Digital Commons Network^™

“Green” Marketing In The Apparel Industry: The Spectrum Of Veracity, Stephanie R. Keane

Honors Theses

Apparel companies’ propensity for manipulation in their marketing of environmental initiatives contributes to immense environmental pollution from petrochemical textile material production. Public scrutiny pressures these businesses to adopt “green” initiatives to avoid losing devoted consumers. In some cases, these initiatives disguise the real operations of a company or claim benignity for the company when this is not the reality. Previous business ethics research analyzed the emergence of “greenwashing” in corporations and thus concluded that corporations market themselves as eco-friendly to portray commodification as sustainable. In the form of case studies, this paper scrutinizes four companies: Zara, Patagonia, Lululemon, and Pact. …

Community Interventions To The Food Insecurity Crisis Inuit Currently Face In Nunangat, Alyssia R. Getschow

Honors Theses

Inuit living in Nunangat, a northern territory in Canada, are facing unprecedented rates of food insecurity. The increasing impacts of anthropogenic climate change are rapidly changing the Arctic landscape in Nunangat, posing challenges to Inuit hunters who hunt and live completely self-sufficient off of the land. This lack of access to country foods and the impacts these conditions are having on Inuit communities are forcing Inuit to consider aid propositions from the Canadian government. Due to a long history of conflict with white settlers during the colonization of Canada, there is a feeling of distrust and cultural distaste between Canada …

Infill Development: A Contested Solution To California’S Crises, Conrad Hampson

Honors Theses

Infill development has become a contested term regarding California’s ‌perpetual housing crisis, the state’s fight against the ever-important climate emergency, and its efforts toward improving large social injustices. To define the contested term, infill development is the development or redevelopment of land that has been underutilized, in terms of being overlooked, abandoned, or left vacant, compared to the parcels surrounding the property, both directly abutting and within the more general locality. Regarding this concept and its trending nature, state and local governmental agencies, residential real estate developers, researchers, activist groups, and residents have each created their own narratives, taking up …

Science And Sadness: Critiques On How We Handle Alzheimer’S Disease And Dementia, Katherine Martinez

Honors Theses

In our society, an individual’s worth is tied to the state of their cognitive function which affects the discourse about neurodegenerative illnesses, causing it to mostly fall under two branches: “The Dread” and “Science as the Holy Grail”. “The Dread” addresses how Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and other dementias are typically perceived as devastating illnesses to be feared. “Science as the Holy Grail” represents the hope and faith that is invested into potential technoscientific developments without the guarantee of any consequential results. Limiting the narrative to these two categories negatively impacts the quality of life (QOL) of AD patients, caregivers, and …

Impacts Of Profamilia Program Spread On Contraceptive Use And Fertility Rates In Colombia During Its Introduction, Katherine C. Specht

Honors Theses

I examine the effect of the Profamilia program during its beginning years over the 1960s and 1970s as it spread across Colombia. I find that Profamilia effectively delays first birth, intercourse, and age at marriage, and reduces the probability of having had a teen birth. These outcomes were also linked to increased literacy rates, improved educational attainment, and an increase in employment. Birth spacing and contraceptive use increased. These findings support current research that improving access to family planning services is an effective method for decreasing women’s fertility and improving educational and employment opportunities for women. The implication that having …

Characterizing Cellular Stress, Hippocampal Function, And Behavior In A Novel Rat Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Anne A. Schulman

Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects over 5 million individuals in the United States alone. While AD is primarily thought of as a disease that destroys neural networks required for memory recall and formation, AD also cause impairment in emotional regulation, cognitive flexibility, and executive function pathways. The cause of AD is unknown; however, the allele ApoE4 has been identified as a risk factor for the onset of AD. ApoE4 provides a valuable opportunity to study AD through animal models. This thesis utilized a human ApoE4 transgenic rat model (hApoE4) to investigate the biological and behavioral …

Bean To Buck: Examining The Effects Of The Global Coffee Commodity Market On Smallholders In Colombia, Alexander Ozols

Honors Theses

Utilizing global coffee commodity prices as an exogenous variable on households' consumption, I examine how global coffee commodity price fluctuations affect the well-being of households in the third-largest coffee-producing nation, Colombia. The results show that rural regions and regions designated as part of the "Coffee Axis" are most affected by fluctuations in prices. While results on other regional distinctions are not significant, the size of a household's farming operation dictates how increases in consumption are affected. Lastly, I show that changes in coffee prices, do not have any effect on whether a small or large farm will switch to growing …

"It's Not About The Polar Bears": Evangelical Christian Arguments For Environmentalism, Teresa D. White

