Digital Commons Network^™

Cognitive Biases And Reflexive Control, Natalie Minton

Honors Theses

Manipulating an opponent is nothing new to warfare, but what is new is the understanding behind modern tactics, psychology, and the how the two intertwine under real world circumstances. One modern tactic, particularly used by the Russian government, is called reflexive control. This hybrid warfare tactic is used to manipulate an opponent into unknowingly making decisions benefiting the manipulator while harming the opponent. Though executed through many outlets, reflexive control is aimed at flaws within the opponent's decision making process. Many such flaws are categorized as cognitive biases derived from mental shortcuts that can lead the brain to misjudge information. …

Celebrity Protest And Media Consumption: A Comparative Analysis Across Media And Cultural Context, Paxton Williams

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I performed a comparative case study between the United States and a foreign country, particularly Australia, Venezuela, and the United Kingdom, in each of the media ages that I defined. I defined these media ages as the Pre-24 Hour News Cycle Age, the Internet Age, and the Social Media Age. For the Pre-24 Hour News Cycle Age, I examined Muhammad Ali and his refusal to be inducted into the Armed Services in 1967 after being drafted for the Vietnam War and Peter Norman, an Australian Olympic medalist, and his decision to take a silent stand for equality …

How Startups Succeed — A Look At How Architectural Innovation Provides A Competitive Advantage, Pontus V. Andersson

Honors Theses

The recent rise of high profile startups in the news and the prolific attention given to the entrepreneurial culture during an economic makes understanding how startups work a point of interest for many. The glamorization of shows like Silicon Valley and the growth of online personalities and their followers makes it even more exciting. But why do so many startups fail so drastically and a few reach unfathomable heights and why are household companies so interested in them? This paper addresses one of the underlying themes that drives business today, specifically, architectural innovation, or how companies organize. By following the …

Evaluation Of A Farmers' Market Intervention On Food Insecurity, Health, And Diet Of Individuals Living In Rural, Appalachian Mississippi, Heather A. Poole

Honors Theses

Objective: This study examined: 1) the impact of a farmers' market nutrition education and incentive intervention on household adult food security status, produce intake, perceived diet quality, and perceived health of individuals living in rural, Appalachian Mississippi; and 2) the relationship of household adult food security status to produce intake, perceived diet quality, and perceived health at baseline. Methods: Participants were recruited for a 12-week farmers' market nutrition education and incentive ($3.00/week) intervention at two rural farmers' markets in an economically distressed, Appalachian Mississippi county and completed pre- and post-intervention surveys. Results: The mean age of participants (n=60) was 57 …

Out Of Darkness, Have I Cried Unto Thee: An Examination Of The Treatment Of African Americans At The Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum During Reconstruction, James Gerald Paul

Honors Theses

The area of my research concerns the treatment of the mentally ill at the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum during Reconstruction particularly mentally ill African Americans. My primary research came from reviewing archival documents regarding the asylum at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History in Jackson, MS. The annual reports from the superintendent and board of trustees of the asylum provided the greatest amount of information. In addition to these documents, I also drew input from scholarly works on lunatic asylums including Whitney Barringer and Adia Brooks as well as writers on Reconstruction and the development of black culture in …

Disproportionality In Discipline And Achievement: Disparities In Mississippi's Public Schools, Kathryn James

Honors Theses

Using federally available data on exclusionary punishment and academic achievement, this thesis explores the relationships between disparities in punishment and in achievement. A case study using individual incident referrals supplements these datasets by providing a more nuanced view of student misbehavior, and student types receiving referrals, before punishment occurs. Disproportionalities in in-school suspension rates are positively and significantly related to gaps in academic achievement at the district level. African-American students and repeat offenders were referred at disproportionate rates for subjective offenses, while white students were referred for objective offenses. These findings are of interest to school administrators and teachers interested …

A Weight Intervention Dismantling Study: The Effect Of Social Support And Self-Monitoring On Weight Management In College Students, Kathryn Prendergast

Honors Theses

Evidence shows that psychological intervention with obese individuals facilitates improved diet, increased physical activity, weight loss, and maintenance of stable body weight over time. These interventions use techniques derived from broader theory and empirical work related to the health belief model (HBM), theory of planned behavior (TPB), and social cognitive theory (SCT) to target general health behaviors in terms of diet, patterns of eating, sleep, stress, and level of physical activity. These behaviors have been effectively targeted by multi-component evidence-based practices utilizing self-monitoring and social support: two common components that facilitate implementation, requiring few resources. While evidence suggests that interventions …

A Survey Of The History And Legality Of Sacred Music In American Public Schools, Anna Greenlee

Honors Theses

Sacred music has long been a staple of American public school music repertoire, even since the beginnings of school music in the nation. This text provides information for music educators to use as a defense of their use of sacred music for educational purposes. Also, this text gives examples of legal conflicts brought about by improper use of religious material within the public school arena. Additionally, this text provides detailed procedure and data analysis of a survey designed to evaluate the atmosphere surrounding sacred music repertoire choices in the American music classrooms of 2017.

