Digital Commons Network^™

Music From The Dark And Silence: Incorporating Deaf, Hard Of Hearing, And Visually Impaired Students Into The Music Education Classroom, Emily Grindstaff

Honors Theses

No abstract submitted

How Misinformation And Mistrust Compound The Threat Of Epidemics, William Boyd

Honors Theses

This thesis was conducted to study the effects of misinformation and medical mistrust on the public health field. I use the events of the Chapare Virus outbreak in Bolivia in the summer of 2019 and the public dialogue during that time period to discuss these themes. I used data from market survey's in La Paz, newspaper articles from Página Siete, and Tweets from the time period of the outbreak. My findings suggest that misinformation and medical mistrust affected public health measures, which has major implications for the way the public health field should address future public health events.

Job Crafting: Who And Where?, Mia Myers

Honors Theses

Job crafting, a type of employee-initiated job design concerned with job tasks, relationships, and mindsets about the job, is a relatively new concept that workplaces should be looking into. Job crafting has implications for how work is conducted and in what fashion, but little research has examined what external and internal factors could influence an individual’s inclination to job craft. Using a qualitative and quantitative approach, this study examines the possible relationships among task crafting, relational crafting, organizational culture, affect, and emotional stability. This study finds that organizational culture, affect, and emotional stability do impact how much an employee feels …

Orff Schulwerk And Autism: Unlocking The Gifts Of Students With Autism In The Music Classroom Through Orff Schulwerk, Mckenzie E. Garrett

Honors Theses

The concept of teaching for each student’s needs is called differentiated instruction. For students with autism in the general music classroom, differentiated instruction has received limited attention from researchers and practitioners. Although teacher education programs do include a review of special education resources and needs, music teacher education programs do not always include intensive study of accommodation for students with special needs that specifically apply to the music classroom. One strategy music teachers can use for differentiating education for their learners with disabilities is the process of Orff Schulwerk instruction. Orff Schulwerk is an approach, originally and commonly used in …

Mindful Yoga As A Means Of Reducing College Student Stress, Jaylee K. Oliver

Honors Theses

Thousands of years ago, yoga was intended to refocus and prepare an individual for self-exploration. Today, the “colloquial yoga” has manifested as an exercise fad. The aim of this study was to further investigate yoga as a stress reducing technique among a sample of college students. This study examined yoga as a distinct discipline by comparing 3 separate conditions (yoga, active-control, and neutral-control). This research aimed to demonstrate an overall decrease in perceived stress, increase in self-esteem, and increase in ability to psychologically detach from stressors after engaging in a yoga practice, as compared to the two control conditions. Overall, …

Ptsd Symptoms And Alcohol-Related Outcomes In College Students: The Mediating Role Of Positive And Negative Coping Styles, Tatum Freeman

Honors Theses

This study evaluated the mediating role of coping styles (problem-solving and avoidance coping) on the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and alcohol outcomes (i.e. hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences [ARNC]). A national sample of 672 traditional age (i.e. 18-25 years old; M = 22.35, SD = 1.97) college students who reported alcohol consumption in the past month were recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk website. Participants were 55.1% male and 60.9% White, and they completed measures of PTSD symptoms, coping styles, hazardous drinking, and ARNC. Problem-solving coping (an adaptive form of coping) mediated the positive relationship between PTSD …

The Role Of Action In Affordance Perception Using Virtual Reality, Ashley J. Funkhouser

Honors Theses

Space perception in virtual reality (VR) is distorted. Does action in conjunction with an avatar's presence improve perception in VR? Participants judged whether a virtual ball was within reach. Condition 1 was perception-only, where the participant was not allowed to move nor could see their arms. Condition 2 was perception with nonvisible action, where the participant could move their real arm to reach but could not see an avatar representation of the arm. Condition 3 was perception with visible action, where the participant could move and see a virtual hand that corresponded to the actual arm movement. Participants overestimated their …

Crime Television Viewership And Perceived Vulnerability To Crime Among College Students, Madison S. Seymour

Honors Theses

This study focused on college students’ viewership of the crime drama television shows NCIS, Law and Order, Criminal Minds, and CSI as well as students’ perceived vulnerability to crime. The aim of the study was to determine if there is a relationship between the viewing of crime dramas and perceived vulnerability, based on the theories of mean world syndrome and cultivation. The study also examined the platform viewers used to watch crime dramas, whether that was streaming services or other options such as cable or satellite television. The chosen platform was also compared with perceived vulnerability to crime.

