Digital Commons Network^™

A Phylogeny Of Samydaceae Based On Nuclear Gbssi And Emb2765 Dna Sequences, Chelsa Williams

Honors Theses

Samydaceae are a tropical family of woody flowering plants, poorly known because they were once included in the ‘dustbin’ family Flacourtiaceae and because there are few economically important species. The family has recently been studied using DNA sequence data, but most of the data were from plastid DNA and some relationships had low statistical support. For this study, two nuclear regions, EMB2765 and GBSSI, were sequenced in order to affirm or refute the relationships inferred from plastid DNA and in order to find stronger statistical support for relationships. The data collected mostly affirm previously collected data from plastid DNA.

Playing Echo In Eleemosynary: A Creative Thesis Project, Hayley Barnes

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I will explain on paper my creative process of researching, rehearsing, and performing the role of Echo in Eleemosynary. Eleemosynary is a one-act play by playwright Lee Blessing about three women and how their lives intersect and affect each other. I played Echo, the youngest of the three; her mother is Artie and hergrandmother is Dorothea. The play takes place in 1985 and is non-linear in structure. It alternates between scenes in the present in which the characters are speaking directly to the audience, and scenes in various points of the past. Echo is raised almost entirely …

Questions Concerning Reasonable Religious Disagreements, Bradley Champine

Honors Theses

In this paper, I discuss Richard Feldman’s article “Reasonable Religious Disagreement”. In his article, Feldman argues that “reasonable disagreement” is not possible between two “epistemic peers” who have shared all of their evidence. Regardless of whether Feldman’s argument is valid, the two requirements (being epistemic peers and sharing all their evidence) he sets for ruling out a disagreement as reasonable could be impossible to meet in the very situations he is writing about. I argue that in situations of religious disagreements, from the outset the parties involved have reason to judge each other not to be epistemic peers, and that …

Weak Central Coherence Theory Problem Solving In Adults With Asperger Syndrome, Marie Ferderer

Honors Theses

This study examined the effect of Weak Central Coherence on problem solving strategies in adults with Asperger Syndrome. A group of adults with Asperger Syndrome and a group of Neurotypical adults were assessed using a riddle game. This game required participants to solve a riddle based on a cryptic language clue. The types of problem solving strategies employed by each group were recorded and compared in statistical analyses.

Significant differences in problem solving strategy were obtained for the two groups. The neurotypical group evidenced a strategy in which they considered the meaning of the language clue while attempting to solve …

Television’S Effects On Speech And Language: The Parent’S Perspective, Hillary Fortenberry

Honors Theses

Purpose: This study focuses on an area seldom studied, the parent’s perception of television’s influence on their speech and language disordered child’s receptive and expressive skills. Understanding the parent’s perspective on specific effects television has on speech and language development can be valuable by providing educators and child caretakers with answers as to why parents allow their children to watch television. With this knowledge, parents can be educated as to what type of programming and to what extent viewing should be allowed for children to gain positive speech and language outcomes from their television viewing experience.

Method: .This study gathered …

Mattie T Revised Consent Decree Compliance Rates In Selected Mississippi Delta Counties, Rachel Griffin

Honors Theses

This is a study using archival data study that reflects the identification rates of Black students with Specific Learning Disabilities for four selected Mississippi Delta school districts. This study is relevant because of the court mandated requirements of the Mattie T. Revised Consent Decree (2003). There were no human participants involved in this study because the aggregated data was gathered from the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) website. The data was analyzed for compliance to the Mattie T. goal of achieving a 1.85% or less differential between the Black and Other racial groups as well as changes within three reporting …

Utilization Of Probabilistic Models In Short Read Assembly From Second-Generation Sequencing, Matthew W. Segar

Honors Theses

With the advent of cheaper and faster DNA sequencing technologies, assembly methods have greatly changed. Instead of outputting reads that are thousands of base pairs long, new sequencers parallelize the task by producing read lengths between 35 and 400 base pairs. Reconstructing an organism’s genome from these millions of reads is a computationally expensive task. Our algorithm solves this problem by organizing and indexing the reads using n-grams, which are short, fixed-length DNA sequences of length n. These n-grams are used to efficiently locate putative read joins, thereby eliminating the need to perform an exhaustive search over all possible read …

Disclosing Sexual Assault Victimization To Others, Nicole S. Shea

Honors Theses

Previous research has demonstrated that victims of sexual assault disclose their assaults most frequently to members of their intimate social circle. Unfortunately, some friends and family members give support in ways that are perceived as unhelpful by victims. The present study found that victims' reports and non-victims' expectations of positive support after disclosure differed significantly. These results indicate that significant efforts are needed to change the campus culture by increasing support for sexual assault victims.

