Digital Commons Network^™

Redemption Or Contamination: Reviewing The Illness Narratives Of The Chronically Sick And Their Support Systems, Allison R. Dearing

Honors Theses

Chronically sick individuals deal with pain on a daily basis, which can lower their quality of life and make it more difficult. Illness narratives or “sickness stories” have been known to help people place illness in their lives. Support systems are a factor that could influence individuals’ illness narratives to lead them towards a redemption or contamination sequence. In this study, I interviewed twenty-five women with endometriosis and asked them questions regarding their health status, illness narratives, and support systems. The interviews were reviewed and categorized between redemptive and contamination sequences.The support systems influence on the sequence were also reviewed …

An Examination Of The Perception, Role And Impact Of Student-Led Clubs And Organizations On Student Development, Engagement And Success: A Small-Sample Study Of Extreme Users And Extreme Non-Users Using Service Innovation Methods, Bailey Coppedge

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was, first, to research what involvement in student-led clubs and organizations (SLCOs) contributes to student development, engagement, and success. Second, to understand the perceptions that students at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga have about SLCOs and their impact on the students’ development, engagement, and success. I posed three research questions: 1) What is the perception of SLCOs from the perspective of both uninvolved students and extremely involved students? 2) What drives students to become engaged in SLCOs? 3) What impact does involvement in SLCOs have on students’ development and success? My goal in conducting this research …

A Proposal And Potential Use-Case For The Transition From Gig City To Smart City, Andrew Cox

Honors Theses

Over the past decade, smart city concepts have been gaining attention from scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers in both developed and developing nations. A recent proliferation of publications has involved a multitude of disciplines, but have focused almost entirely on the potential for smart cities to change the way cities are managed, operated, and planned. However, there has been little published on the tangible benefits of a specific smart city initiative, nor many use-case studies following smart city initiatives. This paper aims to propose a transition from Gig City to smart city via technological advancement in the form of ICT to …

Let’S Talk About Sex: An Analysis Of The Gaps In Effective Sex Education In The United States And A Proposed Solution, Mackenzie Butera

Honors Theses

The United States is not currently providing effective avenues through which the majority of U.S children are accessing comprehensive information about sexual health. This gap in education is causing serious consequences emotionally, mentally and physically for U.S. youth. It is critical that discourse surrounding sex and healthy relationships be normalized so as not to closet, stigmatize or victim blame children during formative years. Historically, the United States has perverted the right to education by allocating significant federal funding to abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula. Although this content has been repeatedly proven ineffective and the U.S. continues to rank high amongst developing countries for …

Experiences Of Adult Children With Previously Incarcerated Parents: A Qualitative Study, Opeletia Helton

Honors Theses

There are at least 1.5 million adult children of incarcerated parents in the United States based on research conducted in 2000. While research has been conducted on this population while they were under the age of 18, little research has focused on their reflection of their childhood experiences nor on their transition into adulthood. Existing literature provides insight on their experiences as it pertained to peer and caregiver feedback, child and development into adulthood, parent-child relationships, and intervention recommendations. An exploratory qualitative study is conducted with adult children of incarcerated parents (n=5) in order to gain insight into their experiences …

Justice According To Reinhold Niebuhr And Gustavo Gutiérrez, Rebecca L. Miller

Honors Theses

Reinhold Niebuhr and Gustavo Gutiérrez were two influential theologians. Niebuhr was a Protestant neo-orthodox theologian and Gutiérrez was a Catholic liberation theologian. Both tackled the theological topics of justice and reformation. Niebuhr and Gutiérrez came to similar conclusions on these topics although they shared no explicit connections. Despite this, these two thinkers are not widely compared in scholarship. There is an academic tradition of treating Catholicism and Protestantism separately. This tradition could explain why the similarities between the two are overlooked. This essay explores the beliefs of Niebuhr and Gutiérrez on justice and reformation to demonstrate the similarities and argue …

Is Bitcoin Reminiscent Of Past Bubbles?, Jessica L. Leath

Honors Theses

Bitcoin, an open-source decentralized peer-to-peer payment system, has made an unprecedented rise to notoriety in the last decade. In 2018, Bitcoin reported its worst year in history with depreciation of more than 70% from its year opening price. Consequently, the narrative of a bubble that surrounded Bitcoin was amplified by this news. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the presence of a bubble within Bitcoin by comparing its price volatility and the psychological factors that influence its price formation to that of two historic bubbles, the Dotcom Bubble and the Tulip Mania.

