Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Foam Rolling With And Without Vibration On Contralateral Limb Range Of Motion And Jump Performance, Lawton P. Hawkins

Honors Theses

Recently, foam rolling with vibration (VFR) has gained popularity with having similar benefits to standard foam rolling (FR). VFR may induce a greater improvement in pain pressure threshold, which could lead to a greater improvement in range of motion (ROM). When applied to one limb, improvements in ROM occur in the non-rolled limb for both FR and VFR. Studies comparing the effects of FR and VFR in terms of acute changes in ROM and performance have reported mixed results. Using a larger dosage of VFR may provide a greater improvement in ROM for the non-rolled limb compared to FR. PURPOSE: …

Optimized Student Grouping For Enhanced Classroom Performance, Kathryn E. Reardon

Honors Theses

Effective grouping methods enhance classroom collaboration and allow for a student-centered teaching approach; however, traditional grouping methods are time-consuming, subjective, and can create inconsistent group dynamics. This project addresses these challenges by employing a data-driven approach to optimize student groups based on academic performance, behavior, attendance, language barriers, and teacher preferences. The minimum viable product is a web application with an algorithm-driven system to group students and a database storage for group results. During the initiation phase, a problem was defined with a proposed solution. During the planning phase, potential design choices and grouping methods were researched and assessed. During …

Developing Novel Radical Protein Footprinting Methods For Application In Living Systems, Lyle Tobin

Honors Theses

Radical protein footprinting (RPF) is a family of structural biology techniques that generate radicals in situ to label solvent-accessible amino acid residues. Coupled with liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry, RPF enables the characterization of protein higher order structure and sites of protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions. While traditionally performed in vitro, recent advancements have extended RPF to ex vivo and in vivo applications, including intact cells, nematodes, and 3D cell cultures. RPF in living systems allows the structural analysis of proteins and protein complexes in their native environment, preserving physiological interactions, dynamic conformational changes, and structural contexts that might otherwise be lost …

The Nil Ripple Effect: How Name, Image, And Likeness Reshapes Student-Athletes, Mental Health, And Fan Perception, Jaleah Walker

Honors Theses

The NIL Ripple Effect: How Name, Image, and Likeness Reshapes Student-Athletes, Mental Health, and Fan Perception examines the shifting dynamics of college athletics and how these changes affect student-athletes, fans, and institutions. The study explores the consequences of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals and its effects on student-athletes' mental health and fans’ perception. Through interviews with athletes and analysis of current policies, this research highlights the mental, financial, and competitive pressures that NIL places on student-athletes. While NIL provides financial opportunities, it also demands brand management, public visibility, and performance consistency, often leading to heightened stress. Additionally, this study …

A Qualitative Evaluation Of Diabetes Solutions Telehealth Coaching Services, Caroline Brock

Honors Theses

Diabetes remains a growing public health concern, particularly in underserved regions such as rural Mississippi, where barriers to healthcare access and diabetes education contribute to poor disease management. This qualitative study explores the lived experiences of 27 participants enrolled in Diabetes Solutions, a telehealth-based diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES/T) program offered by the Mississippi Diabetes Network. Using a phenomenological approach and structured interviews, the study identifies four major themes: structural benefits of the program, knowledge gained, common changes by participants, and quality of life outcomes. Participants consistently emphasized the value of personalized coaching, emotional encouragement, and practical education on …

Differing Judicial Perspectives: A Look Into The Evolution And Constitutionality Of The United States' Administrative State, Buchanan Albert Cook

Honors Theses

Over time the United States’ administrative state has evolved into something that is quite unrecognizable from its inception in the early years of the nation. This essay will provide an account of the founding of the United States Constitution while recognizing the intent and design of the framers of the Constitution. In juxtapositioning this account with the current state of administrative agencies, questions over the constitutionality of such agencies will be posed. To answer these questions, an overview of the history of administrative agencies in the United States will be given alongside accompanying and significant Supreme Court Cases. This overview …

