Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Urban Heat Island Effect In Albany, Ny Using Remote Sensing And Gis Techniques, Zhaoxin Ma

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research delves into the complex dynamics of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect within the urban landscape of Albany, New York, employing advanced remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) methodologies. With a primary focus on two interconnected objectives, this study attempts to unravel the spatial patterns of temperature extremes and assess associated vulnerabilities within communities, while also exploring the influence of green space distribution on the intensity of urban heat islands. The first objective examines temperature extremes' spatial distribution and vulnerability among demographic groups such as race/ethnicity, age, and income. It examines whether marginalized communities bear a disproportionate …

Effects Of Emotional Intelligence And Social Support On The Relationship Between Childhood Maltreatment And Disordered Eating, Rachel Kilby

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Current research has established a connection between childhood maltreatment and eating disorders, and some studies have looked at emotional intelligence or social support as mediators. However, little research has looked at how emotional intelligence and social support work together in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and eating disorders. This study looked at how emotional intelligence and social support act as mediators in this relationship. Undergraduate students (N=134) were administered the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-90), Wong-Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26). Correlations between scales were …

Determinism & Free Will: An Exploration On Gender Identity As Evidence For Compatibilism, Daniel Mangandi-Escobar

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Determinism is a philosophical concept asserting that every event and action in the universe has been determined by previous causes, which has caused considerable debate within philosophy. Two critical issues within this discussion are the implications of determinism for human agency and moral responsibility. In this work, I argue that free ill is possible, rejecting hard determinism. Specifically, I will be arguing in favor of compatibilism, which is the view that free will can exist even within a deterministic world. From this perspective, free will is not opposed to determinism. Instead, our choices and actions can still be considered free …

End-Of-Life Patient Communication: Exploring Comfort, Communication And Education Of Healthcare Professionals For End-Of-Life Care, Madison Gremillion

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Historically, the medical field has viewed death and dying as incurable ‘medical failures,’ and as a result, many healthcare professionals have difficulties when facing a patient who is dying or at the end of their life. These individuals will use avoidant behavior to avoid end-of-life (EOL) patients or can have difficulty providing essential aspects of care including communication, that contribute to building a strong relationship between the healthcare provider and patient. For the healthcare professional (HCP), this can stem from anxiety related to thoughts of death and a lack of educational support or experience. The study of death is where …

Examining Attitudes Towards Scientific Research, Charles Ian Johnston

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Undergraduate students are often anxious about participating in a research experience. In this study, students conducted research as part of their introductory biology course and were then surveyed using the Attitudes toward Research Scale, to understand their views on research. Students were surveyed at the beginning and end of the semester, and their scores in five attitudinal categories were compared. The attitudes examined were usefulness of research, positive attitudes towards research, relevance of research, difficulty of research and anxiety towards research. We hypothesized that participation in research as part of a course would improve students’ attitude toward research. Initial analysis …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Sexual Functioning: A Mediation Analysis Of Difficulties In Emotional Regulation, Haven Travis

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sexual dysfunction can lead to a negative impact upon a person’s mental and relational health, including relational and overall distress, poor relationship and sexual satisfaction, and clinical mood disorders such as depression. Moving upstream to identify factors that may predict sexual dysfunction would therefore be beneficial for early intervention in at-risk populations. History of childhood trauma is one such factor that may influence sexual functioning later in life. While adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been less studied in association with sexual dysfunction, there is some evidence to indicate that they may be related. ACEs have been shown to increase the …

Implementing Practice With Children Affected By Trauma In The Field Of Speech-Language Pathology, Avery Liley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

There is currently a lack of research in the field of Speech-Language Pathology regarding the understanding and implementation of appropriate practice when working with children who have experienced a variety of forms of trauma, including maltreatment. Previous research has shown a significant correlation between trauma exposure and speech and language deficiencies, so children who fall in this group are often involved in speech-language pathology services. Therefore, it is essential that clinicians in this field obtain a better understanding of how to implement appropriate trauma-informed care. This research poses the question, “What is the relationship between childhood maltreatment and the development …

Training Grammaticality: Can People Be Taught To Perceive The Singular ‘They’ As Grammatical?, Val Willham

Undergraduate Honors Theses

As the usage of personal pronouns other than he and she becomes more mainstream, debates about their usage have become more and more common. Many of the reasons discouraging their use are rooted in negative attitudes toward people who prefer to be referred to as such (Patev, et al 2019). However, prior research has also found that perceptions of singular gender-neutral pronouns like they/them as being grammatically confusing can be an obstacle toward their use, even by people who otherwise hold positive opinions towards transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) individuals (Patev, et al 2019). Given the role that language use …

