Digital Commons Network^™

From Antagonists To Protagonists: Muslims On The Hollywood Screen, Brooke K. Gentry

Honors Theses

I investigate the depictions of Muslims in Hollywood film. Have the Muslim protagonists been reduced to antagonists? Are the depictions historically and culturally relevant? How can films psychologically impact viewers? What kinds of stereotypes pervade even the most innocuous of films? What context to these stereotypes rise out of? What impact do Hollywood images of Muslims have on the ideas, actions, and politics of the American public? How do non-Hollywood films portray Muslims, and what impact do these films have on viewers? This paper finds that Hollywood’s negative portrayal of Muslims is not an accident. It reflects the geopolitical atmosphere …

Rethinking Cannabis Legislation: Insights From Advocacy Groups, Christopher Hunter Tramel

Honors Theses

Prohibition and regulation of substances in the United States transformed throughout the 20th century namely through the Pure Food and Drug Act, the prohibition of alcohol, the Marihuana Tax Stamp Act, and the Controlled Substances Act, with each further expanding the number of substances regulated and the consequences of breaking the regulations. The first chapter will briefly outline major events and legislation from 1937 to the present day and how such events and legislation set the stage for grassroots initiatives on the state level seeking to take advantage of the medicinal properties of Cannabis sativa and its impact on relative …

Catholicism And Feminism: A Chilean Paradox, Gabrielle Toppin

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and women in Chile, as well as how this relationship might be influenced by the authoritarian regime under Augusto Pinochet from 1973-1990. Chile is known as one of the most Catholic and conservative countries in Latin America, and is considered a late female mobilization state that has just recently legalized divorce and has not legalized abortion. The Church played a pivotal role in the defeat of the dictatorship and continues to influence the country's society, culture, and politics. Even as women have entered the public …

Out Of The Margins: Mississippi English Language Learner Curriculum Practices And Their Implications, Alexis Smith

Honors Theses

This thesis concerns itself with Mississippi school's effectiveness in educating the state's budding, primarily Spanish-speaking, immigrant population. I answer three questions: 1) How does Mississippi English language curriculum require state socialization of its students? 2) How does its curriculum provide for effective language learning practices? And 3) Does Mississippi EL curriculum provide for the magnified existence of immigrant students, or does, and how does, state curriculum continue to push immigrant students into the margins? Using inductive qualitative analysis, I explore both Mississippi Department of Education's ELL program guidelines and individual district plans.

The Frequency Attenuations Of Foam Ear Plugs Affected By User Error Of College Students, Alyse J. Lemoine

Honors Theses

This paper examines the relationship between the attenuating ability of foam ear plugs at low and high frequencies and the effects of incorrect ear plug fitting by college students. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (1998) recommends the use of a hearing protection device (HPD) such as ear muffs or ear plugs to avoid noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). However, when not inserted properly, a HPD's effectiveness can be adversely affected by user error and present as a decrease in attenuation. Attenuation is measured and presented on packaging as the noise reduction rating (NRR). A high NRR affected …

Women In The Chilean National Identity: How Futbol And Consumption Cultures Affect The Public Sphere, Madeleine Hall Carpenter

Honors Theses

In the past thirty years, Chile has experienced dramatic political, social, economic, and cultural changes. A constant source of national identity, pride, and comfort through this tumultuous period was (and continues to be) fútbol. Chileans follow the sport relentlessly and it is a key part in the construction of local, regional, and national identities. My thesis work aims to answer the following question: how do the relationships between consumption cultures and football create/delineate/eliminate space for women in the overarching social public sphere of national belonging? In order to answer this question, I utilize a mixed methods approach to investigate how …

Attitudinal Changes In Experiential Learning Via Poverty Simulation, Madison E. Bandler

Honors Theses

More than 10% of people living in the United States are impoverished. These human beings are subjected to poor living conditions, experience increased mental and emotional stress, lack basic necessities, and are more susceptible to many health conditions. Lack of poverty awareness and understanding has contributed to the spread of misconceptions, the majority of which are damaging to the impoverished community. These misconceptions affect how impoverished individuals are viewed by health care professionals and influence the quality of medical treatment they receive. The Missouri Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS) is an experiential learning tool that requires participants role-play a low-income …

Attitudes Towards Plastic Surgery In College Men And Women, Margaret Rose Hovan

Honors Theses

The aim of this study is to determine whether exposure to extreme makeover based reality television programs is related to the attitudes of college-aged individuals towards the acceptability of obtaining plastic surgery procedures and how students view plastic surgery itself. Interviews consisting of closed- and open-ended questions measured the possible influence that exposure to plastic surgery reality television programs, familial experience with plastic surgery and parental attitudes towards plastic surgery, among other factors, have on one's attitudes towards plastic surgery. The data collected were then entered into Qualtrics and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) or coded …

