Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Mindfulness Meditation And Mind-Wandering On Coping-Related Hopefulness In Undergraduate College Students, Shelby N. Green

Honors Theses

High levels of stress in college students are extremely prevalent. This is evident in time-consuming academic responsibilities overlapping with family life, work duties, and personal life. Stress can have negative impacts on academic performance and physical health in college students , and it has been correlated with various negative outcomes including anxiety and depression (Segrin,1999), increases in headaches (Labbe, Murphy & O’Brien, 1997), increased rates of athletic injury (Brewer & Petrie, 1996), suicidal ideation and hopelessness (Dixon, Rumford, Heppner, & Lipps, 1992), sleep disturbances (Verlander, Benedict, & Hanson, 1999), poor health behaviors (Sadava & Pak, 1993; Naquin & Gilbert, 1996), …

Young And Unemployed: A Multivariable Analysis Of Youth Unemployment In Jordan, Morgan E. Mabry

Honors Theses

The level of youth unemployment in the Middle East is higher than any other region in the world. The detrimental effects of early unemployment can be broad and long lasting. This paper discusses some of the factors of youth unemployment in the Middle East, such as poor education systems and underdeveloped labor markets; and the social effects such as delayed marriages and political unrest. It then goes on to analyze the School-to-Work Transition Survey (SWTS) to understand the impact of age, sex, individual education, and parental education on the transition from school to work. The results indicated that sex and …

You Are What You Eat: Gastronomy And Geography Of Southern Spain, Katherine F. Perry

Honors Theses

Using empirical and numeric data, this study explores the use of food as a proxy to understand the cultural-historical geography of southern Spain. After spending three months in Granada, Spain, I compiled the most commonly used thirty-five ingredients from a selection of Spanish cookbooks and contextualized them within the broader history of Spain. The elements of traditional Andalucían cooking fit into three primary chapters of Iberian history: Roman occupation, the Moorish invasion beginning in the 8^th century, and the Columbian exchange, or the exchange of goods that took place between the Americas and Old World following European discovery of …

¿Dónde Están Todas Las Mujeres?: The Impact Of Female Labor Force Participation On Female Political Representation In Latin America, Murakami A. Carpenter

Honors Theses

Do higher levels of female labor force participation increase female political representation? Over the past 40 years, the involvement of Latina women in the labor force and the number of female legislators in Latin America has been steadily increasing. To determine if there is a correlation between these two variables, this research builds on the socio-economic status model created by Brady, Verba and Schlozman (1995). Using both a bivariate and a multivariate model, I test for a correlation between the number of women working and the number of elected female legislators in 24 Latin American countries. Contrary to expectations, I …

The Representation Of The Individualism-Collectivism Cultural Value Dimension In Film Portrayals Of Intercultural Communication, Courtney J. Mcmullan

Honors Theses

Globalization and modernization have changed the world in which we live, bringing intercultural communication to the forefront in our daily lives. Cultural values vary around the world, and these values impact the way people communicate with one another. This study focused on the cultural value of individualism-collectivism and how it impacts intercultural, interpersonal communication and the way it is presented in film. The aim of this study was to conduct quantitative analyses of data gathered from intercultural films to identify the way in which nations' individualism-collectivism tendencies are displayed in film in comparison to a cultural value dimension scale and …

The Culture Of Sustainability At Southern Miss, Amy J. Ball

Honors Theses

The sustainability movement has been studied in general before, but little research has been done on topic of the sustainability movement at universities. This study aims to contribute to the larger conversation on sustainability by looking at the ideas and motivations behind participation in the movement among students at the University of Southern Mississippi. This is done primarily through interviews performed by the researcher with a number of students in a club on campus dedicated to spreading knowledge of and participation in sustainable activities, known as the Sustainability Advocates. Background information about the sustainability movement on campus is provided by …

An Empirical Test For Overrepresentation Of Black Youth Arrests In Mississippi, Ashley R. Mcknight

Honors Theses

The objective of this study is to empirically test for black youth overrepresentation at the initial contact (arrest) stage of the juvenile justice system. In 2002, an amendment was made to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 which called for states to monitor disproportionate minority contact at all levels of the juvenile justice system. Arrest data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics has been gathered to determine the rate and percentage at which black youth are arrested compared to white youth. More so, youth population statistics are acquired from the U.S. Census and are converted to percentages. …

A Content Analysis Of The 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Viewed As Public Relations Efforts Using The Social Change Model Of Leadership, Hannah J. Hill

Honors Theses

This research used content analysis to examine how significant events within the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer that were well documented in journals, news articles and other mediums can be viewed as public relations strategies and tactics using the Social Change Model of Leadership (SCM). This research answers how these events can be explained through the SCM as individual, group, and community values. The SCM has not been associated with public relations strategies and tactics before this research was conducted, however social change is commonly seen in public relations efforts as both SCM and public relations seek to influence publics to …

