Digital Commons Network^™

Emotional Experiences Of Black U.S. Computer Science And Engineering Students Amid Faculty-Student Interactions, Kyle Shanachilubwa

Honors Theses

Black students encounter unique challenges in computer science and engineering education. Chief among these is a disconnect with faculty due to a lack of mentorship and difficulties in interactions with faculty. Despite these challenges, Black students bring many engineering and computer science assets. This study aims to understand the emotional experiences of Black students in computer science and engineering education. We present an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to answer the questions: (1) How do Black students experience faculty-student interactions in computer science and engineering education? (2) How do Black students experience professional shame in these interactions? To answer these research …

Little Cricket On The Hearth: The Quiet Feminism Of _Little Women_, Caroline Anderson Klein

Honors Theses

Since the advent of the cult of domesticity, the stakes for female characters in domestic literature have been notoriously high. There was no room for flaws, rebellious decisions, and certainly no room for mistakes—whether of the woman’s own accord, or simply as collateral damage of a male character’s immorality. In this shallowly Calvinist domain, women were never more than one broken guardrail away from social ruin or death. In writing Little Women, Louisa May Alcott breaks these molds through unflinching kindness to her female characters from childhood to adulthood, even unto death. Alcott achieves this quietly feminist feat by …

Analysis Of Toyota And The Automobile Industry, Dylan Saltzman

Honors Theses

Toyota is an automobile company that has dominated the market for many recent years. The cars that we have today are a lot different than the ones we had two hundred years ago. Innovations in car technology were possible by entrepreneur’s who wanted to make a difference in the world. Now, there are so many different options of cars to buy. This paper will outline the three main different types of fuel sources for cars, the pros and cons of each, and determine which consumers want the most. It will then go into what Toyota and its competitors have done, …

Social Media Reliance And College Students' Tendency To Conform To Online Behaviors And Trends, Emily Grucello

Honors Theses

The importance of social media is undeniable among college students who frequently turn to online platforms as a form of recreation. While researchers have analyzed the influence of social media on emotional factors, fewer researchers have investigated if reliance on social media has an impact on public behavior and conformity habits. Therefore, the current study assesses if user reliance on two common platforms, TikTok and Instagram, are associated with conformity levels. Data collection came from a sample of 124 college-aged participants. Results found a significant correlation between conformity and Instagram reliance (r = .31, p < .001), as well as conformity and TikTok reliance (r = .32, p < .001), such that higher levels of conformity was associated with higher reliance on Instagram and TikTok. These findings highlight the importance of understanding how consumption of social media has the potential to alter the decisions and behaviors of young adults.

The Stories That Matter From The People Who Care: Interviewing The Mentors Of The Women’S Business Leadership Center, Megan Nicole Gray

Honors Theses

Women across the nation face barriers that include a pay gap, under representation, caregiving expectations, threats of sexual violence, and more. Barriers related to the workplace are significant due to their impact on a woman’s autonomy, particularly in Arkansas. The Women’s Business Leadership Center on the Arkansas State University campus provided an excellent opportunity to investigate the life experiences of women in Arkansas who recognize barriers to women and confront them. Eleven mentors of the WBLC at ASU were interviewed to document such life experiences. Regarding mentorship, participants shared that they built support systems, received their own benefits, commonly had …

Exploring The Impact Of The Coaching Relationship On College Student-Athlete Mental Health, Miya Carmichael, Julia Vasquez

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine the factors of the coach-athlete relationship that influence athletes’ mental health and to find ways to improve the quality of this relationship. A total of 8 eligible participants in the qualitative study were asked to complete an individual interview session where they answered questions about their personal experiences with coaches as collegiate athletes. We will be searching for the essential structures of the coach-athlete relationship by studying multiple examples of it and finding what experiences athletes have in common. The results of this qualitative study have shown coaching behaviors that promote fear …

Modeling Vibration Stiffness: An Analytical Extension Of Hertzian Theory For Angular Contact Bearings With A Thin Viscoelastic Coating, Davis R. Burton

Honors Theses

This thesis considers the novel angular contact rolling-element bearings proposed by NASA’s Glenn Research Center, which are coated with a thin solid lubricant that exhibits viscoelastic behavior. Current analytical models for the dynamic stiffness matrix of angular contact bearings, critical for vibration analysis, lack the ability to model the effects of a solid coating, as well as the time dependencies inherent in viscoelastic theory. The author first presents an overview of the stiffness matrix derivation, followed by a treatment of the underlying Hertzian contact theory. An analytical extension of this theory is proposed which accounts for a thin elastic layer …

