Digital Commons Network^™

Music And The Presidency: How Campaign Songs Sold The Image Of Presidential Candidates, Gary M. Bogers

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In this thesis, I will discuss the importance of campaign songs and how they were used throughout three distinctly different U.S. presidential elections: the 1960 campaign of Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy against Vice President Richard Milhouse Nixon, the 1984 reelection campaign of President Ronald Wilson Reagan against Vice President Walter Frederick Mondale, and the 2008 campaign of Senator Barack Hussein Obama against Senator John Sidney McCain. In doing so, there will be an analysis of how music was used to sell the image of these presidential candidates through both its juxtaposition with other forms of mass media (television advertisements, radio, …

Farm Women As Producers & Consumers In The 20th Century U.S. South, Joseph J. Kaminski

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to examine white, rural women of the South who were directly affected by home demonstration between 1920 - 1950 and to discuss their roles as producers and consumers in the expanding market economy. Home demonstration, a three-tiered bureaucratic agency that provided domestic education and production techniques to Southern women, played a major role in guiding women toward the expanding market economy. Agents often had to temper their programs in order to compromise with the women they served to accommodate rural restrictions on capital, capability, and confidence. By integrating rural women into a more modernized, …

Black Feminist Articulations Of Race & Gender Within The Horror Film Genre, Katherine M. Ortiz

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this paper is to explore a black feminist perspective within the film horror genre. A black feminist perspective investigates how black women are portrayed within cinematic horror. It serves as a method to further articulate the particularities of race & gender within cinema. If we leave the cinematic space without a structural model of intervention, then we are left with film that remains unchallenged for ostracizing black women. The paper argues that black women become articulated through themes of motherhood, death, and sexuality.

An Ecofeminist Analysis Of The Ready-Made Garment Industry In Bangladesh, Yasmin Fakhoury

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Bangladesh's ready-made garment industry and its harsh working conditions have been the center of intense scrutiny for the past decade, especially following the massive death tolls of the Tazreen Fashions factory fire in 2012 and the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013. While lauded by many for its tremendous contributions to the Bangladeshi economy and its employment of primarily women, the garment industry is responsible for causing harm both to the women who work there and the local environment. Women workers are physically and verbally abused in the workplace for little pay, while the factories emit pollutants that contaminate the …

The Osi And The Nazis: America's Struggle To Expel Nazi War Criminals And Their Allies Decades After The Second World War, Evan S. Murray

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis examines the history of the Office of Special Investigations' campaign to identify, denaturalize, and deport Nazis and Nazi collaborators. By analyzing documents from the work of the Office's predecessor, the Special Litigations Unit, in 1977, up to and including the case of George Lindert in 1995, this research aims to provide an understanding of the Office's origins, methods, and motivations. This work was done through the consultation of court records, internal memos, letters, an official government report on the Office's activities, other literature written on this topic, and interviews conducted by the author with two former members of …

Explaining The 1096 Massacres In The Context Of The First Crusade, Sam Pynes

Honors Undergraduate Theses

During the First Crusade's onset, lay enthusiasm went unregulated. Popular preachers spread Urban II's call to crusade across Europe, and after Peter the Hermit left the Rhineland, religious tension flared and culminated in the 1096 A.D. Jewish massacres. This paper examines Christian crusader motivation during the 1096 massacres. Through textual analysis of contemporary Latin and Hebrew chronicles and medieval eschatological legends, I argue that the conversion of the Jewish communities to Christianity was the primary motivation of the Christian crusaders and neighboring burghers. I suggest that figures such as Count Emicho of Flonheim were likely inspired by the eschatological legend …

A Deconstruction Of Puritan Ideology Through The Works Of John Winthrop, Anne Bradstreet, And Mary Rowlandson, Rocco S. Fazzalari

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Originated by Jacques Derrida, deconstruction analyzes the relationship between text and meaning. This thesis applies Derrida's theory of deconstruction to three early American Puritan figures: John Winthrop, Mary Rowlandson, and Anne Bradstreet. By questioning the conceptual distinctions known as oppositions in Puritan ideology through the works of these aforementioned individuals, this thesis questions and corrupts the binaries within each text used. The emergence of new meaning through a deconstruction of Puritan ideology establishes a valid site from which to explore radical, repressed, historical, cultural, and theological narratives of religious prosperity. By enforcing narratives from Derrida's Of Grammatology, post-structuralist ideology will …

Culture, Power, And Control: A Discussion Of Autonomy And Responsibility, Loren A. Alonso