Study Of The Compressive Strength Of Aluminum Curved Elements, Christine M. Shepherd

Honors Theses

Currently, the Specification for Aluminum Structures (Aluminum Association, 2010) shows thin-walled aluminum plate sections with radii greater than eight inches have a lower compressive strength capacity than a flat plate with the same width and thickness. This inconsistency with intuition, which suggests any degree of folding a plate should increase its elastic buckling strength, inspired this study. A wide range of curvatures are studied—from a nearly flat plate to semi-circular. To quantify the curvature, a single non-dimensional parameter is used to represent all combinations of width, thickness and radius. Using the finite strip method (CU-FSM), elastic local buckling stresses are …

Differences In Race And/Or Gender In Attitudes And Beliefs Towards Obesity Among Students At The University Of Southern Mississippi, Erick Brown

Honors Theses

Overweight and obesity have been described by various experts as critical problems in populations around the world, especially in the United States. These issues are so characterized because they affect numerous facets of life in this society. Researchers in the medical community have repeatedly described the health-related risks associated with obesity rates, asserting that higher risks of debilitating or fatal disease are tied to one’s level of obesity. They also say that obesity rates of populations are related to other disease rates, and many imply or clearly state that obesity is the cause and therefore the problem to be contested. …

Inside The Score In The 21st Century: Techniques For Contemporary Large Jazz Ensemble Composition, Tyler Dennis

Honors Theses

This study will attempt to de-mystify some of the techniques utilized in contemporary large ensemble jazz arranging. Large ensemble writing has morphed drastically from its earlier, more well-known inceptions, and yet there is no academic literature out there to explain exactly what this change entails. Through this study, I will attempt to break down the components of this music in order to provide insight for the non-musician and inspiration for the aspiring jazz composer. There is a wealth of knowledge to be found in the large ensemble music of the past decade, and I will attempt to systematically break this …

Parental Involvement In Speech-Language Intervention, Victoria Beech Finley

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how parents of children who are successful in therapy are involved, from the parent’s perspective. Literature on parental involvement in therapy is limited, especially findings from the parent’s perspective. This thesis follows a phenomenological qualitative design. The investigator interviewed three mothers regarding their participation. The investigator then transcribed the interviews and cyclically analyzed them to find salient themes across all three. There were two shared themes, acceptance and emotions. It is hoped that this study will provide insight for other parents so that they can contribute to their children’s success in speech-language intervention.

The Effects Of Music Genre On Rate Of Perceived Exertion In Aerobics Classes, Hannah Hogue

Honors Theses

Upon entering an exercise facility it would be inconceivable not to hear some form of music playing while people are exercising. Whether music is playing over the loudspeakers, or individuals are listening to their iPods, music is a vital part of exercise for many individuals. With so much emphasis on listening to music during physical activity the question arises, “What makes music such a popular component of exercise?” Many studies have assessed the effects of music on exercise (Elliott, 2007; Karageorghis, 1999; Karageorghis & Priest, 2008; Kravitz, 1994; Matesic & Cromartie, 2002). These studies indicate that music has positive effects …

Flora Of The Gopher Farm Sandhill, Wayne County, Mississippi, Shira Brittany Nicholson

Honors Theses

This study documents the vascular plants and common lichens of the Gopher Farm sandhill, Wayne County, Mississippi. The Gopher Farm sandhill is located within the Chickasawhay Ranger District of the DeSoto National Forest and is one of the most northerly located sandhills in the Coastal Plain of Mississippi. The sandhill was surveyed 11 times from the spring of 2011 to the spring of 2012, primarily during the spring and fall. The survey resulted in 180 species, including 15 lichens, 1 fern, 2 gymnosperms, and 162 flowering plants. Collections included two rare species (Carex tenax and Rhynchospora megalocarpa) and …

A Comparison Of Van Hiele Levels And Final Exam Grades Of Students At The University Of Southern Mississippi, Cononiah Watson

Honors Theses

This research analyzed students final exam scores in a college mathematics class with geometric components and their van Hiele levels upon entering the class. After the class was completed, each student’s final exam grade was calculated. The researcher used a Spearman correlation to compare the two; the result was a correlation coefficient of 0.742. The researcher then reported that the results of the van Hiele test are a major component in predicting a student’s success in such a class.

