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Therapeutic Discourse And The American Public Philosophy: On American Liberalism's Troubled Relationship With Psychology, Clifford D. Vickrey

Honors Theses

I explore the main currents of postwar American liberalism. One, sociological, emerged in response to the danger of mass movements. Articulated primarily by political sociologists and psychologists and ascendant from the mid-fifties till the mid-seventies, it heralded the "end of ideology." It emphasized stability, elitism, positive science and pluralism; it recast normatively sound politics as logrolling and hard bargaining. I argue that these normative features, attractive when considered in isolation, taken together led to a vicious ad hominem style in accounting for views outside the postwar consensus. It used pseudo-scientific literature in labeling populists, Progressives, Taft conservatives, Goldwaterites, the New …

Family Ties: Mainstream Environmentalists' Understanding Of Radical Environmentalism In America, Zachary W. Ezor

Honors Theses

Environmentalism in the United States manifests itself in numerous ways. While American environmentalists have been grouped into broad camps over the years, observers have struggled to accurately classify the different components of the movement. Lately, environmentalists have been characterized based on their chosen modus operandi. Environmentalists who employ typical interest group tactics of policy advocacy and accept the notion of political compromise can generally be called 'mainstream.' Alternatively, those environmentalists who employ non-conventional strategies like direct action and take a no-compromise stance on environmental issues are typically described as 'radical.' Despite these distinctions, both radical and mainstream environmentalists are parts …

The Purely Reflected Self, William A. Price

Honors Theses

Belief in the concept of the self causes suffering. Unfortunately, although conceptual constructions like this may help to define our goal—the casting off of the belief in the self—this is a much more difficult thing to actualize and attain in daily practice. Our building blocks can form a neat tower, and we can climb to the top and gaze at the horizon, but they will topple, leaving us once again over our heads in the hedgerow. Buddha describes his teachings as a raft to ford the river of suffering in order to reach the far off bank of enlightenment: as …

Migration, Food And Cultural Production Across Changing Afro-Ecuadorian Geographies, Amelia J. Swinton

Honors Theses

The human geography of Ecuador is changing. Urban Afro-Ecuadorians now outnumber those living in the two rural regions that have been the ancestral homelands of the population. This physical transformation assaults Ecuador's historically racialized geography, which conflated cities, modernity and white-mestizo identity. Though Afro-Ecuadorians living in the rural north had previously been physically and figuratively located outside of the national project, Ecuador’s new constitution has sought to reverse this institutionalized exclusion. National belonging has been reframed through the concept of interculturality, which recognizes diversity and equality at the same time. I conducted two periods of fieldwork in the north-central Chota …

On Perfect Friendship: An Outline And A Guide To Aristotle's Philosophy Of Friendship, Kristen Psaty

Honors Theses

Providing insight into such timeless questions as: What is friendship? Are the best friends similar or dissimilar? and Does having friends make you a better person?, the paper addresses the importance of friendship for Aristotle, but also for the modern reader as well. A topic of special philosophical concern, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) considered friendship to be necessary in achieving a virtuous and fulfilling life. Consequently, he wrote more about friendship than any other virtue he presented. This paper lays the foundation for understanding Aristotle’s philosophy of friendship as well as its position within his larger moral schema. The image of …

The Differential Roles Of D-Pax2 Variants In Regulating Drosophila Eye And Bristle Development, Colin J. O’Shea

Honors Theses

The ability to appropriately interact with the environment is crucial to an organism’s survival. The establishment of functional sensory systems, such as the bristles and eyes in Drosophila, is a critical event during the development of the organism. The transcription factor D Pax2 is involved in the differentiation of the shaft and glial cells in the developing bristle (Kavaler et al., Dev, 126:2261-2272, 1999) and of the cone and primary pigment cells in the developing eye (Fu and Noll, Genes Dev, 11:389-405, 1997). How D-Pax2 contributes to distinct differentiative pathways in different cell types is not known. Recent work by …

The “Lunatic Fringe” -- Barry Goldwater And The Conservative Revolution Of The 1960s --, Nicholas L. Bromley

Honors Theses

How did conservatives, who had become effectively ostracized by their party following the Great Depression and the societal reforms of the New Deal, regain leverage within the GOP during the 1960s? My hypothesis is two-fold. First, I contend that a small group of conservative activists led by F. Clifton White, in spite of a dearth of resources and manpower, managed to infiltrate Republican infrastructure and “hijack” the delegate- selection process. The distinctly conservative and recalcitrant disposition of the Goldwater delegates demonstrates that these activists succeeded. Second, I argue that in addition to temporarily overpowering the national convention in 1964, conservatives …