Welcome To Europe? Consequences Of The Eu-Turkey Deal For Refugees Contained On Lesvos, Julia Endicott

Honors Theses

In 2015, the world experienced the greatest flow of migrations since World War II. During that year, more than one million people entered Europe, the majority of whom werefleeing civil war and political unrest in the countries of Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Eritrea, aswell as many other places. The quantity of refugees was unprecedented and challenged theexisting borders of Europe. Some countries on the continent were willing to accept newcomers,while others acted to keep them out. One tactic developed by European Union (EU) policymakers to manage the migration flows was the EU-Turkey Deal, which was implemented onMarch 20, 2016. Under …

Social Evils + Stigma: A Cumulative Study Of Hiv And The Moral Model Of Disease In Vietnam, Argentina And Mississippi, Sarah Thornby Stroup

Honors Theses

How can studying such diverse contexts as Vietnam, Argentina, and Mississippi—three cases from opposite corners of the world — provide remediation for the global HIV epidemic? By targeting specific populations of high-risk groups (e.g. injection drug users, females sex workers, and men who have sex with men), analysis of my ethnographic fieldwork in Vietnam, Argentina, and Mississippi, revealed a common denominator of stigma, though manifesting in varying ways, which laid the foundation for this thesis. Building from Erving Goffman's (1993) foundational text on stigma in collaboration with Link and Phelan's (2001) expansion thereof, I define stigma as the differentiation and …

The Space Between: The Interactional Dynamics Between Policy, Organizations, And Social Actors Within The Field Of Sexual Abuse, Elizabeth R. Taylor

Honors Theses

Federal and state policy pertaining to sexual assault is broad in its guidelines. In some cases, it is vague. This ambiguity often leads to multifarious interpretations of policy, which can diminish the overall effectiveness. While we know a great deal about how changes in policy shape the outcomes of survivors, we know very little about the context between institutional policy and institutional outcomes: the interpretive practice of social problems within the arena of sexual assault. Therefore, this project will advance knowledge in an area that has very little existing insight. Throughout this research, I observe and document how organizations negotiate, …

Everybody But Us: Constructing Evangelical Identities By Defining The Skeptic, Pace Tyler Ward

Honors Theses

Pew research shows that 25.4% of American Christians identify as evangelical Protestants, accounting for the highest percentage of Christians in America (20.8% identify as Catholic and 14.7% identify as mainline Protestants). Evangelical Protestantism may be the strongest religious force in the U.S. but defining the movement has proven difficult. Researchers have used a variety of definitions to develop a better understanding of evangelical demographics, geographies, or religious strength. My interests and the goal of this research deals more with the performance of these identities; I wanted to know how members of Welcome Church do their Christianity. This research focused on …

The Yasuní Itt Initiative And The Creation Of Global Green Sovereignty, Marlarose Gridley

Honors Theses

The Yasuní-ITT Initiative was an international financing scheme in which the Ecuadorian government agreed to forgo drilling in the Yasuní National Park in exchange for foreign compensation in the amount of $3.6 billion USD over 12 years. Embedded in a global framework of revenue redistribution for development, the Yasuní-ITT Initiative established a model of global environmental care based on global North-South difference and historical ecological debt. In doing so, it impacted, through prospective flows of aid, the conceptualization of Ecuadorian sovereignty.

Effects Of Texting On Neck Muscle Activity And Neck Flexion In College Students., Matalgah Haneen

Honors Theses

College students are susceptible to tech neck, a possible musculoskeletal disorder producing neck strain due to texting. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether texting among college students produces any significant effects on the trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles and neck flexion. To the best ofmy knowledge, no study in the literature has studies the effects of texting taking into consideration factors specific to college students, such as carrying a backpack and different environments (e.g. stairs, hallways). This justifies my primary aim of examining collegiate factors (i.e. backpack, environment) influence on neck muscle activity and flexion in students …

Water, Women, And Migration: Examining The Interconnections Between Water Scarcity, Environmental Migration, And Women In Bolivia, Sarah T. Meeks

Honors Theses

Water insecurity has received growing attention as climate change is worsening environmental conditions, and research has established how water insecurity has differentiated impacts according to one's gender. In light of both an increasing trend in environmental migration and extreme weather events in Bolivia, this paper sought to establish environmental migration's explicit role in the relationship between water scarcity and gendered effects. To do so, it addressed the question, how does environmental migration influence the relationship between gendered effects and water scarcity? and hypothesized that migration is a more subtle and overlooked contributor to the gendered effects of water scarcity. The …

