Digital Commons Network^™

The Holy See And The Syrian Refugee Crisis: A Study Of The Catholic Church's Soft Power, Lauren A. Newman

Honors Theses

The Syrian Migrant and Refugee Crisis has created 5.6 million refugees who have fled outside of Syria and 6.1 million internally displaced peoples within Syria. Undoubtedly, it is one of the largest humanitarian crises of the modern day. The Catholic Church joins governments and NGOs in responding to the conflict, but modern scholarship has not focused heavily on its role. This paper seeks to investigate how the Catholic Church interacts in the secular field of international relations by looking at its response to the Syrian Migrant and Refugee Crisis. In order to analyze the Church’s response, this paper looks at …

Protein Templated Silver Nanoclusters, Greyson Keel

Honors Theses

Nanoclusters are smaller than their nanoparticle counterparts and have unique properties. Most research has been done on gold nanoclusters, but silver nanoclusters are said to be more robust. During the process of trying to create nanoclusters, several methods in the procedure were changed when gathering data: determining a successful silver concentration, working with the correct buffer, mixing gold and silver metals together, observing the effects of pH, and finding a good reducing agent. After experimenting with those changes, a successful protocol was adapted and modified from literature (Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2011, 21, 11205-11212) to produce the protein-templated Ag clusters. …

German Regional Identity And Soccer: Comparison Of Soccer’S Impact On Cultural And Political Identities In Munich And Dortmund, Germany, Megan Degrafft

Honors Theses

This paper aims to explore the relationship between soccer from a regional perspective using FC Bayern Munich and Munich, Germany and Borussia Dortmund and Dortmund, Germany and how those cities’ soccer teams elicit political and regional identities through the dichotomy between the fans and the business mindset of contemporary German soccer. A media analysis using two German language newspapers was used in order to collect articles that reported on the two soccer clubs apart from their result on the field. Pre-existing Twitter hashtags were also used to collect fan reactions towards the reported events. The findings revealed three different crises …

Japanese Mascots: Diplomatic Tool, Domestic Escapism, Gwenafaye Mccormick

Honors Theses

In Japan, mascots are not only representatives of sports teams and sugary cereals, but are vital diplomatic tools of communication and domestic tools of escapism. Though a multitude of mascots exist, scholarship on the topic tends to portray the body of mascots as one-dimensional. This thesis analyzes the modern mascot field and provides previously undefined categories for mascots based on their application, as their absence hinders further analysis. These definitions also describe the subversive social space that mascots inhabit in Japanese society and allow the thesis to examine consumers’ relationships with mascots. An analysis of the U.S. and Israeli embassy …

Rice Bunnies In China's #Metoo: Discussion Of A Feminist Movement Under Censorship, Tyler Caple

Honors Theses

This paper aims to assess the reception of the currently developing #MeToo movement in China from the perspective of Chinese internet users, feminists, and the state government as well as how censorship affects the way in which these individuals express their opinions on gendered sexual violence in Chinese society. By using a qualitative content analysis to comb through Chinese social media posts, Chinese state- sponsored news articles, and Western news articles, findings suggest that Chinese netizens are engaging with societal concerns over #MeToo and sexual assault, but do not define their grievances as being within a movement presumably to avoid …

Dworkinian Liberalism, The Right To Pornography, And The Internet, Will Nowell

Honors Theses

In a 1981 journal article, “Is There A Right to Pornography?,” Ronald Dworkin argues that we have a right to ethical independence that includes the right to consume pornography. The purpose of this thesis is to inquire as to whether Dworkinian liberalism does entail a right to specifically internet pornography. This research is primarily focused on Ronald Dworkin’s writings in Justice for Hedgehogs, Sovereign Virtue: The Theory and Practice of Equality, and Taking Rights Seriously to describe the principles and character of Dworkinian liberalism and its philosophical relationship to the question of the right to pornography. This thesis considers contemporary …

The Culture Of Football In The United States: How Hegemonic Masculinity Affects And Is Expressed In American Football, Hallie Gillam

Honors Theses

The construction of an American hegemonic masculinity has been solidified and protected since the 19th century, allowing particular groups, but not all groups, of men to wield power over others through strength, aggression, and toughness. The popularity of American football is a manifestation of society’s value of this form of masculinity, accepted as an aspect of American culture. My thesis work aims to answer the following question: how has American hegemonic masculinity shaped and been expressed through football, and in what ways has the NFL responded? In order to answer this question, I utilize a mixed methods approach to investigate …

