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Honors Theses

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Institutions, Distance, And Foreign Direct Investment, Charles Coffman Jan 2015

Institutions, Distance, And Foreign Direct Investment, Charles Coffman

Honors Theses

In this paper, I examine institutional differences between countries and the effect that those differences have on FDI flows using data from 193 countries and ten institutional indicators from the Index of Economic Freedom. I find a statistically significant result for five institutional distance variables. My results also support existing literature that claims that strong institutions increase FDI flows. I found that strong institutions are negatively associated with FDI inflows to low income countries, with the exception of trade and natural resources, suggesting that firms are investing in low income countries for natural resources and cheap production that can be …

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Investigating The Endogeneity Of Risk Attitudes: Experimental Evidence Involving Cooperation And Competition, Erik Solli Jan 2015

Investigating The Endogeneity Of Risk Attitudes: Experimental Evidence Involving Cooperation And Competition, Erik Solli

Honors Theses

Individual decision making is at the core of microeconomics. Rarely, however, are decisions made in environments without some element of uncertainty or even in isolation. While people may differ in their inherent willingness to take on risk, their preferences could change when new information is learned or a new relationship is fostered. I designed an experiment in which participants were asked to make investment decisions involving different levels of risk. The participants completed task between these gambles which allowed me to introduce competitive and collaborative relationships. I was interested in: (1) understanding the factors that are important to explaining risk …

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Sociological Effects Of Wind Farms In Maine, Jeanne E. Barthold, Jeanne Barthold Jan 2015

Sociological Effects Of Wind Farms In Maine, Jeanne E. Barthold, Jeanne Barthold

Honors Theses

Renewable Energy is an extremely important topic in today's energy discussions. In Maine, with the motivation of Governor Baldacci, there was a rapid push towards utilizing wind energy, starting with the Wind Energy Act in 2008. While the theory of wind farms and wind energy seems intelligent at a first glance, it is not an energy source that lacks issues. Many of the Maine wind farms constructed in the last ten years have had a large impact on human health, altered the beauty of Maine, created a change in wildlife habitats, and completely torn apart communities. Every new energy source …

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The Importance Of Fitting In: Drinker Status, Social Inclusion, And Well-Being In College Students, Molly B. Hodgkins Jan 2015

The Importance Of Fitting In: Drinker Status, Social Inclusion, And Well-Being In College Students, Molly B. Hodgkins

Honors Theses

These three studies examined the relationship between drinker status, well-being, and social inclusion in a college population, specifically seeking to discover why and how drinkers are happier than abstainers. In the first study, an existing longitudinal data set was used to compare the happiness of drinkers and non-drinkers, as well as ascertain if year in school was a factor. Drinkers were significantly happier than non-drinkers upon completion of their first semester freshman year, but this difference was not significant when the students were assessed one year later. Study 2 extended Study 1 by examining social factors as potential mediators of …

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The Dark Side Of Volunteering : When Helping Might Hurt, Emily Morse Jan 2015

The Dark Side Of Volunteering : When Helping Might Hurt, Emily Morse

Honors Theses

This paper examines the relationship between implicit theories of intelligence and social dominance orientation (SDO) in the context of volunteering. While there is still little research on the subject, it has been shown that un- and undertrained volunteers often do more harm than good in the community. Community-based learning courses that send students out into vulnerable communities are common at most colleges and universities today; so examining the reasons why students volunteer as well as how effective they believe volunteering to be is important in order to help them avoid causing harm to vulnerable populations. Survey data from 261 college …

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From Prisons To Asylums, And Back : Mental Health Policy In The Age Of Neoliberalism, Michele Martin Jan 2015

From Prisons To Asylums, And Back : Mental Health Policy In The Age Of Neoliberalism, Michele Martin

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to explain why rates of severe mental illness in the criminal justice system have risen steadily throughout the past three decades, despite an increasing acknowledgement of the importance of mental health to overall health. Legislative, scientific, and societal advances have aimed at increasing access to and bolstering the quality of mental health care. Yet, the large numbers of severely mentally ill persons residing in the criminal justice system imply care in the community is not adequately serving their needs, or that, for whatever reason, they are not seeking care. I begin my analysis by considering mental health …