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how power, control, autonomy, and responsibility are active participants in culture and daily human life. First, I discuss two understandings of power, structured and diffused. I examine some different techniques of power that help support and reproduce the current power systems in place and how historically, these systems have been predominantly unjust. I then discuss an alternative view of power that incorporates both structured and diffused forms of power. I explain why this new understanding of power could be more useful in actively shifting the current unjust power structures present in the …

Artful Bionics: Pushing The Limits Of Visual Expression In Prosthetic Design, Anna Kester

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Traditional prosthetic design revolves around functionality, aiming to hide and downplay an individual's limb difference as much as possible. This may not only negatively affect the user's desire to wear their prosthetic but may also negatively affect their self-confidence and sense of identity. Expression is a primary way to communicate identity, yet some traditional prosthetics may deny expression, leaving users without an immediate means to express themselves apart from the stigmatizing label of 'disability'. This study examines the ability of art when combined with bionic prosthetic technology to change the perception of disability, empower self confidence in prosthetics users, and …

Silent Takeover! Invasive Plants In Florida, Katherine Harris, Linda Walters, Samantha Yuan

CEELAB Children's Books

Native plants in Florida create the beautiful, wild world around us. But they are in danger! Hundreds of invasive plant species are silently taking over Florida's natural environment. These unwelcome plants grow aggressively and can overgrow native plants and animals in many different habitats. Invasive plants are so widespread that there may even be some growing in your backyard. Look inside to learn about Florida's invasive plant problem. Find out about some of the most harmful invasive plants, the problems they cause to natural ecosystems, and how you can help to manage invasive plants to help keep Florida native and …

The Problem Of Technology: Human Communication In The Age Of Automation, Alyona Leontyeva

Honors Undergraduate Theses

With the introduction of technology, our existence became different. Today we use technology for every aspect of our lives. We can study, work, communicate, and entertain ourselves. We find it very convenient to communicate via e-mail, text messaging, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Myspace, and Snapchat to connect with people in work, school, social and familial networks. Mark Zuckerberg proclaimed that Facebook's new mission is to "bring the world closer together" (Zuckerberg, 2017). The means of accomplishing that is through technological communication. According to research on close relationships and the use of technology as a way of communication, "mobile phone-based channels …

Postures In Mobile Device Usage: Effects On Interpretation Bias, Mood, And Physical Tension, Gabriela Flores-Cruz

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Past research has shown that there is a relationship between body posture and cognitive processes. However, postures used with technological devices has not been studied more extensively. The purpose of this study was to examine posture effects when using a mobile device on interpretation bias, mood, and physical tension. Each participant was randomly assigned one of three conditions: sitting slumped, sitting upright, or lying down. Participants were asked to complete the Scrambled Sentences Task (SST), a task of unscrambling emotional and neutral sentences, to measure their interpretation bias. Additional questions were asked to measure the participant's physical tension and mood. …

Studies On The Potential Regulation Of Usp30 By Omi/Htra2 Protease, Sunmi Jin

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to determine whether the deubiquitinating enzyme ubiquitin specific protease 30 (USP30) is cleaved by Omi/HtrA2 (hereafter referred to as Omi) protease during mitochondrial stress. USP30 is a mitochondrial protein that is anchored in the outer mitochondrial membrane and has components in the intermembrane space (IMS) as well as in the cytoplasm. USP30's IMS component has a six-amino-acid sequence that is very similar to Omi's consensus cleavage sites. Under normal conditions, Omi resides exclusively within the IMS; therefore, if Omi were to cleave USP30, it would target the part of the protein located in the …

The Role Of Cues And Kinematics On Social Event Perception, Estefania Berrios

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The belief that intentions are hidden away in the minds of individuals has been circulating for many years. Theories of indirect perception, such as the Theory of Mind, have since been developed to help explain this phenomenon. Conversely, research in the field of human kinematics and event perception have also given rise to theories of direct perception. The purpose of the study was to determine if intentionality can be directly perceived rather than requiring inferential processes. Prior research regarding kinematics of cooperative and competitive movements have pointed toward direct perception, demonstrating participants can accurately judge a movement as cooperative or …

Role Of T-Bet In Production Of Immunoglobulin Isotypes In An Influenza Setting, David Sidhom

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Influenza is one of the most common diseases worldwide, yet the vaccines against influenza are only 35% effective at protecting against infection. Creating a more effective vaccine requires an understanding of the foundation and the factors that contribute to a strong and protective adaptive immune response. T-bet [TBX21] is a transcription factor that plays an instrumental role in the orchestration of the type 1 immune response, which is the specialized response used by the immune system for a cell-mediated response against intracellular pathogens, such as influenza. It has yet to be explored in an influenza setting on the role T-bet …

