Digital Commons Network^™

Student Perception Of Covid-19 Mitigation Strategies And Correlation To Demographics At The University Of Mississippi, Anna Couhig

Honors Theses

COVID-19 caused an unprecedented dilemma for universities, the best method of continuing education during a pandemic. Different mitigation strategies were developed as higher education institutions transitioned back to in-person learning, and the effectiveness of these strategies depended largely on adherence by college students. COVID-19 remains a vastly unexplored research topic, and college students’ approval of mitigation strategies is largely untouched. This research answers the question: “Are University of Mississippi student perceptions of COVID-19 mitigation strategies correlated to demographics?” Through a mixed-methods survey that was sent to a random sample of full-time undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Mississippi, …

The Beliefs Of The Oldest Fraternity, Bella Blankenship

Honors Theses

The Freemasons have a belief system that follows believing in a God of some sort and that there is a sacred text to be used and that they rules and rituals that they must abide by. They use a variety of symbols to explain what they believe and have essential beliefs that all freemasons must follow. The Freemason belief system is full of inconsistent ideas about God, how to relate with others, and symbols that show how to live moral lives.

Religious Tolerance And Anti-Trinitarianism: The Influence Of Socinianism On English And American Leaders And The Separation Of Church And State, Keeley Harris

Honors Theses

This research focuses on a sect of Christian thinkers who originated in mid-16th century Poland called Socinians. They had radical Christian views built upon ideas from humanism and the Protestant Reformation, including Anti-Trinitarianism and rejecting the divinity of Christ. Most importantly, they believed that in order to follow Christ’s message, separation of church and state and religious toleration were necessary. Socinianism spread across Europe into England, first permeating subtly while England remained intolerant, but it came to the forefront during the English Civil War. Socinian ideas helped further political agendas of Royalists and ultimately influenced Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke …

A Retro Development In Education: Evaluating The Feasibility Of Integrating Place-Based Education Into Mississippi Curriculum Standards, Colby K. Mcclain

Honors Theses

This thesis evaluates the feasibility of integrating place-based environmental education activities from Think Green, Take Action: Books and Activities for Kids into the Mississippi Department of Education’s (MDE) Frameworks for Science and Social Studies for K-5. As children develop and experience the world, their ability to understand and interpret the surrounding environments expand; however, Mississippi schools are not focused on experiential environmental education, even though experiencing and understanding the surrounding environment is vital in fostering eagerness to learn. Due to a growing disconnect between humans and the natural world, this thesis examined 37 place- and environment-based activities for children, sixteen …

An Ethics Of Economic Sanctions, Macallee N. Goldman

Honors Theses

This paper provides an ethical analysis of smart sanctions under the combined framework of the categorical imperative and utilitarianism. Developing an ethical model that also encompasses sanction effectiveness as a means of evaluation, this paper argues that smart sanctions should not be used by countries and legislative bodies as tools of expression or of achieving goals without efficiency considerations grounded in this ethical framework. Only when they clearly meet the criteria of utilitarianism and the categorical imperative should smart sanctions be used. By doing so sanction effectiveness is argued to be maximized, in both ethical and empirical context.

Online Dating And Relationships On Campus: Gender, Religion, And Parental Marital Status Influencing Expectations And Experiences, Carla Gottlich

Honors Theses

Past research of college campus relationships and dating has found that gender, religion, and parental marital status may each play a role in determining expectations and experiences. Due to the recent popularity with online dating, I explore college student’s expectations and experiences and the roles that gender, religion, and parental marital status play in this pursuit. An anonymous survey was sent to a random sample of 918 student e-mail addresses. Students were asked what they expected from online dating, and what the experiences have been like for those who have participated. The survey, containing both open and closed ended questions, …

A Comparative Study Of Middle Eastern Foreign Policy: How Middle Eastern Intelligence Agencies Shape Current Events, Megan A. Fink

Honors Theses

This study monitored the intelligence and foreign policy actions of Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia from August 2013 to August 2014. Data was collected from coverage by Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, and Al-Jazeera, three reliable and respected news sources that cover global events. The actions taken by foreign policymakers in these countries were recorded throughout the study period.