Interculturality In Health: The Infant Mortality Rate Of Bolivia, Allen G. Crosthwait

Honors Theses

The Bolivian government implemented an intercultural reform in 2006 in an attempt to improve the quality of health for its indigenous citizens throughout the country. One of the biggest focuses thereof was to improve the infant mortality rate, as it has historically far surpassed the rates of other Latin American nations. Though superficial data presented by the government seem to suggest that the intercultural reform has been an unprecedented success, very little extensive research has been done on the topic. My work gauges the merits of the intercultural reform and assesses which areas particularly have been successful. To do so, …

Breastfeeding Support Programs: Systematic Review Of Socioeconomic Literature, Chinelo Ibekwe

Honors Theses

This thesis describes a systematic review and analysis of literature concerning breastfeeding and programs focused on improving breastfeeding participation. It examines breastfeeding programs with respect to intervention evaluation and the economic impact of breastfeeding programs, and scrutinizes social factors such as race, ethnicity, cultural identity, income, and age which potentially influence the outcomes of these breastfeeding programs. It explores how breastfeeding programs have reduced rehospitalization of low birth weight and preterm infants through the implementation of one or a combination of the following services to mothers and babies: breast pump supplies, education, and training on breastfeeding, transportation to and from …

Beyond No Fracking: An Anthropological Study Of Individuals Pursuing Sustainable Lifestyles In Eastern Kentucky, Meg Carter

Honors Theses

This study combines research and oral histories that were conducted with eight individuals in Kentucky who are pursuing sustainable lifestyles through practicing methods such as homesteading, living off-the-grid, permaculture, and natural farming techniques. The paper provides a brief history of homesteading and details how the homesteading of today differs from off-the-grid living. It also provides some of the history of Eastern Kentucky and gives insights into the history of homesteading and sustenance farming in the area. The unrehearsed oral history interviews share information that includes, but is not limited to, interviewees’ reasons for why and how they began their transition …

Going Beyond The Textbook: Revitalizing Culture In The Spanish Classroom, Sarah Basar

Honors Theses

Effectively teaching the culture of a target language in foreign language classrooms can be a rather difficult and time-consuming task. Most often, culture is placed somewhere on a spectrum of either being a minor supplement to acquiring and learning the target language or utilizing culture as the direction through which grammar, vocabulary, and conversational practice are attained. Teachers’ beliefs, experiences, and resources all play a significant role in how culture is defined and taught in the schools of a country where globalization and immigration are quickly beginning to change the sociopolitical and demographic dynamics of our society. Thus, it is …

Personality Traits As Predictors Of Pair-Housing Compatibility In Garnett's Greater Bushbabies (Otolemur Garnettii), Karen A. Schaffer

Honors Theses

Continuously refining husbandry strategies to improve the welfare of captive primates is a research priority. A variety of enrichment strategies are employed to allow captive primates opportunities to exercise natural behaviors with the aim of maintaining their psychological health in environments different from those for which they evolved. Arguably the most important of these strategies is social housing, since primates are by definition social animals. Pair housing is often the most logistically feasible method; however, the process of introducing partners to each other comes with risks of stressful conflict that may result in injury, and the necessarily trial-and-error nature of …

I Was Taught To Yell Fire, Marina Gutierrez

Honors Theses

From a very young age my mother always told me to yell, “Fire,” if I was ever in a situation where I needed help from a potential attacker, but I never understood why I couldn’t just yell, “Help.” Her reasoning was that many people will run towards a fire to help put it out or save potential victims, but when someone yells for help others will shy away because they don’t want to get involved. I would just nod and promise to yell fire not really understanding the underlying meaning she had just explained to me.

It wasn’t until I …

Kentucky Streams And Wetlands, 2009-2017: A Comparative Study, Dennis M. Smith

Honors Theses

The bulk of Eastern Kentucky University’s 22 county service region provides an ideal landscape within which to observe, study and promote awareness on key, critical issues facing the commonwealth today regarding environmental conservation and restoration, as well as the impacts made upon communities. These issues are not new to Kentuckians and have been studied and concerned citizens state-wide for many years. Owing to her years of work and data collections in the area of stream and wetlands conservation in Kentucky (particularly Eastern Kentucky), Sociologist Dr. Stephanie Mcspirit has provided ideal conditions to explore this issue at the undergraduate level. Through …

The Possible Effect Of Cypsela Morphology On Endemism In Solidago Shortii, Evan P. Singleton

