Digital Commons Network^™

Exposure To Video Media And Its Effects On Attitudes Towards Law Enforcement, Amante Gonzalez

Honors Theses

This study examined how exposure to video media (specifically media geared toward a social media platform) depicting either negative or positive police interactions with individuals will influence perception of law enforcement officials. Using a modified version of the Building a Relationship of Trust Community Perception Survey (BRTCPS) subjects (N=43) responses were analyzed using a two way ANOVA. Results indicated a strong main effect for exposure to both the negative and positive police interaction videos in regards to attitudes towards law enforcement. These findings support the thesis that the videos emotional valence is extremely successful in altering individual’s attitudes towards law …

In Bad Taste - Art Show, Katherine Kolean

Honors Theses

A late night of margaritas contrived an innovative and possibly controversial idea that would incorporate sexual innuendos as part of a senior exhibition. It was the later sober conscious though that revealed the true birth of this idea, which was in fact my own personal sexual journey. In Bad Taste is a depiction of my own sexual awakening – a journey that began with my childhood in a conservative small town in western Michigan, and continues to evolve as a young adult in my final years of college. The title of the exhibition is a tongue-in-cheek response to its sexual …

The Effects Of The One-Child Policy On Household Financial Decisions, Sylvia M. Xu

Honors Theses

The Chinese One-Child Policy, enacted in 1979, was an attempt to decrease the population growth rate following a period of massive social and political confusion and uncertainty. While the policy was beneficial to curbing the population growth in China, it also introduced unintentional consequences, including sex imbalance, and other demographic differences. The goal of this paper is to examine the economic behavior and financial decisions of son-families and daughter-families across different provinces and regions of China, which have varying levels of sex imbalance, as a result of a cultural preference for sons. These financial decisions include the household saving rate, …

Police Impunity In Mexico: Creating Openings For Justice In A New Democracy, Emily Boyce

Honors Theses

In this project, I investigate why police impunity has persisted in Mexico, and why the application of justice, when it does occur, happens unequally. Mexico has undergone a democratic transition with a specific focus on increasing accountability in the judiciary. These persistent trends of police impunity and unequal application of justice are especially puzzling in the face of these recent shifts. Existing literature argues that the institutional changes that occur as a result of democratization should yield changes that further the individual rights of citizens. A majority of the scholarly work regarding police impunity and justice in Mexico focuses on …

A Failure To Cooperate: Why Canada, The United States, And Mexico Have Not Developed A Regional Energy Strategy, Timothy Dutton

Honors Theses

Given the push from the private sector, as well as the resource complementarities among the three countries of North America, it is somewhat surprising that North America has not developed an integrated energy strategy based on traditional, non-renewable energy (2000-2016). How should we understand this puzzle? The answer lies in domestic forces and the structure of national preferences. Using liberal international relations theory, this thesis presents a two-step argument: first, the election of pro-green political parties has in each country led to a convergence of preferences for climate action. Essentially, as each one came to power, the win-set for a …

Entering Into Dialogue With Pope Francis' Laudato Si: On Care For Our Common Home, Sarah Jeanne Shimer

Honors Theses

Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home brings together the spheres of science and religion. In this document, Francis puts forth a call for action towards religious and non-religious communities alike to address climate change. The strength of the document lies in the way Francis expresses his call. By drawing on scientific and religious tradition, he situates the encyclical in a broader conversation about the moral obligation for humans to care for the environment. This thesis explores the reception of Laudato Si by religious and environmental communities through political cartoons, written critiques, and personal interviews. …

Campaigning On Youtube: Messaging And Online Communication In The 2016 Presidential Nomination Process, Abraham Krieger

Honors Theses

The Internet has become an important media environment in the context of political campaigns. This research examines YouTube, the most popular website for video content, in order to understand how the platform fits into the broader media landscape and analyzes the messaging content of leading candidates seeking the 2016 nomination. It tests several hypotheses about the YouTube content posted by the campaigns of Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton, during the period from the announcement of their candidacies through February 10, 2016. The research finds that campaigns upload varying amounts and types of content and that they …

Assessing Lakesmart: The Development And Effectiveness Of A Lake Protection Program, Alexa A. E. Junker

Honors Theses

Maine’s nearly 6,000 lakes are a vital resource for the state, generating $6 billion in annual economic activity and sustaining 52,000 jobs. Over the course of the last several decades, this resource has increasingly been threatened by development and related problems, especially nutrient runoff. LakeSmart is a lake protection program designed to stem the flow of nutrient runoff by promoting and rewarding the use lake-friendly landscaping practices.

