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Honors Theses

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The Benefits Of Immersion In Learning A Foreign Language, Cassidy Crouch Dec 2017

The Benefits Of Immersion In Learning A Foreign Language, Cassidy Crouch

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to measure the linguistic benefits of learning a foreign language in a study abroad immersion program through Western Michigan University’s (WMU) Spanish department. The participants in this study were all participants of the Santander, Spain program of the Summer II semester of 2017. Nineteen students in total went to Spain and eleven of them agreed to participate in this study. During the Spring 2017 semester the eleven participants were given a pre-departure questionnaire and oral interview where they were asked demographic questions as well as program-specific information. During the last week in Santander, Spain …


Going Beyond The Textbook: Revitalizing Culture In The Spanish Classroom, Sarah Basar Dec 2017

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 …


Riddarasögur: Changing Medieval Norway With French Romance Literature, Elizabeth Tuggle Dec 2017

Riddarasögur: Changing Medieval Norway With French Romance Literature, Elizabeth Tuggle

Honors Theses

In the realm of Arthuriana, numerous versions exist of the adventures of King Arthur and his knights. The genre of the riddarasögur – “the sagas of knights” – contains Norwegian versions of these tales along with Norwegian versions of other French literature such as Marie de France’s lais and fabliaux. In the 13th century, King Hákon Hákonarson commissioned the translation of the French tales into Norwegian for the purpose of civilizing Norwegian society in general and the royal court in particular. Given the fair treatment of women and of love in the riddarasögur, King Hákon’s project to civilize his court …


Spectral Analysis And Comparison Of Analog And Digital Recordings, Hannah N. Frosch Dec 2017

Spectral Analysis And Comparison Of Analog And Digital Recordings, Hannah N. Frosch

Honors Theses

The music industry is constantly shifting and changing as new developments emerge. The biggest transition still discussed to this day is the shift from analog to digital. The digital world of media has opened many doors and created a simpler way of making and consuming media. However, the desire for a vintage/analog sound environment has grown increasingly popular over the years. The main research question I will be addressing in this thesis is: How do analog and digital recordings compare at a signal level? I will attempt to answer this research question through analyzing different audio signals. To do so, …


Morphological, Genetic, And Environmental Characterization Of An Unusual Population Of Isoetes (Isoetaceae, Lycopodiophyta), Shannon L. Walker Dec 2017

Morphological, Genetic, And Environmental Characterization Of An Unusual Population Of Isoetes (Isoetaceae, Lycopodiophyta), Shannon L. Walker

Honors Theses

A large and unusual population of Isoetes (Isoetaceae, Lycopodiophyta) in the DeSoto National Forest, Wayne County, Mississippi, was studied to determine if the individuals there represent a new species or if they represent part of the variation of the one primary species of the longleaf pine belt of Mississippi, Isoetes louisianensis, which it most closely resembles. The unusual population and specimens of known Isoetes louisianensis were examined comparatively based on morphology, megaspore ornamentation, examination of habitat characteristics, and phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequence data from the nuclear internal transcribed spacer 1 and 2 (ITS) and the 5.8S ribosomal gene. No …


Public Opinion Of Violence In The Mississippi Gulf Coast Region, Michael R. Smith Dec 2017

Public Opinion Of Violence In The Mississippi Gulf Coast Region, Michael R. Smith

Honors Theses

Currently, there is an outcry to Mississippi legislators from law enforcement professionals and citizens to address the spike in violent crime levels observed since 2015. The Great Recession of 2008 reduced community policing programs in the United States, resulting in fewer police officers patrolling the residential communities and minor criminal offenses going unreported. This effect has been especially prevalent in the “South Region” of the United States. In 2014, this region reported the largest increase of all regions at 1.9%. Because the public act on their perceptions and legislators react to strong public opinion by creating or changing policies, one …


Understanding The English Bible: A Comparative Analysis Of Four Bible Versions, Michael R. Coats Dec 2017

Understanding The English Bible: A Comparative Analysis Of Four Bible Versions, Michael R. Coats

