Digital Commons Network^™

Catalyzing Entrepreneurship And Economic Development Program: An Analysis Of The Educational Opportunities In Mississippi's Tourism Industry, Holly Ruth Pitts

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to provide an analysis of the educational opportunities provided by the tourism industry in Mississippi, and to highlight the University of Mississippi's efforts to institutionalize community engagement. I undertook this study as a result of my role as a Catalyzing Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED) innovation scholar at the McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement. The McLean Institute was expanded as part of UM's 2020 strategic action plan, and its mission statement involves advancing transformative service and fighting poverty through education. I began my research as a participant observer serving as an …

Sans Fin: Language Of Loss, Lane Jennings Proctor

Honors Theses

This is a hybrid collection of creative pieces that I have written in order to try to capture the feelings associated with loss and oppression. These pieces are only loosely related thematically and are not one single narrative. I especially wanted to focus on female characters who become disillusioned with their lives, find they have no real agency, or that they cannot truly write their own narratives. Through research on the Middle East, mostly focusing on Syria, and a close friendship with a Syrian refugee while I was studying abroad in Paris, I found the inspiration and ideas for many …

The Sociological And Economic Factors Impacting A Workforce Development Program In An Impoverished Community, Elena Bauer

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to inform about the best practices of workforce development, and to consider the sociological and economic factors in impoverished areas that are to be considered for successful traditional business principles to work. Through an in-depth study of eight African American male respondents who were participants in a job training program in Clarksdale, Mississippi, this study explores the impact of the vestiges of past discrimination embedded in the institutions and culture to make a Mississippi community particularly challenging for providing equitable opportunities for low income residents (Cobb, 1992; Duncan & Blackwell, 2014; Myers Asch, 2011). …

Occupational Differences In Play Between Monolingual And Bilingual Children In Kentucky, Miranda Massey

Honors Theses

This study looked at the occupational differences between monolingual and bilingual children in the state of Kentucky. The children were ages 7-12 years old and were divided into three categories: monolingual English-speaking, monolingual Spanish-speaking, and bilingual English and Spanish-speaking. Each child and their parent/guardian was interviewed to collect data on play habits to determine if language was a factor in the play choices. Subjects were selected through convenience sampling over social media and by word-of-mouth. From all possible participants collected, one child from each category was chosen for the interview process.

The process itself consisted of a 50 question child …

Hello Kitty's Long-Standing Cross-Cultural Popularity In The United States And Japan, Melanie Matchette

Honors Theses

Hello Kitty’s success is unique in that the character is popular across the world and has been popular for decades. This paper seeks to determine how Sanrio has gained and maintained success in both the United States and Japan despite their differences in consumers. I will explore the differences and similarities in marketing strategies employed in each country. I develop themes that attempt to explain the success of marketing techniques unique to each country as well as marketing techniques that worked for both countries.

After exploring the reasons behind marketing success in each country, I determine what Sanrio could do …

The Calusa And Early Spanish Settlement: An Archaeological-Historic Analysis Of Early European Contact In Southern Florida, Rylan Cromer

Honors Theses

In 1513 Juan Ponce de León led an expedition force to explore the western coastline of Florida as part of a mission for the Spanish Crown to map the Gulf of Mexico and determine the capability of the area to potentially support Spanish colonization attempts. Instead, León established first contact with a powerful native society that successfully drove León and his fleet of three ships from their shores with nothing more than bows and basic dugout canoes. For nearly a century afterward, the mere presence of these people, the Calusa, was enough to limit Spanish settlement to the Eastern coastline …

"El Bloqueo" And The Initial Changes To Expect In Cuba Following Its Repeal, Justin B. Asher

Honors Theses

This document seeks the answer to the question, "What will happen when the Embargo in place against Cuba by the U. S. government is lifted?" This question undoubtedly came to the front of many Americans’ minds when President Obama announced on December 17,2014 that the United States and Cuba would begin diplomatic relations by opening embassies in the capital city of one another's state. It uses various sources to define the Cuban Embargo and the events that led to its manifestation, the current state of affairs with Cuba (roughly 2 years after the announcement). While the United States seeks a …

Women In Gaming: A Study Of Female Players’ Experiences In Online Fps Games, M Allison Mcdaniel