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In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death : Suicide Coverage In The South During The Civil War Era, India Miller Jan 2015

In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death : Suicide Coverage In The South During The Civil War Era, India Miller

Honors Theses

The Civil War cast a shadow of despair over the divided nation as it left an estimated 620,000 men—roughly 2% of the population—dead on American soil, killed by American hands. Death and the Civil War are two subjects that are synonymous with one another; it is impossible to write on the war without commenting on its immense number of casualties. That said, relatively little is known about suicides behind the front lines. Only weeks after the end of the Civil War, Virginian Edmund Ruffin, a proud supporter of the Confederacy, lifted his rifle, placed the muzzle in his mouth and …

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Spatial Cognition And Emotion Recognition As A Function Of Asd, Catalina Cumpanasoiu Jan 2015

Spatial Cognition And Emotion Recognition As A Function Of Asd, Catalina Cumpanasoiu

Honors Theses

Past research shows that although autism has among its particularities a tendency for lower results on cognitive tasks, especially on the executive functioning skills, people with ASD perform equally well, and sometimes even better than controls on tasks for visuo-spatial cognition. However, there is also evidence suggesting that people on the spectrum might have an impaired emotion recognition mechanism. In addition, there is research on spatial cognition and affect, looking at how emotions provoked by stimuli can change the way in which we perceive the space. In the current study, we will look at spatial cognition and emotion recognition as …

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The Taylor Rule With Real-Time Data And An Analysis Of Its Impact On Historical Policy Analysis, Morgan Mckee Jan 2015

The Taylor Rule With Real-Time Data And An Analysis Of Its Impact On Historical Policy Analysis, Morgan Mckee

Honors Theses

The Federal Reserve system (the Fed) is the United States monetary policy authority and is mandated by Congress to pursue two goals: 1) maximum sustainable output and employment and 2) stable prices. Among the actions the Fed can take to achieve these goals is the ability to set the target federal funds rate. Simple policy rules that set the level of funds rate in response to changes in economic variables have gained attention as a means to more effective monetary policy. One of the most researched and cited rules is that proposed by economist John Taylor in 1993. Taylor’s rule …

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A Computational Investigation Of Halogen Bonding With Halomethanes And Their Group 14 Analogues, William Kretz Jan 2015

A Computational Investigation Of Halogen Bonding With Halomethanes And Their Group 14 Analogues, William Kretz

Honors Theses

It is known that halogen bonding is supported by so-called sigma holes on halides that interact with bases, but what are the limits of that interaction? How does the interaction depend on the group to which the halogen atom is bonded? To answer these questions, complexes of the form MH3X---Y (where M=C, Si, Ge, Sn, Pb; X= F, Cl, Br, I and Y are Lewis bases) were optimized and their energetics and relative stability were assessed. The Lewis bases range from NH3 to the more complicated pentafluroropyridine (F-py). Calculations were performed entirely at the MP2(full) level of theory, including frequency …

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Reproductive Health Care Resources & Decision Making For Women In A "Delivery Desert" In Maine, Gianna C. Dejoy Jan 2015

Reproductive Health Care Resources & Decision Making For Women In A "Delivery Desert" In Maine, Gianna C. Dejoy

Honors Theses

This case study examines the reproductive health care resources available to women living in a “delivery desert” context in Maine, as well as the personal and cultural factors that influence their reproductive health behaviors. Through ethnographic methodology and in-depth interviews, I demonstrate how cultural influences converge with issues of quality health care accessibility to affect reproductive health outcomes. The island is isolated from reliable, quality biomedical care, with the nearest hospital offering labor and delivery services located over an hour’s drive away. I define this situation as a “delivery desert”, describing the phenomenon of centralizing maternity care which endangers pregnant …

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In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death : Suicide Coverage In The South During The Civil War Era, India Miller Jan 2015

In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death : Suicide Coverage In The South During The Civil War Era, India Miller

Honors Theses

The Civil War cast a shadow of despair over the divided nation as it left an estimated 620,000 men—roughly 2% of the population—dead on American soil, killed by American hands. Death and the Civil War are two subjects that are synonymous with one another; it is impossible to write on the war without commenting on its immense number of casualties. That said, relatively little is known about suicides behind the front lines.