Honors Theses

Scholarship pertaining to the Bible accounts for a great deal of research. A search for “the Bible” on just the University of Southern Mississippi Libraries website archive results in 549,075 hits, and specifying “English Bible versions” only reduces those results to 70,000. My largest difficulty in discussing the Bible lies not in finding a conversation but in finding which part of the conversation to enter. In the past fifty years, one of the largest emphases has been on using the best translation style for the Bible, a topic that has dominated the field of biblical scholarship (Ryken, Understanding 15). I …


Statistical Linear Mixed Models For Evaluation Of Training Program In Hand Surgery Chief Residents, Zoe Michelle Ross Dec 2017

Statistical Linear Mixed Models For Evaluation Of Training Program In Hand Surgery Chief Residents, Zoe Michelle Ross

Honors Theses

Resident clinics (RCs) are intended to catalyze the achievement of educational milestones through progressively autonomous patient care. However, few studies quantify their effect on competency-based surgical education, and no previous publications focus on hand surgery RCs. This study aims to use statistical theories and knowledge of descriptive statistics and inference statistics, such as confidence intervals, two sample t-tests, correlation and association tests, as well as statistical model building such as analysis of variance with random effects and mixed linear models. We hypothesize that the higher a resident’s training years, the higher the autonomy score (quality of surgery) will be. We …


An Analysis Of Prevalence Of Chytrid Fungus In An Amphibian Assemblage In Middle Tennessee, Cameron Brocco Dec 2017

An Analysis Of Prevalence Of Chytrid Fungus In An Amphibian Assemblage In Middle Tennessee, Cameron Brocco

Honors Theses

Chytridiomycosis is an infectious, fungal disease largely seen in amphibians, which is caused by the highly virulent, zoosporic, pathogenic, single-celled fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). It is known to cause epidermal hyperplasia, hyperkeratosis, skin ulcerations, and fatalities by asystolic cardiac arrest either from shifts in electrolytes or increased acidity in the blood plasma. Previous research has demonstrated that urban water bodies have a higher prevalence of chytrid fungus than rural water bodies. Researchers have also found that chytrid is more prevalent in open canopy habitats than closed canopy habitats. Furthermore, it is implicated in global population declines and local extinctions in …


Predicting The Author Of Twitter Posts With Markov Chain Analysis, Daniel Freeman Dec 2017

Predicting The Author Of Twitter Posts With Markov Chain Analysis, Daniel Freeman

Honors Theses

Given a set of text with known authors, is it possible to take new text, not knowing who wrote it, and correctly identify the author? One way to do this is to analyze the text using Markov chains. This research project will first attempt to answer this question using books available in the public domain. Using what is learned from trying to identify authors of books, the primary goal of this project is to identify the best way to guess the author of a post on the social media network Twitter using Markov chains.


Development And Production Of A One Act Play, Josiah D. Motok Dec 2017

Development And Production Of A One Act Play, Josiah D. Motok

Honors Theses

A commonly known facet of the traditional western Christian faith is that mankind is "created in God's image." The question that immediately follows this is "what is God's image?" or "what does it mean to be made in someone or something's image?" This play attempts to explore that question by creating an understandable and humanized caricature of the Christian God. In the author's opinion, what is meant by humanity being made in God's image is that humanity has been granted the power of consciousness, the attribute of individual and self-aware life. Neither the biblical representation of God nor many of …


Effectiveness Of Conservation Education At The Chattanooga Zoo, Luke Allen Black Dec 2017

Effectiveness Of Conservation Education At The Chattanooga Zoo, Luke Allen Black

Honors Theses

Conservation is the central focus of many modern zoos and aquariums. These zoos incorporate guest education to facilitate a connection between zoo guests and animal conservation. I conducted a study at the Chattanooga Zoo and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga which examined two modern zoo education approaches. The two approaches utilized in the study are currently used in keeper chats at the Chattanooga Zoo. The first approach is an emotional appeal (an appeal to the personalities of the chimps at the zoo) and the second approach is a utilization of a take-action initiative (recycling cell phones to reduce mining …


