Digital Commons Network^™

Environmental Protection And U.S. Foreign Policy & Decision-Making In Multilateral Development Banks, Maui Cheska L. Orozco

Honors College Theses

In recent decades, the promotion of policies that are environmentally friendly has become an important goal in U.S. foreign policy. One way that the United States has influence over protecting the environment is through the policies attached to projects funded by the multilateral development banks (MDBs). This gives the U.S. the ability to indirectly fund projects in developing countries. Using data provided by the United States Treasury, I examined U.S. voting decisions on projects from 2004 to 2011. These votes come from multiple development banks including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), African Development …

Alcohol And Drug Use Amongst College Students In Relation To Sexual Abuse, Christyn Hollingsworth

Honors College Theses

The impact of child sexual abuse (CSA) and traumatic sexual experiences has been the subject of multiple studies in which harm was found. Among these harms are emotional distress, psychological issues, and substance abuse. This research analyzed and compared the responses to questions pertaining to substance use and attitudes regarding sexual interactions between college aged students with and without a history of sexual abuse. The participant’s answers were run through an ANOVA to determine statistical variance. Based on prior research, it was expected that victims consume alcohol and use drugs more frequently than non-victims in significant amounts. The findings in …

Republican Realignment: Building A Majority Coalition For Future Electoral Success, Anthony J. Del Signore

Honors College Theses

Since the election of President George H. W. Bush, Republican presidential candidates have had difficulty winning popular elections. Republican candidates lost five of the next six popular elections to their Democratic opponents. This paper investigates why. It outlines the growing demographic shift in electoral politics which is detrimental for future Republican success. The growing dissonance between non-white, non-male voters and the Republican Party hinders the Party’s success when its message does not resonate with a majority of voters.

Utilizing realignment theory as first espoused by political scientist V. O. Key, this paper analyzes nine essential battleground states and the growing …

Jiahd In The Global Village: Al-Qaeda's Digital Radicalization And Recruitment Campaign, Katie Cannata

Honors College Theses

Following America’s “War on Terror,” al-Qaeda and its affiliates became highly decentralized in terms of organizational and media operations. Though mass media outlets continue to play a significant role in drawing attention to al-Qaeda’s transnational campaign, Salafi Jihadists have recently begun to rely on new media for purposes of legitimization and promotion. The Internet serves as a suitable platform for these groups’ media objectives since it is inherently anonymous and absent of censorship. Most importantly, the Internet facilitates al-Qaeda in reaching a global audience, which is made evident by the growing amount of Salafi Jihadist media that is translated or …

A Quasi-Classical Logic For Classical Mathematics, Henry Nikogosyan

Honors College Theses

Classical mathematics is a form of mathematics that has a large range of application; however, its application has boundaries. In this paper, I show that Sperber and Wilson’s concept of relevance can demarcate classical mathematics’ range of applicability by demarcating classical logic’s range of applicability. Furthermore, I introduce how to systematize Sperber and Wilson’s concept of relevance into a quasi-classical logic that can explain classical logic’s and classical mathematics’ range of applicability.

Relationship Of Dna Methylation With Cardiovascular Fitness And Body Composition, Mihaela A. Ciulei

Honors College Theses

Global DNA Methylation (GDM), an epigenomic modification has been linked to the development of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors. Our focus was to identify potential relationships between epigenetic alterations and both cardiovascular fitness and body composition measures. Purpose: As increases in aerobic fitness have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular disease, one purpose was to determine if a relationship was evident between global DNA methylation and VO2max. A secondary purpose was to determine if the relationship extends to body composition measured via Dual X-ray Absorbtometry (DXA). Methods: Fifty-two (male n=25, female n=27) subjects provided a blood sample for DNA …

Modeling Hedonic Processing And Anhedonia In Depression, Kevin Mercado

Honors College Theses

Depression is characterized by low positive emotion and a lack of pleasurable experiences, or anhedonia. Past studies have emphasized controlling negative affect, but there is an emerging trend in the depression literature to focus on positive emotion. The current study employed several psychophysiological tools, postauricular reflex, startle blink reflex, and event-related potential (ERP) components such as P3 and the late positive potential (LPP), to assess the dissociable components in positive emotion (consummatory and anticipatory processes). In addition, several different hypotheses of emotional dysfunction were evaluated to accurately model deficits in positive emotionality. A majority of the psychophysiological tools used supported …

Characterization Of Metal-Reducing Microorganisms In Walker Lake: A Terminal Saline Desert Lake, Memona Khan