Virtual Existence And Its Ambiguities: How Postphenomenology Of Technology Clarifies Our Situation In A Digital World., David Karlo King Ii

Honors Theses

For many contemporary western societies, digital technology has become a pervasive aspect of the day-to-day lives of many individuals, and a large philosophical conversation has resulted around how the use of such technologies changes our lives. Postphenomenology, a relatively recent philosophical development, offers a distinct approach to discussing technology from a practical, situated orientation. While this approach has roots in phenomenologists like Martin Heidegger and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, it attempts a more contingent and empirical project that more thoroughly discusses the existential implications of human/technology relationships. In this paper, I trace the roots of postphenomenology in the works of Heidegger and …

Computational Simulation Of The Paw-04 Nozzle Configuration, Juan Hernandez

Honors Theses

The research was based on the 4th Propulsion Aerodynamics Workshop which was organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Air Breathing Propulsion System Integration Technical Committee and its objective was to assess the accuracy and numerical prediction capabilities of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). It focused on the work of Behrouzi and McGuirk where they tested two different nozzle configurations under set boundary conditions. The nozzle configurations included a high aspect ratio rectangular nozzle with a clean exit and the same nozzle with an aft-deck attached to the exit. Three different unstructured grids were generated for the clean …

Designing A General Education Course On The Societal Impacts Of Artificial Intelligence, Vincent Rollins

Honors Theses

Most colleges, including UTC, already offer an artificial intelligence course (CPSC 4440) as part of their computer science curricula. Such courses are meant to explain the technology behind these elaborate systems, but these courses often neglect extensive coverage of the real-world impacts of the technology itself. UTC also offers a course entitled “Ethical and Social Issues in Computing” that does convey the importance behind the advances of computer technology and its impacts, but this course is practically available only to computer science majors. There is no generalized and widely available course that covers the technological, economic, cultural, philosophical/theological, and ethical …

Federal Open Market Committee Communication: A Text Mining Analysis, Jonathan Stegmann

Honors Theses

The Federal Reserve Bank of the United States, the head of monetary policy in the country, primarily uses the Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, to make and communicate policy decisions. Since 1994 the FOMC has become ever more transparent. By releasing statements after each meeting they hold, releasing more detailed minutes of these meetings three weeks later, and releasing full transcripts of the meetings five years later, they are able to inform the public of their intentions and thoughts while withholding potentially volatile information for later release dates. These three documents reveal much about how the FOMC operates and …

The Legal Status Of Personhood In The Wake Of Genetic Editing, Tessa C. Ross

Honors Theses

Policies and laws regarding human health require continual examination as technologies improve, and genetic editing technologies that have the ability to modify a person’s DNA are unquestionably relevant to examine. The technologies most intriguing to investigate are those with the ability to directly edit the nuclear genes (segments of DNA within the nucleus of cells) through techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9 and Cpf1. This study intends to answer the questions of how should policy develop to accommodate for the improving medical technology of genetic editing and how could genetic editing technologies affect the legal status of personhood for the purposes of …

Interactions Of Fentanyl With Gp120 In The Central Nervous System, Meagan Buchanan

Honors Theses

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has affected more than 75 million individuals worldwide. HIV not only affects the peripheral system through the targeting of T cells, but also causes adverse effects in the central nervous system. Individuals suffering from HIV often experience neuropathic pain and are prescribed opioids to combat the chronic pain. Along with the increase of opioids prescribed to HIV patients, the number of deaths related to the synthetic opioid, fentanyl, has increased drastically. Drug abuse and HIV are interlinked epidemics; individuals who are HIV positive and referred to as “NeuroAIDS.” The HIV envelope protein, gp120, has been …

Three Forms Of Death In David Rabe’S The Basic Training Of Pavlo Hummel And Sticks And Bones, Sloan Garner

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I argue there are three main forms of death that progress chronologically in David Rabe’s The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and Sticks and Bones. First, the death of civilian identity as the soldier conforms to the military. Secondly, the soldier’s killing—metaphoric or literal—of others, which is part of his attempt to fit with his new military identity. Third, the soldier’s sacrificial suicide as his escape from the military identity. In this paper, I provide evidence and close reading to support my argument that the protagonists in both plays, Pavlo and David, encounter, enact, or experience …

Learning Style Preferences In Undergraduate Speech-Language Pathology And Audiology Students, Callahan Shirk

Honors Theses

Learning styles can be described as an individual’s unique way of assimilating new information based on his/her preferences and methods of acquiring knowledge. The awareness of a student’s learning style preference can be beneficial to both students and instructors. The goal of this project was aimed at identifying the learning style preferences of undergraduates in the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology programs within the state of Mississippi. The researchers surveyed 137 participants involved in this study by utilizing the Kolb Learning Style Inventory and the VARK Questionnaire. Results from this study revealed that students enrolled as undergraduates in Speech-Language Pathology and …