Race & Rock & Roll: A Visual Analysis Of Rolling Stone Cover Photography, Erica D. Block

Honors Theses

If African Americans heavily influenced the development of rock & roll as a musical genre, why do we picture rock stars as white men with guitars? In this project I examine, with a particular focus on race, how the the visual culture surrounding rock music evolved to where it is today. To do this, I performed a close visual analysis of Rolling Stone Magazine covers from 1967-1980. In this presentation I illustrate Rolling Stone's trend of featuring 'white negroes' on their covers, which allowed the magazine to use the selling power of a white person's face while retaining the attractiveness, …

Aristotle And The Importance Of Virtue In The Context Of The Politics And The Nicomachean Ethics And Its Relation To Today, Kyle Brandon Anthony

Honors Theses

While much of Aristotle's works are preserved in various volumes, two of his famous works are the Nichmachean Ethics and the Politics, both of which contain a rich compilation of ethical and political thought. In the Ethics, Aristotle describes a thorough understanding of ethical and intellectual virtue. By pursuing these virtues, Aristotle argues that a person can achieve a life of fulfilling happiness. The ideal polis as described in the Politics serves as a place where the virtuous life is attained in the best manner.Citizens who pursue virtue make the polis better, and the rulers that guide the polis ensure …

Subcellular Localization Of The Non-Structural Proteins 3c And 3cd Of The Honeybee Virus Deformed Wing Virus, Cierra Nichole Danko

Honors Theses

Apis mellifera L., the European honeybee, is a crucial pollinator of many important agricultural crops in the United States. Recently, honeybee colonies have been affected by Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a disorder in which the colony fails due to the disappearance of a key functional group of worker bees. Though no direct causalrelationship has been confirmed, hives that experience CCD have been shown to have a high incidence of Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), a common honeybee virus. While the genome sequence and gene-order of DWV has been analyzed fairly recently, few other studies have been performed to understand the molecular …

Investigating The Effects Of Various Crowd Characteristics On The Dynamic Properties Of An Occupied Structure, Robert Joseph Firman Iii

Honors Theses

One of the challenges for structural engineers during design is considering how the structure will respond to crowd-induced dynamic loading. It has been shown that human occupants of a structure do not simply add mass to the system when considering the overall dynamic response of the system, but interact with it and may induce changes of the dynamic properties from those of the empty structure. This study presents an investigation into the human-structure interaction based on several crowd characteristics and their effect on the dynamic properties of an empty structure. The dynamic properties including frequency, damping, and mode shapes were …

Surviving The Holocaust: A Life History Study, Greg Jones

Honors Theses

The aim of this thesis was to attempt to explain the inexplicable, thus coming to some concrete rationale as to why Murray was able to persevere unlike so many unfortunate victims who perished. The findings of this research attribute Murray's survival to three distinct categories; (1) Murray's geographical location and relationship to his hometown of Wierchomla, Poland (2) rare level of low anti-Semitic activity encountered and (3) a number of miscellaneous personal factors that included but are not limited to his diet, gender, age, psychological composition, family connections, agency, etc.

Audience Effects In Cognitive Task Performance In Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus Apella), Sean Patrick Coyne

Honors Theses

Primates as a taxonomic Order have the largest brains corrected for body size in the animal kingdom. These large brains have allowed primates to evolve the capacity to demonstrate advanced cognitive processes across a wide array of abilities. Nonhuman primates are particularly adept at social learning, defined as the modification of behavior by observing the actions of others. Additionally, primates often exploit resources differently depending on their social context. In this study, capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) were tested on a cognitive task in three social contexts to determine if social context influenced their performance on the task. The three social …

The Effects Of Altered Prenatal Melatonin Signaling On Adult Behavior And Hippocampal Gene Expression Of The Male Rat: A Circadioneuroendocrine-Axis Hypothesis Of Psychopathology, Josh Ripple

Honors Theses

Disturbances in melatonin - the neurohormone that signals environmental darkness as part of the circadian circuit of mammals - have been implicated in various psychopathologies in humans. At present, experimental evidence linking prenatal melatonin signaling to adult physiology, behavior, and gene expression is lacking. We hypothesized that administration of melatonin (5 mg/kg) or the melatonin receptor antagonist luzindole (5 mg/kg) to rats in utero would permanently alter the circadian circuit to produce differential growth, adult behavior, and hippocampal gene expressionin the male rat. Prenatal treatment was found to increase growth in melatonin-treated animals. In addition, subjects exposed to melatonin prenatally …

"Hey, Hey, He Gay, He Gay . . . Okay" . . . Or Is It?: The Sociological Importance Of Bruno, Chris Bishop