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Development Of A Genetic Over-Expression System For The Freshwater Sponge Ephydatia Muelleri, Joe Walsh Jan 2015

Development Of A Genetic Over-Expression System For The Freshwater Sponge Ephydatia Muelleri, Joe Walsh

Honors Theses

The aim of this work is to develop an over-expression system for Ephydatia muelleri. Preliminary work by Klaske Schippers (Schippers, 2013) showed sponges were induced to transcribe reporter genes driven by the widely used cytomegalovirus promoter (CMV). Building off Schippers work, newly identified native Ephydatia promoters were identified from the genome and verified to drive expression ofreporter genes. Validated over-expression vectors and transfection technology will allow researchers around the world who are working with this organism to ask questions about cell specification, gene regulation and animal development.

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Occupational Fraud: A Survey, Elizabeth Carroll Jan 2015

Occupational Fraud: A Survey, Elizabeth Carroll

Honors Theses

This paper examines the issue of occupation fraud in today's corporations. It provides an overview of the types of occupational fraud and how they usually occur. This paper also explains the attributes of the typical fraudster and describes warning signs that management should look out for in their company. It analyzes the regulations and polices put into place to combat the growing issue of fraud. It also provides a look at cyber-fraud, which is an increasing problem due to society's reliance on technology. It explains why fraud prevention is so important in corporations, whether small or large, and emphasizes the …

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Communication Sciences And Disorders (Csd) Graduate Students' Preparedness To Work With Individuals Who Are Bilingual, Elizabeth M. Harbaugh Jan 2015

Communication Sciences And Disorders (Csd) Graduate Students' Preparedness To Work With Individuals Who Are Bilingual, Elizabeth M. Harbaugh

Honors Theses

This study addresses the overall competence of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) graduate students working with individuals who are bilingual. It examined the different CSD graduate programs in the United States and identified key variables that lead to students' preparedness. The author surveyed 238 individuals, consisting of first and second year graduate students and individuals working in their clinical fellowship from 30 different graduate programs. The data were collected from both Mississippi and the total population and were compared as an example of possible future research pertaining to SLP preparedness needed when working with individuals who are bilingual. The results …

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Windows Into Changing Worldviews: A Critical Cartographic Analysis Of Four Influential World Maps From The 13th To The 21st Century, Elizabeth E. Wicks Jan 2015

Windows Into Changing Worldviews: A Critical Cartographic Analysis Of Four Influential World Maps From The 13th To The 21st Century, Elizabeth E. Wicks

Honors Theses

It is an inherent part of human nature to seek knowledge of the world around us. As knowledge of the world grew, so did the need for its visual representation — thus came the introduction of the map into society. The map is a technology that allows us to see an expansive view of the world around us and to understand our own place in the world. In the past, displaying a full view of the world was more of a challenge — many regions remained unexplored or undiscovered. The mapmaker was given the task of representing both known and …

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Economic Optimization Of An Ethylbenzene Process, Erin L. Dyer Jan 2015

Economic Optimization Of An Ethylbenzene Process, Erin L. Dyer

Honors Theses

This report describes the process of optimizing an existing design for a chemical plant that produces the chemical intermediate ethylbenzene. For an engineer, economic optimization involves manipulating the design variables of a chemical process in order to improve the economic outcome of the project. In this case, the objective of the optimization was to maximize the net present value of the ethylbenzene plant. After analyzing the net present value of the existing design, the team conducted subsequent analyses on the operation of the process, adjusting variables such as temperature, pressure, and flow rate in order to minimize the costs of …

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Pro-Aromatic Dye Components For Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Thienothiophene And Indolizine, George A. Puneky Jan 2015

Pro-Aromatic Dye Components For Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Thienothiophene And Indolizine, George A. Puneky

Honors Theses

Four D-π-A dyes based on a 3,4-thienothiophene Ï€-bridge were synthesized for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The pro-aromatic building block 3,4-thienothiophene has been reported to stabilize dye excited-state oxidation potentials. This lowering of excited-state energy levels permits for increased absorption into the near-infrared (NIR) region using relatively low molecular weight dyes. Strong donor functionality based on triaryl- and diarylamines are employed in the dye designs to raise both the ground and excited-state oxidation potentials to values capable of generating DSC devices with good open-circuit voltages. Solubility, aggregation, and TiO2 surface protection were addressed by examining an ethylhexyl alkyl chain …