Scare If You Dare: A Look Into Scare Acting, Hana Goss

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Scare acting has always been the unsung villains of the entertainment industry. For three months of the year, for about five minutes of a haunted house, they get attention. However, the work scare actors do to is way more than just a five second “boo.” Scare actors have been at the beginning of theatre and continue to influence modern entertainment. Even though the patrons may be the ones feeling the danger, scare actors may be even more in danger than them. Each scare actor is unique from their looks to their moves. It might be take a lot of nerve …

An Experimental Test On The Effects Of Digital Framing Disputes On Social Movement Organization’S Mobilization And Organizational Image, Alison Trahan

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Framing disputes within social movement organizations have been shown to damage people’s opinions of the organization and the organization's ability to maintain mobilization. However, the majority of the research surrounding framing disputes has been conducted through case studies at in-person movement meetings. While these town hall-style meetings do still take place, many social movement organizations have begun to utilize social media as a part of their regular interactions with supporters and messaging efforts. This study employs a survey experimental design to examine the effects of online framing disputes on how social movement organizations are perceived and their ability to generate …

How Films And Television See Cults, Shani "Kami" Vigilant

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis intends to outline how cults—commonly defined as “a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object”| “a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs of practices regarded by others as strange or sinister (Oxford Language Dictionary)”—are created through popular films and documentaries. Cults may be defined as highly regulated and organized social groups with religious and political affiliations. Many create idiosyncratic languages of terms members know and understand, rituals, initiations, and punishments. There are leading scholars in sociology, psychology, and anthropology that do not capture the gaps in the definition of cult. …

Ai-Ing The Future: An Analysis Of Past Treaty Features In Regulating Innovative Technologies, Sophia Tammera

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between the specific features written into multilateral treaties and their success in regulating innovative technologies. It explores why detailed treaty provisions such as periodic reviews, trigger mechanisms, amendment provisions, and knowledge sharing are critical to the effectiveness of these international agreements. I argue that the presence of these features contributes significantly to a treaty's ability to adapt to changing circumstances, ensure transparency, and facilitate ongoing cooperation and collaboration among signatories. To test this claim, I completed an in-depth case study analysis of technologies like railroads, telegraphs, electricity, and nuclear weapons. The findings indicate that treaties …

Re-Evaluating Egalitarian Design In Contemporary Danish Society, Alice Baughman

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study examines the discourses and practices of egalitarian architecture in contemporary Denmark. Denmark’s long standing comprehensive welfare system promotes, for all citizens, equal access to education, healthcare, and public services, and other opportunities. Similarly, its own brand of socially progressive, egalitarian architecture encourages spatial designs intended for use by all people regardless of social disparities. Drawing on a range of sources from government documents to architectural magazines to design projects themselves, this study defines the historical development of this discourse going back to Modernist and Functionalist movements in the 1930s. By revealing the cultural and demographic assumptions on which …

Harnessing The Power Of Virtual Reality For Organic Chemistry Education, Jungmin Shin

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Understanding organic chemistry concepts heavily relies on visualization of the geometry of molecules and spatial arrangement of molecules during mechanisms. 2D textbook depictions have their limitations in visualizing the three-dimensionality of organic chemistry. Student learning outcomes could be greatly improved from 3D visualizations of these topics. This project explores the potential of an emerging technology, Virtual Reality (VR), being incorporated as a teaching resource for organic chemistry.

This paper discusses two trials for evaluating the potential of VR as a teaching resource for organic chemistry in select topics of the Diels-Alder reaction and R/S configurations and stereoisomers. The Diels-Alder reaction …

Developing Politics While Detained: How Juvenile Incarceration Impacts Political Participation And Behavior, Jonathan Wilkins

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Carceral contact and childhood socialization matters, but we know little about how early encounters with carcerality mold political socialization. In this study, I examine a) if juvenile detention is a socializing agent, and b) how juvenile incarceration can shape political engagement and participation. I find that those incarcerated in their youth were less likely to be politically engaged but more likely to have negative feelings towards the criminal justice system compared to those first incarcerated as adults. Through semi-structured interviews of 8 people first incarcerated in their youth and 7 people first incarcerated in adulthood from Virginia, this paper analyzes …