Effects Of Age And Gender On Perceptions On Victims Of Financial Exploitation, Kathleen Hillman

Honors Theses

A report by the Center for Victim Research shows that younger adults are more often victims of general and identity fraud (Irvin-Erickson & Ricks, 2019, p. 9); however, research conducted on financial exploitation focuses heavily on older adults. However, a recent study by Gunderson and colleagues (2021) found that older and younger adults are highly susceptible to financial exploitation. The purpose of the current study is to determine if perceptions of vulnerability to financial exploitation vary by the age of the victim. A sample of undergraduate participants will be recruited from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga through an online …

Transcendence In Kierkegaard And Barth, Andrew Myrick

Honors Theses

This paper examines the theological intersections and divergences between Karl Barth and Søren Kierkegaard, focusing on their conceptualizations of God's transcendence. Barth, influential in the twentieth century, viewed divine knowledge as accessible only through Jesus Christ's revelation, critiquing any historical or metaphysical bases for such knowledge. He was significantly influenced by Kierkegaard, who emphasized paradox and the "infinite qualitative distinction." This study traces Barth's evolving thoughts on transcendence across his works, including his critiques of Kierkegaard in his later years. While some scholars suggest a shared theological trajectory based on transcendence, this paper argues for nuanced differences, engaging with the …

Microfaunal Remains From The Ryan-Harley Site, Savanna Caylor

Honors Theses

The Ryan Harley site is located in the Wacissa River basin in northern Florida. It is one of the few sites in the southeastern United States to contain a Suwannee point artifact. Several excavations in 2015 and 2017 showed extinct and extant faunal remains within and around the Suwannee component. The geoarchaeological data showed that whether these remains were in situ or not is inconclusive. This paper will focus on the microfloral and faunal remains to draw conclusions about the environment encountered during the Younger Dryas (12,900-11,700 cal B.P). The relationship between floral and faunal species present will help to …

Investigation Of Pra For Rapid Part Replacement, John Lazenby

Honors Theses

As the electronics industry transitions to using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) devices of increasingly smaller technologies, radiation effects analysis becomes more significant in mission planning. In this work a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) program, RadSTATS, is used in the analysis of various COTS memories in a radiation environment. The probabilities that the bits in memory will be flipped due to single event upset (SEU) rates are calculated for each memory, volatile and non-volatile. The unavailability of bits was discovered to increase with increasing storage capacity. Methods of error detection and correction (EDAC) between the same manufacturer were seen to decrease at unavailability …

Civil Disobedience Of Social Workers In Hospice, Jamie Leigh Roper

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Differing Instability Devices On Postural Sway Parameters, Kacey Wallace

Honors Theses

Single-limb balance training is an integral part of preventing and rehabilitating lower extremity injuries. Practitioners use instability devices to provide a progressive overload to an individual during single-limb balance training sessions. Previous investigations have shown that when using instability devices, differences may or may not exist in postural sway parameters during use depending on the specific devices being assessed. Thus, this investigation sought to examine differences between a commonly used foam pad and a novel instability device (block) in measures of postural sway.

This experiment consisted of 22 healthy individuals with no history of lower extremity injury and neurological disorders. …

The Effects That Dietary Intake And Cardiorespiratory Fitness Has On Insulin Resistance In Adults, Trinady Moore

Honors Theses

Insulin resistance can impair bodily responses to insulin and the uptake of glucose within the human body. This imparity has many consequences and can more commonly cause Type II Diabetes.¹ This study focuses on how different lifestyle modifications can be used to combat the sensitivity to insulin within the body. The sample included forty-one adults whose ages varied from 18 to 35 years old. The participants completed a VO2max test, blood glucose test, and a 31- item food frequency survey. These tests and survey questions revealed the correction between the participants’ age, blood glucose levels, VO2max score, and diet …

Neurodivergent Gaming: Critical Game Design And Scholarly Practice, Mary Samblis

Honors Theses

This showcase of interactive experiences is designed to simulate and explore the hidden struggles of neurodiversity using game mechanics. It draws on my personal experience as an individual on the autistic spectrum to explore the relationship between game forms, academic scholarship, and critical thinking. The showcase aims to demonstrate the scholarly side of video game development and what video games, as a medium, have the potential to become within academia. Unlike articles or videos, video games have the unique quality to be interactive and immersive, allowing designers to experiment with mechanics as a tool for creating thoughtful and reflective experiences. …