Interactions Between Contextual And Phonetic Information In Children’S And Adults’ Perception Of Non-Native Speech, Alexis P. Zosel

Honors Theses

Phoneme categorization (i.e., the ability to differentiate between different speech sounds) is not an easy task, as individuals must integrate multiple sources of information, including both acoustic and contextual information. When a talker has a foreign accent, the listener may place more weight on sentential context because of the ambiguity of the acoustic/phonetic information. For example, listeners are more likely to classify a word that is phonetically ambiguous between goat and coat as goat if the sentential context is “The boy milked the ___,” and this is especially the case when listening to a non-native (compared to native) talker (Schertz …

Watering The Desert: Azraq, Public Opinion, And Environmental Post-Materialism, Wesley Gerard

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I analyze the physical, political, and societal transformations in Azraq, Jordan, caused by over-exploitation of the town’s aquifer. I also connect the changes I and others have observed in Azraq to two main theories: postmaterialism and its counterarguments, and the tragedy of the commons. In short, postmaterialism argues that societies that have advanced so that citizens do not have to devote their time and money to survival will have larger rates of environmentalism; the tragedy of the commons details the negative consequences of environmental degradation on those living around a common resource. In conducting the study, I …

The Baptist Tradition And Religious Freedom: Recent Trajectories, Samuel Kyle Brassell

Honors Theses

For my thesis, I have focused on the recent religious freedom bill passed in Mississippi and the arguments and influences Southern Baptists have had on the bill. I used the list of resolutions passed by the Southern Baptist Convention to trace the history and development of Southern Baptist thought on the subject of religious freedom. I consulted outside scholarly works to examine the history of the Baptist tradition and how that history has influenced modern day arguments. I compared these texts to the wording of the Mississippi bill. After conducting this research, I found that the Southern Baptist tradition and …

An Exploration Into The Evolution Of Tutoring, A Comprehensive Business Plan For Launching The Online Tutoring Company Shortwork Llc, And A Post-Operative Analysis Of Shortwork's Business Model, William L. Tribble

Honors Theses

This thesis consists of a review of the history of tutoring and homework up to the modern day; the original business plan used to launch Shortwork LLC, an online tutoring company, in the Spring of 2018; and a post-operative analysis of its business model and executive decision-making, as well as discussion about the future of education. The business plan includes a competitive analysis of the online tutoring market, an overview of Shortwork’s management structure, an explanation of its product model and technology, and both the financial and strategic details of its Spring 2018 plans for 3-year growth. The concluding section …

The Role Of The Age/Rage Signaling Pathway In Cardiac Fibroblast Migration, Mallory B. Harmon

Honors Theses

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death in the United States with around 30 million who suffer from diabetes and 84 million who are considered pre-diabetic. Diabetic individuals are at an increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease due to a stiffening of the left ventricle, which is thought to occur through fibroblast “activation” mediated by increased AGE/RAGE signaling. Advanced glycated end products (AGEs) accumulate within the body overtime and are accelerated under hyperglycemic conditions, and AGEs exert their effects by binding to their receptor (RAGE). Fibroblast “activation” is marked by elevated levels of α-smooth muscle actin expression and …

Chinese Male Homosexual Identity Construction On Yaba(丫吧), Brendan Ryan

Honors Theses

Jianshangdejiaoyaba (肩上的脚丫吧), also known as Yaba (丫吧), is a forum on the Chinese website Baidu Tieba (百度贴吧) containing stories and questions from users that focus on homosexual experience and identity in China. The members of the forum communicate using Linyu (淋语), a form of Chinese Internet Language (CIL). This thesis seeks to understand why and how Yaba (丫吧) users use the word ji (鸡: chicken) and female kinship terms, two prominent features of Linyu (淋语). The research uses methodologies in virtual ethnography to conceptualize Yaba (丫吧) as a research site. To better understand the research site and the experience of …

Healthcare Practices Related To Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, Muriel Mikayla Johnson

Honors Theses

The incidence of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is abounding in hospitals across the nation due to the recent surge in opioid abuse. This thesis explores the variation in protocols and guidelines used by healthcare practitioners concerning NAS. This study consisted of a literature review as well as observations and interviews with healthcare practitioners in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). The literature review revealed there has been a greater increase in NAS among rural areas, and there is currently no national standardized protocol for the treatment of NAS. Field notes taken during the interviews and observations confirmed the literature in that …

Geographical Variability In Antibacterial Chemical Defenses Of The Caribbean Sponge Xestospongia Muta, Coleman Sisson

