Digital Commons Network^™

Understanding The English Bible: A Comparative Analysis Of Four Bible Versions, Michael R. Coats

Honors Theses

Scholarship pertaining to the Bible accounts for a great deal of research. A search for “the Bible” on just the University of Southern Mississippi Libraries website archive results in 549,075 hits, and specifying “English Bible versions” only reduces those results to 70,000. My largest difficulty in discussing the Bible lies not in finding a conversation but in finding which part of the conversation to enter. In the past fifty years, one of the largest emphases has been on using the best translation style for the Bible, a topic that has dominated the field of biblical scholarship (Ryken, Understanding 15). I …

Japanese Business Culture: A Study On Foreigner Integration And Social Inclusion, Sarah Franklin

Honors Theses

With the lack of research and awareness about foreigner integration in the Japanese business working environment, this thesis delves into the underlying factors that influence the perceptions of foreigner integration and social inclusion. Key topics include the history of Japanese business culture, the major differences between American and Japanese business culture, the psychological implications of culture shock on integration, the possibility of ‘below surface’ foreigner integration in the working environment, and the recommended actions by foreigners for better social acceptance and adaptation to the culture. Through observations and interviews, it was discovered that ‘below surface’ integration is possible. However, it …

Emperors, Prostitutes, And Children: Exploring Modern Japanese History Through Two Modern Japanese Plays, Gregory Kalim Darrell Wolf

Honors Theses

"Theatre," asserts Japanese playwright Betsuyaku Minoru, "mirrors the spirit of the times." Building on this assumption, this thesis analyzes how the pressing social issues of two periods in modern Japanese history are reflected in two modern Japanese plays: The Little Match Girl (Macchi uri no sho¿jo, 1966) by Betsuyaku Minoru (b. 1937) and The King of La Mancha's Clothes (Gusha ni wa mienai La Mancha no o¿sama no hadaka, 1991) by Yokouchi Kensuke (b. 1961). Both plays provide meaningful commentary on the themes of patriarchal authority, prostitution, and inter-generational conflict through combining "contemporary" Japanese characters with Hans Christian Andersen Fairy …

Finding Palestine, Finding Ourselves: A Philosophy Of Occupation, Narrative, And Peace, Sarah Emma Decker

Honors Theses

This thesis is a philosophical study of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict employing feminist, epistemological, and social and political philosophy to analyze linguistic processes such as narratives, naming, and stereotype formation. The framework of this thesis is the Wittgensteinian paradox of the self defined by the other, according to which individuals are always dependent upon others not merely for the satisfactions of their needs, but for their very conception of self. Following Wittgenstein, I argue that this essential co-dependency is due to the character of our necessarily shared language conventions. Moreover, I apply this framework in an attempt to better articulate …

Deaf Education: Bicultural Bilingual Education And Total Communication In General Education, Stacey L. Johnson

Honors Theses

This paper will examine scholarly work in the field of deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) education in relation to two different approaches used by teachers in this field. The researcher is searching to find which approach, bicultural bilingual in a residential setting or total communication in general education best serves students who are deaf and hard of hearing in the United States. Upon beginning research, it was quickly noted that you cannot look at only setting, communication, or approach; they are tightly bound and must be looked at together.

Gender, Consent, And Hermaphroditic Legibility In James Joyce's Ulysses And Finnegans Wake, Carter R. Elsea

Honors Theses

It is difficult to imagine a more elusive, polemical author than James Joyce. He is often spoken of as both a cosmopolitan and a nationalist, syphilitic madman and genius, and misogynist and writer of écriture feminine. This final paradoxical view of Joyce is one that I find most compelling. However, this is not a project in feminist historiography attempting to reclaim Joyce for feminism, but rather a demonstration of the pulsing bodies that already exist between the texts. When exploring this idea of écriture feminine in Joyce’s Ulysses, one might be surprised that Hélène Cixous refers to Joyce’s treatment of …

The Impact Of Higher Education On Linguistic Culture In Senegal And The Midwest United States, Kelsey Gough

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of globalization on linguistic culture in populations of people from both Senegal and the Midwest United States. This study will also specifically highlight any similarities and differences present between those who have a higher education and those that do not. These similarities and differences were revealed by asking the research question: How has the process of globalization impacted beliefs about language held by people from various educational levels in Senegal and the U.S. Midwest?