Honors College Theses

Metal-reducing microorganisms are increasingly being recognized as an essential component of aquatic microbial ecosystems involved in decomposition of organic matter. Alkaliphilic microbial reduction from alkaline lakes is a little studied field and one particular ecosystem, Walker Lake, presents the opportunity to investigate alkaliphilic metal reducers in their native ecological setting. Walker lake is a terminal, saline, desert lake with pH 9.4, Walker Lake samples of surface and deep sediments and water column samples from 0, 10, 5, 15, 17.5, 19 m depths were cultured by serial dilution in synthetic Walker Lake medium and supplemented separately with Hydrous Ferric Oxide (HFO), …

Comparing And Contrasting The Us And German Banking System With Emphasis On The Financial Crisis In 2008, Sarah K. Gleissle

Honors College Theses

This thesis will compare and contrast the Financial Systems of the United States and Germany, the structure, institutions and regulations. Furthermore, we investigated the impacts that the Financial Crisis in 2008 had on Financial Systems, the outcomes and effects. First, we looked at both Systems and the structures more closely, and compared them to each other. Next we looked at the regulations and regulatory agencies in both countries and the work they do. We realized that the different competitive natures the banking systems are under influence their businesses and business decisions.

Creative Economies: Using Arts To Revitalize Post-Industrial Cities And Towns In Massachusetts, Anna Price

Honors College Theses

During my senior year in the Honors College at UMass Boston, I became involved in the yearlong Creative and Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship program. During this program, I interned alongside other UMass Boston students at a local creative non-profit organization, providing the staff with assistance as they worked towards achieving their goals. This internship was funded by the Creative Economy Fund (CE Fund) from the University of Massachusetts President’s Office. My involvement in this program sparked an interest in pursuing an Honors thesis investigating the CE Fund and how the awarded projects are benefitted by that fund.

After looking through all …

Affluent Populations And Their Effect On Biological Diversity Through The Consumption Of Meat, Electronics, And Motor Vehicles, Melody Flores

Honors College Theses

The human has caused a far greater impact on the planet's biodiversity than any other species in existence, due to the impact of population, afflluence, and technology. This thesis will argue the importance of biological diversity and how affluent populations are reducing biodiversity through the consumption of meat, electronics, and motor vehicles. Aldo Leopold's "The Land Ethic" and Herman Daly's "The Impossibility Theorem", among others, create a rubric evaluating human activities and provide alternative views on economic impossibilities. Consumption is reviewed from an ecocentric perspective, a holistic outlook placing emphasis on the ecosystem. The reader will become cognizant of their …

"The Popular Thing To Do" Examining Young Evangelicals' Motivations For Short-Term Mission Trips, Kelsey Mcghee

Honors College Theses

Evangelical Christians are taking short-term mission trips in ever increasing numbers, with several billion dollars a year invested in these efforts. This thesis set out to understand if there was a gender difference in the motivations of young evangelical men and women, ages 14-25, who participate in short-term mission trips. Using historical perspectives on missions and functionalism, this thesis explores the motivations of recent short-term missionaries. I expected a large difference between the genders based on historical narratives of men and women missionaries, as well as my own experience in missions. However, after interviewing seventeen people, ten women and seven …

The Effect Of Restatements On Market Returns Following The Global Financial Crisis, Kyle O'Kane

Honors College Theses

This paper investigates whether stock markets react any differently to financial statement restatement information after the events of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. The research in this paper is trying to demonstrate that financial markets reacted negatively to restatement information following the passing of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, ascertain if markets reacted less negatively to post-financial crisis restatements than post-Sarbanes Oxley restatements, and determine whether markets reacted more negatively to restatements of core earnings following the financial crisis period. Little research surrounding the market effects of the financial crisis exist, and it was necessary to further study the effects …

Dental Anxiety: Personal And Media Influences On The Perception Of Dentistry, Jacqueline Glazman

Honors College Theses

Dental anxiety is a condition that plagues millions of individuals worldwide. The cause of anxiety can arise from an array of negative experiences related to dentistry. Additionally, the media’s persistent deleterious portrayal of dentistry affects the public’s fears and skews the people’s general perception of how dentists really are. Nevertheless, people continue to seek dental care for medial and cosmetic purposes, despite major challenges in the healthcare systems. This study aimed to understand whether negative images of dentists would influence how anxious a sample of undergraduate students felt about various dental procedures. The study also asked participants to express their …

Irish And German Immigrants Of The Nineteenth Century: Hardships, Improvements, And Success, Amanda A. Tagore