Honors Theses

This project centers around the differences between the Solidago altissima and the S. shortii, or Common and Short’s Goldenrods, respectively, and endeavors to provide an explanation for the narrow endemism of shortii, relative to that of altissima. The Common Goldenrod has a range spanning from Southern Canada to Northern Mexico, while the Short’s is found only in two isolated locations in Kentucky and Indiana. They are rather similar to the untrained eye but further observation reveals drastic morphological differences between the seeds of the two species, with those of the Short’s being far larger than those of …

Factors Impacting Retention Among African American Students At Mississippi State University, Ariel Johnson

Honors Theses

African American retention is low at the college level, especially at Predominantly White Institutions. Factors such as resources, support systems, aggressions, and racism impact African American enrollment and graduation. Mississippi State University has low enrollment and retention rates for African American students, despite programs in place to increase these rates. This research uses anthropological methods to explore the experiences and knowledge of resources among African American students at Mississippi State University. Results indicate that the programs meant to combat low retention rates are ranked low and not widely known by participants. Understanding this will help increase effectiveness of retention programs …

Emphasizing Colonization In Modern Environmental And Women’S Activist Movements In India And The Future Of Ecofeminist Movements For Creating A More Just And Sustainable Future, Alea M. Tveit

Honors Theses

This research discusses the extent of colonial acknowledgement in modern women’s rights and environmental movements in India. British colonization profoundly altered the ecological landscape and social norms of the societies it affected while leaving behind institutional structures that encouraged and perpetuated discrimination, oppression, and environmental degradation. In the case of India, I illustrate pre-colonial norms surrounding environmental stewardship and women’s rights and compare it to post-colonial ideology to make a connection of modern human rights and environmental problems to a colonial past. Today’s popular environmental and women’s activist movements are analyzed to determine if colonial acknowledgment or a decolonial framework …

Predatory Nature And Food Preferences Among Captive Otolemur Garnettii, Morgan N. Ruby

Honors Theses

Observing the predatory nature in primates has yielded knowledge pertaining to their biology and evolutionary pathways; however, not many studies have focused on the complexities of their food preferences. This thesis focuses on food preferences among Garnett’s Greater Bushbaby (Otolemur garnettii): a small-bodied nocturnal primate native to Central and Southern Africa. Presented food options were raisins: dried mealworms and raisins: live mealworms. The population consists of fifteen bushbabies housed in The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Primate Behavior Research Facility. Ten trials of three different experiments were performed to identify the dominant hand and food preferences among the …

A Study Of Object Play In Captive Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus), Victoria L. Johnson

Honors Theses

Behaviors related to play are positively reinforcing as they promote the continued exhibition of play behaviors in a variety of animal species. Play in animals is thought to contribute to the development and practice of skills animals require across their lifespan (i.e., foraging, mating, etc.). In bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), several categories of play can be observed such as solitary play, social play, locomotor play, predatory play, and object play. The aim of the present study was to observe how variables of age-class, sex, object type, and play sociality influenced dolphin object play by utilizing video data from a …

Laterality Preferences Completing A Tool-Use Task In Asian Small-Clawed Otters (Aonyx Cinereus), Stephanie E. James

Honors Theses

Laterality is defined as the occurrence of each cerebral hemisphere having asymmetric control over the different sides of the body, leading to preferences to use one side of the body over the other for various behaviors. Many types of laterality exist, but handedness is the form that is most predominantly assessed. Handedness in animals is of special interest to laterality researchers, as humans were once thought to be the only species that exhibited lateralized hand preferences. The aim of the current study was to determine if Asian small-clawed otters exhibit significant paw preferences in behaviors associated with completing a tool-use …

Curating Curiosity: The Evolution Of Museological Theory In The Late Seventeenth Century At The Bibliothèque De Sainte-Geneviève, Erin L. Anderson

Honors Theses

The evolution of museological theory at the Bibliotheque de Sainte-Genevieve marks a transition in the history of collecting during the early modern period. Although the contents of the collection remained largely unchanged from earlier Wunderkammern, the acquisition, display, and organization of artifacts within the cabinet had evolved tremendously by the end of the 17th century and one can begin to see the collection as a predecessor of modern museological methodologies.

Evolution Of Eusociality In Ants Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Michael S. Holm

Honors Theses

Eusociality can be seen in a variety of insect families, including the ants (Formicidae). There is no clear understanding on how it evolved but it is well understood that transitions between social phases must happen. Several theories and hypothesis have been presented but none of them completely encapsulate the whole evolution of eusociality. Several studies on ants focus on different aspects of their evolution in the eusocial context and provide good supporting data. Two major models, Alternate Inclusive Fitness Model and Worker Behavior Model, are good blueprints for future research. As more data is collected and studies were done, more …