Digital Commons Network^™

Strategies For Socioeconomic Development: A Study Of Nonprofit Practices, Alexis L. Dahl Walls

Honors Theses

This project seeks to examine methods in which nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are able to further their impact, specifically in regard to the socioeconomic development of their communities. This is done through examining consequences of socioeconomic disparities such as health disparities and increased crime rates, reviewing a number of commonly used NPO strategies, and emphasizing the importance of performance measurement tactics. All information was gathered through the combination of a complete literature review and a case study on a local nonprofit organization: MadisonHome Inc. It is important for nonprofit organizations to implement a variety of measurement tactics in order to determine …

The Exploration Of Various Literary Genres Through Short Story Writing, Abigail Cowan

Honors Theses

This project contains four short stories and one collection of poetry. The first, “Touch-Me-Nots,” explores self-harm and healing using the touch-me-not plant as an analogy for avoiding self-harm and leaves readers with the hopeful sentiment of a person willing to heal by “leaving it alone.” Next, “The Bear and the Ant,” inspired by Aesop’s Fables, anthropomorphizes a bear and an ant and leaves readers with a ‘moral’ in true Aesop Fable fashion. Inspired by the ants who ransacked my six-month-old Halloween candy stash, I detail a Bear which attempts to “save” its honey for a day that never comes. The …

The Toll Of Our New Reality: Analyzing College Students’ Health In A Pandemic & Attitudes Towards Covid-19 Vaccinations, Ciara M. Ochoa

Honors Theses

Since the beginning of March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected several populations in the United States with many different hardships. With COVID-19 came the threat of a new disease, job insecurity affecting a large amount of our population, increased financial instability, and misinformation surrounding the new COVID-19 virus, the pandemic left an overwhelming majority of the United States population feeling mentally, physically, and overall exhausted. This study focuses on the already vulnerable and often overlooked population that is college students, and the aim of this study is to better assess the physical and mental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic …

The Making Of Cults: The Factors That Contribute To Membership And The Leaders’ Influence, Chloe Greenidge

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the factors that contribute to the increased vulnerability to cult membership. This paper also investigates the factors commonly found in cult leaders that increase their influence over their members. Cults have gained much more public attention due to their appearance in the media, typically after a tragic event. This has brought more questions regarding the members and leaders of these cult organizations. Developments associated with youth such as a need for belonging, the search for non-traditional forms of spirituality, emergence of black-and-white and independent thinking, conflicts with the adult world, and growing sexuality can increase an individual’s …

Exceptional Learners And The Inclusive Classroom, Alicia R. Harris

Honors Theses

This thesis includes a brief history of special education and how individuals with disabilities were previously treated both in and out of the classroom. The identification process is then described along with different categories that students can be placed into. After the discussion about special education and individuals with disabilities the importance of Inclusion and the effects that it has on those students is described. The final section of the paper discusses strategies that can be implemented in the classroom to support students with disabilities while in the classroom. Some of the strategies that are discussed are accommodations, modifications, Universal …

Factors That Influence The Choice To Major In Stem For Latino And Non-Latino Students And Professionals, Ivan Olivas

Honors Theses

Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States, with 18.5 percent of the nation’s population. However, when it comes to Latinos in STEM, they represent only 8 percent of all STEM workers. This disparity can be largely traced to disproportionally low numbers in graduation rates in high school and college, in conjunction with the lack of exposure to STEM fields and access to rigorous K-12 curriculums associated with STEM pathways. The survey incorporated into this research investigates which factors influence Latinos in choosing a STEM major. The survey questions focused on high school academics, parental educational attainment, home …

Shy Or Anxious? Examining The Efficacy Of School-Based Interventions For Childhood Social Anxiety, Samantha Neuhaus

Honors Theses

Social anxiety disorder and shyness share many overlapping features, leading to debate over where they become distinctive from each other. The theory of a shyness and social anxiety continuum has been suggested, depicting shyness on one end and social anxiety disorder as the more severe and maladaptive opposite end. Considering additional factors such as comorbidity and cultural differences, school based interventions can be implemented as a preventative and treatment measure for social anxiety across the continuum. Multiple intervention methods are utilized across school based interventions, and of eleven interventions specifically analyzed, it was found that the interventions are most often …

When The Fire Nation Attacked: A View Of The Colonialism And Imperialism Within Avatar: The Last Airbender, Jared M. Christian

Honors Theses

Within this project, the thematic representations of colonialism and imperialism within Avatar: The Last Airbender are explored through the topics of genocide, environmental imperialism, propaganda, and imprisonment. Through primary source analysis and literature review, events from the series are compared to historical examples during expansion such as Manifest Destiny, the Scramble for Africa, and apartheid. Similarities are cast between the Fire Nation and different imperialistic governments to determine whether Avatar is a good representation of these themes and how its portrayal could impact children’s media when displaying historical concepts.