Patient-Perceived Stigma & Communication In Mental Healthcare: Predictors Of Medication Adherence And Mental Health Outcomes, Cameron A. Cloud

Honors Theses

Patients with mental illness often report feeling stigmatized by their mental healthcare providers, which may deter them from seeking care services altogether. Although workplace interventions can be implemented to reduce stigma, outcomes are limited and may not be long-lasting. The objectives of this study are to investigate which variables of interpersonal communication are significant predictors of medication adherence and mental health outcomes in patients with mental illness. This study surveyed 258 participants from the United States who were at least 18 years of age and reported seeing a mental healthcare provider and taking psychotropic medication within the past five years. …

The Impact Of The United States Presidential Administration On African American College Students, Latisha Swygert

Honors Theses

It has been shown that college students of color do not share the same experiences as their Caucasian counterparts, with students of color experiencing higher levels of harassment and lower levels of perceived campus safety (Rankin & Reason, 2005). The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election and the subsequent Trump administration on college students of color, specifically African American college students, and the psychological distress that may have been caused by the consequences of a shift in the national political climate. Participants were college students ages 18 to 54 who completed …

Checklist Of The Vascular Flora, Restoration Plans, And Educational Interpretive Signs For A Remnant Prairie At The Lakewood Memorial Cemetery, Hinds County, Mississippi, Olivia Shelton

Honors Theses

A floristic survey was conducted on the eastern margin of the Lakewood Memorial Park Cemetery, located between Jackson and Clinton, Mississippi, near the western edge of the Jackson Prairie ecoregion. From soil map data and preliminary observations of the landform and flora, the eastern part of the cemetery was hypothesized to be remnant prairie now mostly covered by exotic grasses (pasture) and woodland. Plant specimens were collected, identified, and preserved in the herbarium of The University of Southern Mississippi (USMS). The survey yielded 119 species of vascular plants, of which 98 (82%) were native and 21 (18%) were non-native. Indicative …

Character Count Or Vote Count: How Social Media Has Shaped Modern Politics And Challenged The Meaning Of Civic Engagement, Hannah Scott

Honors Theses

Social media has taken the world and compressed it into a single button for all to access. As tactics and protocol has already changed, social media has reached its invisible hand into modern U.S. politics and has altered the landscape of political action. Through surveys, article analysis, and social media observation, this study examined how social media has changed modern civic engagement, if social media can even be considered civic ‘engagement’, and how it has separated itself from ‘traditional’ civic engagement. Through previous literature and a conducted survey, the finding of this study suggest that social media not only positively …

Academically Productive Classroom Discourse, Elizabeth Burford

Honors Theses

This paper is focused on recent studies connected to Academically Productive Classroom Discourse (APCD) and its effects in the classroom, as well as findings implications for classroom practice and future research suggestions shared by the researchers. APCD can be defined as discussion that propels a deeper academic conversation forward in the classroom, as opposed to creating surface level conversations, halting the conversation, or moving the conversation in a circle. The purpose of this paper is to examine what areas of APCD have been studied and what the results of those studies imply for classroom practice and for more research. Twenty-five …

Evaluating The Impacts Of Undergraduate Research Programs At Mississippi State University For Developing Science Professionals, Isabella Joann Durham

Honors Theses

Since 2013, Mississippi State University has been offering research experiences for undergraduates through formal programs which pair high-performing students in collaborative research with faculty mentors. The purpose of these programs is to provide students with the opportunity to enhance scholarly activity, participate in the discovery of new knowledge, and become a part of the scientific community. We tested the hypotheses that undergraduate research improves student participants’ educational experience (including personal and professional development), enhances retention of talented students in science careers, and leads to discovery of new information that contributes to the larger body of knowledge, while also looking at …

Risky Business: A Comparative Analysis Of Risk Instruments Of Sports Security Arenas, Antonia Peterson

Honors Theses

Risk assessments in the sports security domain are generally accepted as objective reports with a small margin of subjective information included. The researcher interviewed 10 risk professionals in the sports security industry to evaluate and compare the handling of objective information such as statistical data and historical reports to expert judgment. Interviews were examined using a grounded theory methodology with the Atlas T.I. software program to create overarching themes and a theory of the roles of objective and subjective information within security discourse. Findings pointed to a heavy reliance on expert opinion in comparison to data reports. A moderate amount …

Music Scenes, The Creative Economy, And Changing Your Backyard, William Ford

Honors Theses

City branding has become a popular tactic by cities looking to improve economic development, reputation, or attract tourists and businesses to move to its specific town or city especially with music branding. However, much of the research on city branding focuses on massive international cities.

