Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing Arthropod Responses To Volatile Organic Compounds From The Algal Microbiome Of A Sloth Using Drosophila Melanogaster, Lilli Gordon

Honors Theses

Sloths contain an unexplored ecosystem of microbial diversity in their fur, including algae, fungi, bacteria, and arthropods. These symbionts are able to communicate through the chemicals they release, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can lead to unique ecological interactions. The VOCs released from the algal polycultures of sloth hairs merit further investigation in their ability to cause a response from other organisms in this microbial community and within a broader ecological context. This research team aimed to assess the response of Drosophila melanogaster as test subjects when exposed to VOCs of the algal microbiome of a sloth. Exploratory research …

Factors In Disaster Response In Mexico, Central America, And The Caribbean, Ashleigh Daugherty

Honors Theses

This research examines the impacts that existing factors can have on the outcome of natural disasters. In order to study this question more thoroughly than previous research, this paper conducts a small n study on the Middle America region through case studies in Mexico, El Salvador, and Haiti. Each of these case studies are evaluated by their outcomes of severe earthquakes and the conditions in which these earthquakes occurred. These conditions being: their economies, governances, and pre-existing natural disaster plans. The analysis of these indicators attempts to understand why certain countries perform better in natural disasters compared to others. In …

Q&A With Jessica Counterman (Mfa Painting), Jessica Counterman

Q & A Interviews with Art Students

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Everyday Subversion: Crisis, Covid-19, And Coming-Of-Age In Córdoba, Argentina, Abby Flickinger

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to explore the impact of converging political, economic, and public health crises in Córdoba, Argentina in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on youth and practices of protest and resistance. Utilizing interviews, participant observations and ethnographic data in addition to economic and public health statistics, media coverage, and government statements I establish the basis and context for this triple crisis, as well as the tactics appropriated to criticize the government and expression disillusionment — protests and subversion. Despite modifications to public health concerns, the Argentine democratic tradition of protesting returned against government wishes, and …

Moving The Monument: The University Of Mississippi’S Decades-Long Journey To Relocate Its Confederate Monument, Hadley Hitson

Honors Theses

This thesis tells the story of how thousands of students, faculty, staff, alumni and other members of the university community banded together to relocate The University of Mississippi’s Confederate monument. The movement for relocation officially began in the spring of 2019 with the unanimous vote by the Associated Student Body Senate to move the monument to UM’s Confederate cemetery, but long before that, change happened at the university that paved the way.

This creative telling of recent history explains how national and local events — including pro-Confederate marches in Oxford and the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis — …

The Societal Impact Of Capital Punishment And Its Future Role In Modern Day America, Laurel Lee

Honors Theses

Capital punishment has been a well-established, although extremely controversial, practice throughout American history. It has been the subject of much criticism and debate both nationally and globally, dating back to ancient times. This study intends to research the historical, legal, and social changes of capital punishment in the United States that have occurred since the dawn of the practice in order to detect any trends, and if so, whether these trends allow a realistic prediction of the future of capital punishment. The chronology of capital punishment is first examined in this study in order to indicate that the controversy surrounding …

Q&A With Zach Fields (Bfa Printmaking), Zach Fields

Q & A Interviews with Art Students

No abstract provided.

Q&A With Nakiyah Jordan (Bfa Painting), Nakiyah Jordan

Q & A Interviews with Art Students

No abstract provided.

Q&A With Jake Brown (Bfa Painting), Jake Brown

Q & A Interviews with Art Students

No abstract provided.

Q&A With Charlesa Peters (Bfa Imaging Arts), Charlesa Peters

Q & A Interviews with Art Students

No abstract provided.

Q&A With Trinh Nguyen (Bfa Painting), Trinh Nguyen

Q & A Interviews with Art Students

No abstract provided.

Q&A With Kaitlyn Brewer (Bfa Graphic Design), Kaitlyn Brewer

Q & A Interviews with Art Students

No abstract provided.

Q&A With Taylor Cash (Bfa Graphic Design), Taylor Cash

Q & A Interviews with Art Students

No abstract provided.

Generous Donations Smash Record During Ole Miss Giving Day 2021, Tina H. Hahn

University of Mississippi News

No abstract provided.

April 15, 2021, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

Theory And Practice: Selecting And Implementing Effective Framing To Present Climate Science To A Lay Audience, Lauren Wilson

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the advantages and effectiveness of using storytelling in the form of narrative journalism to communicate the topic of climate science to a lay audience. The thesis combines personal experience with secondary research in order to support the claim that framing the issue in such a manner effectively communicates the severity and impact of climate change.