A Comparative Analysis Of Professional Pilot Jobs, Ryan Snoeyink Dec 2017

A Comparative Analysis Of Professional Pilot Jobs, Ryan Snoeyink

Honors Theses

Professional Pilots fly aircraft for a living. Just like there are many different types of aircraft, there are many different types of professional pilot jobs. While it is an impossible task to describe every single job a professional pilot could have, there are four "groups" in which most jobs can be classified. These groups are Part 121 Scheduled Airline Service, Part 135 On-demand Charter, Part 91 Corporate/Private, and Part 61/141/142 Flight Instruction. The goal of this thesis is to examine the differences between these four groups; and by doing so, aid in the education and career decision making of those …


Beyond The Mortal Coil: The Culture Of Ghost Belief And Storytelling In The Modern-Day Theatre, A.P. Anderson Nov 2017

Beyond The Mortal Coil: The Culture Of Ghost Belief And Storytelling In The Modern-Day Theatre, A.P. Anderson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


A Necessary Evil?, Jessica Wetzel Nov 2017

A Necessary Evil?, Jessica Wetzel

Honors Theses

In this essay, I set out to prove that some of the medical experiments undertaken by Nazi doctors during World War II have scientific relevance in today’s scientific community. In the first section, the experiments connected with Dr. Karl Brandt will be examined in some detail allowing the reader to develop a basic knowledge of the experiments that will be discussed. This will also set the foundation for the discussion on scientific validity due to the nature in which they are described. In the second section, the results relevant to today’s scientific community will be discussed, proving that these horrific …


Social Impact Of Economic Development Initiatives On Women’S Empowerment A Case Study In Northern Malawi, Alexandra Altomare Nov 2017

Social Impact Of Economic Development Initiatives On Women’S Empowerment A Case Study In Northern Malawi, Alexandra Altomare

Honors Theses

This study evaluates the effectiveness of these two programs during the summer of 2016 by wealth surveys and individual quantitative interview of participants. In the interviews, women were asked about their experience in the program, revealing indications of empowerment. The levels of women's empowerment proved to be the more positive results. The women showed high levels of self-confidence, autonomy in decision making, positive partner relationship, challenging gender norms, and perceived empowerment. Perceived empowerment and confidence was a stronger indicator of the effectiveness of these programs.


Japanese Business Culture: A Study On Foreigner Integration And Social Inclusion, Sarah Franklin Oct 2017

Japanese Business Culture: A Study On Foreigner Integration And Social Inclusion, Sarah Franklin

Honors Theses

With the lack of research and awareness about foreigner integration in the Japanese business working environment, this thesis delves into the underlying factors that influence the perceptions of foreigner integration and social inclusion. Key topics include the history of Japanese business culture, the major differences between American and Japanese business culture, the psychological implications of culture shock on integration, the possibility of ‘below surface’ foreigner integration in the working environment, and the recommended actions by foreigners for better social acceptance and adaptation to the culture. Through observations and interviews, it was discovered that ‘below surface’ integration is possible. However, it …


Through Their Eyes: Exploring Severe Mental Illness Through Short Stories, Emily N. Adkins Oct 2017

Through Their Eyes: Exploring Severe Mental Illness Through Short Stories, Emily N. Adkins

Honors Theses

This process statement describes my Honors thesis, which consists of three short stories with characters who each deal with severe mental illness, along with this process statement. Mental illness affects one in every five people in the United States at any given time (NAMI, n.d.). While mental illness is extremely prevalent, there is stigma against it, which has dramatic implications on quality of life for those with mental illness. Research has shown, however, that media can serve as an active intervention in decreasing that stigma. The purpose of this project is that my short stories may lead to decreased stigma …


Social Media In Big Business: An Autoethnography, Anna Rudisill Sep 2017

Social Media In Big Business: An Autoethnography, Anna Rudisill

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to understand the perceptions and experiences of those who professionally work with social media. While there is a plethora of research done on the impact and importance of social media in big businesses, there is a lack of information regarding those who create the content. This thesis is framed as an autoethnography, as I describe my personal experiences working with social media in a large corporation. To further my research, I also interviewed two colleagues about their experience. Through my research I found that social media employees go through a specific process when being …