Perspectives On Technology Change And The Marketing Of Real Estate, Sarah Stetelman

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Libertarian Acceptance Among The Students Of The University Of Southern Mississippi, Joseph Lebeau

Honors Theses

How can a potential libertarian portion of USM students be differentiated from the conservative and liberal segments? The most obvious method is to classify students by their respective demographic factors. Demographic categories such as gender, race, age, religion, field of study, etc. could prove to be extremely useful when attempting to identify patterns in populations. The connections between these variables and political ideology are further examined in the literature review. The demographics of a potential libertarian faction have yet to be defined, specifically at the University of Southern Mississippi. Therefore, the goal of my research will be to first locate …

"So God-Damned Far Away": Soldiers' Experiences In The Vietnam War, Tara M. Bell

Honors Theses

This paper is based off of a collection of Vietnam War letters that I processed at the Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections. They are all written to a local woman, Carol, by five soldiers, named Mitch, Dennis, Ron, Willis, and Kenneth. Carol’s responses are not included in the collection.

Carol, Mitch, and Willis all graduated in the same class from Vicksburg High School. From using databases and yearbooks, I learned that Carol knew each of the soldiers from organizations they both belonged in. Although I could not exactly determine how Carol knew Ron and Kenneth, it seems …

Behavioral Economics And Physician Behavior, Allyssa S. Ward

Honors Theses

This study seeks to answer whether the availability heuristic leads physicians to utilize more medical care than is economically efficient. Do rare, salient events alter physicians' perceptions about the probability of patient harm? Do these events lead physicians to overutilize certain medical procedures? This study uses Pennsylvania inpatient hospital admissions data from 2009 aggregated at the physician level to investigate these questions. The data come from the 2009 Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4).

The study is divided into two parts. In Part I, we examine whether bad outcomes during childbirth (defined as maternal mortality, an obstetric fistula or …

Thought-Action Fusion And Neutralization Behavior, Angela L. Foster

Honors Theses

This study presents a new inventory to assess thought-action fusion (TAF). 160 college students ages 18 to 22 (M = 19.17, SD = 1.11) completed the new Modified Thought Action Scale (MTAFS). Results indicated high internal consistency in the MTAFS (Cronbach’s α = .95). A principal component analysis suggested a three factor solution of TAF-Moral (TAFM), TAFLikelihood (TAFL), and TAF-Harm avoidance-Positive (TAFHP) all with eigenvalues above 1, and factor loadings above .4. A second study examined the association between TAF, obsessivecompulsive and anxiety tendencies after the activation of TAF-like thought processes in a nonclinical sample (n=76). Subjects were randomly assigned …

Sedimentology, Depositional Age, And Provenance Of Sedimentary And Volcanic Rocks Exposed Along Willow Creek, Eastern Susitna Basin, South-Central Alaska: Implications For Modification Of A Forearc Basin By Spreading Ridge Subduction, Erin E. Donaghy

Honors Theses

This is the first detailed study of the westernmost portion of the outcrop belt, which extends along the western flank of the Talkeetna Mountains and includes thick, well-exposed outcrops along Willow Creek in the eastern Susitna basin. New sedimentologic, compositional, and geochronologic data were obtained from stratigraphic sections within Arkose Ridge Formation strata at Willow Creek. This data combined with new geologic mapping and geochronologic data from Willow Bench and Kashwitna River Bluff (north of Willow Creek), and from the Government Peak area (east of Willow Creek), help constrain depositional processes and source terranes that provided detritus to the westernmost …

Mesoproterozoic Deposition, Regional Metamorphism And Deformation In North-Central New Mexico: Evidence From Metamorphic Monazite And Detrital Zircon Geochronology In The Picuris Mountains, Lily S. Pfeifer

Honors Theses

Detrital zircon and metamorphic monazite ages from the Picuris Mountains, north central New Mexico, were used to confirm the depositional age of the Marquenas Formation, to document the depositional age of the Vadito Group, and to constrain the timing of metamorphism and deformation in the region.