To collect …

Effects Of Sexualized Images In Media On Attitudes Toward Public Breastfeeding, Hannah J. Powell-Yost

Honors Theses

Although breastfeeding is known to promote both physical and emotional health in both infant and mother, many women are hesitant to breastfeed in public due to perceived attitudes toward public breastfeeding. This research explores the relationship between frequent exposure to sexuality in mass media and people's positions regarding breastfeeding. It was hypothesized that sexualized portrayals of the female body perpetuated in mass media would negatively impact individuals’ attitudes toward breastfeeding. No significant correlation was found between media exposure and negative attitude toward public breastfeeding. However, a few interesting results were observed. Individuals who responded positively to sexual media were more …

Motion Elicits Emotion, Emma Denson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Family Structure And Mental Health On Childhood Bullying Behaviors, Kierstynn Hunter

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Documented: A Content Analysis Of Newspaper Coverage Of Ice Raids Of Mississippi Poultry Plants, Ben Mackin

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Mutually Exclusive: A Survey Of Ethical Decision Making In Technology, Connor Mcpherson

Honors Theses

People make hundreds of decisions every day. Developers, security consultants, operations engineers, designers, and engineers all make small decisions that affect the final product. The values people choose to promote and ignore appear in the constraints and biases of the products they craft. This paper discusses the process of developing, distributing, and analyzing a values survey to computer professionals and students in East Tennessee. I use advanced calculations of significance and beta for chi-squared tests to determine significance and discuss the ethical conclusions from the survey’s data.

Reframing Severed Representations: From Biography Towards A Psychoanalytical Reading Of Caravaggio’S Self-Portraiture, Alyson Mcgowan

Honors Theses

Perhaps one of the most celebrated artists of all time and responsible for ushering in a new style of art during the Baroque period, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio continues to emerge from the pages of history and captivate art historians and art lovers alike. He has been the focus of countless scholars and art critics since his emergence as an artist in 16th century Rome. This research will provide a fresh analysis of two of the artist's verified self-portraits, The Young Sick Bacchus c. 1593 and David with the Head of Goliath c. 1610, using Lacanian psychoanalytic theory. By doing …

The Effects Of Harmful Male Body Representation: Uncovered Through The Lens Of Podcasting, Madelynne Thompson

Honors Theses

A body of recent studies suggest men are objectified in the media, as men report increasing levels of body dissatisfaction and potentially, an array of negative consequences in response. Western media images of men, exemplified through media such as advertisements, television, and social media promote a “drive for muscularity” with attention to the upper body and abdominal region. Societal standards and norms have a documented influence on self-concept, and the current study investigates explicitly which influences hold the greatest magnitude during the development of one’s self-perception. In the present thesis project, men aged 18-25 were interviewed to gauge their perspectives …

Reconciling Flourishing Egoism With Common Morality, Mark Lamb

Honors Theses

It is a common critique of moral theories focused on the agent that they are selfish and immoral. Selfish here typically carries a negative connotation. Morality is supposed to show how we ought to treat people outside of ourselves; and this is true to a degree. But so often it seems, at least to me, that the more “selfless” moral theories seem to forget that the agent is as deserving of the good as those that the agent interacts with are. Egoism, broadly, reverses this and places the agent at the forefront of ethical decision-making. Unfortunately, this has historically led …