Categorized, Indexed, And Tagged, Alexander Bourque Sep 2017

Categorized, Indexed, And Tagged, Alexander Bourque

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


The Effect Of Normal Helmet Degradation In Division I Football Players Over The Period Of One Half Of A Competitive Season, Matthew Mcmullan Aug 2017

The Effect Of Normal Helmet Degradation In Division I Football Players Over The Period Of One Half Of A Competitive Season, Matthew Mcmullan

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the effect of normal helmet use by athletes from a Division I football team over the period of the first half of a competitive season upon the impact performance characteristics as measured by peak g values obtained through the application of the NOCSAE drop impact testing protocol. The goal of this research is to determine if one half of a season is enough time exposure to result in a significant decrease in a helmet’s performance quality. This study tracks changes in performance in overall function, as well as the function of each …


Octahedral Ruthenium(Ii) Complexes For C-H Bond Activation And Olefin Hydroarylation, Patrick Z. Zdunek Aug 2017

Octahedral Ruthenium(Ii) Complexes For C-H Bond Activation And Olefin Hydroarylation, Patrick Z. Zdunek

Honors Theses

The study of inert C-H bond activation of hydrocarbons has been gaining interest. As these hydrocarbons are used in the production of many consumables such as fuel, plastics, and detergents, it is necessary to efficiently utilize the finite quantity of petroleum feedstocks. Transition metal complexes are incorporated as catalysts into synthetic routes to create new C-X (X = C, N, O) bonds in order to increase the chemical value of organic molecules. The complex [Ru(η6-p-cymene){P(OCH2CF3)3}(Ph)(OTf)] (1) (P{OCH2CF3}3 = tris(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) phosphite, Ph = phenyl, OTf = trifluoromethanesulfonate) was prepared and tested for functionality as a catalyst in olefin hydroarylation. Catalytic reactions …


How To Effectively Improve Nurse-Physician Communication, Savannah R. Lacoste Aug 2017

How To Effectively Improve Nurse-Physician Communication, Savannah R. Lacoste

Honors Theses

A study of the issue of Nurse-Physician communication, its causes, effects, importance, and possible improvements through research. The results suggest both physicians and nurses agree that nurse-physician communication is an important problem, and can be effectively improved in many ways including: a required nurse-physician communication class for pre-medical and pre-nursing students at an undergraduate level, improved and structured communication tools, and inter-professional education (IPE) between nurses and physicians. The research provides the outlooks of twenty-five nurses and twenty-five physicians independently, as well as demonstrating the nurse-physician disconnect through data comparison and analysis.


Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid Transport And Dynamics In Simulated Karst Conduits, Samuel Noah Jacobson May 2017

Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid Transport And Dynamics In Simulated Karst Conduits, Samuel Noah Jacobson

Honors Theses

Flow and contaminant transport in karstic aquifers differs drastically from porous media. Little work has been done to quantify the transport dynamics of non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) in karst in the lab. Some studies have 3-D printed fractures to evaluate multiphase transport at the core scale, but examination of conduit flow using this technique is lacking in the literature. This project illustrates some of the strengths and limitations of 3-D printing and using X-ray computed tomography (XRCT) to characterize flow. After testing prints made from stereolithographic resin (SLA) and polyactic acid (PLA) plastic, we decided to use acrylonitrile butadiene styrene …


Use Of First Pelvic, Second Pelvic, And Fourth Anal Rays For Estimating Age Of Muskellunge (Esox Masquinongy), Marinda R. Cornett May 2017

Use Of First Pelvic, Second Pelvic, And Fourth Anal Rays For Estimating Age Of Muskellunge (Esox Masquinongy), Marinda R. Cornett