Data regarding globalization’s effect on the attitudes people have about language, linguistic culture, were retrieved from …

Improving Access To Communication For Adults With Aphasia Using "Aphasia-Friendly" Accommodations, Chandler Hodgkin

Honors Theses

Accessing written health information is vital to any health visit (Blackstone, Beukelman, & Yorkston, 2015). People who have difficulty comprehending written text have difficulty understanding health-related information because it is usually written at a complex levels (Kanj & Mitic, 2009). If health information contains complicated content and is not easily accessible, people may not receive the health care needed (Blackstone et al., 2015). Many populations are considered communication vulnerable relative to health care which means they may not have access to understanding health information documents (Hallowell, 2016). These populations include people who are blind or visually impaired; people who are …

Bilingual Language Assessment, Carmen Wittkopp

Honors Theses

Purpose: To describe language assessments that benefit bilingual students in the correct diagnosis of a language disorder.

Method: A systematic review of the literature was completed to examine the assessment tools used for bilingual children. The most common peer-reviewed journals in the field of speech-language pathology were examined to find articles that researched and discussed bilingual assessment practices. The information collected in the articles focused on the procedures needed for the correct assessment of a bilingual speaker.

Results: The literature mainly focused on assessment techniques of Conceptual Scoring, Dynamic Assessment, Nonword Repetition Task, and the Bilingual English Spanish Oral Screener. …

Assessing Electronic Voice Phenomena Through Speech Science, Cassie C. Axtell

Honors Theses

Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) are unexplained voices captured on audio recording, allegedly paranormal in nature (Buckner & Buckner, 2012). Little research exists on listener’s perception of EVPs to date. The field of speech science involves the study of the production, transmission, and perception of human speech. Many concrete elements from the study of speech science have the potential to be applied to the interpretation of EVP content. Several works of literature were reviewed to assess current EVP analysis practices Interviews were conducted with various paranormal investigation societies across the nation to gather information on the general practices involved in EVP …

Aiscrima E Checchi Italian-American Dialect And Development In The New Millennium, Elizabeth Loyacano Pedrotti

Honors Theses

The Italian-American identity is inextricably linked with language. Italian immigrants and their descendants have formed a culture in the United states with a dynamic history, particularly when it comes to language use and perceptions. This study examined multigenerational Italian Americans’ perceptions of English, Italian, and the unique Italian-American dialect; it aimed to discover changes in the usage of Italian-American dialect over time. Italian Americans in the Dayton area were interviewed and presented with surveys to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. Results indicate that while overall usage and recognition of Italian-American lexical items has decreased dramatically since the 1980s, younger …

You Have The Right To…What? A Study Of Knowledge Of Americans’ Rights In Criminal Proceedings, Anna Marchiony

Honors Theses

An exploratory questionnaire was developed to assess participants’ knowledge of American rights during criminal proceedings, their confidence in that knowledge, and whether their experiences, professional or recreational, are associated with that knowledge. Questionnaire items covered topics such as Bill of Rights, Miranda Rights, Interviews and Interrogations, Rights During Trial, and Post-Conviction Rights. Demographic variables assessed field of study/employment, encounters with the Criminal Justice System, and viewership of crime-based television shows. Responses were analyzed in an attempt to find patterns in knowledge. Results showed that participants were most knowledgeable regarding the Bill of Rights, rights during a criminal trial, and post-conviction …

An Alternative Approach To Training Sequence-To-Sequence Model For Machine Translation, Vivek Sah

Honors Theses

Machine translation is a widely researched topic in the field of Natural Language Processing and most recently, neural network models have been shown to be very effective at this task. The model, called sequence-to-sequence model, learns to map an input sequence in one language to a vector of fixed dimensionality and then map that vector to an output sequence in another language without any human intervention provided that there is enough training data. Focusing on English-French translation, in this paper, I present a way to simplify the learning process by replacing English input sentences by word-by-word translation of those sentences. …

It’S Not You, It’S— Hookup Culture And Sexual Subjectivity, Anne Vetter

Honors Theses

A semi-fictionalized ethnography that interrogates how students at Colby College use hookup culture as a way to make sense of themselves and others. This thesis is about systems, about social power and norms, and the very real ways that they are experienced in and enacted by the bodies of individual students. In other words, this thesis is a naming of what many students on this campus already know without words, a linking of story to story to story, a marking of patterns that underlie the forms of sexual subjectivity driving participation in hookup culture. Ultimately, by making visible the systems …

Nature And Human Flourishing In The Laws Of Manu And The Daodejing, Qijing Zheng

Honors Theses

By comparing the interpretation of dharma in the ancient Indian Laws of Manu (Manusmṛti) with the concepts of dao in the Chinese classic, Daodejing, this thesis discusses that, despite the plausible perception that the former represents despotic, hierarchical governance while the latter promotes freedom (and even anarchy), the two texts in fact share a similar envision of human flourishing through the following of one's nature, as well as a foundational belief that both laws and political ideals emerge from nature.

