Digital Commons Network^™

Predator-Prey Interactions Between Escherichia Coli Strains And Caenorhabditis Elegans At Various Temperatures And Resource Levels, Elizabeth Haynes Whitaker

Honors Theses

Predation is an important component of both evolutionary and ecological interactions across nature. The predator-prey relationship can be altered by differential species’ responses to changes in abiotic factors. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of temperature, resource levels, and their potential interactions using two strains of Escherichia coli prey and a Caenorhabditis elegans predator. It is concluded that an interaction exists between temperature and resource level on this predator-prey relationship however further testing must be done to confirm results due to contamination in the results.

Fable In Action: A Discourse Analysis Approach To The Life Of Aesop, Martha Hamilton Mccafferty

Honors Theses

In this essay, I examine instances of fable-telling throughout the Life of Aesop in a new light by using linguistic theories from the subfield of Pragmatics in my analysis. I suggest that the author’s purpose in composing the Life of Aesop is to instruct his audience on how to use fable effectively, and that Aesop serves as both the positive and negative example for this lesson. I begin by considering the nature of fable and demonstrate why it is necessary to define fable in reference to the social action which it performs. I then address the complex position of fable …

A Survey Of Financial Accounting Reporting, James H. Robbins

Honors Theses

This thesis takes a survey of key accounting issues and concepts addressed in financial accounting reporting. Accountancy majors of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College were given an opportunity to complete their thesis before their internship during senior year by taking two classes over junior year. This thesis was constructed under the guidance of Dr. Vicki Dickinson. The thesis itself is a compilation of twelve different cases, and each case studies various areas of the accounting and business environment.

The Functional Connectivity Of The Auditory Cortex In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Katherine Wilson

Honors Theses

Disturbance of the auditory cortex in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is well known as well as its influence on hearing. Functional connectivity within the brain is also known to be affected by ASD. However, functional connectivity of the auditory cortex in ASD has yet to be studied. In this study, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE), functional connectivity of the auditory cortex was examined by comparing 68 individuals with ASD and 75 individuals with ASD. Four brain regions showed smaller functional connectivity to and from the auditory cortex; the occipital cortex, …

How Does Movement Impact Originality In A Divergent Thinking Task?, Molly B. Fontenot

Honors Theses

Research has suggested that original thought can be affected by movement. However, this research has primarily focused on children, with embodied creativity work lacking in adult populations. This study aimed to examine the impact of movement on the generation of original ideas within divergent thinking tasks in adults. To study this, participants first completed a baseline divergent thinking task asking participants to come up with as many novel uses for a common item. After baseline, participants were randomized into three different testing groups that were encouraged to engage in different types of movement during the divergent thinking task: 1) meaningful …

The Relationship Of Rehabilitation Therapy Clients And Grit: A Pilot Study, Kamilla Kisch

Honors Theses

Client experience is an important consideration in physical and occupational therapy (known as rehabilitation therapy.) The personality trait of grit has been studied in many different settings and populations and could have an impact on rehabilitation therapy clients’ perceptions and experiences. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between scores on Dr. Angela Duckworth’s Grit Scale (that identifies the presence and strength of grit) and perceptions of experiences by rehabilitation therapy clients. Seven males and twelve females (age: 56.78 ± 15.83) participated in this study. The Grit Scale was used to assess participants’ grit. Multiple-choice questions were …

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: Analyzing Inhumane Practices In Mississippi’S Correctional Institutions Due To Overcrowding, Understaffing, And Diminished Funding, Ariel A. Williams

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to examine the political, social, and economic factors which have led to inhumane conditions in Mississippi’s correctional facilities. Several methods were employed, including a comparison of the historical and current methods of funding, staffing, and rehabilitating prisoners based on literature reviews. State-sponsored reports from various departments and the legislature were analyzed to provide insight into budgetary restrictions and political will to allocate funds. Statistical surveys and data were reviewed to determine how overcrowding and understaffing negatively affect administrative capacity and prisoners’ mental and physical well-being. Ultimately, it may be concluded that Mississippi has high …

Beliefs Of Translators About Medical Spanish Pamphlets, Margaret Coulter

Honors Theses

This paper addresses the beliefs of professional Spanish medical translators regarding the use of dialect variation in medical Spanish translation and the resulting effects on the level of healthcare attained by Spanish speaking patients in the United States. The health gap between English-speaking and non-English patients is explored as it relates to inadequate translation of medical information and instructions leading to poorer health outcomes and higher readmission rates among Spanish speakers.