Honors College Theses

This paper examines the economic and social reasons that are attributed to the high emigration rate in Ireland and in Germany during the nineteenth century, and how the lives of these groups turned out in the United States. As a result of economic deterioration and social inequality, pessimism became prevalent in Ireland from the 1840s onward and in Germany from the 1830s onward. Because the United States was perceived as an optimistic avenue for advancement, thousands of Irish and Germans emigrated their homelands and fled to America in search of a better life. During the first few decades upon their …

Adventure Tourism Management, Nikki Fabrizio

Honors College Theses

Adventure tourism management is one of the fastest growing sectors in the tourism market, and while much is known about the rapid expansion of this niche as well as the consumers of it, little is known about its management side. This study seeks to discover why managers enter this industry and what keeps them here, while also gathering demographic data. The data gathered from this study will help flesh out the little information there currently is about the managerial aspect of the industry. The results of this study can be used to better recruit and train future employees, a vital …

Tourism In The Most Reclusive Country On Earth, Victoria Slade

Honors College Theses

Tourism In The Most Reclusive Country On Earth explores the tourism growth on the Korea Peninsula through qualitative data to analyze how tourism can be a vehicle in reuniting North and South Korea. Through an extensive literature review, the history of the Korean Peninsula was explored in order to grasp the understanding on why North and South Koreans are so similar yet differ in terms of what type of governance is present in the country. Current social issues in North and South Korea were also explored, along with the advancement of technology. These points were considered in order to show …

The Effects Of Demographics On The Real Estate Market In The United States And China, Henry Li

Honors College Theses

This paper focuses on the demographic and economic factors that affect the changes in prices of the housing market. The study focuses on the United States housing market after its recent collapse due to the US financial crisis of 2008. It also looks at the Chinese housing market based on the determinants that are observed in the United States. It will also examine the after effects of the One Child Policy enacted in 1979 on the housing prices. The study will look at the current situation with the Chinese housing market and its similarities to the United States housing market …

College Students’ Attitudes Towards Adults With Developmental Disabilities: Does Direct Contact Make A Difference?, Caroline E. Greene

Honors College Theses

Data were collected from thirty college students who participated in an alternative break trip and approximately seventy college students who did not attend the trip. Study subjects served as counselors at a camp for adults with developmental disabilities. Data were collected using five measures: a) before the week started, students filled out a survey which questioned their comfort level and attitude when interacting with this population; b) this same survey was administered to a random sample of college students who did not attend the break trip c) at camp, students kept a journal throughout the week documenting their experiences; d) …

Identities And Inbetweens: The Vietnamese And Assimilation Strategies In Germany, Andrew C. Downs

Honors College Theses

Multiculturalism has met with opposition in Germany as many of its native citizens have expressed their dissatisfaction with the country’s immigrant population. The problem, however, really lies in the system of integration utilized by Germany. The German government claims multiculturalism has failed, yet the integration approach the country utilizes is actually somewhere between multiculturalism and assimilation. This research suggests that Germany has not attempted true multiculturalism. The supposed failure of multiculturalism is often blamed on the apparent unwillingness of immigrants to integrate, but Germans are hesitant to accept even the better integrated immigrant groups, such as the Vietnamese. To illustrate …

Resilience And Self-Control Among Georgia Southern Students: A Comparative Study Between Rotc Students And Nonrotc Students, Kristen N. Campbell

Honors College Theses

As American soldiers are coming home from fighting the War on Terror, we are seeing an increase in soldiers suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Recently, there has been a shift from medical interventions to help those affected cope with the disorder, to prevention. The military has begun implementing resilience training programs for officers and leaders. These programs are designed to shed light on resilience and attempt to increase resilience. For instance, the Army’s Master Resilience Training program is designed to teach officers about resilience and leadership in a way that they can teach this information to their unit. Cadets …

The Determining Factors Of U.S. Humanitarian Interventions: A Case Study Of Kosovo And Syria, Elijah J. Anderson

Honors College Theses

In 1999, the U.S. and NATO went to war against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia under the guise of a humanitarian intervention. American citizens outraged by images Kosovar refugees fleeing their homeland helped prompt this military action that eventually freed Kosovo from the grips of Yugoslavia. In 2011 Americans began to be exposed to images of Syrian war victims and refugees fleeing violence and persecution in Syria. The U.S., however, has remained militarily uninvolved in this conflict despite the mass scale of atrocities being committed by the Syrian government. Through this thesis I attempt to explain why the U.S. response …

The Examination Of Healthy Eating Across Cultures: An Existential Phenomenological Approach, Sarah K. Simpson