Oprimido, Censurado, Controlado: Authoritarian Censorship Of The Media In Spain Under Franco's Dictatorship, Darby Hennessey

Honors Theses

Francisco Franco is one of the most formidable dictators of the 20th century, and his overwhelming control over the press and other media in Spain during his 36 years as an authoritarian dictator is among the most notable forms of press censorship in history. This thesis examines the various measures Franco's regime took to censor the press and other media platforms (print news, non-news print media and digital media) and explains that, through these measures, Franco's regime fits and even expands the Authoritarian Theory of Mass Communication. This theory has historic and philosophical backgrounds, but by applying the basic principles …

Dam Politics: Bolivian Indigeneity, Rhetoric, And Envirosocial Movements In A Developing State, Thomas Moorman

Honors Theses

How is the natural environment used and understood in contemporary Bolivian politics? To answer this question, this thesis examines two environmental conflicts, one past and one contemporary. In 2011, indigenous communities from the Indigenous Territory and Isiboro Secure National Park participated in the Eighth March for Territory and Dignity to protest the Villa Tunari—San Ignacio de Moxos Highway planned for construction through the TIPNIS. Using the existing literature, I show how this protest utilized distinct forms of environmentalism to combat state resource claims. My contribution to the field is the exposition of how the environment is used and understood surrounding …

Eta In Spain: Explaining Basque Violence, Jenny Kern

Honors Theses

My thesis focuses on Euskadi ta Auskatasuna (ETA), a terrorist group in País Vasco, Spain and attempts to determine the causes behind ETA's violence. I focus on three areas of study: the political situation of País Vasco, the public opinion, and the economic situation of País Vasco. Data is collected from the Basque government, the EuskoBarómetro, and World Bank, and showed in correlation with ETA attacks to discern patterns. Due to limited data, my area of study focuses mainly on ETA's later years, when they were less active. This allows me to focus on the periods of the ceasefires in …

Action Understanding Via Mirror Neuron Systems: A Proposed Model For The Science And Treatment Of Stuttering, Madison Jones

Honors Theses

Persistent developmental stuttering is generally considered to be a speech disorder characterized by repetitions, prolongations and postural fixations, and is relatively resistant to therapy. While mainstream stuttering therapy continues to rely on behavioral speech targets, recent research suggests that mirror neuron systems can be activated to temporarily induce natural sounding fluent speech in those who stutter via exposure to second speech signals. Despite the prevalence of speech-motor based stuttering treatments, a unified account of how and why fluency is enhanced through endogenous methods remains elusive. The purpose of these two exploratory studies is to further test the validity of the …

Little Philosophers: Assessing And Prompting Philosophical Reasoning With Children, Makensey Sanders

Honors Theses

There is a debate in academic philosophy and psychology of whether or not children can or should do philosophy. Robert Kitchener asserts that due to cognitive limitations, children under the age of 10 cannot think philosophically (Kitchener, 1990). Murris (2000) challenges Kitchener's arguments and concludes that more research is needed. Further, this is a period during which children show individual differences and development in cognitive capacity, specifically within executive function relating to conscious control that may influence abstract thought (Zelazo et al., 1997). The present study assessed 7- to 9-year-olds' and adults' ability to answer philosophical questions in relation to …

Curriculum Bien Fait: The Quest For A Coherent High School Literature Curriculum, Shelby Reed Knighten

Honors Theses

This literature review examines sources of incoherency——both macrocosmic and microcosmic——that impact the goal of establishing a coherent high school literature curriculum. Macrocosmic sources of incoherency involve the institutions through which standards and curriculum are constructed while microcosmic sources concern issues within the discipline of English. Among the macrocosmic/institutional sources of incoherency are an unclear division of power between federal and state government, the lack of a professional vocabulary in education, competing interpretations of standards and reforms, and a lack of educational infrastructure. Microcosmic/disciplinary sources include competing ideologies within English education as well as the weakening of the classical, ethical, and …

The Early Adulthood Experience Of Having A Sibling With A Developmental Disability, Carole Frances Jennings

