Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals On Wildlife Conservation, Eda Reed

Honors Theses

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as those from plastics and pesticides, have been hypothesized to affect wildlife populations. According to the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, EDCs ‘are chemicals that may interfere with the body’s endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in both humans and wildlife.’ A growing number of studies suggest wildlife are being exposed to EDCs, but how EDCs affect wildlife health and wildlife conservation is less well-understood. Through scientific literature analysis and a survey of wildlife conservationists and practitioners, this study aims to determine the current state of knowledge and data …

Analyzing Tuberculosis Diagnosis And Treatment In Kasungu, Malawi, Andrew Currier

Honors Theses

Despite Tuberculosis (TB) being a highly curable disease, it continues to result in over 5% of deaths in the Sub-Saharan African country of Malawi. Coupled with HIV, the disease remains one of the leading causes of death in Malawi. In the summer of 2015, I joined a research team from Partners in Hope to conduct a survey evaluating the health centers that provide TB care in the Kasungu region of Malawi. After visiting 23 health centers, the results of the 47-question survey were compiled and analyzed to provide information on the capabilities and practices at each health center. The results …

Are Tax Exemptions For "Churches" A Blessing Or A Curse For Taxpayers?, Hannah Bauman

Honors Theses

This paper focuses on the rules and requirements governing the participation of religious organizations as defined in IRC § 501(c)(3) in the political process. Included in this is a study of historical events and case law both for and against the participation of religious organizations in politics.

The Moral Price Of The Profit Motive In Medicine, John Sobieski

Honors Theses

The profit motive in medicine, which is the desire to maximize pecuniary profit as a primary motivation in patient care, is unethical. Regardless of whether the functional body outputting a medical profit motive is a physician, a group of physicians, or a large hospital, proper medical care should not be undermined by a desire for monetary gain. To say that medical care should not concern itself with money (i.e. costs, budgets) would be foolish; rather, I am asserting that treating medicine like any other business is disrespectful to the core values that predicate patient care. Human health is too important …

Real-Time Translation Of American Sign Language Using Wearable Technology, Jackson Taylor

Honors Theses

The goal of this work is to implement a real-time system using wearable technology for translating American Sign Language (ASL) gestures into audible form. This system could be used to facilitate conversations between individuals who do and do not communicate using ASL. We use as our source of input the Myo armband, an affordable commercially-available wearable technology equipped with on-board accelerometer, gyroscope, and electromyography sensors. We investigate the performance of two different classification algorithms in this context: linear discriminant analysis and k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN) using various distance metrics. Using the k-NN classifier and windowed dynamic time …

Beautiful Minds : Exploring The Healing Potentional Of Self-Refexive Art In Facing A Campus Mental Health Crisis, Molly Chapman Rossi

Honors Theses

This interdisciplinary study of mental health seeks to do three things:

1. Identify and investigate the issue of mental health among students within the University of Richmond campus community, through both statistical and ethnographic data,

2. Apply trauma theory to redefine the crisis as a community trauma with unique aspects, and

3. Make a case for hope by proposing a plan that uses self-reflexive art, specifically theatre, to address the individualized community trauma and second-wave trauma.

I explicate new theories in this work, among them the notions of “individualized community trauma,” “second-wave trauma,” and “traumatic fusion.” Another critical concept is …

Dognition : The Effect Of Pet Ownership On Cognition In Older Adults, Molly Mcsweeney

Honors Theses

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of pet ownership on cognition in older adults. Previous research has indicated that interactions with pets are associated with improved mental and physical health in humans. We predicted that these benefits of human-pet interactions will extend to expose superior cognitive functioning in cat-owning or dog-owning older adults as compared to older adults who do not own pets. More specifically, we hypothesized that dog-owners would perform significantly better than cat-owners and non-pet owners on cognitive tasks as owning a dog requires exceeding attention, training, and exercise. We tested this effect …

The Marquee Effect : A Study Of The Effect Of Designated Players On Revenue And Performance In Major League Soccer, Hannah Holub

Honors Theses

Since its formation in 1994 Major League Soccer (MLS) has slowly been gaining the momentum to reach a level of recognition similar to that of the top four sports leagues in the United States – the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, and Major League Baseball. Major League Soccer (MLS) is the top tier professional soccer league in the United States, one of only two leagues to reach that status and the only soccer league to sustain long term success.1 Made up of nineteen teams across the United States and Canada, the MLS is structured …

How Does One Child Policy Influence Chinese Household Saving Behavior, Yueyang Cao