On Narrative Approaches To Conspiracy Theory, John Hydrisko

Honors Theses

This thesis handles narrative approaches to conspiracy theory. It provides an overview of conspiracy theory and narrative before affirming a relationship between the two. It then introduces Fenster’s work on conspiracy narrative before engaging with the considerations therein. After discussing the tradition of visualizing narrative structure, it applies these practices to conspiracy narrative. This application allows for a discussion of recent innovations within conspiracy narrative. By using the QAnon as a case study, the paper investigates the emergence of protagonism and non-narrativism within the genre. Ultimately, this investigation suggests that contemporary conspiracy narrative is both better suited to the modern …

A Historical And Contextual Analysis Of Soviet And Russian "Active Measures": How Russian Political Warfare Efforts In Foreign Presidential Elections Have Transformed In The Information Age, Olivia Myers

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to analyze the transformation of Russian active measures in targeted national elections since the Soviet era. Through a historical analysis of research on active measures and contextual analysis of active measures campaigns themselves, this thesis finds that Russian active measures techniques have not drastically changed since the Soviet era. Instead, as a result of technology, Russian active measures have utilized platforms of social media to become more targeted, continuous, and convert. Therefore, Russian active measures campaigns have been better able to successfully target specific audiences, arguably making these campaigns more effective.

Beyond Beccaria: Diverse Criticism Of The Death Penalty In The Sixteenth, Seventeenth, And Eighteenth Centuries, Amelia Lawrence

Honors Theses

Most scholarly work on the history of criticism of the death penalty focuses on Cesare. Beccaria’s famous treatise, On Crimes and Punishments, and its impact on future thinkers and abolition movements. This thesis examines other trends, thinkers, and movements involved in the criticism or abolition of capital punishment in sixteenth-, seventeenth-, and eighteenth-century Europe. First, it argues that in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries governments carefully orchestrated executions in order to foster acceptance of capital punishment. These attempts, however, were not entirely successful: early writings and trends reveal dissatisfaction with governments’ use of capital punishment. Second, it shows that during …

Light And Heavy Verb Usage By People With Non-Fluent Aphasia, Chase Sophia Kozak

Honors Theses

The purpose of the study was to investigate the discourse elicitation task effect and whether it affects the production of verbs with different semantic weight (light verbs with vague semantic representations, e.g., ‘do’, or heavy verbs with specific semantic representations, e.g., ‘deliver’). Thirty people with non-fluent aphasia and twenty people without aphasia were included. The light and heavy verb ratios over the total number of verbs were calculated for two discourse elicitation tasks: sequential picture description and storytelling. The results for the healthy control group showed that they produced a significant higher heavy verb ratio in sequential picture description than …

Functional Connectivity Of The Inferior Frontal Gyrus In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Emma Miller

Honors Theses

ABSTRACT

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association defines Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as a “neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and social interaction” which is heavily impacts language abilities. There is an abundance of research on the neurological aspects of the disorder, which appear to have major differences of activation and functionality when compared to typically developing peers. Specifically, in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), a key language region of the brain, functional connectivity levels tend to be significantly less in ASD groups. This study recognizes these trends and aims to expand the research by locating specific functional connections …

Explanatory Models Of Autism In Nigeria: Exploring Sociocultural Beliefs To Inform Systems Of Care, Gabrielle Udoka Robertson

Honors Theses

Advancements in the diagnosis, understanding, and treatment of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have yet to benefit children and families struggling with ASD in Nigeria and other African countries. Not only is there a scarcity of research on ASD in sub- Saharan Africa, but also a lack of mental health and special education services and a lack of understanding of the sociocultural considerations that must inform culturally responsive care. As such, this study explored the sociocultural conceptualizations of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Nigeria and how these conceptualizations affect the experiences and care of people with autism. The unique …

Divine Or Demonic? A Social Approach To Epilepsy From Greco-Roman Antiquity To The Early Middle Ages, James Nicholas Sumrall

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to evaluate how epilepsy was defined, perceived and understood in ancient Greece and Rome, as well as how these ideas were adapted and changed during the early centuries of Christianity. To this end, the thesis is divided into six parts. The Introduction briefly explains epilepsy and discusses how the social approach method can be applied to the disease. Chapter I introduces the Hippocratic understanding of epilepsy and outlines the Greco-Roman religious concepts of pollution and purification, which frequently informed ancient perceptions of epilepsy. The first chapter also analyzes the general relationship between disability, disease and divine selection …

"The Unhappy Class Of Females": An Examination Of Non-Elite White Women In The Civil War-Era South, Reagan Elizabeth Whittington

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on the perceptions and realities of non-elite white women in the South and how their lives and expectations changed from the antebellum years to the end of Reconstruction. There were many secondary sources consulted both before and during the research process for this thesis, and these sources are listed, alongside their significance, in the introduction. Most of the primary sources referenced for this thesis were newspapers printed in the South between 1850 and 1877, but United States census data and public records were also consulted. This thesis investigates how non-elite white women were expected to behave by …