Honors Theses

Existing literature has long been divided over whether the gaming world fosters violence and misogyny or provides a space for people to explore diverse identities. Not enough is known about how women experience videogames, especially the hypermasculine environment of first-person shooter (FPS) games. Competition, violence, and war, are dominant features of these games. The following thesis explores what harassment and discrimination women playing FPS games face, how they respond, and in what ways they find games to be empowering. A survey was distributed online to an international sample of 141 female FPS gamers. This research finds that women who play …

A Noble Dream: The Inter-American Studies Program At Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (1958-1985), Colin T. White

Honors Theses

This essay explores the rise and fall of the Inter-American studies program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The Inter-American Studies Program attempted to bridge two distinctive bodies of academic literature when Dr. Albert Bork first envisioned it. Unlike other programs founded in the 1950s, SIU’s Inter-American Studies program was an academic experiment challenging that emerging trend. Regardless of its failure, the program’s original idea was innovative.

Eco-Spirituality: Case Studies On Hinduism And Environmentalism In Contemporary India, Vikram Vishnu Shenoy

Honors Theses

India, with its population of 1.3 billion people, is one of the world's fastest growing countries both in terms of population and economy. One consequence of such rapid growth is that India now has levels of environmental pollution that are unprecedented in scale. Hinduism, India's majority religion, is the primary focus of this research. Hinduism is a religious tradition whose roots lie in the ancient Sanskrit Vedas. The Vedas, along with the Upanishads and Puranas, hold teachings of nurturing, caring, and protecting all aspects of the natural world. The cultural dynamics of India have drastically changed over the past two …

Ceramic Diversity And Its Relation To Access To Market For Slaves On A Plantation, Rebecca L. Aucoin

Honors Theses

A study of the diversity of ceramics found on a plantation at a slave house in relation to the access to market that slave had could lead to a better understanding of the life and culture of slaves. A high diversity of ceramics at sites might indicate slaves purchased their own ceramics. At a number of sites located in the Natchez District in Mississippi, a study was conducted to identify samples of ceramic sherds to determine if slaves were able to purchase their own dish ware. The results of the study indicated that slaves at Mount Locust Plantation likely had …

Facilitating Environmental Literacy In A Socio-Digital Landscape, Anna E. Hotard

Honors Theses

My work engages digital communications, traditional writing, and campus/community engagement in order to curate emergent knowledge of environmental citizenship and sustainable development. In the city of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, there has been a growing interest in environmental literacy both on the University of Southern Mississippi campus and within the city community. Environmental literacy takes many forms from informational sessions, fundraisers and events, to outright activism. This work informs my evolving identity as an editor as I choreograph traditional transcripts into a digital sphere in order to provide a collective space for related interests.

College Student Development And Emerging Adulthood, Gina Cavanaugh

Honors Theses

College student development theories focus on the experiences and growth that individuals and groups encounter throughout their time attending colleges and universities. During this time, many traditionally aged college students are in the period of emerging adulthood. In industrialized societies, this age range is characterized by a prolonged period of adolescence and a lack of taking on adult responsibilities. This exploration highlights the emerging adult college student population in the United States and the development these individuals may undergo.

E-Commerce’S Impact On Big-Box Retailers, Brian Bates

Honors Theses

The history of retail has been an evolutionary process of new innovations and transformations. Previous changes include: the development of catalogue based retail, and the recent innovation of super stores, known as big-box retailers. It is possible that we are dawning upon a new revolution of the retail environment as electronic commerce (e-commerce) continues to grow. This paper will analyze the impact of e-commerce on retail markets, specifically big-box stores (warehouse style retailers with over 750 million in sales). Using financial and real estate data from Bloomberg^TM, and e-commerce data from eMarketerTM and the US Census Bureau two …

Procrastination, Motivation, & Flow, Reginald Desrosiers

Honors Theses

No Abstract.

Entering Into Dialogue With Pope Francis' Laudato Si: On Care For Our Common Home, Sarah Jeanne Shimer

Honors Theses

Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home brings together the spheres of science and religion. In this document, Francis puts forth a call for action towards religious and non-religious communities alike to address climate change. The strength of the document lies in the way Francis expresses his call. By drawing on scientific and religious tradition, he situates the encyclical in a broader conversation about the moral obligation for humans to care for the environment. This thesis explores the reception of Laudato Si by religious and environmental communities through political cartoons, written critiques, and personal interviews. …

The Voluntourism Encounter: Affect, Discomfort, And Transformation In Yaxunah, Caroline Tegeler