Bullying Among Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disabilities And Restorative Practices To Heal The School Environment, Elizabeth M. Mattingly

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the involvement of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities in the bullying dynamic and propose restorative circles as an alternative to exclusionary discipline practices. Students with emotional and behavioral disabilities are more likely than other children to be both the perpetrators and the victims of bullying due to their difficulties with emotional regulation and appropriate conflict resolution. Creating a school community that teaches appropriate social behaviors and healthy conflict resolution could reduce the rate at which students with emotional and behavioral disabilities are involved in the bullying dynamic. This paper examines the …

Empowering Youth Through Cooking Classes, Jamiya C. Mason

Honors Theses

Chronic health issues and poor dietary habits continue to disproportionately impact rural communities in Mississippi, especially among children. Research has shown that early exposure to healthy foods and cooking practices can positively influence lifelong health behaviors. Cooking classes have also been linked to improved food literacy, culinary confidence, and willingness to try new foods. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a short-term culinary program on children’s cooking self-efficacy and food behaviors in Quitman County, Mississippi.

Four cooking classes were conducted with youth (grades 4–7) in a local after-school program. Lessons included vegetable-based recipes, including zucchini …

Health Fairs: An Effective Approach To Health Promotion Through Community Engagement And Community-Campus Partnerships, Brookleigh Brumfield

Honors Theses

Community engagement seeks to achieve long-term outcomes through collaborating with community and campus partners to address the issues affecting the community by centering their voices, concerns, and solutions. This capstone project seeks to offer health and language access for residents in Lafayette, Pontotoc, and Union Counties, and to evaluate the health fair model from the perspective of participating community and campus partners. With this information from organizations, it will be possible to create the most efficient, beneficial health fairs in these counties. The community partner perspectives show the importance of community engagement, but also the significance for the campus as …

Mindfulness Meditation Type On Self-Compassion Levels, Emily Sexton

Honors Theses

Focused attention and open monitoring are two types of mindfulness meditation, which emphasizes the importance of present moment awareness while meditating. Both approaches can be done while sitting or walking. While research has explored the correlation between mindfulness meditation type and posture type, it remains unknown how a combination of mindfulness mediation type and posture type impacts self-compassion levels. This study examined if a combination of FA seated, FA walking, OM seated, or OM walking enhances self-compassion by having participants meditate an assigned meditation for fifteen minutes a week for six weeks and complete an assessment at the baseline, midline, …

Too Old For Dolls? Assessing The Efficacy Of Doll Therapy In Reducing Major Neurocognitive Disorder Symptoms To Alleviate Caregiver Burden, Ginny Price

Honors Theses

Dementia, formally known as major neurocognitive disorder (MNCD), is a complex condition that disables the independence of a person in completion of daily activities. This disorder results in the need for assistance from several caregivers to ensure that their needs are properly met. As their condition declines, the volume of needs increases, placing more responsibility on the caregiver, increasing their stress, and leading to a complication known as caregiver burden. Doll therapy is a non-pharmacological intervention that focuses on alleviating certain behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. It is the aim of this literature review to determine the efficacy of …

Genomic Characterization Of Novel Bacteriophage: Bellis, Emmanauel Z. Gibbs

Honors Theses

Phages are the most abundant life-forms on the planet. Due to their unique ability to infect and lyse specific bacterial strains, phages have been proposed as a potential therapeutic agent to fight antibiotic resistance bacterial infections. Consequently, more research is required to further our understanding of phages. We were provided with an isolated, novel Mycobacterium bacteriophage: Bellis. Utilizing a bioinformatic approach, we successfully annotated Bellis’ genome using a variety of computer programs like GeneMark, Glimmer, HHpred, and PECAAN. We discovered that Bellis has 122 genes, including a RecB-like endonuclease and an AAA-ATPase, as well as 10 tRNAs. Through the genomic …