Honors College Theses

Adhering to a healthy eating plan has been a topic of discussion across World regions. Moreover, Americans often attempt to mimic the eating habits of other regions of the world, such as the Mediterranean or Eastern Asia, in an attempt to live a long and healthy life. Satia et al., (2000) suggest that healthy eating perceptions can be influenced by food and beverage exposure, family norms, preparation methods, and geographic locations. Although this is the case, little research has been found which has examined healthy eating perceptions across regions from a qualitative perspective. Thus, the purpose of this study is …

An Examination Between Swimming Ability, Gender, And Race- An Exploratory Investigation, Laynie E. Brown

Honors College Theses

One of the leading causes of unintentional death worldwide is drowning. From 2005-2009, an estimated 3, 107 people in the United States over the age of fifteen died from drowning (Peden, Oyegbite, & Ozanne-Smith, 2008). Research has found higher amounts of drowning deaths to be males than females and African-American than Caucasian (Saluja et al., 2005). However, no significant differences have been found in real or perceived water competency between gender or age groups (Moran et al., 2012). Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine ability to swim between gender, race, and school classification of college students. Quantitative …

Theory And Practice Of Translation: An Original Translation Of Regina E. G. Schymiczek’S Die Weide Der Seepferde (The Pasture Of The Seahorses), Bradley J. Davey, Ralph W. Buechler

Honors College Theses

This study outlines the original translation of the recently published Die Weide der Seepferde (2013) from Regina E. G. Schymizcek. We employ known translation techniques by following Hervey’s (2006) suggested gradients of degrees of translation and cultural transposition. While translating the work we discovered a unique aspect of German-English translation which we believe fundamentally adds to knowledge of translation theory.

Deterring Fraud: Police Investigations Into Embezzlement, Brandon Grossman

Honors College Theses

Embezzlement is a highly disruptive crime that comes with a large negative societal impact. This study was a secondary data analysis of embezzlement data from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for the years 2012-2013. Clearance rates were calculated and analyzed for general fraud related calls for service and for embezzlement cases specifically in order to determine what clearance rates were for the Las Vegas Valley and see if they are comparable to the national average. Data was analyzed within pie and bar charts to determine if the LVMPD is effectively solving embezzlement cases and see if cases with particular …

Water Use On The Las Vegas Strip: Assessment And Suggestions For Conservation, Suzanne H. Trabia

Honors College Theses

Due to stresses on the water supply in southern Nevada, which include an average of three million tourists per month and an ongoing drought since the year 2000, water conservation is imperative in order to sustain the growing urban area of Las Vegas. The purpose of this study is to assess water use in fourteen casinos on and off the Las Vegas Strip (the main boulevard of the largest casinos in Las Vegas) in order to suggest approaches for water conservation, such as reducing, reusing, and modifying the current system. Since data on water consumption is not publicly available, five …

Examining The Success And Failure Of Multiethnic Coalition Governments In Sub-Saharan Africa: The Cases Of Kenya And Senegal, Emily Cunningham

Honors College Theses

This thesis is focused on multiethnic coalitions in Africa. Specifically, it seeks to identify the causal mechanisms at play in the formation of multiethnic coalitions and whether or not they succeed or fall apart. It also seeks to identify whether multiethnic coalition success or failure is related to the emergence or lack thereof, of violence. Case studies and process tracing are the primary methods of analysis, using Kenya and Senegal as cases under the most similar systems design. There is an examination of the actors involved in the formation of multiethnic coalitions in both nations, why the opposition coalitions fell …

The Moldovan Identity Crisis: A Young State, An Old Nation, And The Search For A National Identity, Joshua D. Rogers

Honors College Theses

The question of national identity in modern states is one that is both elusive and ever-changing; however, the fate of a young state could very well depend on grasping this concept. This study focuses on defining national identity, and solving the dilemma of an absent, or otherwise unarticulated national identity in the Republic of Moldova. Moldova, a former member of the Soviet Union and independent since 1991, has already been through a civil war due to their lack of cohesion. The country’s history of numerous invaders, conquerors, and acquisitions starting in the 14^th century has led to an eclectic …

Calculator Usage In Secondary Level Classrooms: The Ongoing Debate, Nicole Plummer

Honors College Theses

With technology becoming more prevalent every day, it is imperative that students gain enough experience with different technological tools in order to be successful in the “real-world”. This thesis will discuss the debate and overall support for an increased usage of calculators as tools in the secondary level classroom. When the idea of calculators in the classroom first came to life, many educators were very apprehensive and quite hesitant of this change. Unfortunately, more than 40 years later, there is still hesitation for their usage; and rightfully so. While there are plenty of advantages of calculator use in the classroom, …