This project focuses on how city branding can be implemented in a smaller setting, but more specifically how the uniqueness of a smaller town’s music scene can be the catalyst to an effective city brand. To do this, data from the Levitt Foundation was analyzed to get a better grasp on what qualities a smaller …

A Mobile Application For Crowdsourced Acquisition Of Urban Street-View Pedestrian Facility Data, Andrew Fink

Honors Theses

In recent years, pedestrians have been dangerously overrepresented in traffic crashes, and the pedestrian fatality rate has steadily increased during the last decade. Additionally, studies have shown that the majority of pedestrian-involved traffic accidents occur in urban non-intersections, which suggests that a more well-connected pedestrian facility network in cities would lower the rate of pedestrian involvement in traffic accidents. One way to improve the pedestrian facility network coverage is to first have up-to-date, accurate, and thorough data regarding the presence of existing pedestrian facilities. However, state departments of transportation have stated that the current methods of acquiring this data are …

Moving To The Beat: The Role Of Movement On The Perception Of Musical Expressivity, Molly Evans

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect body movement would have on listeners’ (N = 7) perceptions of the musical expressivity of different conducting patterns. An audio/video recording of a conductor from the University of Southern Mississippi was used for the stimulus, and listeners were asked to rate each video recording on perceived expressiveness, congruency between movement and music, and participant’s willingness to play under each conducting style. While the video portion of the stimulus changed to reflect two different conducting styles (beat centric – traditional movements that adhere to notated meter, non-beat centric – non-traditional movements …

They Never Stopped Rockin': A Brief History Of The Chitlin' Circuit, Mississippi, And Their Effects On America's Music, Warren Beebe

Honors Theses

This work focuses on the development of one of America's first musical tour routes: the Chitlin' Circuit. While its name may sound strange, the Chitlin' Circuit was responsible for the development of numerous distinct musical genres throughout the United States, such as blues and rock and roll in the twentieth century. Southern roadhouses, dive bars, and juke joints proudly showcased performers that gained initial fame touring with old medicine shows. As these artists gained recognition for their new musical stylings and elaborate showmanship, the owners of these local nightspots began to exchange contact information to better capitalize on these highly …

Vulnerable Narcissism, Difficulties In Emotion Regulation, And Relational Aggression In College Students, Shelby E. Caffarel

Honors Theses

Relational aggression is a form of aggressive behavior involving the intentional infliction of harm to the victim’s sense of belonging, reputation, or social relationships. Although most of the research on relational aggression has focused on children and early adolescents, there is evidence that it can be a serious problem for college students as well. Several predictors of relational aggression have been identified, but the mechanisms through which many of them operate is not sufficiently clear. The present study examined the relationship of vulnerable narcissism and difficulties in emotion regulation to relational aggression in a college student sample. It was expected …

Sarcasm Understanding Across The Lifespan, Kristen Barnett

Honors Theses

Research has identified a developmental progression of sarcasm understanding, stating that children get better at understanding sarcasm as they get older, though adults are still not perfect at reliably detecting sarcasm. This may be related to the cues present (e.g., story context, verbal cues, and facial expressions). Research has primarily focused on verbal cues, specifically exaggerated or “dripping” intonation, in child and adult populations. The literature is lacking in the realm of facial expressions and child populations. This study aimed to add to the literature concerning facial expressions as well as to evaluate sarcasm understanding with more than one cue …

A Pfa Study: Exploring The Relationship Of Anxiety And Self-Esteem With Expressive Writing, Abraham J. Gothong Walayat

Honors Theses

Research has indicated that expressive writing is thought to be beneficial by decreasing inhibitions, but what was still unknown is how the use of self-esteem words could moderate the change in anxiety levels. This study examined the efficacy of Expressive Writing on anxiety levels across time (baseline, immediately post treatment, 30 minutes post, and 15 days post) compared to a Superficial Writing control condition. This study also examined how the use of self-esteem words moderated anxiety levels. Subjects (N=31) were drawn from the Andrews University Behavioral Science Research Subjects Pool and were randomly assigned to either an Expressive Writing experimental …

Financial Reporting: A Comprehensive Evaluation Of Accounting Methods And Applications, Parker Morgan

Honors Theses

This paper serves as a collection of the case studies assigned by Dr. Victoria Dickinson throughout the Professional Research and Development Thesis Program. Each of the twelve case studies presented within this thesis pertains to a different topic or problem regarding the application of accounting standards, financial reporting, or accounting methods. Additionally, this report displays the application of accounting problems to real-life situations, thus incorporating various subjects, such as investments, economics, accounting, and risk advisory. By promoting the use of group-related assignments, this course stimulated teamwork and classroom collaboration. Because of this, students were able to enhance their communication and …