Honors Theses

In recent history, white conservative evangelical Christians have formed an influential voting bloc of the Republican party in United States politics. Historically, conservatives have often denied the reality of human-induced climate change and have opposed climate change action and many environmental regulations. However, a number of conservative evangelical Christians have split from their traditionally conservative political views and have accepted the reality of climate change, becoming strong advocates for climate change action. This paper examines the arguments often presented by such advocates. I argue that evangelical environmental advocates craft specific arguments to convince fellow evangelicals to care for the environment …

St. George’S Food Access Initiatives: Navigating Food Inequalities, Forging A Way To Food Choice Freedom, And Transgressing Culinary Borderlands In Lake County, Colorado, Mannon R. Frykholm

Honors Theses

As guided by ethnographic fieldwork and the interdisciplinary discipline of Global Studies, this thesis works to trace food access inequalities in Lake County, Colorado and how they are felt and confronted both at the individual and communal level. Amidst the failures of global food systems and the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, rural communities, such as the field site of Lake County, Colorado, face additional challenges in accessing food that is culturally relevant, craved, and truly wanted. This thesis traces the dominant food inequalities in Lake County. In the face of these inequalities, I centralize the community food initiatives …

The New Mainers: An Exploratory Analysis Of Healthcare Experiences In The Somali Bantu Community, Jordan R. Mcclintock

Honors Theses

Healthcare inequities within the United States’ Western model of medicine have existed for hundreds of years. The purpose of this year-long project was to analyze the existing qualitative and quantitative studies of healthcare barriers for the Southern Maine Somali Bantu population, as well as compiling narrative pieces from Maine non-governmental organizations that provide community resources. In doing so, the idea of healthcare access and literacy was analyzed through means of understanding systemic barriers. Overall, the findings of this exploratory project point to a lack of cultural humility within medicine, the importance of recognizing intersectional identities in quality of healthcare, and …

"She Had A Bok To Print, And It Was Her Own Case": Elizabeth Cellier's Malice Defeated As A Critical Contribution To 17th-Century Political Discourse And Postwar Pamphlet Culture, Serena Desai

Honors Theses

Born in London, England during the 1640s-- the peak of the English Civil War-- Elizabeth Cellier was no stranger to political and religious conflict. Rumors flooded the seventeenth-century newsstands: not only was King Charles II a Catholic-apologist who favored the tiny "Jesuitical" faction over the Protestant majority, but he refused to allow Parliament to check his monarchical power. By 1680, the legislature was actively attempting to disrupt his line of succession by preventing the heir presumptive, the Duke of York, from ascending the throne. Ignited by this Exclusion Crisis, several known Protestant "tricksters"--Thomas Dangerfield, William Bedloe, and Israel Tonge, and …

"It’S Just Another Thing”: Perceptions Of Well Water Quality And Barriers In An Arsenic Hot Spot, Linzy Rosen

Honors Theses

Privately owned water is the primary source of drinking water for 43 million Americans. Although residential or private wells are susceptible to a variety of contaminants, the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 positions individuals as responsible for the testing, remediation, and management of this water. Despite the elevated presence of arsenic in Maine, which is linked to various cancers, cardiovascular disease, and neurological damage, little is known about how private well owners perceive the safety and quality of their own water.

This study takes a qualitative approach to understanding concerns and opinions by conducting semi - structured interviews with …

Double Trouble: The Development And Use Of A Novel Spatial Memory Task To Study Depression In A Female Rodent Model, Ekaterina L. Koelliker

Honors Theses

Preclinical rodent models of depression are important for improving our understanding of the behavioral and neurobiological implications of the disorder. However, the current behavioral assays used to assess depressive symptoms in rodents have substantial shortcomings; they are basic, test animals individually, and do not evaluate animals for extended periods. The primary goals of the present study, which was divided into two experiments, were to develop a novel task that could be used to study spatial memory and to apply the task to rodent models of depression. Both experiments used a circular arena with 10 identical jars to analyze the spatial …

The Multifront Battle Waged Against Female Autonomy: A Comparative Study Of Ancient Medical And Literary Texts, Leah K. Montello

Honors Theses

Male authors have long waged a multifront campaign against female independence. In this thesis, I focus on two specific fronts: literary and medical texts of the Classical Greek period. This thesis intends to explore the varying strategies in a selection of works, employed to reinforce prescribed gender norms. I approach this with a feminist lens to critique attempts made by elite educated Greek men to define what a woman ought to be like. I do not, however, explore every single tactic a medical and literary writer has applied to uphold patriarchal norms. My two body chapters revolve respectively around two …

The Legislative Branch Revolves Around The White House: A Copernican Understanding Of The Evolving Relationship Between The President And Congress, Lukas K. Alexander