Honors Theses

This paper investigates the influence the decline in the family size on household size through a Chinese family planning policy, the One-Child Policy (OCP). I find the evidence of the negative effect at the micro level using Chinese household survey data. I also study the aggregated effect using Chinese provincial level data. With the concern of endogeneity, I use a two-stage least square regression with financial punishments for having more than one child and share of population that were exempted from the restriction as instruments for the fertility variable. This regression shows a positive impact of the implementation of the …

Food Insecurity In Nepal : A Cross-Sectional Analysis From 75 Districts, Aarti Reddy

Honors Theses

There are a number of studies regarding food insecurity, but not many that investigate the simultaneous relationships between food insecurity and the measures of well-being (health, education and gender equality). This paper conducts a district-level cross-sectional analysis of the relationship between food insecurity and the measures of well-being in Nepal using an ordered probit model. Instrument variables are used in a two-stage analysis to address the problem of endogeneity. The study finds that health deprivation levels significantly affect levels of food insecurity in a district but education and gender literacy disparity are less significant. Addressing issues of endogeneity and multicolinearity …

Synthetic Flexibility Of A Bromopyrrole Ester Intermediate : Toward Novel Biologically Active Compounds, Scott Cameron Yeudall

Honors Theses

Compounds containing the pyrrole ring as a core structural motif continue to show significant biological activity, and both natural product derivatives and novel chemical scaffolds show potential for use as pharmaceuticals in treating a variety of cancers, infections, and inflammation. Given the widespread and important applications of compounds containing this motif, novel, rapid, and selective methods for the synthesis of multifunctional pyrroles is of some importance. Previous work in our group has utilized palladium-mediated Suzuki cross-coupling as a powerful tool for functionalizing activated bromopyrrole esters, generating structural analogues of bioactive natural products. We have also used a similar approach to …

Breaking The Language Barrier : The Spanish Translation Of The Barriers To Access To Care Evaluation (Bace), Yosmary Rodriguez

Honors Theses

The Hispanic/Latino population in the United States has been identified as a high-risk group for mental health problems. Unfortunately, due to commonly reported factors such as lack of linguistically and culturally appropriate services, many fail to seek treatment. While growing research has focused on identifying and addressing the different barriers to accessing mental health care experienced by this community, there continues to be a lack of validated Spanish assessments to aid in the evaluation of these barriers. In hopes of overcoming this barrier, and working towards better quality of care for this growing population, this project translated the Barriers to …

Characterization Of Catecholamine Receptors And Transporters In Murine Macrophages, Elizabeth Gonye

Honors Theses

Macrophages are a critical part of the immune response. When circulating monocytes move into tissues they differentiate int macrophages to mount the first line of defense against pathogens.

Structure-Function Relationships Affecting The Sensing Mechanism Of Monolayer-Protected Cluster Doped Xerogel Amperometric Glucose Biosensors, Luke T. Dipasquale

Honors Theses

The research conducted in the Leopold Bioanalytical and Nanomaterials Analytical Chemistry Lab prior to the summer of 2013 focused on the synthesis of a functional biosensor equipped with a nanoparticle network embedded in a xerogel film for the detection of glucose. Xerogel-based films featuring embedded glucose oxidase enzyme and doped with alkanethiolate-protected gold NPs, known as monolayer protected clusters (MPCs), exhibit significantly enhanced performance compared to analogous systems without NPs including higher sensitivity, faster response time, and extended linear/dynamic ranges.

The following presented research is a systematic study of the structure-function relationships critical to understanding the sensing mechanism of the …

Britain's Failed Attempt At Fascism : The British Union Of Fascists, Years 1933-1934, Katherine L. Collier

Honors Theses

This honors thesis examines how and why Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists (BUF) tried to present itself as a viable political entity to mainstream British society in the years 1933- 1934. Though the BUF admired Benito Mussolini’s Fascist Italy and Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany, this thesis argues that they sought to create their own distinctly British version of these Fascist movements. The BUF promised that Britain would again thrive, but only under strong fascist leadership which would provide an economic restructuring of government and a cohesive society, free from selfish individualism, decadence, and foreigners. The BUF promised to …

Impact Of Vector Range Expansion On Pathogen Transmission Dynamics Of Lyme Disease In Southwestern Virginia, Bishan Bhattarai