Empathy, Perceived Similarity, And Online Aggression, Olivette Petersen

Honors Theses

As social media usage continues to rise, the prevalence of non-traditionally famous online entertainers and other popular online personas (e.g., YouTubers and social media influencers) is increasing. Online practices such as video blogging and social media upkeep make it easier for viewers and fans to feel closer to the online personas they follow, regardless of whether any in-person social interaction ever takes place. Due to the increased amount of time adolescents and young adults spend on social media, it is clear that these online personas are becoming an important part of adolescents’ and young adults’ socialization. Furthermore, when online entertainers …

Envisioning Success: An In Depth Look At The Relationship Between Episodic Future Thinking And Academic Goal Achievement, Braden Sanford

Honors Theses

Episodic future thinking is defined as the ability to mentally project oneself self into the future and pre-experience an event. Prospective memory, on the other hand, is often defined as remembering to complete future intentions. Prospective memory includes two kinds of prospective memory tasks: event-based, or prospective memory prompted by some form of external cue or event, and time-based, or a task that an individual must remember to complete at a specific time. One area that synthesizes these two subjects is the realm of goal achievement, specifically academic goal achievement. In this study, I explored how episodic future thinking, when …

Through The Elementary School Years: Self-Regulation Predicting Social Competence With Student-Teacher Relationships As Mediators, Kelsie Anderson

Honors Theses

Using a longitudinal, nationally representative dataset, ECLS-K:2011, research was conducted to determine the predictive relationship between Self-Regulation in kindergarten and first-grade years and Social Competency in the third- and fourth-grade years of elementary school. Along with this, Student-Teacher Relationships were studied to determine if they could mediate the relationship between Self-Regulation and Social Competency. These aspects have been extensively studied individually in previous research, but this study looks at how these aspects work together and the implications that these relationships have. The current study documented that a) Working Memory predicts indices of Behavioral Engagement and Internalizing Behavior Problems in the …

Prevailing Facets Of Spanish Colonialism: The Roots Of Exploitation And Inequality In Latin America, Camden Eckler

Honors Theses

Four main facets characterized Spanish colonialism in Latin America and contributed to the persistence of inequality and exploitation in colonial institutions – conversion, easy money, centralism, and political violence. The facets of conversion, easy money, centralism, and political violence are not institutions in themselves, but rather practices and logics of Spanish colonialism whose presence can be seen in social, political, and economic institutions and traced throughout history despite changes and developments in institutions. These facets’ entrenched presence in the foundations of Latin American social, political, and economic institutions has manifested throughout the shared and unique histories of Latin American countries. …

An Evaluation Of The Eating Behaviors Of Honors College Undergraduate Students At The University Of Mississippi, Anna Bouthillier

Honors Theses

Eating disorders are defined as an illness that changes one’s relationship with food, that ultimately affects one’s emotions, thoughts, and physical well-being. Three types of eating disorders most commonly diagnosed are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and disordered eating. It is important to note that disordered eating is a term used to describe abnormal eating behaviors and feelings related to food that may or may not fall into a certain diagnostic category (Anderson, 2018). Many college students today are diagnosed with an eating disorder or disordered eating as a result of the increasing anxiety and pressures experienced at this age.

The …

Assessing The Impact Of Factional Infighting Within Boko Haram, Paul Markos

Honors Theses

The emergence of Boko Haram in West Africa has resulted in severe disruption of the Lake Chad region and the displacement of millions. In 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to ISIS, signaling a shift in the organization’s objectives and adopting a new strategy for influence over its region. Subsequent leadership changes led to the group’s splintering into multiple factions. Infighting between and within factions has raised new questions imperative to understanding the group’s outlook. This paper sought to examine the impact that deaths of ISIS and ISWAP leaders have on the outlook of Boko Haram and its factions (JAS, Ansaru, …

Why Families Flee: A Study Of Family Migration Patterns From The Northern Triangle Of Central America, Claire Williams