The Effects Of Zinc Nanofertilizers On Tomato Plants, Ketsira Pierre

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Farmers around the world aim to use soil with adequate nutrients to produce sufficient and quality crops to the world's ever-growing population. Unbalanced use of nutrients in the soil will lead to soil deficiency, which is usually seen in South and Southeast Asian countries. This soil deficiency is often due to loss of micronutrient(s) within the soil from farming practices. Micronutrient deficiency affects not only plant growth but human health. Plants grown in nutrient deficient soil produce food with nutrient deficiencies, which affect people dependent on these foods for nutrients (Kathmandu, 2004). Nutrient deficient diseases and disorders like malnutrition are …

A Meta-Analysis Of Neuromyelitis Optica Epidemiology In Latin American Nations, Brittany M. Zengotita

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) is a rare, autoimmune, neurodegenerative disease selectively affecting the optic nerves and spinal cord. Relapsing NMO is nine times more prevalent in women than in men and approximately one-quarter of NMO patients have symptoms of another autoimmune disorder (National Institute of Health, 2019). NMO has not been linked to any genetic mutations and the cause of the disorder is unknown beyond the general understanding that the body produces anti-aquaporin-4 antibodies (AQP4) which mistakenly attack cells in the nervous system. NMO affects roughly one percent of that of Multiple Sclerosis (4000-8000 patients total) in the United States, but …

Long-Term Outcomes Of Neonatal Herpes Simplex Virus Infection And Treatment, Genesis M. Brador

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The prevalence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection globally is high, and although there is no cure for it, the antiviral drug acyclovir is used to alleviate symptoms. There are two types of HSV: HSV-1, which typically infects the oral area, and HSV-2, which is associated with genital infections. A mother who carries the infection may transmit it to a neonate in different ways, most commonly via vaginal delivery in the presence of active lesions. There are three types of HSV disease that affect newborns: skin, eyes or mouth (SEM) disease, central nervous system (CNS) disease, or disseminated disease. The …

Protecting Online Privacy In The Digital Age: Carpenter V. United States And The Fourth Amendment's Third-Party Doctrine, Cristina Del Rosso

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to examine the future of the third-party doctrine with the proliferation of technology and the online data we are surrounded with daily, specifically after the United States Supreme Court's decision in Carpenter v. United States. In order to better understand the Supreme Court's reasoning in that case, this thesis will review the history of the third-party doctrine and its roots in United States v. Miller and Smith v. Maryland. A review of Fourth Amendment history and jurisprudence is also crucial to this thesis, as it is imperative that individuals do not forfeit …

Draining Your Brain: The Effects Of Four Fatiguing Task Domains On Executive Function And Prefrontal Cortex, Salim A. Mouloua

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The present study empirically examined the effects of four fatiguing task domains on executive function through participants' reaction time, accuracy, and brain activity in prefrontal cortex (PFC). Forty college-age participants were collected (16 males and 24 females), of which eleven were examined using a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) imaging system. The present study used a 4×2 mixed factorial design consisting of fatiguing task (arm contractions task, vigilance task, distance-manipulated Fitts' task, size-manipulated Fitts' task) as a between-participant variable and n-back testing period (pre-test versus post-test 3-back task) as a within-participant variable. Results indicated significant increases in 3-back performance after …

Fibergramme Vol.42 No. 1, Weavers Of Orlando

Text Materials of Central Florida

FIBERGRAMME is published in September, November, January, March and May.

Barriers And Facilitators To Accessing And Utilizing Mental Health Services For Homeless Youth: A Systematic Review, Abbygail P. Lapinski

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Homelessness in the youth population is associated with elevated rates of mental illness, substance abuse, and suicidality compared to the housed population in the United States (Berdahl, Hoyt, and Whitbeck, 2005; Hodgson, Shelton, Van den Bree, 2014; Hughes et al., 2010). With a survival-focused perspective, exacerbating issues, stigmatization, and transience housing; homeless youth require special consideration to meet their diverse health needs. When barriers impede homeless youth's access to necessary health resources, their health concerns are left untreated and impound until emergency services are required. This review of literature is focused on identifying and synthesizing barriers and facilitators for homeless …

Should Athletes Receive Sleep Hygiene Education? A Systematic Literature Review, Ines L. Contreras

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Previous studies show the need to find a solution to improve the athlete's recovery and help overcome their sleep disorders. Sleep hygiene is a list of habits and recommendation that enhance sleep quality. Sleep hygiene education has been used in some research to fill the need of the athletes. Still, a lack of information exists on the development of sleep hygiene programs and related impacts. This thesis aims to perform a systematic review of the literature of scholarly journals articles from 2007 to 2018, focusing on the relationship between sleep hygiene education and athletes sleep quality and quantity. The investigation …