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Spatial Variation Of Bacterial Communities On The Leaves Of Southern Magnolia Trees, Heather L. Valdin Jan 2015

Spatial Variation Of Bacterial Communities On The Leaves Of Southern Magnolia Trees, Heather L. Valdin

Honors Theses

Bacteria are found in almost all environments on earth, including on the surface of other living things. Bacteria that exist on the leaves of plants (the phyllosphere) are of interest because of the potentially harsh nature of the environment they inhabit, and of applied interest. Although there has been a substantial amount of research in phyllosphere microbiology, few studies have examined the effect of spatial variation on phyllosphere community composition. This project investigated the effect of spatial variation on the bacterial communities living on the surface of Magnolia grandiflora leaves. Following DNA extraction, next generation sequencing of 16S rRNA gene …

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A Visualization Tool For Survey Responses And A Unifying Interface Redesign, Iva Cramer Jan 2015

A Visualization Tool For Survey Responses And A Unifying Interface Redesign, Iva Cramer

Honors Theses

As an intern for financial software company FNC, Inc. during the summer of 2014, my fellow interns and I began an innovation project for creating and analyzing surveys for better client feedback methods. I have continued this project even after the internship, and this thesis covers that continuation: the visualization of survey responses and the redesign of the page on which they are contained. The project detailed here was to revamp the survey statistics page with a coherent layout that matches the rest of the site in addition to overhauling the actual graphs and charts for aesthetic and accuracy.

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The Power Of An Actively Managed Portfolio: An Empirical Example Using The Treynor-Black Model, Alexander D. Brown Jan 2015

The Power Of An Actively Managed Portfolio: An Empirical Example Using The Treynor-Black Model, Alexander D. Brown

Honors Theses

The focus of this thesis is to examine the added benefits of actively managing a portfolio of securities from an individual investor's perspective. More specifically, managing a market portfolio with the combination of a selected few actively managed securities can, in some instances, create excess return. The active portfolios are formed based on the firms' specific industries or region in which they operate. The idea is that an investor can forecast that a specific industry will outperform or underperform other industries during different periods in the market. Using the investor's forecasts can provide excess returns if the forecast is accurate. …

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Differences In Bacterial Communities On Decaying Leaf Litter Of Different Tress In Response To Burning As A Forest Restoration Technique, Allison Marcum Jan 2015

Differences In Bacterial Communities On Decaying Leaf Litter Of Different Tress In Response To Burning As A Forest Restoration Technique, Allison Marcum

Honors Theses

Decomposition is the process by which organic matter gets degraded into basic components to provide energy for decomposer microorganisms and to also make nutrients available for plant uptake. Leaf litter decomposition is an important process and influences the nutrient cycling and the productivity and structure of the entire ecosystem; however, few studies have examined the bacterial communities on decomposing litter, especially how they may vary between tree species or in woodlands subject to ecological restoration. Such restoration has become important, as fire suppression beginning in the 1920s has impacted the structure of forest ecosystems through the process of mesophication, diminishing …

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Ramped Soapbox, Alyssa Marie Radtke Jan 2015

Ramped Soapbox, Alyssa Marie Radtke

Honors Theses

This is a collection of mostly autobiographical disability poetry.

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The Effect Of A Neurotoxic Dose Of Methamphetamine On Attention And Response Learning In The Rat, Anja Kremer Jan 2015

The Effect Of A Neurotoxic Dose Of Methamphetamine On Attention And Response Learning In The Rat, Anja Kremer

Honors Theses

High doses of methamphetamine (neurotoxic doses) have been shown to have an effect on both attention and response learning. In previous literature, meth rats were found to have higher reaction times, and therefore, it has been concluded that meth may cause a deficit in response learning. Our study, using modal initiation time as a measure of response learning, found no effects of methamphetamine or training condition on mode. Studies have also shown positively skewed reaction time distributions, which have been defined as attentional lapses. Our experiment used DevMode to measure these lapses. Although meth did not, training condition did have …

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The Doctor/Patient Relationship In End-Of-Life Care: A Game Theoretic Model, Stephan A. Castellanos Jan 2015