Increased Incidence Of Substance Use And Substance Use Disorders Among Mexicans That Have Migrated To The United States, Emily Hock

Honors Theses

The United States is becoming increasingly older and more racially and ethnically diverse, with Mexican Americans adults aged 65 and over becoming the frontrunners in population growth. Substance use disorders are high among this particular population, with alcohol and tobacco being the most common culprits. Previous research suggests that the prevalence of drinking and smoking among Mexican Americans is increased compared to Mexicans living in Mexico, and substance use rates are highest in those most accustomed to United States culture. While acculturation may initially increase exposure to healthcare options, Mexican Americans are disproportionally uneducated and have lower socioeconomic status than …

Discrepancies Amongst Utc Students' Diets And Their Understanding Of Their Role In Environmental Activism, Claire Reticker

Honors Theses

The present research attempts to analyze why university students claim a love for the outdoors but do not use means of dietary action to protect the environment. Through an extensive analysis of corresponding literature, the effects of gender, age, motivation, barriers, and attitudes are examined as they relate to diet. To obtain data regarding these effects, students enrolled in online or hybrid classes at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) were sent a survey via Google Forms, with 129 students willingly responding. Previous to survey collection and statistical analysis, I hypothesized that if students rated their love of the outdoors …

Mentally Restorative Areas For Students: Impacts Of Nature On Psychophysiological State, Jesse Moore

Honors Theses

Situated in the top outdoor ranking city of Chattanooga, the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) includes diverse areas available for student rest and recreation. This study aims to introduce UTC students into the collection of studies on the effects of natural environments on Attention Restoration Theory (ART) by using the Stroop cognitive test and portable electroencephalograph (EEG) headsets. Participants completed the Stroop test after ten-minute mental restoration sessions in environments of varying natural exposure included on campus. Through analysis of variance, location was found to significantly influence performance on Stroop testing and measures of relaxation (p=0.030). …

Telling The Atypical Truth: Disability Community-Building Through Podcasting, Erica Stearns

Honors Theses

The community of disabled and/or medically complex individuals represents a relatively small demographic worldwide; therefore, it is difficult for community members to find and build relationships with others directly within the local community whose lived experiences reflect their own. As a result, many individuals within the disabled and/or medically complex community experience isolation and depression. Social media and other digital resources often serve as a mechanism for community-building in such situations. Atypical Truth is a podcast that episodically explores a variety of topics that relate to life as caregivers, disabled individuals, and/or individuals with complex medical conditions.

I used …

A Review Of The Effects Of Virtual Communication On Performance And Satisfaction Across The Last Ten Years Of Research Published In The Journal Of Organizational Behavior Management And The Journal Of Applied Behavior Analysis, Muhammad Romail Khan

Honors Theses

Work and school settings have seen an overall increase in the use of virtual communication technology over the last decade (Kiers, 2020). This use of virtual communication technologies has seen an unprecedented growth in the year 2020 owing to the shelter-in-place and lockdown measures put in place due to the COVID-19 global pandemic (World Health Organization, 2020). Despite this increase in the use of virtual communication technologies, limited research has been conducted on the effects of delivering behavioral interventions through different virtual communication technologies on performance and satisfaction. The purpose of this literature review is to analyze the research conducted …

Who Is Most Likely To Stereotype The Lgbtq+ Community?, Shelby Smith

Honors Theses

There exists an extant literature investigating sexuality, gender, and stereotypes. It has examined how accurate people are at predicting sexual orientation and if there is an ability that can be developed, usually referred to as gaydar, to be able to tell if some is gay or not by looking at them. A lot of these finding suggest that participants are using societal stereotypes about sexual orientation and gender to identify people. Participants were sent a survey where their demographic information was collected. They read several vignettes and identified traits of the described individuals including sex and gender. It was hypothesized …

Pathways To Peer Victimization: The Impact Of Childhood Adversity On Social Relationships, Elizabeth E.E. Sloane