Honors Theses

Executive-centered partisanship is a new scholarly idea that focuses on the growing centrality of the president in party and governmental affairs. Scholars have looked at the president’s growing electoral, administrative, and organizational responsibilities to support the theory. While the evidence is compelling, there is a key aspect of our Federal government that is omitted in their theory - the president’s role in Congress. In this thesis, I look at the effect that the president has on legislative voting behavior between the 107th and 116th Congresses. To analyze the data, I examine the effect of the president on Senator voting behavior …

Signs In Sophocles: Modern Approaches To Ptsd In The Ajax, Charlotte Simon

Honors Theses

This project explores the relationship between ancient Greek tragedy and modern psychology, specifically focusing on instances of PTSD, both through the descriptions of symptoms and the cultural reaction to such trauma responses in both ancient and modern sources. The case study from ancient Greece is Sophocles’ play, Ajax, a dramatic depiction of a post-PTSD soldier who has a mental break and is faced with either living with what he has done or committing suicide. The primary objective of this project is to illustrate what modern psychological theory can reveal about the portrayal of PTSD in Greek tragedy and therefore also …

The Leveling Spirit: Violence And Inequality In Postwar Iraq, Griffin Perrault

Honors Theses

The Iraq War (2003–2011) constitutes by some estimates one of the deadliest and most destructive conflicts of the 21st century (Hagopian et al., 2013). In addition to the disputed figures of excess violent civilian casualties––generally ranging from 180,000 to 210,000 deaths––the war has created one of the major refugee crises of modern times, with 1 in 25 Iraqis estimated to have been displaced from their homes by the 2003 invasion (Costs of War, 2021). While much of this violence has been wrought by American and Iraqi coalition troops, violence against civilians has also been perpetuated by insurgent groups and paramilitary …

Integration For Integration?: The Implications Of Varying Refugee Integration Strategies On Future European Union Integration, Giuliana Ferrara

Honors Theses

This study explores whether the best practices of refugee integration policies, as supported by scholars, are present in the European Union (EU) and some of its Member States between 2014 and 2021, accounting for the responses of these governments to the 2015 refugee crisis in Europe. In addition, it seeks to reveal the likelihood of future collective governance of refugee integration at the EU level. It claims that there are four central benchmarks to examine the strength of a country’s refugee integration plans as well as two integration theories to consider the possibility of deeper EU decision-making on a policy …

Environmental Racism In Baltimore: A Geographical Study Into The Connections Between Environmental Toxins And Public Health, Genevieve Block

Honors Theses

An investigation into the relationship between environmental toxins and environmental racism in Baltimore City, Maryland.

Blacking Out, Hooking Up, And Sexual Assault On Bucknell's Campus, Lily Shorney

Honors Theses

Sexual assault is a prominent issue on college campuses across the United States with detrimental impacts for individuals as well their surrounding communities. Two prominent risk factors for campus sexual assault (CSA) identified in the literature are alcohol use and partaking in hookup culture. However, existing research fails to address the specific role of alcohol-induced blackouts within hookups and how this phenomenon is related to CSA. The present study explored the prevalence of alcohol-induced blackouts as well as the relationship between blacking out, hooking up, and CSA. Based on quantitative survey data from 445 university students, analyses indicated that alcohol-induced …

The Fifth Vital Sign: An Anthropological Analysis Of Productive And Unproductive Pain, Kathleen Meerscheidt

Honors Theses

Throughout my time as a Division I rower, I have struggled to understand the ways that I understand my own normalization of pain within a broader cultural environment that portrays pain as a mostly negative aspect of life. This moral quandary inspired me to start researching the role of pain in different socio-cultural contexts. For my thesis, I conducted original research, in the form of participant observation and semi-structured interviews, to build on what I found through an extensive literature review. First, I looked at the ways in which pain is understood within Western biomedicine and, subsequently, “Western” culture. Within …

Analysis Of The Epidemiology Of Playground-Related Injuries In Relation To Existing Playground Safety Standards: How Should We Address Safe Play?, Drew Filchner

Honors Theses

Play is widely acknowledged to provide children with various physical, emotional, social, and intellectual benefits. However, playgrounds are reported to be the leading location of unintentional recreation injuries to children aged 1-10. Over 185,000 children annually are being treated in emergency departments for playground injuries. These play-related injuries have remained stagnant according to epidemiology studies of the past three decades. Past epidemiological studies for playground injuries have been based on emergency department data, resulting in an underrepresentation of the magnitude of injuries occurring. This study utilizes the unique setting of an entire school district, providing a more comprehensive understanding of …

Graduating Greener: Analysis Of A Non-Price Intervention To Encourage Pro-Environmental Behavior Among College Students, Jillie Santos