Detrital zircon 207Pb/206Pb ages were obtained with the LA-MC-ICPMS from quartzites collected from the type locality of the Marquenas Formation exposed at Cerro de las Marquenas, and from the lower Vadito Group in the southern and eastern Picuris Mountains. The Marquenas Formation sample yields 113 concordant ages including a Mesoproterozoic age population with four …

Differential Reinforcement Of Alternative Behavior In A Child With Autism, Mackenzie M. Sullivan

Honors Theses

Some children diagnosed with autism engage in aggressive behavior with different functions. There is a great need to find ways to reduce these behaviors to protect these children and make them more suitable to interact with other child in classroom settings. A Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior intervention was designed in an effort to decrease aggressive behavior in child with autism. The goal of the intervention was to train Brian, the single participant, to engage in more appropriate behaviors instead of aggressing toward other children. The participant was placed in a room with another child and instances were created where …

Personal Savings In The United States, Samanatha A. Marsh

Honors Theses

Over the past decade personal savings in America has been much lower than in the past. The question is why household savings is so much lower and what factors are contributing to the decline. To answer this question, I look at data collected from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS has conducted a survey of consumer expenditures, or buying habits, since 1984. By using the BLS 2010 Consumer Expenditure Data, I can look at how different factors, such as income, age, family size and number of kids under the age of eighteen all effect household savings. Using the …

Graeco-Roman Bioi And The Gospels, Matthew L. Hillman

Honors Theses

This paper explores the genre of ancient biography and its connection to the gospels. The work is also a case study that examines Suetonius’s and Plutarch’s biographies of Julius Caesar in comparison to Mark’s and Luke’s lives of Jesus. Suetonius’s, Plutarch’s, Mark’s, and Luke’s biographies have many similarities and may be considered in the same sub-categories of political biography, philosophical biography, and holy man biography. In What are the Gospels? A Comparison with Graeco-Roman Biography, Richard Burridge writes about the characteristics and features that determine genre. Burridge was the first person to publish a thorough, systematic analysis of the genre …

Discovering Aristotle: An Examination Of His Life And The Development Of His Immutable Brilliance, Timothy H. Sparling

Honors Theses

A synoptic piece which addresses the life of Aristotle and analyzes the development of his philosophical thought, Discovering Aristotle: An Examination of his Life and the Development of his Immutable Brilliance reviews multiple facets of this thinker's being, ranging from his genealogy to his pedagogical and theoretical contributions, and serves as a standard of measurement through which his vast works may be studied, thus granting his "exoteric" or early works with a certain preponderance in the text itself. Additionally, a respectable number of appendices, which are extremely relevant to Aristotle's world, are also included in the work; these provide the …

Golden Rice: The Need, The Science, And Public Reception Of Gmos, Elizabeth A. Quemada

Honors Theses

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) affects people all over the world. The most severely affected individuals are those in countries where access to Vitamin A rich foods such as dark leafy greens and dark red or orange vegetables, along with liver, eggs, and cheeses are not readily available. Vitamin A deficiency most harmfully affects young children, where it is needed for correct development, and pregnant women, where Vitamin A stores are depleted. Several methods have been put into action over the years in severely affected countries to help combat VAD. There are programs to increase the availability of Vitamin A in …

Content Analysis Of Mathematical Concepts In Children’S Literature, Jessica John

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of The Role Of Experiential Avoidance In Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Meaghan M. Lewis

Honors Theses

Experiential avoidance is a construct that researchers have proposed as a possible mediating factor between psychopathology and a prior history of traumatic events. Among the traumatic events investigated in the research literature, experiential avoidance has demonstrated correlations with prior experiences of sexual victimization. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and PTSD symptoms have also been linked with incidence of sexual victimization and engaging in experiential avoidance. Another variable commonly associated with this construct is problematic alcohol consumption. The present study presumed that women with a history of sexual victimization would report high PTSD symptoms, a stronger likelihood of partaking in problem drinking, …

The Honogenization Of Trombone Sound Preferences: The Effects Of A More Global Society On National Styles, Alyssa B. Madeira

Honors Theses

The trombone and music in general have been greatly influenced by globalization. Over the past few decades the ideal playing style of trombone has become increasingly similar throughout the word. The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the integration of Eastern Europe into the rest of the Western world marked a turning point in the way that music was perceived and shared. More and more musicians began to blend their playing styles as they traveled across borders and oceans. Sharp contrasts by region in interpretation of literature and the ideal sound were common in the early 1990's, but …