Honors Theses

The purpose of the research study was to explore the connection between the presence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and pathways to the experience of peer victimization. Previous literature indicates that ACEs can have far-reaching negative effects into adulthood. Individuals with multiple ACEs have an increased risk of developing various physical and mental health issues as both children and adults. Research has also demonstrated that ACEs can negatively impact social affiliation and can preclude individuals from seeking social support. Social support is also pertinent in predicting the peer victimization because positive interactions with peers are protective against victimization. However, the …

Combating The Recruitment And Radicalization Of Potential Terrorists: A State-Based Methods And Effectiveness Analysis For Application To Counter White Supremacy Terrorism In The Usa, Francesca Pimenta

Honors Theses

For approximately the past twenty years, the United States (US) government has focused on combating terrorist threats from abroad like Islamic terrorism. However, in recent years, terrorism has transitioned from an external threat to an internal threat. Some people in the US only realized how large a threat white supremacy terror poses to the nation’s security following the insurrection in the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. Despite this newly gained knowledge, the threat of white supremacy terror in the US has been growing for years. This study looked at the ways foreign governments have combatted white supremacist terrorism, recruitment, and …

No One Is Above The Law: Public Perception Of Prosecutorial Misconduct's Influence On Wrongful Convictions, Amanda N. Pappas

Honors Theses

Wrongful convictions pose a large threat to the integrity of the United States criminal justice system. While there are many known causes of wrongful convictions, such as eyewitness misidentification, ineffective counsel, and false confessions, the most egregious cause is prosecutorial misconduct. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, prosecutorial misconduct has been found in roughly half of the exonerations listed in the registry. Prosecutors have a tremendous amount of power in the criminal justice system through determining plea deals, obtainment of evidence, disclosure of evidence to the defense, and many more. Studies have been conducted that reveal the occurrence of …

The Place To Be, Callie Annett

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Race And Social Class As Factors Associated With Sentence Disparities: A Survey Of Potential Jurors, Amanda Rickett

Honors Theses

Prior research has found that bias, along with other extralegal factors, leads to the sentencing disparities in the criminal justice system throughout the United States. The criminal justice system has implemented reforms to address these disparities. Furthering research on this issue, I analyze previous studies that tried to determine the effects of bias on the decisions made by judges and juries. Most importantly, the present study aimed to determine the effects of race and socioeconomic class of the defendant on the decisions on potential jurors using a vignette based survey with randomized assignment. The results suggest that the potential jurors’ …

Clothing: The Gateway To Trucks Or Tiaras, Riley Mccormick

Honors Theses

This research observes and analyzes the gendering of children’s clothing and how this affects how adults see children and gender, how children will grow to view one another, as well as how the children will eventually see themselves. For the purpose of this research, I am analyzing clothing for children of the ages two to eight because that is when a child begins to recognize themselves as their own person, begins to understand their personality, and starts to understand their own sex (Capsi, Roberst, Shiner 256). Children’s clothing often expresses messages that assert a masculine or feminine gender. These messages …

Parents’ Experiences Navigating The Diagnostic Process For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Grace J. Lafo

Honors Theses

The diagnostic process for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can pose many barriers for families, especially within rural communities where there is a lack of adequate diagnostic and therapy services available. Factors such as cultural stigma, medical professionals, financial constraints, and travel have previously been reported as barriers for pursuing a diagnosis within rural geographic regions. The current study was conducted to identify obstacles that parents face within rural southern Illinois while on the path to receive an accurate diagnosis of ASD for their child. This study also aimed to determine what resources were being provided to parents at the time …

Investigating The Use Of Saligae® To Identify Expirated Blood On Various Material, Maria Bigos

Honors Theses

Expirated bloodstains and impact bloodstains have very similar physical characteristics. The main way Blood Pattern Analysts identify bloodstains in based on their physical characteristics. This can lead to difficulty distinguishing between expirated blood and impact spatter. Expirated blood can be identified through the presence of air bubbles, however these are often only present on non-porous surfaces. However, if expirated bloodstains can be identified through the presence of saliva, this can provide an alternative way to identify expirated bloodstains. This study examined if SALIgAE can be accurately used to identify the presence of saliva in blood and thus, be a way …

When They Lost Their Words: The Impact Of Microaggressions And Exclusion On Chinese International Students’ Linguistic Capacity And Leadership Emergence, Kexin Li

Honors Theses

This research investigates the impact of microaggressions and social exclusion on Chinese international students’ English fluency and leadership emergence. We entered a group of Chinese international students into an online study in which they filmed two videos of themselves speaking English before and after being exposed to either an identity-threatening or an identity-safe condition, both presenting an ostensible group they would be joining and with the identity-safe condition added small inclusionary changes. The results demonstrated that Chinese international students speak English more fluently and tend to show more interest in participating in group activities when put into an identity-safe environment. …