Genetic Analysis Of Global Sawfish Populations, Kylie Faulkner

Honors Theses

Family Pristidae contains five of the most critically endangered elasmobranch species: Anoxypristis cuspidata, Pristis pristis, Pristis pectinata, Pristis zijsron, and Pristis clavata. The species of this family have suffered drastic population declines and range reductions due to historic patterns of overexploitation, accidental entanglement, and habitat disruption. The conservation of this taxa has been historically complicated by taxonomic uncertainty, as similar morphologies across species make them exceedingly difficult to identify. A morphological and genetic comparison of sawfish specimens collected globally was conducted in 2013, which supported a reduction in the number of described species from seven to …

Musselwhite: A Case Study In The Development Of Modern Legend In The American South, Ella J. Lauderdale

Honors Theses

The development of modern legend is widely researched, and there are many theories on the involvement of rumor and truth in the creation of folk stories. However, there are often few opportunities to look at the development of a modern legend in detail from beginning to end. The legend of Luther Musselwhite is unique in that it begins at a relatively fixed time, and the generations present during that time are still available to interview. This case study traces the development of this modern legend in Mississippi and analyzes the possible motivations for the spread and development of modern legends …

Reviving The Past: Enhancing Language Models With Historical Text Optimization, Heather D. Broome

Honors Theses

Recent advancements in Natural Language Processing (NLP) have brought attention to the significant potential that exists for widespread applications of Large Language Models (LLMs). As demands and expectations for LLMs rise, ensuring efficiency and accuracy becomes paramount. Addressing these challenges requires more than just optimizing current techniques; it urges novel approaches to NLP as a whole. This study investigates novel data preprocessing methods designed to enhance LLM performance by mitigating inefficiencies rooted in natural language, particularly by simplifying the complexities presented by historical texts. Utilizing the classical text The Odyssey by Homer, two preprocessing techniques are introduced: tokenization of names …

Exploring The Collegiate Choir Participant's Values Within Ensemble Performances, Kaelyn Hunter

Honors Theses

This study examined how collegiate choral ensemble participants viewed their highest quality performance and their favorite performance. Examining characteristics of performances may encourage conversations about performance values between directors and students. Limited research has been done about musicians’ views, as getting accurate and in-the-moment documentation of how musicians feel about their performances is challenging. To provide more insight into this previously understudied topic, this study aimed to explore the musicians’ perspectives on their performances and how their emotions and repertoire are intertwined.

The Primary Investigator (PI) conducted an anonymous study among the 2022–2023 choral ensemble participants at The University of …

Speech-Language Pathologists' Experiences Diagnosing Swallowing Disorders, Katelyn Baxter

Honors Theses

This study explores the factors that inform a Speech-Language Pathologist’s (SLP’s) process for diagnosing dysphagia (disordered swallowing) and seeks to determine what barriers they perceive to performing their standard of care. To achieve a qualitative data set, 10 SLPs were interviewed using a semi-structured format and their responses were analyzed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis to produce four themes. Theme one gave insight into the SLPs prerogative to provide patient-centered care. Theme two expounded upon this, emphasizing how the SLPs treat dysphagia as part of a collection of disorders, and not in isolation. Theme three explained a lack of understanding as …

The Implementation Of Music Within Communication Intervention And Its Effect On Communication Development, Rebecca Dunn

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate how and under what circumstances licensed speech-language pathologists incorporate music within communication intervention and to better understand perceptions towards the incorporation of music within speech or language therapy. A survey was developed based on the review of related literature and then entered on the Qualtrics^ã server for data collection and analysis. Once IRB approval was secured, the survey was then disseminated via a Facebook group for licensed speech-language pathologists. The author used Qualtrics^ã to collect and analyze the data, which was then used to determine when and how music was …

Religious Extremism And Female Autonomy: How Dystopian Literature Reflects Contemporary Issues, Jessica Briscoe

Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes two texts: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and When She Woke by Hillary Jordan. These two texts examine dystopian worlds in which the lines are blurred, or completely eradicated, between church and state. Christian fundamentalism and/or evangelicalism becomes intertwined with Christian extremism which results in a detrimental society for many minority groups. The purpose of this thesis is to specifically explore the ways women are mistreated in these societies.