Honors Theses

Coral reefs are important and diverse marine ecosystems, and sponges represent the majority of species in Caribbean reefs. Xestospongia muta is a giant barrel sponge that is one of the most abundant and visible sponges on Caribbean reefs, and has been the subject of many studies. Xestospongia muta produces a diversity of secondary metabolites that have various ecological functions including allelopathy, anti-fouling, predation deterrence, and antibacterial activity. The chemical defenses produced by a sponge can change in response to various biotic and abiotic stressors, including water temperature, sedimentation, nutrient runoff, and predation. This study compared the antibacterial activity of X. …

Super Pacs: Where They Came From And What We Know About Dark Money Seven Years Later, Catrina Curtis

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore Super PACs as a source of campaign finance and their impact on the federal elections process. After explaining the history of federal campaign finance law in the United States, the role of anonymity by Super PACs is questioned. This thesis argues that two court case decisions are responsible for the creation of Super PACs: Citizens United v. FEC and SpeechNOW.org v. FEC. The cases, and their conflicting interests, are both summarized and analyzed. Next, using federal campaign finance data from the past decade, the impact of Super PACs on campaign finance is …

Active Shooters On Campus: University Of Mississippi Employees’ Perceptions And Preparedness, Calli Faye Holland

Honors Theses

The objective of this study was to examine university employees’ perceptions, knowledge, and preparedness of active shooter situations on campus, and how gender influences these factors. This study collected data from a broader survey of faculty and staff that examined crime on a college campus, perceptions about crime on campus, and knowledge about crime on campus. This research also serves as a companion piece to the research conducted by Mulvey (2018), where similar research questions were posed to a large sample of undergraduate students. As in Mulvey’s study, it was hypothesized that participants would report generally low levels of confidence …

Effects Of Kanglaite, An Anticancer Herbal Medicine, On Breast Cancer Cell Metabolism, Sarah A. Hillhouse

Honors Theses

Kanglaite (KLT) is an anticancer herbal medicine developed in China that consists of mainly fatty acid triglycerides from Coix lacryma-jobi L. var. mayuen (Roman.) Stapf. In this study, we analyzed the effects of KLT on normal versus breast cancer cell metabolism using the C2C12, MCF-7, and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. Each cell line was divided into controls (n=3), cells with 1 μM of rotenone (n=2), or cells 0.3%, 1%, and 1.72% KLT concentrations. Cells were cultured in serum containing regular FCS and serum containing charcoal-stripped FCS in order to examine the full effects of KLT on the cell. Cell energy phenotype …

Defining "Evangelicals" In Print Journalism, Logan D. Williamson

Honors Theses

Evangelicalism, a movement grounded in faith and individual morality, appeared to integrate into the GOP in the late-1970s and 1980s. In 2016, national newspapers reported that 81% of white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump, prompting a question of how the movement is defined today. I look at the recent history of the evangelical movement and the troubles that scholars, analysts and other cultural observers have had in offering a conclusive definition for the term. Next, I seek to answer how print journalists define the term and how that influences or is informed by polling results on Election Day. I interview …

Conflict Or Cooperation: How Climate Change Is Transforming Geopolitics In The Arctic, Mcrae E. Mayfield

Honors Theses

The purpose of this project was to show how climate change is transforming geopolitics in the Arctic by creating new economic opportunities leading to the increased militarization of Arctic nations. This thesis triangulates the current Arctic policy of member nations, economic resources and opportunities in the region, and the increased military presence in the region to demonstrate how a potential conflict may occur in the region if the current trend continues. This thesis aims to show how resource greed over non-contiguous territory and an increased military presence escalated tensions in the Arctic.

Foreign Direct Investment And Migration To The Persian Gulf, Paul Hunt

Honors Theses

This thesis studies the effect of foreign investment policy in the Gulf Cooperation Council member nations on labor migration to the Persian Gulf. The study uses a difference in differences regression to estimate coefficients for financial liberalization, special economic zones, and foreign direct investment on total immigrant stocks. The regression analysis finds a weakly negative association between special economic zones and immigration, and no significant effect of foreign investment.

Commodity Fetishism And Performative Identity: Studying The Effects Of Neoliberal Reform On The Work Of Non-Governmental Organizations In Cairo, Cynthia N. Bauer

Honors Theses

This paper explores the economic dimension of identity politics, exemplified in the case study of the NGO Safarni in Cairo, Egypt. In doing so, I argue that neoliberal economic reform has led to an expansion of the capitalist mindset to include new subjectivities, one of which is the categorization of identity. By teaching values of "diversity" and "openness," and getting significant international funding to do so, Safarni is participating in a system that is creating a new type of labor and laborer, and where this labor is one in which the self objectifies itself.