Honors Theses

Blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis is the primary vector of Lyme disease in eastern United States. Borrelia Burgdorfei, the etiological agent of Lyme disease is transferred by ticks of Ixodes species. In recent years, its congener, Ixodes affinis has been expanding its range northwards from its southern population. We were interested in studying how the introduction of this new vector affected the interaction between the pathogen genotype and the host. We hypothesized that differential host use by I. affinis and I. scapularis would partly explain observed differences in B. burgdorferi infection prevalence and genotypic structure in southeastern Virginia. The result …

A Change Of Heart : The Effect Of Heartwarming Advertisements On Brand Affinity, Hannah Butman

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine if evoking heartfelt responses to advertisements would yield greater brand affinity. It was hypothesized that a heartwarming response would yield greater brand affinity because it was a mixed emotional experience that produced both positive and negative emotions simultaneously. Across two studies, participants were shown both control and heartwarming advertisements for five brands. After each video, all participants were prompted to respond to every measure, regardless of condition. Heartwarming perceptions of the advertisements, overlap of self, feelings of love, and a mixed emotional experience were all significant mediators of video condition and brand …

The Effects Of Oral Probiotic Supplements On The Human Gut Microbiome, Erin Hudnall

Honors Theses

A diverse bacterial community makes up the human gut microbiome and is essential not only to digestion, but also to other physiological processes. This bacterial community is subject to change due to external factors including, but not limited to, age, diet, and lifestyle. This study observed the effects of oral probiotic supplements on this bacterial community. Fecal samples were collected from a single subject once each week during alternating two- to six-week cycles of taking and abstaining from the probiotic supplement. The samples were purified, the bacterial cells within lysed, and the enclosed DNA was collected. A portion of the …

Urbanization And Exclusion: Examining The Wages Of Migrant Workers In The Chinese Urban Labor Market, Evan Heitzmann

Honors Theses

This work is primarily an examination of the economic effects of the Hukou system on migrant workers who live in cities. By endeavoring to control for any differences in background and human capital, I will attempt to isolate any premium attached the possession of urban Hukou. What, if any, benefit or advantage do urban citizens have over rural migrant in cities? Will they be favorably treated and will migrants be discriminated against? These are all questions that my project seeks to answer through the construction of a linear regression model that estimates the wages of both urban and migrant workers. …

Millennials' Civics Inclinations: A Study Of Civics Education's Impact On Millennials' Political Knowledge And Political Participation, Hannah Haley

Honors Theses

This thesis researches the impact civics education has on Millennials' political participation and political knowledge levels. The focus is on civics education's impact on Millennials' political participation and political knowledge because civics education to the American governing system. Two political socialization agents, parents and teachers, represented the actors teaching civics education. Thus, this thesis provides insight into the role of civics education, as taught by parents and schools, on the newest generation of American voters. In order to understand civics education's impact on this new generation, prior background research on Millennials, importance of civics education, parents, and schools is included. …

A Multi-Dimensional Evaluation And Strategic Exploration Of Institutional Investing With Focus On State Street Corporation, Jack Badger

Honors Theses

This report examines State Street Corporation in a way similar to that of a professional in an advisory role. Included in this analysis is a brief history of the firm, financial ratio analysis and implications, audit and tax recommendations, and tools to help improve State Street's strategic outlook and outlast its competitors.  

Read Me: The Emergence Of Female Voice In American Epistolary Fiction, Allison Melissa Ramsey

Honors Theses

The objective of the thesis was to study how the letter, as a narrative device provided by the epistolary genre, supplies unheard female characters with an avenue to speak when their worlds do not allow it. In the novels, the letters not only permit a female character to practice building a voice, but also provide a self-reflection and identification experience, which enables the woman to see where she is, rewrite her role, and control where she wants to go. Through reading Hannah Webster Foster's The Coquette, Alice Walker's The Color Purple, Lee Smith's Fair and Tender Ladies, and Maria Semple's …

Boredom And Psychological Time Perspective On Cognition, Alyssa Erin Invergo

Honors Theses

This study investigated psychological time with regards to a memory recognition task. The participants rated images on a 5-point scale of attractiveness. There were two different conditions, one having 40 male faces and the other containing 40 female faces. After they finished rating the faces, they made a retrospective time estimate of how long they thought they spent viewing the faces. Following this they took the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS) to test what state of boredom they were currently experiencing. Finally they performed a memory recognition test. We noticed statistically significant differences between the two conditions based on target …

Perceptions Of Poverty And The Community Action Poverty Simulation Experience, Anna Grace Stout