Genome Annotation Of Stargaze, Madison R. Murray

Honors Theses

Bacteriophages are viruses which solely infect bacteria. They are one of the most abundant and diverse biological entities, yet there is a limited amount of information on these viruses, including their gene functions. Several previously unknown phages have been discovered including Stargaze, whose bacterial host is Mycobacterium Smegmatis. Characterization of phage genes and their functions deepen our understanding of phages and potentially contribute to the broader biomedical effort associated with phages ability to combat bacterial infections. Stargaze is a G5 subcluster phage and it only has one other related phage in its cluster, that phage is from Madagascar. Using a …

Associations Between Screen Time, Executive Functioning, And Book Use In Preschool-Age Children From Rural Mississippi, Anabel W. Mccraney

Honors Theses

The primary purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between screen time, executive function (EF), and book use in a sample of preschool-age children from rural Mississippi. To measure this relationship children were asked to complete three different EF tasks measuring impulse control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. To measure the child’s frequency of screen and book use, a parent-report survey was used. The results indicated that there might be a relationship between EF, screen, and books within certain variables. There was a relationship found between screen time and fewer books reported in the household. Between EF and …

Investigations Of The Electrochemical And Photochemical Properties Of Earth-Abundant Metal Complexes Stabilized By A Pentadentate Bipyridyl Macrocyclic Ligand, Skylar Nichols

Honors Theses

The creation of a selective and efficient catalyst for the multi-electron reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into valuable chemicals or renewable fuels is a crucial research area. As the use of non-renewable fossil fuels and the associated greenhouse gas emissions, predominantly CO₂, continue to rise, the need for renewable and sustainable approaches to energy increases. To address both the need for clean energy and to reduce the accumulation of CO₂ in the atmosphere, this work will investigate the synthesis and catalytic activity of Earth-abundant transition metal-based complexes supported by a pentadentate ligand. The macrocyclic ligand 7-methyl-4,7,10-triaza-1,2(2,6)-dipyridinacycloundecaphane was successfully synthesized and …

Gender Employment Gap Within Professional Sports Team Front Offices, Reilly E. Fitzpatrick

Honors Theses

This research paper analyzes the causes of the gender employment gap, or the underrepresentation of women, within professional sports team front offices. The research question, What are the effects on female employees working in the sports industry with the prevalent difference in the number of women employed, analyzes the female experience in the industry. To answer this question, a group of female employees were surveyed on their experiences in the industry. An emphasis was placed on if a woman had at least one negative experience in the industry and also if that negative experience led them to have a decline …

Relations Between Effortful Control, Parental Movement Attitudes, And Problem Behaviors In 3-Year-Olds, Kiera Breisch

Honors Theses

Research has explored the link between effortful control and problem behaviors, as well as the effects of movement on problem behaviors in children. However, less work has been conducted with preschoolers considering how parental attitudes towards movement may relate to children’s temperament and problem behaviors in the forms of conduct problems, hyperactivity, and emotional problems. In the present study I investigated the relationships between effortful control (attention focusing, attention shifting, and inhibitory control), parental movement attitudes, and problem behaviors in 3-year-olds. Results showed increased reports of inhibitory control related to less reports of conduct problems. Further, higher inhibitory control and …

Challenges Us Study Abroad Students Face When Acculturating To A Foreign Food Environment, Sydney C. Davis

Honors Theses

Studying abroad presents a unique opportunity for college students to immerse themselves in new cultures, including experiencing different food environments and dietary customs. However, adapting to a foreign food culture can pose various challenges that impact students’ overall health, eating behaviors, and study abroad experiences. The purpose of this study to develop a survey instrument designed to investigate the extent to which U.S. study abroad students embrace, accept, and face challenges with different aspects of Italian food culture, using the Social Ecological Model (SEM) as a guiding framework. Initial survey items were developed with information obtained from focus group discussions …

