Digital Commons Network^™

Immigration Stories And The Construction Of A Bilingual American Identity, Camden Bowman

Honors Theses

This project seeks to document first-generation, Spanish-speaking Americans' immigration stories by transcribing and translating their oral accounts from Spanish to English, in an attempt to increase understanding between Anglophone and Spanish-speaking populations. The project envisions immigration stories as the basis for a distinct American folklore, at the same time connecting Americans to their ethnic or national roots and distinguishing them from their ancestors, giving them a unique American identity. With this sort of nationalizing "myth" in mind, the project seeks to create a record of first-generation permanent Americans, painiting a picture of the beginnings of a new Spanish-speaking U.S. identity.

Analysis Of The Icelandic Oral Hymn Tradition As Seen In The Twentieth-Century Enthnographic Recordings Of "Stridsmenn Krist" ("Christ Bears His Cross"), Navina M. Dueck-Stefansson

Honors Theses

The Hymns of the passion are a collection of Icelandic poems (1656-1659) that have been important to Icelandic religious life since the seventeenth century. Until an organ was first brought to Iceland in 1840, hymns were unaccompanied both in church and in the home. Though the words of the hymns were reprinted several times, the musical notation seldom accompanied them, allowing for a strong oral tradition to form. I transcribed 31 field recordings of the hymn "Stridsmenn Krist" ("Christ bears his cross"). I then compared these transcriptions in order to identify rhythmic and melodic variations. The final stage of my …

Understanding Expressive Writing, Lindsay C. Dever

Honors Theses

Expressing trauma, specifically through expressive writing, leads to better health, both physically and psychologically. Specifically, the relationship between expressive writing and higher rates of affective (emotional) word use can be explained by reappraisal, a technique that reduces stress through better understanding. Reappraisal is thus related to resilience, and both are correlated with secure attachment. Secure attachment, in turn, is best folstered by authoritative parenting. Because of this research we predicted that there would be a positive relationship between resilience, language use, and authoritative parenting. In this study, 100 college-aged participants reported perceived parenting style and resilience. We randomly assigned participants …

I Account This World A Tedious Theatre: Foucauldian Theatricality And Female Subversion In Webster's The Duchess Of Malfi, Samantha Snively

Honors Theses

The title character in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi resists patriarchal authority by marrying against her brother's will, provoking a violent and repressive response from a state that embodies Michel Foucault's "spectacle of the scaffold." However, before her murder, the Duchess deconstructs the theatrical nature of her brothers' power. By exposing it as dependent on theatrical deceptions, she destabilizes and invalidates their authority. Deploying a direct critique of her brothers' power jeopardizes her own aristocratic identity, and thus the speech and actions of the servant Cariola complement the Duchess' internal critique with an external condemnation from a lower-class perspective.

Self Vs. Society: The Essential Antagonism Between Society And The Individual In Adam Bede, The Mill On The Floss, And Daniel Deronda, Meredith Leigh Wilson

Honors Theses

This study focuses on the conflicts between society and the individual in three of George Eliot’s works: Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, and Daniel Deronda. This work analyzes the relationship between the individual and his or her society within these novels and uses its findings to illustrate the mechanism and goal of social evolution as it is depicted in these three works. Research was conducted by reading several primary and secondary texts. The primary texts included the three novels discussed, as well as many of Eliot’s non-fiction essays and Herbert Spencer’s essay The Social Organism, in order to …

The Debate On Marine Mammals In Captivity, Lorna C. Scribner

Honors Theses

Are marine mammal species better off today because of captivity? Is captivity ethical and should it be continued? As this debate grows stronger, both of these sides of the argument offer substantial evidence in their favor. In this paper, I discuss data for both sides and evaluate the justifications of marine mammal captivity. Ideally, no matter the outcome, this research will educate the public on influential factors of wild and captive populations.

A Study Of The Relationship Between Student Attitudes Toward Reading And Achievement In Reading In Fifth-Grade Students, Christen Shelley

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between fifth grade student attitudes toward reading and student achievement in reading. The researcher hypothesized that from this study a correlation between student attitudes toward reading and student achievement in reading would be found.