Parental And Peer Influences On College Students' Relationships With Food, Body Image, And Intuitive Eating Behaviors, Ann Mcqueen Whatley

Honors Theses

Society is flooded with beliefs and knowledge concerning health, diet, and beauty, which all significantly impact people’s relationships with food, eating, body image, and parental and peer relationships. The present study sought to investigate parental and peer influences on college students’ relationships with food, body image, and intuitive eating behaviors by distributing a self-report survey to a sample of 197 undergraduate students at the University of Mississippi. The survey consisted of six demographic questions regarding age/undergraduate classification, gender, geographical region of hometown, relationship status, childhood living arrangements, and current living arrangement to serve as the independent variables. In addition, the …

From Ideological Resource To Financial Asset: The Evolving Relationship Between Youth And The State In Putin's Russia, Eleanor Schmid

Honors Theses

This thesis identifies four periods of Russian youth policy, and discusses how President Vladimir Putin's approach to youth and youth issues is markedly different than that of previous heads of state, and that it has evolved even within his tenure. My content coding analysis of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs' 2013-2025 Strategy identifies the main values the Russian government seeks to impart upon youth, and my analysis of public opinion surveys of youth provides evidence that there is a connection between the 2013 Strategiia and youth attitudes and values.

The Author’S Words And The Editor’S Pen, A Self-Study In Editorial Decision Making, Margaret M. Cahill

Honors Theses

This study investigates the practices that professional editors use when evaluating manuscripts for publication. Specifically, I ask: 1) Which edits are the most essential to the overall development of a text? and 2) How does the editor serve as the bridge between writer and reader? In seeking answers to these questions, I apply the editorial practices for reading and manuscript development reported by professional editors to my work as an editor of one writer’s memoir manuscript currently in the process of revision. Drawing on interviews with the author and changes to the manuscript itself, I examine the role of the …

Impact Of A Dialogic Reading Intervention On The Effectiveness Of Adaptive Magnitude Comparison Ebooks For Improving Young Children’S Magnitude Comparison Skills, Patrick C. Ehrman

Honors Theses

Dialogic reading interventions have been used successfully to increase literacy and language skills, including math language. This study aims to investigate whether a dialogic reading intervention will assist children with spatial and numerical magnitude comparison skills learned through a novel adaptive eBook designed to be read together by parents and children. We propose that a dialogic reading intervention used with an adaptive magnitude comparison eBook will improve children’s spatial and numerical magnitude comparison skills and general math skills compared to control groups. Preschool-aged children and their parents (N=27) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: adaptive magnitude comparison eBooks …

Organic Matter Spatial And Temporal Patterns In Coastal Sands Of Long Bay, South Carolina, Kayla B. Christofferson

Honors Theses

Sandy coastlines serve crucial functions to coastal economies and coastal ecology alike. In the past, organic-poor sands were considered of lower importance than organic-rich muds. Recent studies showed that sands’ low organic matter concentrations are due to high biogeochemical cycling rates, driven by rapid physical exchange, but remain infrequently studied. I present time-series of sand mass-loss-on-ignition (LOI, an organic matter proxy) profiles from February 2017 onwards at multiple sites along Long Bay, South Carolina. LOI profiles exhibit subsurface maximum values, unlike the typical decrease with depth in muddy sediments. I hypothesize that organic matter distribution with depth is affected by …

Propeller And Propeller-In-Wing Thrust Vectoring, Grace G. Culpepper

Honors Theses

This research investigates the efficiency of a vane-based thrust vectoring system set in the wake of a propeller, supporting forward force at a minimum loss in net thrust. The vectoring system itself is placed in both a standalone propeller configuration and a propeller-in-wing configuration. Both static and wind-on force-based experiments are conducted at the University of Dayton Low Speed Wind Tunnel (UD-LSWT) with off-the-shelf R/C propellers. Sensitivity analysis determines both the effect of vane deflection angle on thrust vectoring and the effect of propeller placement with respect to the upper surface of the integrated wing on system performance. Static test …

Weird And Cosmic Short Horror Fiction And The Illustration Of Existential Fears, Brianna Williams

Honors Theses

The literary genre of horror fiction is uniquely capable of presenting its readers with the horrific, terrifying, and repulsive while remaining an acceptable and sought-after genre. Moreover, the horror genre is also often able to serve as a type of lens through which readers can recognize socio-historical and cultural fears. Within the many subgenres of horror, cosmic and weird horror continue in this ability, but are able to present their readers with more abstract, existential fears. This research is an exploration and analysis of the ability of cosmic and weird horror to reveal the real, personal existential fears of their …