Honors Theses

The past decade has witnessed an unprecedented increase in migrant families from the Northern Triangle, the region of Central America comprised of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The mass influx in family migration has important consequences for destination countries like the United States and Mexico as well as the countries which they leave behind. This study aims to answer the question of how family migration patterns in the Northern Triangle of Central America have changed in the past decade and why. I outline the migration decisions of families through a qualitative and quantitative lens. I use newspapers and NGO reports …

Measuring Religious Demographic Group Threat Among Americans And Its Impacts On Their Political Beliefs, Karsen Bailey

Honors Theses

Identity is one of the key drivers of American political behavior. Among these identities, be it partisan, ethnic, class, etc., religious identity has been more or less assumed to be one of the more powerful identities. I set out to measure how the threat of Christianity’s decline in the United States impacts the salience of religious identity and feelings towards religion-adjacent policies. Building off of an experimental design from Major et al (2016), I hypothesized that when exposed to data showing the decline of religiosity in the United States, subjects would demonstrate both a stronger religious identity and more conservative …

Mind Your Youth: Youth Unemployment And Islamic Radicalization, Caleb Ray

Honors Theses

This study examines the potential existence of a correlation between youth unemployment and Islamic Radicalization in the MENA using data from the World Bank, the Global Terrorism Database, and the Arab Barometer. It aims to add to the current body of research regarding socioeconomic drivers for radicalization and terrorism.

Tectonic, Rebecca E. Holifield

Honors Theses

Tectonic is a collection of original poems accompanied by a critical preface.

Test-Driving Interventions For Teachers To Improve Treatment Integrity, Viktoria Papp

Honors Theses

Teachers often have to implement interventions in the classroom to address challenging student behaviors. Such issues are often addressed during behavioral consultation which involves working with a specialized consultant, such as a school psychologist, to determine the most robust strategy that will predictably have the greatest impact in addressing the problematic behavior. Equally important in this intervention process is the application of any intervention technique or strategy in the manner in which it has been designed and investigated to work based on supporting research.

There is an increasing need for consultants to consider utilizing strategies that promote the adherence to …

Impact Of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, And Automation In Operations Management: An Analysis Of Healthcare, Manufacturing, And Retail Sectors, Jasmine N. Kelley

Honors Theses

In this thesis, we study the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and automation on operations management (OM). We specifically target the industries of healthcare, retail, and manufacturing in our analysis since each sector has distinct dynamics and concerns regarding the structural changes imposed by advancements in AI. We analyze 120 high-quality peer-reviewed journal articles to capture recent research trends in healthcare, retail, and manufacturing. Using respected business analytics reports, we compare academic efforts to industry initiatives. We find that growing interest in AI research in academia is consistent with growing research and development (R&D) investment and patent …

Determining The Association Between Religious Participation And Spirituality And Diet And Physical Activity Behaviors In African Americans Of Mississippi, Nidhi Shrestha

Honors Theses

According to CDC, African Americans experience higher rates of chronic diseases when compared to other ethnic groups. Focusing on religiosity and spirituality may benefit the health status of this minority group where advanced healthcare facilities are not easily assessable. The purpose of this research is to 1. Examine demographic factors related to religiosity/spirituality factors among a sample of African American Mississippians; and 2. Determine the correlation between their religiosity, spirituality, and health behaviors. The study uses the data collected by the Mississippi INBRE Telenutrition Center at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM). Participants for this study were recruited from May …

The Effects Of Disease Contamination On Memory For Touched Objects In Older Adults, Jessica M. Runnels

Honors Theses

Recently it has been shown that individuals have better memory for objects that have been touched by an individual with a contagious disease relative to an individual with a non-contagious disease or who is healthy (Gretz & Huff, 2019). This pattern has been suggested to occur due to the activation of the Behavioral Immune System (BIS)—an avoidance-based system designed to thwart sources of potential pathogens. The BIS has been suggested to operate through an evolutionary-based mechanism in which avoidance of pathogens increases the likelihood of survival, increasing reproductive success. Given this approach, an important question is how the activation of …