For this project, I traced the history of LakeSmart from its roots in the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and, through stakeholder interviews and surveys, chronicled its development into the flagship program of …

Are The Brain And The Mind One? Neuromarketing And How Consumers Make Decisions, Emily Glaenzer

Honors Theses

Neuromarketing utilizes brain-imaging technology, such as electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machines, to understand consumers’ neurological responses to marketing stimuli. In this paper, I demonstrate how neuromarketing connects to the history of subliminal messaging and our current neuro-obsessed culture (neuroculture). These factors affect how critics view neuromarketing and the implications involved for the future of this study. I hypothesize that, when used correctly, neuromarketing can initiate a new section of the marketing world that will serve as a useful component to more traditional marketing practices. By taking away social bias and inaccurate answers present in market research, …

The Voluntourism Encounter: Affect, Discomfort, And Transformation In Yaxunah, Caroline Tegeler

Honors Theses

Within the massive tourism and travel industry, the niche market of volunteer tourism has risen recently in both notoriety and popularity with its promises of a more conscious form of experiencing the world and its people. I explore in this thesis project the encounter between volunteer tourist and host community by examining the motivations, expectations, and imagined roles and identities of each side of the voluntourism encounter. The volunteer tourism industry frames voluntourism as a path towards a more personal, ethical and responsible tourism, but has created experiences filled with discomfort for tourists in their encounter with the communities in …

Development Of A Chemical Genetic Screen To Determine Synergistic Compounds With Laromustine In Treating Glioblastoma Multiforme Cultured Cells, Ryan Weeks

Honors Theses

Laromustine is a chemotherapeutic sulfonylhydrazine prodrug used in clinical trials to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). While treatment of AML with laromustine has more demonstrative clinical success, there are enough promising data against GBM to pursue additional pre-clinical and clinical experiments. To determine the synergistic effects caused by treating cultured GBM cells with laromustine and a library of FDA-approved compounds, a chemical genetic screen was developed. To optimize the screen, optimal cultured GBM cell seed density, growth period and maximum well capacity were determined. The treatment period for a lethal dose of laromustine in cultured GBM …

Devising Performance & Queer Futurity, Brendan F. Leonard

Honors Theses

This project argues that devising performance is an inherently queer and utopian form. In response to recent political movements, such as Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter, which seek to stage dissatisfaction with the systems of late capitalism, I turn to devising performance as a site. Informed by the queer and performance theories of Jose Esteban Munoz, Lee Edelman, and Jill Dolan, I argue that devised theater allows us to process disillusionment, rehearse collectivity, and stage futurity. In conversation with Munoz, I define futurity as an imaginative site that considers what will follow what some scholars suggest will be …

Arts And Elite Schooling: The Accumulation Of Advantaging Forms Of Cultural Capital, Hannah R. Macquarrie

Honors Theses

Very little attention has been given to how schools provide students with opportunities to accumulate advantaging forms of cultural capital through the arts. This project explores the arts as valuable forms of cultural capital and the role the arts play in the production of elites. Because it is widely acknowledged that when researching elites access may be limited, the research for this project was conducted online through publically accessible documents, like curricula, mission statements, facilities, extra-curricular offerings, and additional arts programming on school websites. The eight schools in this study reside in four different, elite towns, and there are both …

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 …

The White-Nose Syndrome Transcriptome: Exploring The Putative Fungal Virulence Genes Of Pseudogymnoascus Destructans., Sophia Marie Reeder

Honors Theses

White-nose syndrome (WNS) in North American bats is caused by an invasive cutaneous infection by the psychrophilic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (P. destructans). In a previous study, we used a dual RNA-Seq approach, which allowed us to gain insight into the gene expression of both the host and the pathogen simultaneously, and we observed differences in P. destructans gene expression that suggest host-pathogen interactions that might determine WNS progression. More recently we compared transcriptome-wide changes in gene expression levels in P. destructans grown on and actively infecting the wing of a bat (infecting pathogen) with P. destructans grown in culture (free …