Effects Of Acute Exercise On Cognition: Consideration Of Potential Moderators, Lucy C. Wilson, Elizabeth Carwile, Mara Liston, Elizabeth Gaines, Mckenzie Cotten, Mary Griffin

Honors Theses

The present thesis aims to determine the effects, if any, of six potential moderators on the effects of acute moderate-intensity exercise on cognitive functioning. The modes of exercise undertaken by the participants included treadmill (Experiment 1) and stationary bike (Experiment 2) exercise. Participants in each experiment either exercised or rested for twenty minutes and then participated in either a memory recall task or cognitive functioning (“Stroop”) task. The bouts of either exercise or rest on the stationary bike were followed by a rest period during which the participant would be exposed to either standard air oxygen levels (normoxia) or hypoxic …

Bottom-Up Mechanochemical Synthesis Of Nanographene, Sarah Kerr

Honors Theses

This research explores the application of mechanochemistry in the bottom-up synthesis of nanographene, specifically focusing on the mechanochemical Diels-Alder (DA) reaction. The study investigates the effect of different reaction conditions and dienophiles on the mechanochemical DA reaction, aiming to optimize reaction efficiency and yield using a ball mill. The initial trials with a sterically hindered dienophile (2) and an electron-deficient diene experienced repeated failure, while reactions using dienophile (B), a terminal alkyne showed more promising results. Various variables were examined, including reaction time, jar size, ball size, ball number, shaking frequency, liquid-assisted grinding (LAG), heating, and diene to dienophile ratio, …

Exposing Lived Experiences: Eudora Welty's Intersectional Approach To Writing And Photography, Caroline Mccutchen

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how Eudora Welty employs an intersectional approach in her writing and photography to represent the complex identities of elderly Black women in the American South during the Great Depression. Using intersectionality as a framework, this project analyzes how Welty’s work acknowledges the overlapping forces of race, gender, age, and class that shape her subjects’ lived experiences. While documenting adversity, Welty also highlights resilience, agency, and communal empowerment. The study focuses on Welty’s literary works “A Worn Path,” “Ida M’Toy,” “A Pageant of Birds,” and “Cindy and the Joyful Noise,” alongside her Depression-era photographs from One Time, One …

Over-The-Counter Cold Medication Usage Self-Efficacy Among Undergraduate Students In The United States, Ray Goodwin

Honors Theses

Background

This study looks at the trends in over-the-counter medication usage and self-efficacy among undergraduate college students in the United States. Over-the-counter (OTC) medications serve as the most easily accessible and commonly purchased medications and can be used as a basis to determine this demographic’s attitudes and behaviors towards self-medication. In addition, undergraduates represent a diverse population for analyzing differences among demographic groups.

Methods

A Qualtrics survey was sent out to undergraduates across the US via a panel, and the team received 403 useable responses. As part of a larger study, the survey presented participants with four different scenarios at …

The Impacts Of The Transfer Process Through The Eyes Of Stem Majors, Astrid Y. Lopez Matias

Honors Theses

This study explores the experiences of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) transfer students through the lens of Lily, a biology major who transferred from a large Midwestern university to a large Southeastern university. Employing a qualitative case study approach, data were collected via a semi-structured interview to delve into the complexities of her transfer journey. The analysis was guided by the Edalgo and High (2022) framework, which examines the interplay of personal, institutional, and social factors in shaping student experiences.

Lily's narrative highlights several challenges common among STEM transfer students, including unexpected personal and financial pressures, difficulties in navigating …

Institutional Connectedness And Social Support Among College Students: Links To Campus Involvement, Carissa Strum

Honors Theses

Background. College is a pivotal period in the lives of students, and an important aspect of the experience is involvement within the campus. College student wellness is also a growing area of interest in higher education, with increased attention on ways to help students thrive. This study explores which aspects of campus involvement contribute to students’ feelings of connectedness and social support. This study aims to 1) assess the association between campus involvement and social support among college students, 2) assess the association between campus involvement and institutional connectedness among college students, and 3) examine whether the association between campus …