Using An Intersectionality Framework To Examine Disparities In The Steps To Kidney Transplantation In Patients With End Stage Renal Disease, Kacy Workman

Honors Theses

Intersectionality is a theory examining how individuals’ different identities intersect to create a new lived experience, often with compounded oppressions. This theory has recently been utilized in health research to help understand and find effective ways of addressing health disparities (Bowleg, 2012). However, while studies have theorized broadly about intersectionality theory in health research, it has seldom been used to specifically address health disparities in patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). This study conducted a systematic literature review of past research that has examined barriers to kidney transplantation among ESRD patients with intersectional identities, particularly concerning race and gender. …

The Case For The Moral Rationale Of Diversity, Will Walker Jr.

Honors Theses

Although there is much literature highlighting the instrumental benefits of diversity (Gurin et al., 2002; Gurin et al., 2004; Hurtado,2006; Jayakumar,2008), little research focuses on the effects of diversity that arise because of moral rationales for diversity. Expanding into the question of diversity rationale’s effect, we in this study measured the relationship between institutional rationales for diversity and undergraduate students’ perceived feelings of belonging. Using one-tailed multivariate analysis of variance (N=257), our results show that the moral rationale for diversity has more beneficial outcomes for undergraduate students, regardless of their race or ethnicity. More specifically, our analyses show that undergraduate …

Doing Good Better: The ‘Do Good’ App, Emily Trumble

Honors Theses

Although we all want to do the right thing, doing so reliably is often extremely difficult because we do not always know what the right thing to do is. Personal biases undermine our ability to perceive information in a way that does not favor ourselves. Additionally, even without those biases we often do not have enough information to make adequately informed decisions . The solution to this problem is the Do Good App, an app which would assist people in making the correct decisions. Unlike humans, the Do Good app would not be biased and it would have easy access …

Does Duration Matter?: Assessing The Role Of Duration In Adverse Childhood Experiences, Miranda Thompson

Honors Theses

Introduction: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with several negative physical and mental health outcomes in adulthood (Felitti et al., 1998). However, a criticism of the ACEs measure is that it does not account for the duration of these events (McLennan et al., 2020). Thus, I aim to replicate previous ACE findings and determine whether an ACEs measure accounting for duration is a better predictor of mental health outcomes. Methods: 244 adult participants reported on their ACEs with duration and their mental and physical health. Three ACE scales were formulated: the traditional ACEs scale, and two duration-based scales, ACEs Years …

Access Alone: The Unintentionality Of The Diversification Of Higher Education, Katherine Szeluga

Honors Theses

Recently, American colleges and universities have seen an increase in hate and bias incidents. These incidents are, unfortunately, nothing new. In coming to terms with the continuity of discrimination in higher education, history matters. The process of diversification challenged higher education in seen and unforeseen ways. Namely, institutions of higher education often fail to reconcile the distinctions between their stated institutional claims and actual practices. More bluntly, university administrations have not been as intentional about inclusivity and diversity as they would like the public to believe. Many of America’s universities have failed to institute apparati that might allow diversity to …

Interactive Neuroscience: Designing And Implementing Web-Based Simulations To Teach Cognitive Neuroscience Concepts In An Online Classroom A Pilot Study, Kendall Stewart

Honors Theses

While computer simulations are effective tools when learning difficult concepts, little is currently known about the most effective learning environment for the implementation of computer simulations in the classroom. The current study aimed to determine if the effectiveness of simulations depends on the learning environment in which they are implemented. Tested within various passive and active learning environments, this study begins to shed light on the impact of the instructional method in which simulations are implemented on learning outcomes for novice learners. Results from this study suggest that within passive learning environments, simulated animations may be more effective than informationally …

The Commercialization Of Crime Solving: Ethical Implication Of Forensic Genetic Genealogy, Hannah Lee

Honors Theses

With the advancement of DNA technology and expansion of direct-to-consumer DNA services, a growing number of cold cases have been solved using a revolutionary new investigative method: familial DNA mapping. While the technique has been lauded by law enforcement as revolutionizing criminal identification, others are concerned by the privacy implications and impact on the family structure. In this thesis I will draw on communitarian, liberal rights, utilitarian, and social justice arguments for and against the practice. I conclude that this method has the potential to increase security and provide justice for victims and families, but absent comprehensive regulation and privacy …