Honors Theses

Sacha Baron Cohen is a British comedian who has garnered a great deal of controversy over the years. Through his characters, Ali G, Borat, and Bruno, he attempts to trick people into letting down their guards and revealing any prejudices (racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, misogyny, et cetera) that they may have. In doing so, each of his three characters has sparked a debate concerning the different issues they bring up: with Ali G, it was whether the character was racist or exposed racism; with Borat, it was whether the character was anti-Semitic or revealed anti-Semitism; and with Bruno, it is whether …

The Blue Of, Chrissy Reilly

Honors Theses

When I first started my thesis, I intended for my finished project to be a compilation of poems that aims to reflect and reveal several repeating themes of our society's collective unconscious, such as the relationship between the physical and spiritual aspects of being and the representation of women's lives, organized religion,adolescence, and mental illness. I proposed writing a chapbook of poetry that reflects an exploration of, and sensitivity to, the human unconscious mind, fears, and desires. Consulting other works of surreal, lyric, and confessional poetry, I sought to personallydevelop as both a poet and a psychology student. I made …

Tarnishing The Golden Stool, Fenna Maximiliane Wächter

Honors Theses

This thesis deals with the Asante federation (in modern-day Ghana ) in the nineteenth century, within the wider context of a general crisis of authority in African states in the later partof the century. African states were fighting against the external pressures of European imperial expansion while facing internal challenges to their structures of power. Asante was one of these states and this thesis examines why, because of a particular combination of internal and external challenges, Asante was unable to maintain its independence at the end of the nineteenth century.

Freedom's Disciple : The Life, Music, And Impact Of Hazel Dickens, Kelly Landers

Honors Theses

The work of Appalachian musician Hazel Dickens sheds light on many of the musical and cultural changes in our country. Dickens used her music as a voice for the disadvantaged, advocating for improvements in the lives of miners, working-class people, and women, and pushing for all to be treated equally. A wonderful songwriter, performer, and overall musician, Dickens saw her career, music, and beliefs as inextricably linked, and so this thesis will explore her leadership by analyzing her songs and her history.

Gridiron Peers: An Analysis Of The Legendary Coaching Careers And Foundations Of Success Of Paul Bear Bryant And John Vaught Through Comparison And Contrast, David Luke Trewolla

Honors Theses

This thesis is a comparison and contrast of the sources of the on-the-field success of Paul Bear” Bryant, head coach at the University of Alabama and John Vaught, head coach at the University of Mississippi, in their respective coaching careers in college football. The first two chapters of the thesis simply give a brief biographical background of the two coaches. In Chapter Three, their respective coaching styles as it pertains to game planning and strategy, practice, and their adjustment to the changing style of the college game in their careers are analyzed and compared and contrasted. Chapter Four is an …

Reality's Unrealities: The Magical Real In Selected Plays Of Tennessee Williams, Elena Lee Mcpherson

Honors Theses

After a semester of studying more than ten of Tennessee Williams plays, 1 decided to explore a selection of his plays in the context of magical realism. Initially, the connection between a playwright from the Southern United States and the literary tradition of Latin America seemed distant Upon further research and closer readings, however, I found that Tennessee Williams's plays The Glass Menagerie, Orpheus Descending, and Camino Real all exemplify various characteristics of the magical real within new contexts. In keeping with the tradition of magical realism. each of the plays uniquely exhibits the fantastic to speak to larger truths …

Find Yourself, Forget Yourself, Catherine Carter Servati

Honors Theses

This thesis is written in the form of a selfreflective, memoir-esque essay evaluating the journey of my undergraduate academic career. Everyone tells a story with his or her life. Often, distracted by the demands of everyday living, we stop paying attention to that story. In an intentional effort to better understand where I have been, where it is that I am going, and what exactly I am saying with my life, I have written this personal narrative. Although insecurity and vulnerability are a byproduct of this type of self-exposure, little is gained without ever taking a risk. The time, effort, …

The Weirded: A Collection Of Short Fiction, Rosalynn Laporishia Stovall

Honors Theses

The Weirded is a collection of short fiction and illustrations that explores the writing process and the use of symbols and imagery in the art of storytelling through organization and the juxtaposition of short stories, vignettes, and collages.