Roads And Corresponding Travel Time To Markets: Assessing Climate Vulnerability In Nepal, Kaitlyn Crowley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Roads exist as a physical and theoretical connection between people and places around the globe. In addition to providing a route from one point to another, roads are also an indicator of access to markets and of poverty. However, current road datasets, particularly the Global Roads Open Access Data Set, are out of date or incomplete, necessitating new sources of data for analyses involving road networks. This study explores the relationship between climate change and access to markets in Nepal. We seek to identify isolated communities that are likely to experience detrimental outcomes associated with environmental threats, such as increasing …

"Female Faithfulness Encouraged": Gendered Piety In Early American Print, Kadienne Sizemore

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Following the American Revolution, membership in Baptist churches grew exponentially and the influence of the Baptist persuasion was significant. As one of the fastest-growing Protestant denominations in early America, Baptists and their interests were often indicative of larger trends in religiosity. Conceptions of piety, including beliefs surrounding submission, faithfulness, and duty, were central to the structure of Baptist congregations and their proximate communities. This paper explores the role of gender in the discussion, presentation, and justification of Baptist notions of piety in their publications during the Early American Republic. To build on the work of historians exploring female autonomy in …

A Look Down The Well: Exploring Co-Educational Femininity Through A Twentieth-Century Dormitory Feature At William & Mary, 1926-1944, Charlotte Russell

Undergraduate Honors Theses

As women began enrolling in universities across the United States in the early twentieth century, traditionally masculine spheres became the site of an emerging femininity. Administrative rules and single-gendered spaces organized the lives of women and men to fit socially acceptable gender roles. One such space was the college dormitory. The Digges House, most notably studied as the site of Williamsburg’s Bray School, served as an off-campus dormitory for women at William & Mary between 1926 and 1944 under the name Brown Hall. This project will employ artifact analysis of the small finds, glass, and ceramics found in a well …

Starting Early: Returns On Kindergarten Attendance In Indonesia, Daniel Posthumus

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Indonesia is a rapidly developing economy, having averaged 5.26% economic growth from 2000 to 2019; over the same time, it has achieved near-universal primary school attendance. However, there are concerns about the quality of Indonesian education, with no improvement in standardized test scores between 2012 and 2022. Early childhood interventions are a critical part of human capital accumulation and skills- building, and the efficacy of interventions such as kindergarten in developing countries like Indonesia is under-studied. Using data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) and Village Potential Statistics (PODES), I examine the effects of kindergarten on educational outcomes in …

Stretching The Hard-Boiled Detective: From Hammett And Chandler To Paretsky And Himes, Chloe Moore

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis investigates transformations of the hard-boiled crime fiction genre by analyzing the works of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, and how authors Sara Paretsky and Chester Himes adapt and manipulate the genre to suit their intentions and voices. By examining the construction of Hammett's Continental Op and Sam Spade, and Chandler's Philip Marlowe, the foundation is laid for understanding the defining characteristics of a hard-boiled detective in the 1930s and 40s. This thesis then explores how Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski and Himes' Coffin Ed and Grave Digger Jones adapt these qualities to suit new demographics of detectives: a white woman …

“Due To The Tender And Close Relationship”: The Italian Inquisition’S Investigations Of Jews And Christians In The Sixteenth Century, Jacob Schapiro

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis looks at the Italian Inquisition’s treatment of Jews and those suspected of being Jews and thus sits at the intersection of two different historical subfields: Jewish studies and Inquisition studies. Each subfield is broad but overlaps with the other. I analyze six Inquisition cases—four from Venice and two from Florence—and recount the original accusations, before delving into the likely circumstances of the people involved, based on witness testimony. By looking at these cases, I show how blurred religious identity could be, as people adopted the guise of one faith and then another, depending on the time and place. …

Priestesshoods As Expressions Of Civic Identity, Isabella Kershner

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis offers a comprehensive examination of the role of priestesshoods in shaping the civic identity of women in Classical Athens. It challenges the traditional narrative that confines Athenian women to the domestic sphere by highlighting their public and influential roles in religious practices. Through a meticulous analysis of archaeological, literary, and epigraphic evidence, the study traces the journey of Athenian females from childhood rituals to the esteemed positions of the High Priestess of Athena Nike and Athena Polias, revealing how these religious roles served as both a spiritual passage and a civic curriculum.