Counselors' Experiences Of A Virtual Summer Camp, Catherine Bell

Honors Theses

Youth with developmental disabilities (DD) often have limited opportunities for social support and community engagement. Summer camps to meet their specific needs - physical, social or emotional - are intended to help reduce this limitation and provide youth with DD the same opportunities as typical children. The COVID-19 pandemic caused many camps and organizations to prohibit in-person or face-to-face activities, and as a result, Camp Ability created a virtual platform for campers to still engage in a summer camp experience. Camp Ability’s counselors (n = 5) were interviewed at the conclusion of the camp session, and three major themes were …

Examining The Effects Of Exogenous Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids On The Antimicrobial Activity Of Piscidins In Vibrio Cholerae, Elizabeth Allen

Honors Theses

Antimicrobial peptides are found in all organisms and have gained notoriety in recent years for their effectiveness against a variety of pathogens. Piscidins, first isolated from the mast cells of vertebrates, comprise a family of these host defense peptides. Piscidins 1 (P1) and 3 (P3), found in sea bass and other fishes, are isoforms with different modes of action. P1 induces membrane perturbation, while P3 binds DNA to exert antibacterial activity. Each has the ability to bind Cu2+ (P1Cu and P3Cu) which dramatically impacts their antimicrobial characteristics. The purpose of this study was to investigate the activity of metallated and …

Amateur Photography: Finding New Perspectives And Seeking Authenticity, Stephanie Swart

Honors Theses

This paper acts as a detailed research and understanding of amateurism within the photographic medium and practice. The research serves to unveil the influence that the turn of the 19th century amateurs in America and beyond have on contemporary photographers utilizing aspects of amateurism. The history of amateur photography is discussed as a precursor to the introduction of two contemporary photographers who utilize amateurism to varying degrees. This paper exists as a way to learn from the amateur mindset and embrace the spontaneity and magical whim of pointing and shooting. In order to satisfy the varying elements of amateurism in …

Simplifying The Creation Of Virtual Topologies Using Mpi Sessions, Tom Herschberg

Honors Theses

As supercomputers have approached exascale performance, several scalability issues have emerged within MPI. These issues arise because MPI includes all processes in the World model, which consumes unacceptable amounts of time and resources at large scale. The Sessions model was developed to combat these issues by removing the requirement of MPI_COMM_WORLD, which provides a more scalable method of creating communication groups in large jobs. Additionally, the Sessions model enables the creation of virtual topologies directly from sets of processes allocated to the execution of a parallel application rather than building virtual topologies from an existing communication group such as MPI_COMM_WORLD. …

The Changing Classroom: A Thematic Analysis On The Impacts Of The Coronavirus Pandemic On Children And Educators Of A Montessori School, Briley Holbrook

Honors Theses

The Coronavirus pandemic of 2020 has drastically changed day-to-day functioning in American culture and the outlook of many essential institutions, specifically the education system. A halt in learning for most American school children in the spring semester of 2020, as well as necessary adaptation of the day-to-day functions of educational facilities in the fall has altered the learning environment for children and educators like never before. Research on historical disruptions in education, such as natural disasters and public health crises, provide a partial framework for federal approaches to the modern-day pandemic and their potential consequences. Modern technology has provided an …

Qualified Immunity: How Mississippi’S District Courts Have Shown Why The Doctrine Should Be Done Away With, Hannah E. Sawyer

Honors Theses

Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine created by the Supreme Court that has allowed police officers to violate people’s rights without fear of consequences. This doctrine protects all but the completely incompetent or those who violate people’s rights knowingly. The original intent of the Supreme Court was to prevent overdeterrence of police officers because of insubstantial lawsuits from being brought against them. This has backfired and now it seems that officers are under deterred because they are often simply placed on administrative leave with little to no consequences. The United States has seen numerous protests in just the last year …

“An Oak In A Flower-Pot”: The Brontë Sisters’ Depictions Of Female Agency During The Victorian Era, Jessica Dunn

Honors Theses

This thesis discusses the most popular novels written by the Brontë sisters – Charlotte’s Jane Eyre, Emily’s Wuthering Heights, and Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – in the context of the overbearing patriarchal culture of the Victorian era, specifically through the characterization of feminine agency displayed in each novel. By engaging with the novels as a trinity, this thesis uniquely reveals the more nuanced aspects of the novels through the sisters’ respective depictions of female agency following the lives of their respective protagonists – Jane Eyre, Catherine Earnshaw, and Helen Graham. Additionally, this thesis seeks to engage in conversation …