Moreover, this thesis explains how America’s puritanical Christian roots have led to modern-day ideals of America as a “New Jerusalem”. America, like the dystopian societies, has intertwined …

Stronger Together: The Intersection Between Sandra Harding And Informal Science Education, Reyt Middleton

Honors Theses

Science literacy is an integral skill to knowledgeably navigate the modern world (Dawson, 2014). However, most science education within the Western world takes place in the settings of formal institutions, which rely on and recreate Western cultural assumptions and biases. In these socially Western institutions, non-Western or non-dominant cultural ways of thinking are systemically replaced with science as a way of knowing (Harding, 1991; Andreotti, 2015). This tendency towards assimilation establishes a barrier for entry, preventing underserved communities or non-dominant perspectives from developing the same science literacy allowed to culturally dominant groups (Harding, 1991; Dawson, 2014). One notable exception to …

Measurement Of The Branching Fraction Of Y(4s), B^0b^0 At Babar, Daniel B. Johnson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Evolution Of Medical Ethics During The American Civil War, Luke Love

Honors Theses

This thesis will explore the relationship between medical ethics and the American Civil War through a microhistorical approach. This includes analyzing the ways in which the physician-patient relationship was conducted and which medical practices were deemed ethical and by whom. Changes that occurred in medical ethics during the war will be analyzed and explained. v

Dna Methylation Of The Agtri Promoter In A Hypertensive Population Of Kenyans, Michael M. Roque

Honors Theses

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death worldwide, is rapidly increasing in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). particularly those of Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). Hypertension is the leading risk factor for CVD and is a multifactorial disease with no single genetic cause. Increasingly, evidence indicates that hypertension is predisposed by environmental regulation of genes through heritable, yet modifiable, epigenetic changes to DNA leading to changes in gene expression. e.g. methylation. While understanding the etiology of hypertension in LMICs is a global priority, few epigenetic studies exist from populations living in SSA. The renin arigiotensin system (RAS) is the primary hormonal …

Gertrude Stein: Autobiography And Play, Ryleigh Thornton

Honors Theses

By using Gertrude Stein’s two autobiographies, this thesis attempts to examine the use and evolution of play in writing. In The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, play stands within the language and games that Stein invites her readers to engage in. By using Roger Caillois’ characteristics of play, Stein’s writing can be seen as different from the high, serious modernism at the time with writers like William Faulkner and T.S. Eliot. After the publication of Toklas, Stein reverted into a crippling writer’s block because she could no longer find interest in the world to think and write about. However, after …

Survey Of The Bolctes From Fish River Nature Preserve, Noah T. Nelson

Honors Theses

Boletes are a special kind of mushroom inside of the Kingdom Fungi that are distinguished from other mushrooms by their uniquely pored hymenium, as opposed to gills. Many boletes are ectomycorrhizal, meaning they are mutualists with vascular plants, and thus beneficial to the overall health of the terrestrial ecosystem. Some are well-known for their edibility and are of economic importance. In the United States 59 genus-level clades comprising 290 operational taxonomic units have been reported. The southeastern US and Gulf Coast regions however are less researched and recorded for their mushroom ecology. In Alabama, only 56 bolete species have been …

Meta Project: Construction, Validation, And Flight Testing Of A New Meta Aircraft Design, William Andrew Wearren

Honors Theses

Meta aircraft are a type of aircraft that can connect via wingtip, nose-to-tail, or both wingtip and nose-to-tail in order to create a lattice of aircraft that can fly together to a site, detach, survey different areas, and then reattach for flight back to the main base. The project started at the Georgia Institute of Technology with Dr. Carlos Montalvo and is being continued at the University of South Alabama Facility for Aerospace Systems and Technology Lab. This paper seeks to theoretically verify the new aircraft design for the META project, complete the development of the design, and to experimentally …

The Benefits Of Increasing Access To Theatre Education In K-12 Schools, Jaden Partain

Honors Theses

Theatre has been a part of education in the United States since the nineteenth century, when Horace Mann launched the public-school movement, and educators introduced the children of immigrants to American language and culture. The use of theatre in education has gradually evolved along with K-12 curriculums in the United States. However, during this time, theatre has not been used as well or much as it could be, even though participation in theatre can improve students’ educational achievements while simultaneously teaching important life skills. In my research, I look at how theatre can be a vital part of education in …