Honors Theses

While cleithra are the most popularly used calcified structure used to estimate age of Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy), the use of fin rays as an age estimation structure has been investigated as a nonlethal alternative. My objectives were to: (1) to compare the accuracy and precision of estimating age using first pelvic, second pelvic, and fourth anal rays from 46 known age Muskellunge and (2) to analyze a larger sample (n = 120) of fourth anal rays to estimate age. Ages were estimated blindly by three readers independently from all available structures. Different analyses of precision and accuracy had conflicting results, …


A Multibeam Bathymetric Investigation Of Changes In Bedform Morphology Of The Little River Inlet As A Result Of Hurricane Matthew, Malarie O'Brien May 2017

A Multibeam Bathymetric Investigation Of Changes In Bedform Morphology Of The Little River Inlet As A Result Of Hurricane Matthew, Malarie O'Brien

Honors Theses

A hybrid scholarly-research paper on the use of multibeam sonar data in seafloor mapping and seafloor analysis was written to satisfy Honors Program requirements. Literature review of multibeam sonar technology explored the improving concept of mapping the seafloor via acoustic methods. The review also investigated improvements and applications of multibeam data analysis techniques, which have the ability to map the seafloor as well as characterize the seafloor by morphology or sediment content. The review then explored previous studies conducted on the Little River Inlet, SC, finding the inlet to be particularly understudied in the field of sediment morphology. Three multibeam …


My Journey To Better Medicine: Healing The Mind-Body Split Through An Integrated Cross-Cultural Model, Harsh Ilapakurthi May 2017

My Journey To Better Medicine: Healing The Mind-Body Split Through An Integrated Cross-Cultural Model, Harsh Ilapakurthi

Honors Theses

As a future medical doctor, I will always see the process of healing through the hybrid consciousness of my Eastern-Hindu upbringing and Western academic and scientific training. The Eastern philosophy of healing has been linked to consciousness and how the powers of human consciousness can affect the body’s healing. The Western perspective of medicine, which has developed as a result of the industrial and scientific revolutions, generally treats the human body as an object. However, this is not to say that Western medicine is flawed. In fact, Western medicine is incredibly effective in certain specialties, but is limited by the …


The Search For Binding Partners Of The Chlamydia Trachomatis Phosphatase Cpp1, Lea Matschke May 2017

The Search For Binding Partners Of The Chlamydia Trachomatis Phosphatase Cpp1, Lea Matschke

Honors Theses

Chlamydia trachomatis is a Gram negative, obligate intracellular bacterium responsible for the most common reportable bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the United States and the leading infectious cause of preventable blindness worldwide. This pathogen undergoes a unique biphasic developmental cycle where it alternates between its infectious form, termed the elementary body (EB), and its replicative form, termed the reticulate body (RB). We hypothesize that reversible phosphorylation regulates the differentiation of the bacterium between these two forms. In order to study phosphorylation in Chlamydia, it is necessary to examine the role of individual kinases and phosphatases in the organism. My …


Choosing America's Story: How The Pulitzer Prize For Fiction Has Defined The Way Americans Think About America And Themselves, Rebecca Kathryn Chambers May 2017

Choosing America's Story: How The Pulitzer Prize For Fiction Has Defined The Way Americans Think About America And Themselves, Rebecca Kathryn Chambers

Honors Theses

This thesis looks at the first fifty years of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1918-1968) and the books interaction with nostalgia, critique, popularity, and ideology.


A Platform For Large-Scale Regional Iot Networks, Keyi Zhang May 2017

A Platform For Large-Scale Regional Iot Networks, Keyi Zhang

Honors Theses

The Internet of Things (IoT) promises to allow everyday objects to connect to the Internet and interact with users and other machines ubiquitously. Central to this vision is a pervasive wireless communication network connecting each end device. For individual IoT applications it is costly to deploy a dedicated network or connect to an existing cellular network, especially as these applications do not fully utilize the bandwidth provided by modern high speeds networks (e.g., WiFi, 4G LTE). On the other hand, decades of wireless research have produced numerous low-cost chip radios and effective networking stacks designed for short-range communication in the …