The Doctor/Patient Relationship In End-Of-Life Care: A Game Theoretic Model, Stephan A. Castellanos

Honors Theses

End-of-life care is a sensitive subject because it deals with life and death, as well as dealing with the nature of that death. In its most basic form, end-of-life care can be divided into two distinct pathways: aggressive treatment and methods, or palliative treatment and care. This paper explores the history surrounding these two routes and the implications that surround them. A review of the literature reveals that in many cases palliative care can increase in quality-of-life. An important part of the decision between aggressive and palliative care are the patient's and the doctor's feelings towards certain aspects of end-of-life …

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Millennial Specific Techniques For Nonprofit Marketing Communications: A Messaging Study For World Relief, Taylor M. Davenport Jan 2015

Millennial Specific Techniques For Nonprofit Marketing Communications: A Messaging Study For World Relief, Taylor M. Davenport

Honors Theses

Nonprofit organizations are quickly catching up to for profit companies in their marketing communications endeavors. World Relief, a faith-based nonprofit organization that strives to empower the vulnerable, is one of those organizations. While they have made huge strides in recent years, they are missing the mark when it comes to reaching millennials. This thesis sought to research effective millennial specific messaging techniques and implement an integrated marketing communications (IMC) campaign using the findings. This thesis compiles research on millennials from the Pew Research Center and other sources as a background for primary research. A survey and focus group were conducted …

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Marketing For Entrepreneurs: How To Promote One's Own Craft, Teresa Hendrix Jan 2015

Marketing For Entrepreneurs: How To Promote One's Own Craft, Teresa Hendrix

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to serve as an alternative, cost efficient resource to those creative entrepreneurial ventures with a product (or service) that needs both people to consume it and a profit eventually sufficient to support its creators. By excluding excess details unrelated to promotion, and supplementing with specific, anecdotal advice directly from interviews with successful small business owners, this thesis aims to provide a plethora of marketing techniques that an entrepreneur can test before facing the daunting cost of an agency. Based on an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources*, this thesis explores three common components that manifest themselves …

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The Dimerization Kinetics Of Ncad12 With A Mutated Cis-X-Pro Bond, Victoria Mcclearn Jan 2015

The Dimerization Kinetics Of Ncad12 With A Mutated Cis-X-Pro Bond, Victoria Mcclearn

Honors Theses

VICTORIA RAE McCLEARN: DIMERIZATION KINECTICS OF NCAD12 P16A (Under the direction Dr. Susan Pedigo) Calcium binding causes a conformational change into a strand swapped dimer for the cadherins. However, regardless of the sequence similarity for Epithelial Cadherin (ECAD) and Neural Cadherin (NCAD), they respond to the presence of calcium differently. For NCAD, the rate of assembly and disassembly depends upon the presence of calcium, whereas for ECAD the rate of exchange is independent of calcium. Studies into a kinetic model to explain the differences between the rates have been recently conducted. It is believed that ECAD uses an X-dimer intermediate …

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A Look At The Luxury Retail Industry: Financial Analysis And Advisory Recommendations For Tiffany And Company, Ellen Valle Jan 2015

A Look At The Luxury Retail Industry: Financial Analysis And Advisory Recommendations For Tiffany And Company, Ellen Valle

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates Tiffany and Company, a premier jewelry retailer that is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Company financial statements, as well as external non- company provided sources, were used as data to evaluate the company's performance, as well as reach a holistic understanding of the company's operations and financial reporting.

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Pervious Vs. Impervious Pavement: An Engineering Approach To Cost Efficiency, William Vanlandeghem Jan 2015

Pervious Vs. Impervious Pavement: An Engineering Approach To Cost Efficiency, William Vanlandeghem

Honors Theses

This research attempts to make a comprehensive comparison between the relatively new breed of pavement, pervious concrete, and asphalt, a more popular and accepted pavement type. Pervious concrete is mainly used as a pavement surface for green purposes; however, this thesis delves into the possibility that pervious concrete may be able to offer benefits that allow the green alternative to be cost efficient as well. The comparison will be made over the entirety of the surface life including each pavement design and the materials used, the surface drainage, and the maintenance of each. The pavements were analyzed from a real …

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