Honors Theses

According to the Yale Program on Climate Communication, a majority of Americans report worrying about climate change, yet the proportion of Americans who discuss climate change often with friends and family is around half of the worried percentage. This discrepancy illustrates a habit of climate avoidance and climate inaction. Drawing upon psychology and human-centered design, I assisted Dr. Michael A. Smyer in developing Graduating Greener, a workshop aimed at disrupting climate avoidance and promoting pro-environmental behavior through a sequence of social, environmentally-based activities. In this thesis, I investigate concepts from the field of behavioral economics which inform and align with …

Where Girls Rule The World: Lessons For Pakistan In The Bangladeshi Educational Phenomenon, Chanze Ahsan

Honors Theses

In tune with the UN's Sustainable Development Goal and the widespread acceptance of education as a fundamental human right, the deprivation of female education in Pakistan presents an alarming assault on its female population. With this, the historical accident that was the separation of Pakistan and Bangladesh serves as a natural experiment into differences between the countries before and after partition. Despite facing two colonizations, Bangladesh has emerged on the other side of history with promising results regarding the elimination of gender disparities in education. How has it managed to do so? And what can Pakistan learn from its journey? …

The School-To-Prison Pipeline: A Method Of Social Reproduction, Tyler E. Rifkin

Honors Theses

The American public-school system pushes many low incomes and minoritized learners out of school and into the juvenile justice system through its disciplinary practices. The school-to-prion pipeline (STPP) puts a name on this cycle, explaining how zero-tolerance policies are directly or indirectly causing students to drop out of school and leading them into prison. This thesis utilizes existing literature too deeply asses zero-tolerance policies, as well as other apparati of the STPP within schools today. It examines how the STPP discriminates against students based on social class, race, gender, and disability. This project is directed by a theoretical framework of …

Supporting Teacher Retention Through A Trauma-Informed Lens, Nicole C. Reddig

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between trauma-informed practices and teacher burnout and turnover. For the past decade, schools across the United States have seen high levels of burnout and turnover amongst their educators. At the same time, young children are experiencing high levels of exposure to traumatic events in childhood, affecting their behavior, social and emotional health, and ability to learn. While teachers play an important role in the support system for these students, they are also at risk for experiencing secondary trauma and burnout. To mitigate the effects of trauma, trauma-informed practices have been introduced in schools to respond …

Assessment Of Virus-Induced Myocarditis In Human Heart Tissue Samples, Gabriel Galeotos

Honors Theses

The heart is a major organ whose function is to transport nutrients and waste throughout the body. This organ can become infected by pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, or parasites. Infection of the middle heart layer, or myocardium, is often caused by a viral agent. This disease has three stages: viral infiltration, adaptive immune system activation, and finally either viral clearance or cardiac cell remodeling. During this process the immune system will begin to secrete cytokines, which are signaling molecules that alert other members of the immune pathways, and also participate in cardiac remodeling. Evaluating the correlation between the cytokine …

Perceived Stress Of College Students During Covid-19: Adverse Childhood Experiences, Kristina Morreale

Honors Theses

ACEs are adverse childhood experiences experienced in the first 18 years of life. They are present in over a third of the population and lead to adverse health outcomes (Karatekin, 2017). The goal of this study was to examine whether ACEs could be used to identify stress levels of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on ACEs and stress levels were collected from students actively enrolled at a college or university (N= 183). Findings indicated that high ACEs were predictive of high stress, specifically considering stressful factors experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study suggest the …

Personality Dimensions Of Male And Female Law Enforcement Recruits Related To Academy Success, Chantel Duda

Honors Theses

Research has found that male and female law enforcement recruits complete academy training at different rates, with female recruits typically completing at lower rates than male recruits. While the literature on the topic demonstrates a variety of training characteristics that explain some of the difference, it is possible that typical personality differences between men and women play a role in some of the unexplained disparities in academy passing rates. This study attempted to discern differences between personality characteristics among male and female academy recruits using survey data from two major metropolitan law enforcement academies. It was hypothesized that male cadets …

More Than An Athlete: A Qualitative Analysis Of How Student-Athletes Develop Self-Authorship Through Their Experiences In Athletics, Haley Kate Webb

Honors Theses

Within the context of the newly instituted NCAA Name, Image and Likeness legislation, student-athletes are able to profit from their personal brands. This legislation presents newfound exposure to student-athletes. In order to assess the preparedness of student-athletes to benefit monetarily from their personal brands, an analysis of student-athlete development provides beneficial insight regarding their cognitive development. Using self-authorship theory as a guide, this qualitative research used long interviews to explore how student-athletes are developing their identities through their journeys with athletics. The research analyzes the lived experiences told by five athletes from a medium-sized faith-based NCAA Division II university. The …