys to Increasing On-Campus Arts Attendance are Easier Than You Think
Since the turn of the 21st century, attendance at arts activities across the country has been on a steady decline. In 2002, the National Endowment of the Arts reported that 76.3% of adults participated in the arts at least once a year. By 2022, that number dropped to 47.9%. Although the lingering effects of the… Read more »