On The Ethics Of Human Genetic Engineering, John Ryan Speights

Honors Theses

In this paper I propose a guideline that we may use to determine when it is ethical to take advantage of the technology that we call human genetic engineering. I first clarify the purpose of the paper by explaining the science behind the technology, defining much of the debate in the process. In short, manufactured DNA is introduced into the human genome for the purpose of modifying the expression of the genes and the person that they produce. I indicate that this is a value theory paper rather than a detailed policy paper. This is significant because it merely addresses …

An Analysis Of Profitable Post Admission Attractions For The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter: Turning Magic Into Money, Amber Lynn Strange

Honors Theses

This thesis will explain the ways in which Universal Studios can maximize post admission profits for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, to be located inside Islands of Adventures. When looking at the background information for Harry Potter, I studied the history, the reasons it became so successful, the marketing strategies used by the company to ensure that success, the decision to create the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the competitive environment that this park will be entering, and additional post admission attractions that could increase revenue. To create post admission attraction ideas that visitors would like to see added …

Fruit And Vegetable Consumption Of Elementary Students In Serve Only Service And Offer Versus Serve Service, Margaret Louise Harbison

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference in fiiiit and vegetable consumption among fourth and fifth grade elementary students who participate in the NSLP Serve Only service compared to the Offer Versus Serve (OVS) service. Methods Weighed and visual plate waste data were collected for five consecutive days at two elementary schools. School A used Serve Only service (students are served all five food components of the lunch meal) and school B used OVS service (students may select as few as three of the five food components of the lunch meal). Costs disposed …

The Effects Of The Beta1 Receptor Antagonist, Metoprolol, On Methamphetamine-Induced Changes In Body Temperature In Varying Ambient Temperatures, Ricki Lee Harrell

Honors Theses

Methamphetamine (METH) induces hyperthermia or hypothermia depending on the ambient temperature. The β1 receptor is involved in body temperature control via brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis. Our objective was to determine the effect of selective β1 antagonist, metoprolol (METO), on METH-induced changes in body temperature in varying ambient conditions. Rats received pretreatment injections of saline, 5.0 mg/kg METO, 10.0 mg/kg METO, or 15.0 mg/kg METO 30 minutes prior to receiving cither saline or 5.0 mg/kg METH injection. Body temperature was measured telemetrically at either 18°C, 24°C, or 30°C ambient temperatures. 10.0 mg/kg METO attenuated METH-induced hyperthermia at 60 minutes in …

From Degenerate Monsters To Revenge Of The Big Mac: A Study Of French Anti-Americanism, Jill Peets

Honors Theses

Jill Peets: From Degenerate Monsters to Revenge of the Big Mac: A Study of French anti-Americanism (Under the direction of Dr. Anne Quinney)

Franco-American relations date back to the eighteenth century and are a topic that historians have studied for years. France has never been to war with the United States, yet the French are ardently anti-American. The phenomenon of French anti-Americanism is what this thesis seeks to understand and explain. Through various secondary sources, historical data, and public opinion polls, the thesis examines events throughout time, from the American Revolution in 1776 until the Haitian earthquake in 2010. By …

Investigating The Effects Of Antioxidant Vitamins On The Immunocompetence Of Domestic Turkeys (Meleagris Gallopavo) Infected With Coccidian Parasites, Joseph Griffin Orr

Honors Theses

Vitamins are organic compounds essential for healthy metabolism and growth. Additionally, some vitamins also function as antioxidants. In particular, the antioxidant vitamins A (p-carotene) and E (a-tocopherol) are known to enhance the immune response of many animals as well as humans. However, there is relatively little research linking these immune-enhancing effects to domestic turkeys facing parasitic infections, such as coccidiosis. Coccidiosis in birds is expensive to treat, costing the worldwide poultry industry hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Coccidia of the genus Eimeria are protozoans that parasitize poultry via the intestinal tract, causing deleterious effects to survival such as lesioning, …

Nature's Bastards: Hybridity, Grafting And Miscegenation In The Renaissance Imagery, Erin Elaine Doctor

Honors Theses

In this thesis I examined the various perceptions and permutations of hybridity in the context of a collective Renaissance imagination. The success of this thesis depends on the adherence to and analysis of a clear definition of hybridity, both real and metaphorical, as established in the introduction. Once this definition was established, I considered the implications of hybridity on a collection of Renaissance bodies, exemplified in the vegetable bodies of the garden and the social group of the gypsies. By using an extensive sample of primary sources, including plays, contemporaneous popular manuals and guidebooks, short stories, laws, edicts, paintings and …

Tennesse Williams' Web Of Deception In The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire And Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Holly Nicole Henning

Honors Theses

While many themes appear in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, the theme of deception emerges as one of the most prominent. To determine exactly how deceit impacts the lives of the characters in each play, an analysis of deception from both a psychological and philosophical standpoint is given. Based on the findings of this analysis, Williams effectively employs three general categories of deception in his plays, including deception with self-awareness, deception of others requiring deception of the self and self-deception regardless of another’s presence. Williams also implements one of …