Emerging Media In 18th Century Literature: How Jane Austen Invented Facebook, Rebecca Shaver

Honors Theses

The focus on the downfalls and misunderstandings of the Austen anthology has allowed critics to ignore her incredible ability to scientifically dissect the intricate workings of social circles and networks comprised of psychologically accurate characters and interactions. For instance, her portrayals of gender roles (heterosocial/sexual and homosocial/sexual) within those circles were so apt that they often still true today. The transcendental human nature of individuals like Emma's Emma Woodhouse and Mansfield Park's Fanny Price causes us to question how Austen amplifies and enlightens our understanding of how modern social networks, like Facebook or Twitter, stem directly from historically complex affective …

Who's Allowed To Ride The Short Bus?: Un-Defining Disability, Hannah Widdifield

Honors Theses

However easy it may be to do, criminalizing - or less maliciously, categorizing - disability does not make it easier to accommodate. Clumping people with "special needs" together does not meet those needs any more efficiently and labeling those needs as "special" is vague and ineffective. The disabled aren't pegged into their roles for practical reasons, but because of inherited stigmas that are continuously encouraged by institutional policies, popular culture, and art. My thesis is in part an attempt to uncover and articulate a personal and social history of disability. In it I try to puzzle out how misconceptions regarding …

The Failures Of Intelligence Reform, Amber Ciemniewski

Honors Theses

Intelligence reform is the legislation implemented by the federal government that's purpose is to improve the effectiveness and success of the intelligence community. It would seem evident that intelligence reform has failed, but the more important questions lie in where it has failed and how to fix it. In this thesis, it will be argued that reform attempts have failed by focusing on surface problems rather than addressing their sources. Future reforms should focus on the relationship dynamic between the intelligence community and the policymakers it serves. There has been extensive literature published on the problems in the intelligence community …

Education, Employment, And Coastal Carolina University: What Are Ccu Students' Plans After Graduation?, Thomas M. Fernandez

Honors Theses

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has shown that while unemployment amongst young college graduates is high, joblessness decreases as students pursue post-baccalaureate degrees. And with national unemployment near 8 percent, it is important for college students to consider what obstacles they may face when entering the workforce. Challenges may include sociohistorical (parent educational attainment) and socioeconomic factors as well as obstacles surrounding various forms of human capital. Using some of these challenges youth face when entering college and/or the workforce, this study predicts the decisions Coastal Carolina University (CCU) students will make post-graduation based upon four elements: parental education, academic …

The Influence Of Ubiquitin-Related Modifier Protein Urm1 On Prion Formation, Jacob Beaver

Honors Theses

Prions are infections proteins that are auto-catalyzing (form by altering a regular protein into the structurally different prion form), and are the cause of many common diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and Bovine Spongiform encephalopathy (or Mad Cow disease). This experiment tested the effect of three different plasmids, pH317, pER62 and pmp46 on prion formation in both wild-type and Urm1 deletion mutants in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The proposed hypothesis was overexpression of the prion forming protein would increase the frequency of prion formation, as well as yield less sustainable prion amyloids (or prion aggregations) that are easier to …

Mergers And Acquisitions In Small And Medium Sized Enterprises In The Health Care Industry: The Effect Of Regulations On Merger And Acquisition Success, Jessica Bucci

Honors Theses

This study aims to address the lack of information present on small and medium sized enterprises in the merger and acquisition process. An analysis of M&As in the health care industry was conducted The regulations in the health care industry are also investigated in order to demonstrate their effect on SMEs wishing to participate in M&As. A qualitative analysis was conducted to analyze interviews of physicians who have participating in M&As. The results demonstrate the similarities and differences in large and SME M&As.