Honors Theses

A quarter of Mississippi's population lives below the poverty line. Poverty is linked to a myriad of health conditions, psychological effects, and inaccessibility of basic resources. Often, those who have never faced the challenges of poverty hold misconceptions regarding the impacts of poverty. It is important to correct misconceptions in order to combat the problems of poverty through such means as better-informed legislation and community action plans. Poverty simulations have recently been designed to educate people about poverty and its challenges. A poverty simulation is a role-playing exercise in which participants are given props and a list of tasks to …

Gender Rules: Differences In Male And Female First-Year Undergraduate Adherence To Campus Alcohol Policy, Ashley Maiolatesi

Honors Theses

Although differences in both men's and women's risk-taking and alcohol consumption have been respectively examined in previous research, the relationship between the two has not been thoroughly documented. While there have been studies on differences between male and female drinking habits, including those on amount and frequency of consumption, as well as studies documenting how women felt about both risk-taking and gender differences in morality, these factors are rarely, if ever, expressly linked. The current study aims to test past research regarding women's traditional hesitation towards engaging in risky behavior and rebelling against policy through the study of behavioral outcomes …

Exploration Of Compound Viability As An Organ-Selective Anti-Metastatic Therapeutic Treatment For Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Ashley E. Noblin

Honors Theses

Phenformin and metformin are compounds that are currently used to treat Type II Diabetes and have been shown to suppress breast cancer metastasis. These compounds were tested, after extensive research and screening of current approved oncology drugs, in various experiments with the cell lines MDA-MB-231, LM, and BoM, with MDA-MB-231 being the parental cell line, LM being the lung metastatic line, and BoM being the bone metastatic line. The cells were treated with compound addition at various concentrations and subject to a two-day concentration response viability study in order to determine any inhibitory effects, followed by a five-day assay in …

Vaccination Situation: A History Of Vaccine Refusal In The United States And Vaccine Beliefs At The University Of Mississippi, Austin Vitale

Honors Theses

The goals of this research were to trace a narrative of vaccine refusal in the United States from the nation's inception to the present day and identify any impact or influence from refusal ideology on vaccine beliefs of University of Mississippi undergraduates. A review of historical literature regarding vaccine refusal in the United States developed a historical narrative, and a quantitative survey was utilized to identify the vaccine beliefs of a University of Mississippi sample. Three distinct eras of vaccine refusal were detailed, with the third (present) era distinguished by the use of the internet to spread anti-vaccine ideologies. The …

Vegetation Effects On Rhizosphere Microbial Communities In Coastal Wetlands Of South Mississippi, Sean Woo Kang

Honors Theses

The Mississippi vegetated coastal wetlands consist of many salt and brackish marshes. In those marshes, there are two plant species Spartina alterniflora and Juncus roemerianus that thrive in those environments. This would not be possible without the benefits of microbial communities that live in the portion of the plant's soil called the rhizosphere. The rhizosphere is crucial for plant nutrition, health, and quality. It supports the biomass and activity of microorganisms for carbon sequestration, ecosystem functioning, and nutrient cycling in natural ecosystems. To investigate the vegetation effects on rhizosphere microbial communities in coastal wetlands, plant samples and their rhizosphere soils …

The Effects Of Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage On Motor Unit Firing, Sherman Jones

Honors Theses

Exercise induced muscle damage is commonly seen in individuals who are unaccustomed to exercise above a particular activity level. This temporary condition is marked by damage to individual sarcomeres, delayed onset muscle soreness, and localized edema. The analyzed data is decomposed electromyography (dEMG) data from the University of Oklahoma's Department of Health and Exercise Science. There, it was shown that following exercise-induced muscle damage, more slow motor units are recruited for force production. For this thesis, MATLAB ® was used to calculate the synchronization and coherence of 378 motor unit pairs. It was found that following exercise-induced muscle damage, both …

Noise Reduction In The Manufacturing Environment: A Study On Small Jet Geometry Alterations, Shawn Wesley Skinner

Honors Theses

Noise pollution is an identified issue in manufacturing environments. While machines, motion, production, etc. are a large factor in this noise pollution, other sources exist. Often copper tubing is connected to pressurized containers as a make-shift jet stream for reorienting elements on the assembly line. These makeshift jets when working in conjunction create noise pollution. By manipulating the exit of these small jets, it is hypothesized that the noise level can be decreased. Using the National Center for Physical Acoustics (NCPA) at the University of Mississippi, three geometry alterations—deburring the end, creating a converging-diverging nozzle, and flattening the end—were tested …