Through my research I discovered that storytelling is not only a social tool for humans, but a means to safely and efficiently pass on vital information to those unfamiliar with certain knowledge. The use of narrative has …

The Portrayal Of Race And Gender In Revolutionary Cuban Cinema, Sarah Bartley

Honors Theses

Cinema has been one of the most useful tools to portray the political and social beliefs prevalent during a given point in history. Following the Cuban Revolution, once-marginalized communities were given far more opportunity to participate in education, in the workforce, and in society. Institutionalized racism and sexism were combatted as Fidel Castro’s major areas of focus after the Cuban Revolution’s 1959 victory. Class issues were improved as the wealth inequality that had defined pre-Revolutionary Cuba was minimized following the nationalizing of private property. Despite these improvements, however, there remained sentiments of dissatisfaction regarding social issues in Revolutionary Cuba, including …

Just Country: A Magazine Prototype And Business Plan, Clare Wojciechowski

Honors Theses

Through this thesis, I have aimed to understand how a print magazine can be successful in the digital age of 2021. In coming up with the concept of Just Country, I saw an area of popular interest that is not served well in the magazine industry. Through thorough research of magazines and country music, I have developed a business plan as well as a prototype for Just Country: The 21^st Century Country Music Magazine.

University Offers On-Campus And Online Summer Camp Options For K-12, Pam Starling

University of Mississippi News

Students can enhance love of learning and stay sharp with UM summer programs

Reconceptualizing Cannabis, Julia Peoples

Honors Theses

Inflammatory rhetoric and increasingly punitive drug policies dominated marijuana politics in the past. Today, as 36 have legalized cannabis in some form and 17 states have legalized recreational marijuana, the federal government continues to perpetuate policies of the past. The following analysis investigates rhetoric and policies that led to the War on Drugs as well as their outcomes, the dramatic shift in public opinion as states began to legalize marijuana, and the successes and failures of state cannabis programs to identify gaps within the MORE Act, the ideal policy, and politically viable incremental change. State programs are incapable of …

Tractorcade: Investigating The Relationship Between Group Theory And The American Agriculture Movement's Attempt At Policy Change, Hanna M. Metzler

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to investigate the relationship between The American Agriculture Movement (AAM) and group theory, with a focus on AAM’s usage of Tractorcade as a tool to promote policy change. Gathering data through a myriad of sources - including existing literature, oral histories, newspaper articles, documents, and journal entires - this thesis analyzes AAM’s Tractorcade demonstration as a social movement aimed at influencing policy change. Utilizing Charles Tilly’s worthiness, unity, numbers, and commitment (WUNC) social movement framework, we find that although AAM employed strong unity and numbers, they failed in displaying substantial worthiness or commitment, ultimately leading to a …

Associations Between The Chemical Constituents Of Fine Particulate Matter And Human Health Outcomes: A Literature Review, Lenora Davis

Honors Theses

Exposure to fine particulate matter, PM_2.5, a component of air pollution, has known systemic effects on the human body. Research on the specific chemical constituents of PM_2.5 that impact human health is fairly new, however. This literature review aims to draw connections between the chemical constituents of PM_2.5 and their implications on human health. We conducted an online search for scholarly articles using a number of key-terms, and created a system to filter the search results. We focused on 69 articles pertaining to PM_2.5 and its effects on different health systems. We found positive associations …

Home Of The Future, G. W. Clift

Yalobusha Review

No abstract provided.

Q&A With Kelly Adkins (Mfa Painting), Kelly Adkins

Q & A Interviews with Art Students

No abstract provided.

School Of Journalism And New Media Team Studies Climate Change, Lareeca Rucker

University of Mississippi News

Professors, students dive deeper into topic through in-depth, statewide project

Q&A With Maggie Bolinger (Bfa Graphic Design), Maggie Bolinger

Q & A Interviews with Art Students

No abstract provided.

Ten Seniors Named 2021 Um Hall Of Fame Inductees, Edwin B. Smith

University of Mississippi News

Students honored for service, achievement and leadership

Do Autocratic Regimes Excel In Natural Disaster Relief? A Case Study Of Political Institutions And Covid-19 Exposure, Jane Kay

Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has challenged what we know about the politics of public health. In this research study, I investigate the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural disaster and hypothesize if authoritarian governments are more adequate at disaster control and relief. I hypothesize that the more autocratic a government structure, the better they would be at handling COVID-19 exposure and outbreaks due to their centralized decision making, unified media, and their ability to make unpopular decisions without repercussions. In order to test this theory, I gather data from the Johns Hopkins database for three key dates in the pandemic …

April 8, 2021, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Economic Effects Of Food Affordability, Food Access, And Education On Obesity Rates In Mississippi Counties, Youssef Osman

Honors Theses

The growing rate of obesity across the United States is a topic of great concern considering both the health and financial costs associated with the disease. Many researchers have sought to determine the major causes of obesity so that policy suggestions can be made to reduce its occurrence. Some of the referenced drivers of obesity include high food costs, poor access to healthy food, and a lack of knowledge regarding nutrition. This thesis seeks to find the effects of county-level food prices, income, food access, and education level on obesity rates in Mississippi counties. The analysis uses cross-sectional data from …