Transformation Of Heroes In Film, Allison Connelly Toner

Honors Theses

Heroes research is not a new field, and it is widely accepted that in order for a hero to be accepted as such, he or she must undertake a journey during which he or she transforms in some marked way. The aim of this research is to understand the nature of that transformation in terms of 24 character strengths. This was achieved by watching the top grossing films of all time adjusted for inflation and coding for the transformation of the protagonists on a 1-5 scale. Ten traits were found to have a mean transformation of 1 point or greater, …

An Examination Of The Cmb Large-Angle Suppression, Ellis Herman

Honors Theses

As shown by COBE­DMR and then by the Wilkinson Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), there exists an anomaly in the correlation function of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, namely that said correlation function is suppressed to zero on large angular scales. This observation conflicts with the prediction made by Lambda­CDM, the standard model of cosmology, indicating either necessary changes to the standard model or that our universe is a rare fluke within LCDM ­ such suppressions are seen in only about 0.3% of universes predicted by LCDM. To differentiate into which of these categories our universe falls, we have attempted 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.

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 …

Their Brothers' Keepers? Ethnicity, Rebel Diplomacy, And State Support For Insurgency, Connor Somgynari

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to contribute to the filling of a theoretical lacuna by asking: what role do ethnic ties play in rebel groups' efforts to lobby for state support? Researchers have examined many facets of state support for armed rebel groups. Most literature on this topic has been dedicated to decision calculi of states choosing to support rebel groups. However, comparatively little has been said about the other side of this relationship: the demand for these goods and services by rebel groups themselves. Salehyan, Gleditsch, and Cunningham (2011) introduce the concept of the demand side into the literature, maintaining that …

A Study On How Mobile Banking Has Affected The Banking Industry: Has Mobile Banking Improved Bank Performance?, Courtney Elizabeth Cleveland

Honors Theses

This paper explores the effect of mobile banking on the banking industry. It further seeks to investigate if banks improve financial performance as well as customer conversion and retention due to mobile banking. The research sifts through early entries in mobile banking features, data transfer technology evolution along with hand-held mobile device advances. Population demographics are also reviewed to understand which segment is more inclined to use mobile banking applications, giving banks insights and analytics for focused advertising. Data security needs and bank personnel skills evaluation show a shift in personnel skill-set evolution from historical employees. Overall, the data suggests …

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. …

The Mockingjay Phenomena: A Study On The Position Of Young Adult Women In Dystopia, Hannah Hultman

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to explore the messages and impact of three young adult dystopian trilogies, The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Uglies. In particular, the role of the American female teenager in political, economic and social spheres is discussed through examining the three female teenaged protagonists of these novels. For comparative purposes, George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World function as counterpoints to the young adult novels; the analysis of these different novels will prove that young adult dystopian novels show young adult women that their choices and actions can be integral to their societies …

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.  

Hospitality, Hunting, And The Home In Garden And Gun: Deconstructing Southern Identity Based On Representations Of Gender, Race, And Class, Alexa E. Willcoxon

Honors Theses

In my thesis, I have studied how Southern identity is formed through Southern leisure magazines, specifically Garden & Gun. I chose to narrow my focus by choosing to look only at the 2014 editions of the magazine, and I also looked primarily at the food, alcohol, homes, and hunting sections in order to be concise. Through my research, I have discovered that the magazine, although trying to be inclusive for race and gender, struggles to accurately depict the South. Instead, the magazine focuses on the primarily white, upper classes of the region, which creates and imagined reality for the reader. …

Freedom Fighters: Stories From Freedom Summer 1964, Anna Mccollum

Honors Theses

Freedom Summer was a project conducted in Mississippi in 1964 as part of the civil rights movement. It involved hundreds of volunteers and members of the Council of Federated Organizations working to promote education and voter registration among the African American community across the state. The researcher found and interviewed veterans of Freedom Summer in order to write a series of profile stories centered around that subject. She visited them each in their hometowns (besides one phone interview with a woman from Iowa), photographed most of them and spoke to some of their peers for second and third sources. Through …

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 …