The Latino South: Race And Racialization, Brittany M. Brown

Honors Theses

Taking into consideration the South’s historic black-white racial binary, this multi-media research project documents the place-specific experiences of 23 Latinos living in Oxford, Mississippi, using anthropologic methods. A digital archive accompanies the written thesis. Through interdisciplinary methods, this research examines and seeks to understand how the Latino community is conforming to or challenging the staunch view of race and identity in the U.S. South, where race is and has always been at the forefront of culture and society. Through knowing the history of race in the South and understanding the black-white racial binary, the presence of Latinos is creating space …

The Effect Of Health Literacy On Chronic Kidney Disease Patient Health Outcomes, Mia Castagnero

Honors Theses

The current study seeks to enhance knowledge of health literacy among patients diagnosed with CKD. Identifying gaps in kidney-specific health literacy may help direct specific interventions to improve patient education and support. The goal of the current study is to investigate the associations between health literacy (general health literacy and kidney-specific health literacy) and patient health outcomes, such as medication adherence and barriers in access to care.

Gender And Sport Inequities : Perceiving Injustices And Galvanizing Change, Ashey E. Gross

Honors Theses

We examined the effect of procedural and distributive justice on activism intent and donation. We did not find a direct effect from the justice messages on either activism intent or donation, however we also looked at moderators such as belief in a just world. We found that belief in a just world moderated activism intent, that is, people who scored low on the BJW scale had higher activism intent after reading the messages, and the messages had an inverse effect on those who scored high on the BJW scale. We did not find any effect on donation from either message.

Driving Anxiety In Young People With Autism Spectrum Disorder : A Driving Simulator Pilot Study, Rebecca Pasch

Honors Theses

The goal of this project was to investigate how driving anxiety changes overtime in young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) when using a driving simulator technology. Additional exploratory measures were collected on duration of participation,. stopping distance, and reaction time.

Draw Some Awesome : The Effect Of Art And Awe On Grief And Giving, Jamie Katz

Honors Theses

Prior research has shown that awe can have positive psychological effects on people who experience it. We conducted two experimental trials to test whether awe can be evoked by art and whether this art induced awe can increase people's charitable donations and decrease their grief in the face of losing an important relationship. We concluded that spectacular videos of art production were significant evokers of awe compared to their mundane control counterparts. We also found that the awe videos increased charitable donations through a mediating variable of feeling the "presence of something greater than oneself." Lastly, we found that there …

Use Of Co-Immunoprecipitations And 2d Gel Electrophoresis To Identify Protein-Protein Interactions Of Maturase K, Lauren Angello

Honors Theses

Maturase K (MatK) is the only group II intron encoded protein in the chloroplast of land plants. Maturases are prokaryotic enzymes that catalyze formation of the lariat structure needed for intron removal from precursor RNAs. The chloroplast maturase MatK, is a descendant of prokaryotic maturases, however, unlike its prokaryotic relatives, MatK is thought to catalyze excision of, not only its own intron, but also the introns of other group II introns in the plastome. Similar to the multiprotein and snRNA spliceosomal complex of the nucleus, it is postulated that MatK is not working alone to excise these introns but most …

Internet Based Interventions For Improving Mental Health On College Campuses: A Scoping Review Of Ibis, Caceti Dobrowolski

Honors Theses

BACKGROUND Over the past decade, Internet Based Interventions (IBI) have emerged as a possible mental health approach, reported to reduce cost and provide access to needed services. There is a dearth of literature that clearly defines the scope and components of IBIs and its efficacy. Moreover, little is known about the efficacy of IBI for college students, a population that reportedly underutilizes mental health services.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this scoping review was to assess the efficacy of IBI as a mental health intervention for college students.

METHODS Three databases were used to initially identify 400 studies and through the …

Advertising In A World Full Of Human Trafficking: How Advertising And Human Trafficking Coincide, April M. Cherry

Honors Theses

As a young woman, I have been groomed to worry about the consequences of what I wear, what I say, and how I interact with men. My grandma is constantly sending me emails with new information on sexual assault or kidnapping cases around the area in which I live. I see articles about human trafficking schemes on my news feed almost weekly. As a young woman, I am conditioned to be on guard at all times because the dangers of being abducted or attacked, specifically trafficked, are portrayed to be more likely than they truly are. Why is this? Why …