Honors Theses

Within the massive tourism and travel industry, the niche market of volunteer tourism has risen recently in both notoriety and popularity with its promises of a more conscious form of experiencing the world and its people. I explore in this thesis project the encounter between volunteer tourist and host community by examining the motivations, expectations, and imagined roles and identities of each side of the voluntourism encounter. The volunteer tourism industry frames voluntourism as a path towards a more personal, ethical and responsible tourism, but has created experiences filled with discomfort for tourists in their encounter with the communities in …

Don't Know, Do Not Resuscitate: A Principle For The Creation Of The Kingdom Of Ends In The Icu, Griffen Isaac Allen

Honors Theses

In the United States today 20% of all Americans die in Intensive Care Units, or ICUs. These were developed in the 50s, 60s, and 70s to centralize medical resources to help treat critically ill patients with new technologies like ventilators, dialysis, and other tools that are now commonplace. This occurred simultaneously with the emergence of individualistic autonomy, understood as the patient's right to dictate their treatment, as the dominant force in medical ethics. Ostensibly both of these developments would seem beneficial for patients. However, the ultimate result is overly aggressive care that strips patients of their dignity and ensures that …

Beautiful Minds : Exploring The Healing Potentional Of Self-Refexive Art In Facing A Campus Mental Health Crisis, Molly Chapman Rossi

Honors Theses

This interdisciplinary study of mental health seeks to do three things:

1. Identify and investigate the issue of mental health among students within the University of Richmond campus community, through both statistical and ethnographic data,

2. Apply trauma theory to redefine the crisis as a community trauma with unique aspects, and

3. Make a case for hope by proposing a plan that uses self-reflexive art, specifically theatre, to address the individualized community trauma and second-wave trauma.

I explicate new theories in this work, among them the notions of “individualized community trauma,” “second-wave trauma,” and “traumatic fusion.” Another critical concept is …

An Analysis Of The Archaeological Collection From The Jaketown (22hu505) Site At The University Of Mississippi, Alexandria Elizabeth Gochenauer

Honors Theses

Jaketown (22HU505) is a significant prehistoric site that is located in the Lower Mississippi Valley. A collection from the University of Mississippi was found in storage and contained an amalgamation of surface collections from Jaketown undertaken during the 1950s and 1970s that were never analyzed and reported. Analysis of the artifacts that constitute the UM Collection may have a meaningful impact on our understanding of Jaketown's importance. Analysis enabled the identification of the number of Poverty Point attributes, diagnostic features of the Poverty Point culture period, present in the collection. Future research may lead to new knowledge about prehistoric settlement …

Perceptions Of Poverty And The Community Action Poverty Simulation Experience, Anna Grace Stout

Honors Theses

A quarter of Mississippi's population lives below the poverty line. Poverty is linked to a myriad of health conditions, psychological effects, and inaccessibility of basic resources. Often, those who have never faced the challenges of poverty hold misconceptions regarding the impacts of poverty. It is important to correct misconceptions in order to combat the problems of poverty through such means as better-informed legislation and community action plans. Poverty simulations have recently been designed to educate people about poverty and its challenges. A poverty simulation is a role-playing exercise in which participants are given props and a list of tasks to …

Cultural Implications Of Starbucks Consumption In China: Why Do Chinese Have A Latte On Their Mind?, Garrett Hersh

Honors Theses

The aim of this thesis was gain a more comprehensive understanding concerning the Chinese consumers understanding of coffee and Starbucks in China as a luxury good. Considering China's recent history, as well as the introduction of a capitalist, consumer economy, examining the Chinese consumers' consumption pattern of this foreign, arguably luxury, good, is reflective of Chinese consumer ideals. A literature review analyzing the relationship between Chinese consumer ideals and the introduction of global consumerism, in addition to a set of interviews and surveys were conducted in attempts to understand the current Chinese consumption patterns of Starbucks coffee. After conducting the …

The Role Of Pharmacists In Prenatal Healthcare Concerning Obesity, Hypertension, And Diabetes, Madeline Ott

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the role of pharmacists in prenatal health care for women with chronic diseases. This study consists of a systematic review of Medline and Academic Search Premier listed articles concerning pregnant women and obesity, hypertension, or diabetes and pharmacy, focusing special attention on 40 articles. The second part of the study consisted of pharmacist interviews with thirteen pharmacists on how they view the current role of pharmacists in caring for pregnant women who are obese, hypertensive, and diabetic. The literature review suggested that chronic diseases can have a detrimental effect on children, and that there were many gaps …