Associations Between Tiktok Use And Undergraduate Nursing Professional Identity, Parker M. Watts

Honors Theses

Background. The global surge in social media usage prompts extensive research into its links with nursing professional identity. College-aged individuals who are in nursing school or are going to be in nursing school in the future must navigate their professional identity as they face heightened susceptibility to subjective opinions about the career of a nurse due to their frequent engagement with social media platforms. Among these platforms is that of TikTok, a platform of which has rapidly gained traction, especially among younger demographics. TikTok remains relatively underexplored in terms of its impact on nursing professional identity. This study seeks to …

Afghanistan: An Analysis Of U.S. Foreign Policy’S Effect On Afghan Terrorism Rates, Katelyn E. Tinsley Foust

Honors Theses

While the term ‘terrorism’ was first coined and widely used in the late 1700s regarding the French Reign of Terror, its popularity has grown dramatically around the globe in the last few decades. Advancements in things like technology and news reporting have made these attacks more popular and have given terrorists an easier outlet to be recognized around the world. One such area we hear about often is the Middle East and the Levant. Countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Israel, and more, are routinely discussed in our news cycles here in the United States, especially since the terrorist attacks on …

Art In Itself: The Vision Of Three Female Mississippi Artists, Jane E. Thomas

Honors Theses

This thesis is a collection of longform, narrative-style journalistic profiles on artists in Northeast Mississippi. These artists include Carol Roark from Enid and Hannah McCormick and Coulter Fussell from Water Valley. Each profile highlights an individual artist’s work, from her background, inspirations, process and distinctiveness as a creator. These profiles required studio visits and extensive interviews, as well as secondary interviews with clients, gallery owners and art curators. An overarching theme between the three artists is their ability to recognize artistic potential in their immediate surroundings; Roark paints landscapes from her own backyard, McCormick paints scenes from everyday life and …

Your Accent Sounds Tough: Exploring Shifting Indexicalities Of Appalachians Through The Lens Of Citizen Sociolinguistics, Sarah Ramsey

Honors Theses

This study investigates how Appalachian English is perceived in online discourse, focusing on the intersections of dialect, identity, and ideology. In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s 2024 devastation across Southern Appalachia, YouTube became a site of unexpected metalinguistic and cultural commentary. A citizen sociolinguistics framework is used to examine how outsiders engage with perceived Appalachian English, especially through discussions of class, gender, and accents.

Findings show that Appalachian identity is more favorably received when speakers minimize regional dialect features and align with urban, mainstream ideals. In contrast, speakers who are strongly marked as Appalachian, especially the rural and working class, …

The Influence Of Religion On Anchoring And Adjustment In Sentencing Decisions, Kaylee Reid

Honors Theses

Religious beliefs and values often color people’s perceptions and interpretations of the world around them. This research has explored the relationship between religion and the anchoring and adjustment heuristic, with regard to how this affects sentencing decisions. The study served to determine whether certain beliefs held by participants – Catholicism and Wicca –along with the anchoring and adjustment heuristic, impact the sentence issued by a potential juror. Participants were undergraduate students from the University of New Haven who were provided with a vignette depicting an armed robbery and then issued their sentencing decision in years within the frame that they …

Spatial Distribution Of The Bankfull Discharge Recurrence Interval Across Tennessee, Usa, Brayden P. Flanagan

Honors Theses

Stream restoration and water resources engineers use a wide variety of hydrological tools and refer to multiple databases to determine accurate watershed and stream characteristics required for site assessment and restoration projects. Regional curves provide significant watershed and stream data that stream restoration engineers use in various restoration projects. However, developing these curves is time-consuming, costly, and complex, as data collection and validation require extensive field studies at multiple sites within the restoration areas. This study evaluates whether pertinent information on regional curves and streamflow frequency could be combined to provide practical guidance on determining design peak flow discharges for …