Attitudes Toward Refugees Entering The United States Of America, Sarah M. Bullard

Honors Theses

According the estimates by the United Nations, there are nearly fifty-million refugees in the world. Because attitudes toward refugees could influence government refugee policies, it is important to study the attitudes people have toward refugees entering the United States. To learn more about attitudes toward refugees in the United States, a survey was conducted of over two college students, asking how they defined refugees and who should be allowed into the United States as refugees. Survey respondents from all demographic groups were surprisingly accepting of all types of refugees. However, some refugee variables, such as gender and situation, and respondent …

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 …

Affect Recognition And Adhd Symptoms In Preschoolers: A Serial Mediation Model Of Social Cognition, Annalise M. Hays

Honors Theses

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been addressed in a few studies as it relates to social cognition deficiency. Throughout these studies, it seems as if affect recognition may be linked to ADHD through deficits in the development of social skills. The current study tests to see if this mediation may also involve the influence of adaptability in children. It was hypothesized that poorer affect recognition would relate to ADHD symptoms in preschoolers and that this effect would occur indirectly by influencing the children’s adaptability and social skills. A heterogeneous sample of 71 three to five year-old preschoolers participated. Children were …

Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) Behaviors In The Presence Of Active And Non-Active Shrimp Trawlers In The Mississippi Sound, Crysta M. Lorenz

Honors Theses

Bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, are reported to have close associations with shrimp trawlers worldwide. The goal of this study was to assess differences in the behavior for bottlenose dolphins between activity states of shrimp trawlers in the Mississippi Sound. During active trawling, nets are actively gathering the catch closely behind the trawler, which provide feeding opportunities for bottlenose dolphins. Non-active groups are not able to take advantage of feeding prospects and display fewer feeding behaviors and maintain a farther distance than active trawler groups. Video of trawlers were collected from the Mississippi Wild Dolphin Project and analyzed for feeding …

From King Leonidas To Lord Farquaad: Popular Culture And How Authority Is Portrayed In Popular Film Of 2000-2009, Solai N. Wyman

Honors Theses

In a modern age dominated by technology, the role of entertainment such as film is steadily growing in American culture and politics. Film and politics “inform” one another, meaning that film reflects the politics within a society in which they are placed (Christensen & Haas 2005). Using this as justification, the central research question of this thesis is, "What is the political content of popular films of the 2000s in terms of authority, and what does this suggest about the culture and view on authority of the Millennials as a generation?" A content analysis of popular films from 2000-2009 was …

“Last Flag Standing”: How Traditional Conservative Values And Symbolic Voting In The State Of Mississippi Help Explain The Defense Of The Confederate Flag By Voters In The 2001 Referendum, Joshua Von Herrmann

Honors Theses

Mississippi is the last state in the United States to publicly display the confederate symbol as part of its state flag. In 2001, when given the chance to remove this symbol from its flag, voters in Mississippi supported this symbol by a vote of 2 to 1. Previous studies have documented the importance of race in the outcome of the 2001 referendum, but lack analysis of other potential influential factors specific to the state of Mississippi. This study examines the issue of the Mississippi state flag through a case study analysis using the ballot initiatives of Amendment 1 in 2004, …

Narcissism And Late Adolescent Friendships: Perceived Closeness, Cooperation, Competitiveness, And Friendship Quality, Suzanne Chinyere Amadi

Honors Theses

Pathological and non-pathological dimensions of narcissism are correlated with indices of adolescent internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors, especially in the context of peer relationships. The current study examined 219 (181 females, 38 males) 18 year-olds’ perceptions of their friendships, including closeness, cooperation, competitiveness, and friendship quality in relation to pathological (i.e., grandiose, vulnerable) and non-pathological (i.e., normal) narcissism. Data were collected through online, self-report questionnaires. Grandiose narcissism was significantly correlated with perceived closeness, cooperation, and competitiveness but not with friendship quality. Vulnerable narcissism was significantly positively correlated with perceived competitiveness but unassociated with perceptions of closeness, cooperation, and friendship quality. …

On The Shoulders Of Giants: Happiness And The Good Economy In Catholic Social Teaching, Erin C. Wingerter

Honors Theses

The economic discipline, in studying humans, relies on economic philosophers’ theories and understanding of the human person. One of Adam Smith’s most basic tenants was that man is self-interested. This thesis explores the profound implications this has had on those who study economics and what research in behavioral economics implies about its effect on life satisfaction. Catholic Social Teaching is the Roman Catholic Church’s collection of criticisms for practicing the neo-scholastic virtue ethic in social life. If self-interest is emphasized above man’s social nature, which was Smith’s second tenant, economics ignores a non-trivial portion of man’s motivation. Because irrational behaviors …