Mississippi Delta Revitalization Through Tourism: An Examination Of Community-Campus Partnerships For Economic Development, Samuel Claiborne Russell

Honors Theses

This thesis is an examination of how community-campus partnerships support community engagement efforts in the Mississippi Delta. Since Ernest Boyer's clarion call in the 1990s for institutions of higher education to reconsider their commitment to community engagement, many institutions have initiated centers of engagement and service to connect their scholarly efforts to underserved populations. By mutually sharing in social, intellectual, and economic resources with communities, both campus and community prosper (Boyer 1990). The Mississippi Delta, an hour's drive from the University of Mississippi campus, is one of the most impoverished regions in the United States. According to the US Census …

In Six Days: The Creation Study Committee And The Pca's Struggle For Consensus On Anti-Darwinism, Michael Calhoun Wilkerson

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the historic struggle and development of the American Evangelical community to form a unified front against naturalistic evolution during the twentieth century: focusing on the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) as a microcosm in the battle for a general consensus. Conservative six-day creationists who felt threatened by more liberal views within the denomination over the issue pressured the 1998 PCA General Assembly to appoint a special Creation Study Committee. The outcome of the work of the committee only broadened acceptable views within the denomination, much to the chagrin of the conservative elders who pushed for the Committee's …

An Examination Of The College Major Decisions Of Students At The University Of Mississippi, Jonathan P. Evans

Honors Theses

Factors such as socio-economic status affect students' level of educational aspiration. Furthermore, major (and thus career choice) may be influenced by race or gender. This study demonstrates the effects of academic aptitude, race, gender, first generation status, and importance of expected future earnings on undergraduate students' college major decision. More specifically, this study examines if these factors lead to an increase or decrease in the probability of students choosing a major in a specific field. The likelihood of choosing a major in a specific field is relative a baseline category, which can be changed.

Portrayals Of Pinochet: Historical Narratives In Chilean Schools, Katie J. Wright

Honors Theses

How is the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship represented historically in contemporary Chilean society? To answer this question, this thesis examines the education system, with a focus on high schools and universities in Valparaíso, Chile. I argue that there are two competing discourses about the Pinochet administration - a majority, anti-dictatorship perspective and a minority, pro-regime position - which selectively emphasize differing aspects of the regime. The anti position focuses on human rights violations while the pro perspective puts greater weight on economic achievements. This maps onto Chilean high school institutions, with a majority of upper and upper-middle class students attending private …

Someday My Prince Will Come: How Are Gender Roles Enabled And Constrained In Disney Music, During Classic Disney, The Disney Renaissance, And Modern Disney?, Lauren Hughes

Honors Theses

The purpose of this project is to study how Disney has promoted gender roles through its music over three different Disney eras: Classic, Renaissance, and Modern Disney. While Disney movies have been criticized in the past for having characters with unattainable bodies and unrealistic views on love and life, the role that Disney music plays in promoting gender roles has not been as thoroughly researched or as widely criticized. With the immensity that children learn and are surrounded by Disney music, it is imperative that the message that the children take in is a healthy one. Through the analysis of …

A Study Of The Demographic And Socioeconomic Factors Influencing The Placement Of Retail And Urgent Care Clinics, Cody A. Smith

Honors Theses

Urgent care and retail care clinics are a developing model of health care providers that focuses on immediate walk-in care. This paper explores the influence that hospitals, demographic, and socioeconomic factors have on the placement of these clinics. This study employs a comparative quantitative design to explore the association of these variables with the placement of urgent care and retail clinics in Mississippi's Public Health Districts I and II, which comprise the northernmost twenty counties in the state. The findings show that a high population size, high median household income, low percent of families in poverty, and a low uninsured …

Democratizing Dionysus: The Origins Controversy And The Dual Evolution Of Tragedy And Civism, Belen Plaza-Gainza

Honors Theses

Finding the origins of tragedy has been a fascinating subject since late antiquity, and it continues to be a source of academic debate. The controversy I have examined is from the early years of our twenty-first century, and has questioned the testimony of Aristotle, opening the debate once again. The evidence continues to prove that tragedy’s origins were religious, and even though there is no hard evidence to prove that it evolved from Dionysiac ritual, there is no hard evidence to disprove this theory either.

I have taken this opportunity to examine the origins of tragedy from its evolution, which …