These actions were organized into a taxonomy based on whether they were intelligence-based or non-intelligence based. Within those broad categories, more distinguishing characteristics were analyzed to show patterns of behavior within national intelligence services of the nations studied. These patterns …

Can Public Education Be Saved? An Argument For Educational Reform, Kathrine Hyatt

Honors Theses

Education, a key to later success, needs to be the number one priority. However, the American of public education has many systemic problems that are inhibiting children from reaching their full potential. This literature review first examines the colonial roots of American education and briefly tracks the development. Then, four major systemic problems are addressed: the over reliance on standardized testing, teaching methods and curriculum, lack of creativity, and how the cycle of poverty impacts learning. Finally solutions are discussed, with the ultimate recommendation being to adapt the Montessori Method.

The Quest Of A Lifetime : How The First Year Of University Of Richmond Life Affects Student's Spirituality And Religiosity, Melanie Martin

Honors Theses

First year university students’ religious and spiritual beliefs and attitudes were investigated over the course of the year. The survey used was largely made up of a subset of questions from the CSBV survey created by HERI and adapted and administered via Survey Monkey software to 153 first year students in the Fall Semester and 74 first year students in the Spring Semester at the University of Richmond. Students pray less and self-reflect more, are more likely to agree that the universe arose by chance, less likely to believe that ‘only religion can truly explain existence’, less likely to find …

Hurricane Katrina : An Act Of God?, Juliette M. Jeanfreau

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I plan to present a framework of four theodicies which organizes various responses to and attempted explanations of the suffering experienced during Hurricane Katrina; to examine several post-Katrina sermons in which pastors and priests address suffering within each theological framework; and to discuss the important leadership implications that the ideas expressed on the pulpit carry for how citizens understand the rebuilding of New Orleans. Although the city is home to citizens from a diversity of faith traditions including Judaism and Islam, this thesis will focus on responses expressed within Christian contexts. In the following pages, I will …

The Courts As Policy-Makers : A Medical Malpractice Case Study, Jennifer A. Williams

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I argue that the courts are not effective policy-makers because they are a channel for resolving disputes between individuals. I first present the basics of medical malpractice litigation and some of the current literature on the courts as policy-makers. I then address the cultural trends that have made this form of individual dispute resolution common and acceptable, particularly for my case study of medical malpractice. Then I show how some of the individualized aspects of the legal system distort the deterrent effect of lawsuits. I focus on the poor fit between actual negligence and lawsuits that results …

"System Of Silence": Philadelphia Orphanages And The Limits Of Benevolence, 1780s-1830s, Brian Sweeney

Honors Theses

In 1831, Mathew Carey, a well-known Philadelphia economist, wrote a city official describing the situation of black children in the city. He called for the creation of an orphanage to aid these children and described the motives for this action as not only the “humanity and benevolence” of Philadelphians, but also “personal interest”, as this class could otherwise turn “lawless”. Unknown to Carey, the Association for the Care of Coloured Orphans had been established in 1822 by a group of benevolent Quaker women dedicated to aiding this destitute class in an effort to promote compensatory justice for generations of oppression …

The Democratization Of Spain: The Role Of Consensus And Moderation, Meghan Sifuentes

Honors Theses

The Spanish transition to democracy is justly deemed a success story due to the relative fluidity of the process, the non-violent means in which Spain was able to consolidate, and the stability of the democratic system over the last quarter of a decade. Particularly noteworthy to Spain's success at democratic consolidation was the history and events that preceded its foundation. The failures of Spain's previous attempt at a democratic state, the brief and chaotic Second Republic (1931-36), gave rise to the Spanish Civil War, a costly and bloody conflict that polarized a nation. The Civil War in turn gave birth …

Exploration Of Immigration, Industrialization & Ethnicity In Waterville, Maine, Amy E. Rowe

Honors Theses

This paper traces how hegemonic forces create boundaries through the specific examples of the Lebanese and Franco-Americans in Waterville, Maine. These two immigrant groups entered into Waterville after an English-Scottish Protestant majority had already been established in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The Franco-American immigration from Quebec extended well over a century and the flow of people out of Canada can generally be studied into two distinct waves. People were constantly coming into Waterville from Quebec, and a small number would return to live in Canada after a time. It is also critical to understand that Franco-Americans were settling …