Challenging The Ideal: A Comparative Study Of Suzanne Valadon And William Bouguereau, Mary Sheehy

Honors Theses

The female nude has been represented in art for millennia. From the Paleolithic Woman of Willendorf fertility symbol (22,000 to 24,000 BCE, Fig. 1), to Titian's Venus of Urbino (1538 Fig. 2), women have frequently been depicted as sexualized creatures. Standard ideal body types have been established for each era through the thousands of pieces of art picturing nude women. Archaic women were expected to have large breasts and hips in order to show their fertility. Medieval representations of Mary Magdalene were usually nude and provocative. Women were supposed to see these images of Mary Magdalene and remember to keep …

Effects Of Selenium On The Freshwater Alga Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii With And Without The Proteasome Inhibitor Mg132, E. Patrick Vallentine

Honors Theses

Selenium is a required nutrient in animal life but has not been shown to be needed in plants. The model plant cell Chlamydomonas reinhardtii may be an exception as it appears to increase its growth rate in the presence of selenium. Because selenium has the same valence state as sulfur it may be incorporated into proteins as the modified amino acid selenocysteine. This incorporation of selenocysteine into protein may disrupt the disulfide bridges that give proteins the correct conformation. Misfolded proteins can wreak havoc on a cell. This stress can be measured through several parameters. Chlorophyll levels, glutathione levels, growth, …

Economic Effects Of A Lifo Reserve Rollover, Michael Eubanks

Honors Theses

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) have been working together toward the convergence of accounting standards to provide a single set of high quality global standards. Companies who are currently in compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) will need to make necessary adjustments as those standards converge with International Standards. GAAP uses a rules based approach while the IFRS is more principle based. These contrasting approaches create differences that need to be reconciled at various levels of the two standards’ applications. Perhaps the most telling example, under AIS 2 Inventories, the …

The Roof With No Ceiling: Couch Surfing And The New Vagabond's Trek Through Nation-States, Cyberspace, And Global Consciousness, Kathryn Giroux

Honors Theses

In an era of "stranger danger" where society indoctrinates fear of "the other," hospitality exchange and social networking website www.couchsurfing.org offers an alternative movement to these trends. Couchsurfing.org connects travelers with locals offering free accommodation in exchange for meaningful connection, cultural exchange, and the opportunity to "create inspiring experiences" within a rapidly growing, transnational community encompassing over 5 million members. This thesis takes a creative journalism approach to uncovering CouchSurfing's inner workings and impacts, understanding its historical context within globalization and the growth of hospitality exchange networks, and discovering its implications for the global community and global consciousness of vagabonds …

A Beginning Education In The Anatomy And Function Of The Human Visual Apparatus For Grades 2-4, Evan Andrews

Honors Theses

The human visual apparatus is a remarkable feat of evolution that is nearly a complete mystery to many in the general population. Introducing such a challenging topic is difficult, but, if done in an enjoyable and interactive way to a young audience, the eye can become exciting instead of confusing. The primary objective of this project was to create a short lesson for elementary school students that gave an understanding of the eye's basic anatomy and functions. A fast-paced, interactive format was decided on that included units on the major eye components; color vision and how it can be affected; …

Salary Determination In The National Hockey League: Restricted, Unrestricted, Forwards, And Defensemen, Kevin Peck

Honors Theses

This thesis will attempt to estimate the relationships between salary and measures of the marginal productivity of hockey players, or performance indicators. Salary determination, as in most other sports leagues, is determined in a labor market. Each player has a marginal revenue product of labor (MRPL) and this MRPL varies from player to player, and from team to team. Firms, in this case teams, seek to add players with a high MRPLin order to increase the quantity and quality of product they sell, in this case wins. Among other things, a player has a MRPLthat will equate to the additional …

The Adverse Effects Periodontal Disease Has On Women, Jennifer Long

Honors Theses

The Adverse Effects Periodontal Diseases Has on Women Periodontal diseases are challenging to define given the number and variety of different oral diseases. This review sought to answer the question: How does a periodontal disease impact a woman throughout the life span? Specifically, this document discussed how, because of the cycling hormones and the effects those hormones have on the different bacteria, women's periodontal diseases differ from men's. Diseases of the mouth were first discovered during the Egyptian period and the information and knowledge about the different diseases advanced as time progressed. From here, non-surgical and surgical treatments were discussed …

Can Public Education Be Saved? An Argument For Educational Reform, Kathrine Hyatt

Honors Theses

Education, a key to later success, needs to be the number one priority. However, the American of public education has many systemic problems that are inhibiting children from reaching their full potential. This literature review first examines the colonial roots of American education and briefly tracks the development. Then, four major systemic problems are addressed: the over reliance on standardized testing, teaching methods and curriculum, lack of creativity, and how the cycle of poverty impacts learning. Finally solutions are discussed, with the ultimate recommendation being to adapt the Montessori Method.