Honors Theses

This qualitative study explored the early adult's experience of having a sibling with a developmental disability and influences on the experience. The phenomenological method was used, specifically the approach of hermeneutic phenomenology as discussed by van Manen. The phenomenological investigation included the collection of data from the experiential descriptions of the participants gathered during interviews. Based on reflection on the data, essential themes of the experience and influences on the experience were identified. To describe the situational context of the participant, demographic data were collected. Five essential themes of the early adulthood experience of having a sibling with a developmental …

Effects Of Second Language Learning On Mental Representations Of Time, Conner S. Clark

Honors Theses

The following thesis is a domain-centered study that examines the effects of second language (L2) learning on mental representations of time in native English learners of L2 Mandarin Chinese. The design of this study attempts to observe the effects of the existence and use of spatiotemporal metaphors in Mandarin Chinese on L2 learners of the language. The methodology used for data collection includes a three-dimensional pointing paradigm—a partially language-independent task—which attempts to isolate cognitive behavior. The task requires participants to answer questions (by pointing) regarding space and time on imaginary axes in front of their person using their own fist …

Taking Things At Face Value: Typeface And Its Influence On Reading, Memory, Judgment And Time Perception, Danielle Hollingsworth

Honors Theses

Differing typefaces, such as serif, sans serif, or script, offer varying physical characteristics and can aid or inhibit legibility. These distinctions between typefaces lead to fonts being deemed as either perceptually fluent or disfluent. As fluency of a text is altered, the notion is offered that processing changes occur, which can influence factors of reading a text. Altering fonts have previously been shown to influence reading speeds, memory, and time estimation judgment. This thesis tests the relationship of font type with these aspects, with the addition of another judgment portion regarding perception of text quality. Determining the aspects which can …

Early Foreign Language Education And The Effect On State-Mandated Standardized Testing Scores, Kaitlyn Elizabeth Duda

Honors Theses

Early foreign language education has been shown to have a positive effect on the performance of students on state-mandated standardized scores. This work gives an overview of the history of foreign language education, as well as a description of a specific program at an elementary school in North Texas. In order to analyze the effects of early foreign language immersion education on the performance of students enrolled in the program at Bedford Heights Elementary school, a statistical evaluation was performed using the STAAR scores of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students enrolled in both the foreign language immersion program and …

Barriers To The Provision Of High-Quality Early Childhood Education In The Mississippi Delta, Mackenzie Poole

Honors Theses

High-quality early childhood education has been shown to enhance the development of social, emotional, cognitive, language, and literacy skills in young children (Burchinal, Peisner-Feinberg, Bryant, & Clifford, 2000; Loeb, Fuller, Kagan, & Carrol, 2004; Peisner-Feinberg et al., 2001). Barriers encountered when attempting to provide high-quality early childhood education in the Mississippi Delta were investigated by analyzing the opinions and perceptions of early childhood educators. Requests for participation in the study were mailed to 92 child care facilities, and individuals from three licensed child care centers in the region participated. Opinions were gathered using questionnaires (n = 20) and interviews (n …

Dynamic Cultural Specificities: Mediation Of Culture And Emergent Gay Identity In China, Lynam Brandon

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

All Things Loved And Unlovable: Discovering Southern Identity In Black Migration Novels, Michael Holman

Honors Theses

This thesis traces the development of the ways that the South figures in the imaginations of black writers by examining Southern identity in three novels centered around migratory protagonists. The thesis examines the ways in which folk identity, urban landscapes, remigration, and gender shape the migration experience in each novel. The novels discussed here are Nella Larsen's Quicksand, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, and Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon. Quicksand posits the South as a place of unique danger, especially for black women, Invisible Man characterizes it as a place defined by oppressive memory that may be utilized as a resource …

The Barriers They Face: The Legal, Social, And Economic Obstacles Immigrants Encounter As They Attempt To Gain Acceptance In French Society, Kara Rachel Chobot

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Pituitary Gland Functional Connectivity And Bmi, E. Paige Rucker

Honors Theses

This study examined the link between pituitary gland functional connectivity and BMI. The pituitary gland plays various roles in the body through the secretion of hormones, but its direct role in development of obesity and BMI management is unknown. Resting state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rsfMRI) brain data of individuals with diverse BMIs were analyzed by voxel-wise analysis to determine the functional connectivities of the pituitary gland to other regions of the brain. A significant negative correlation was found between BMI and pituitary gland functional connectivity in eleven different brain regions. These regions include the posterior thalamus, lingual gyrus, precuneus, …