The thesis argues that these priestesshoods …

Shaping Western Views Of Homosexuality In 20th Century Europe Through Community, Sarah Palluconi

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis will discuss a community of transnational sexual reformers and their influence on public and private views of homosexuality between the 1890s to the 1930s. This community of sexual reformers had ties to the World League for Sexual Reform (WLSR), an international organization that operated from 1928 to 1935. The WLSR discussed birth control, sexual education, prostitution, venereal disease, and, of course, homosexuality in terms of the law and society. By analyzing the few leading figures who studied homosexuality and sexology at the beginning of the 20^th century, I have found that the correspondence and discussion of homosexuality …

Feminist Realizations Of Assisted Reproductive Technology In Contemporary Science Fiction, Amanda Mullet

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Modern science fiction has seen an increase in reproductive fiction, particularly feminist reproductive fiction, but this has not always been the case. Science fiction has been called “a traditionally masculine territory” (Booker 337), which its social and academic history can attest to. Previous scholarship on science fiction has centered the work of a few key male authors, and ignored, with the exception of figures like Atwood, Le Guin, and Butler, large swaths of science fiction by feminist authors like Judith Merril. Within the source material itself, most previous explorations of reproduction have centered male perspectives, highlighting reproduction as a broad …

Professionals, Not Laborers: Historical Contingencies Impacting Faculty Prestige And Unionization, Camden M. Webb

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Some higher education faculty believe that unionization is beneath their status, despite lacking ownership of the means of production. While higher education experienced increasing importance in the United States during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, faculty unionization saw periods of both growth and decline. From a macro-level framework in social structures of accumulation (SSA) theory, with additions from Marx, the Ehrenreichs, Bourdieu, and Simmel, my research develops a theory to explain the impact of changing social structures on status reproduction and faculty unionization. SSA theory explores the historical contingencies that impact relationships between institutions and capital accumulation. Marx’s class relationships, …

Ethanol-Induced Alterations To Astrocytic Glutamate Transporter Mrna Expression In The Mpfc Of Adult Mice, Zachary Evans

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is one of several brain structures that is contained in the mesolimbocortical pathway and controls many processes involved in alcohol use disorder (AUD). There is vast glutamatergic output from the mPFC to other mesolimbocortical regions; neuroplastic changes to this system are believed to be closely tied to the development and maintenance of AUD. Astrocytes are key regulators of glutamatergic transmission through their uptake of excess glutamate from the synapse and recycling back into neurons. Ethanol (EtOH) alters the expression of astrocytic genes that encode for transporters that control glutamate homeostasis; these include the glutamate transporter-1 …

"Great Injustice In American Literature": African American Girlhood In Black And White Authored Children's Publications, 1887-1920, Becca Driggs

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the role of African American girls in creating and dismantling nineteenth-century race myths through a comparison of publications in black and white authored presses. Fictional stories published in St. Nicholas, the most popular turn-of-the-century children’s magazine, reveal that white authors, specifically Southern women, intentionally crafted narratives demeaning African American girls to cement a national racial hierarchy. Their work indoctrinated white children in racism and undermined African American legitimacy in the decades following the Civil War and Reconstruction. Concurrently, black authors recognized these attacks and in their press explored the lived experiences of African American girls to counter …

Power And Participation: Women's Participation In The Arab Spring And Its Impact On Women's Empowerment, Mary Harris

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Middle Eastern governments typically score at or near the bottom of indices measuring women’s rights and political participation. The Middle East also contains a large percentile of authoritarian regimes. The Arab Spring challenged these regimes' gender structures as they included vast female participation, but there is little existing research to understand the Spring's impact on opinions of women's participation and empowerment in the region. This study aims to add to existing research on this topic by analyzing Arab Barometer data from 4 questions dealing with opinions of women’s participation in society gathered before, during, and after the Arab Spring. I …

The Diy Ethic In Richmond, Virginia’S Underground Music Community, Calvin Sloan

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project seeks to examine Richmond, Virginia’s underground music community through the analytical perspective of sociocultural anthropology. I argue that Richmond’s underground music community is guided by a governing ideology I refer to as the “DIY ethic”. The application of the DIY (Do It Yourself) ethic helps to explain the community’s unique practices, including moshing and the formation of new, niche genres. This ethnographic approach includes interviews with community members and my own firsthand observations of music venues and other subcultural spaces. This research is part of my undergraduate honors project at the College of William & Mary.

Beyond The Exit: Moma Design Store & The Extended Museum Experience, Anna C. Wershbale

Undergraduate Honors Theses

American art museum attendance soared following World War II as museums became popular education and entertainment destinations for the growing middle class. Shaped by the influence of 1980s Reaganomics and the effects of neoliberal funding policies, museum shops developed from small information desk ventures into a vital source of public relevance and financial sustainability. When given creative liberty and economic attention, the now standardized amenity presented the opportunity to sell institutional ethos. In light of neoliberal capitalism’s tendency to construe value primarily in economic terms, shops reveal how the art museum strategically assigns new meaning to its collection, mission, and …