Evaluation Of Industry Available Weight And Height Tapes And Other Farm Measurements To Estimate Actual Weight And Height Of Various Breeds Of Horses, Holly Pryor

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Testosterone With Prostate Specific Antigen And Prostatic Acid Phosphatase For The Serodiagnosis Of Prostate Cancer In Adult Males, Annie Chu

Honors Theses

Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of death from cancer in men. The American Cancer Society has estimated that there were 240,890 newly diagnosed cases in 2011 and 33,720 deaths from prostate cancer. Diagnosis of this disease has traditionally been done by measuring prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels through sero-chemical testing. The purpose of this study is to compare serum testosterone levels to PSA levels and Prostatic Acid Phosphatase (PAP) levels in the search for new and more accurate technology. This study shows that testosterone was not efficient in correctly diagnosing those with prostate cancer. It had a …

English Identity In The Writings Of John Milton, Hannah E. Ryan

Honors Theses

John Milton is an essential writer to the English canon. Understanding his life and thought is necessary to understanding his corpus. This thesis will examine Milton’s nationalism in several major and minor poems as well as in some of Milton’s prose. It will argue that Milton’s nationalism is difficult to trace chronologically, but that education is always essential to Milton’s national vision of England.

Improving Rapid Prototyping Through The Installment Of 3d Printers In Automotive Companies, Kelly Mccarthy

Honors Theses

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a relatively new form of additive manufacturing that has the potential to induce a second industrial revolution. This technology utilizes a print head to lay down raw materials in successive layers to fabricate a three dimensional object. There are several techniques in 3D printing, two of which will be discussed hi this proposal: fused deposition modeling (FDM), and inkjet/polyjet matrix 3D printing.

Although this technology has been around since the 1980s, it is constantly evolving and new materials, uses, and objects are created daily. This technology presents the potential to manufacture a variety of objects across …

A Novel Spin-Light Polarimeter For The Electron Ion Collider, Prajwal Mohanmurthy

Honors Theses

A novel precision polarimeter will go a long way in satisfying the requirements of the precision experiments being planned for a future facility such as the Electron Ion Collider. A polarimeter based on the asymmetry in the spacial distribution of the spin light component of synchrotron radiation will make for a fine addition to the existing conventional Møller and Compton polarimeters. The spin light polarimeter consists of a set of wriggler magnet along the beam that generate synchrotron radiation. The spacial distribution of synchrotron radiation will be measured by an ionization chamber after being collimated. The up-down spacial asymmetry in …

The Physician Assistant Profession: A Handbook For Students, Jami L. Cynecki

Honors Theses

This document extensively covers the physician assistant career and can be used as a handbook for students who are interested in learning more about the career. This thesis explores the question, what is the process of becoming a physician assistant? More specifically, I will cover the progression from a student to a fully licensed PA. Topics that are discussed include: how to prepare for a career as a PA (including the pathway to being admitted to an accredited program), the training received in an accredited program and information on certification maintenance required as a licensed physician assistant Furthermore, this document …

Process Journal, Abby Mcqueary

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Human Heart Rna Responsible For Rescuing Mutant Axolotl Hearts, William Lian

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Emergent Worship: A Study On "Contemplation" In The Emerging Church, Filip Milosavljevic

Honors Theses

Due to great interest and popularity of various contemplative practices among youth leaders, clergy, and church members across all denominational—including Seventh-day Adventism—and religious lines, this project will analyze the nature of selected Emergent contemplative practices, in particular those promulgated by the CAC. The primary goal is to find out whether “contemplation” and contemplative practices, as promoted by Richard Rohr, Cynthia Bourgeault, and their Emergent colleagues, are appropriate in Christian worship. This study will also contrast such contemplative practices and spirituality with the concept of contemplation in the Bible and in the writings of Ellen G. White. As a scientific addendum …