Investigation Of Microplastic Accumulation In The Gastrointestinal Tract In Birds Of Prey, Julia Carlin

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Plastic pollution is unavoidable in the natural environment. Consequences of plastic ingestion include exposure to environmental pollutants and toxin accumulation, causing endocrine disruption, inflammatory and physiological stress in organisms. Microplastics have been shown to transfer across food webs, however, limited studies have examined microplastic accumulation across terrestrial food webs. Furthermore, few studies have examined plastic pollution in apex predatory animals. A study was conducted to quantify the abundance of plastic pollution in the gastrointestinal tract in birds of prey. Two species were investigated, one which forages in terrestrial habitats and one which forages in aquatic environments including Buteo lineatus (red-shouldered …

Governments' Adoption Of Native Cryptocurrency: A Case Study Of Iran, Russia, And Venezuela, Rose Mahdavieh

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The emergence of digital currency is becoming prevalent in the age of globalization – specifically, cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain are two recently discovered concepts currently being explored by researchers and developers. Cryptocurrency is a subset of digital currency that encompasses revolutionary technology, shifting political and economic spheres in nation-states. Certain governments are more prone to the adoption of cryptocurrencies and three comparative case study countries, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela, have shared attributes that result in adoption. Observed factors that result in the adoption of cryptocurrencies include corruption, GDP level, economic volatility, and Western sanctions. These factors will be applied in …

Pro-Government Militias And The Legacy Of Military Rule In Latin America, Alexander Mendelsohn

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Currently Latin America experiences a phenomenon of widely varying levels of violence across the region. Many countries, such as El Salvador and Honduras, have exceptionally high murder rates upwards of 40 homicides per 100,000 people (UNODC 2015). Other countries, such as Uruguay and Argentina, have relatively low rates, below 10 homicides per 100,000 people (UNODC 2015). I believe this variation stems from the use of pro-government militias specifically employed in the past by military governments as tools of suppression. Under the guise of combating subversive elements within their countries, these groups were used to silence and repress those who opposed …

The Use Of Children's Literature And Reflective Writing As A Means To Help Primary Elementary Students Cope With Natural Disaster, Connie T. Zenz

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes frequently happen across the world. Many of these natural disasters bring destruction to homes, loss of loved ones, and emotional or physical trauma. For children who are still developing coping skills, these natural disasters can bring them emotional distress because they are unable to processes their experiences in a healthy way. In a review of literature on the topic of bibliotherapy and reflective writing to help children learn coping skills, I discovered a need for these processes to be introduced in normal settings, such as school and home, to help …

Alpha Amylase As An Emerging Biomarker Of Microaspiration In Mechanically Ventilated Patients: An Integrative Review Of The Literature, Chloe Chase

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Aims: The purpose of this thesis was to synthesize the current literature on alpha amylase as an emerging biomarker of microaspiration in mechanically ventilated patient.

Methods: The methodology included a review and synthesis of pertinent research articles from 1981-2018, written in English language. Criteria for inclusion in the review were all articles that evaluated α- amylase in tracheal secretions or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) as a diagnostic tool for identifying microaspiration. The search yielded 11 studies that were reviewed.

Findings: The findings suggest that once aspiration occurs, the duration of α-amylase in the lungs requires further exploration to assist in …

Determining The Relationship Between Weight Dissatisfaction And Attention To Calories, Eleanor Didden

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Laws which require the display of calorie information on menus are becoming more prominent throughout the United States and the world, but the efficacy of this information has not yet been studied on an individual level. An Eyetracker and two menus (which were identical save for the inclusion or exclusion of caloric information) were utilized to determine how much time college-aged women spent looking at calories. We also gathered their personal measure of weight dissatisfaction using a body image scale and participants’ self-reported weight dissatisfaction. Using random assignment, 22 participants were placed in the experimental group and 25 participants were …

An Exploration Of Integrating Visual Arts To Enhance Narrative Writing In The Elementary Classroom, Diana C. Herrera

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to integrate visual arts to enhance narrative writing. In this study I address three questions: (1) Why should educators integrate the arts in their classroom? (2) How does the content benefit the student's participation? and (3) How can we connect visual arts into narrative writing? To answer these questions, I researched several elementary teachers across the United States who have integrated the arts in their lessons. I also have researched and found multiple benefits to educators integrating the arts in their classroom. For example, a former middle school teacher used visual representation to help …