College Students' Opinions On Parenting, Anne Overton Waller

Honors Theses

There are many potential negative effects of corporal punishment when used to discipline a child (Bell & Romano, 2012; Deater-Deckard, Landsford, Dodge, Pettit, & Bates, 2003; Straus, 2001) and tendencies to use corporal punishment are passed down through generations (Ben-Arieh & Haj-Yahia, 2008; Ember & Ember, 1994; Muller, 1996). The present study compared changes in beliefs about the appropriateness of corporal punishment in college students who received information on corporal punishment and parenting strategies in a parenting psychology class to students enrolled in non-parenting psychology classes. 116 students from the University of Mississippi participated in the present study, including 96 …

An Analysis Of Entrepreneurial Education In The Criminal Justice System, Austin Powell

Honors Theses

Currently, American federal and state prisons release more than 600,000 offenders each year that contribute to the estimated 70 million or more Americans that have some form of criminal record. By holding a criminal record, successful reentry for offenders are difficult because the criminal record serves as a barrier to public benefits. There are many correctional education programs designed to help offenders while in prison to overcome these barriers. Entrepreneurial education programs are becoming more popular, due to the positive recidivism and post-release employment results. The purpose of this study is to compare entrepreneurial education to other programs while analyzing …

University Of Mississippi Students' Opinions Regarding Sex Education In Mississippi, Cody Austin

Honors Theses

The main purpose of this study is to understand the opinions of University of Mississippi (UM) students regarding sex education policies in Mississippi public schools. Utilizing empirical, quantitative data collected from an online, IRB-approved survey of the UM student body, the study aimed to answer four main research questions that relate to sex education policymaking. The first question asked how sexually active UM students are. The data revealed that most UM students are sexually active, which suggests college students need to have adequate sexual health information by the time they enter college. The second question asked how satisfied UM students …

How To Be A Girl: The Discourse Of Compulsory Heterosexuality, Desire, And Adolescent Female Sexuality In Seventeen And Cosmopolitan Magazines From The Late 20th Century, Danielle Keiser

Honors Theses

This work explores the discourse of adolescent sexuality and desire presented to readers by Seventeen and Cosmopolitan magazines published between 1970 and 1989. The essay draws distinctions between articles and advertisements, pointing to those articles and ads that promote what Adrienne Rich called compulsory heterosexuality and those that encourage a less restrictive kind of femininity. The essay claims that Seventeen, because it targets a younger audience than Cosmopolitan does, promotes a more sexually normative framework of heterosexual relationships, compulsory matrimony, and motherhood for young readers. Cosmopolitan, on the other hand, teaches readers to embrace female sexuality and desire without needing …

The Sociological And Economic Factors Impacting A Workforce Development Program In An Impoverished Community, Elena Bauer

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to inform about the best practices of workforce development, and to consider the sociological and economic factors in impoverished areas that are to be considered for successful traditional business principles to work. Through an in-depth study of eight African American male respondents who were participants in a job training program in Clarksdale, Mississippi, this study explores the impact of the vestiges of past discrimination embedded in the institutions and culture to make a Mississippi community particularly challenging for providing equitable opportunities for low income residents (Cobb, 1992; Duncan & Blackwell, 2014; Myers Asch, 2011). …

The Effects Of Terrorism On Public Opinion Of Gun Control In The United States, Emily Mckee

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between terrorist activity and public support for gun control. This thesis tests three hypotheses: 1) that out-group violence causes greater support for gun control than in-group violence, 2) that the method of violence determines support for gun control, and 3) that the results of the first two hypotheses are dependent on the conditional variables of gender, fear of Muslims, and residence in an urban or rural area. To analyze these relationships, a survey experiment was conducted to determine if out-group violence and method of violence had an affect on public …

Recruitment And Selection In A Mass Hiring Event Of A Sme, Emily Sutphin

Honors Theses

Using a qualitative approach, I examined the relationship between formal recruitment and selection practices and the success of a mass hiring event in a small and medium sized enterprise (SME). For the purpose of my study, I will use prominent research in order to examine small and medium enterprises recruitment and selection processes and translate these findings to a mass hiring event with recruitment and selection. My literature review will help guide findings based on the qualitative data I collected. Data was drawn from observation, formal and informal interviews with key individuals within the company, and document analysis. A case …

Parental Influence On Weight Biases In School-Age Children, Emily E. Wasson

Honors Theses

Obesity rates have rapidly increased in America over the past few decades, and with this rise comes an increase in the negative psychosocial consequences experienced by victims of weight bias. Although a fair amount of research on weight bias (i.e., the negative attitudes or beliefs one holds toward overweight individuals) has been done in adults and adolescents, limited research has been done in young children. This study worked to fill gaps in the literature by investigating if children between the ages of five and nine would show weight biases, if the biases against individuals would vary by the ethnicity and …

Gender Perception Of The Rationales Behind Vegetarianism, Nicholas Tallant

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

From A Tweet To The Street: The Effect Of Social Media On Social Movement Theory, Elizabeth Romary

Honors Theses

This thesis studies the role of social media within social movements and social movement theory and focuses on applying these theories to the Ni Una Menos movement of Argentina. I focus on three social movement theories: the resource mobilization theory, the political process theory, and the cultural approach. I also analyze the rise of social media in the 21st century and how they fit within the framework of the three theories. I then apply these theories to the Ni Una Menos movement. I argue that the Ni Una Menos movement emerged as a cultural movement, and shifted towards a resource …

Idealizing Patriarchy: Patterns Of Hierarchy And Patriarchal Values In English Household Literature, 1520-1600, Conor Howard

Honors Theses

This thesis examines English household literature of the sixteenth century to assess normative patterns of masculinity and patriarchy. Throughout that century, in spite of prolific changes having occurred in the realm of English material and intellectual culture, the patterns of masculinity observed in these texts show a remarkable pattern of consistency. This lack of change is in keeping with the works of other historians who have argued that the most salient feature of the norms of English masculinity throughout the early modern period was in fact continuity. Chapter one of this thesis shows how this body of literature prescribed access …

Future Historiographers: A Unit Plan For Progressive History Classrooms, Holli Sommerfeld

Honors Theses

It is this unit plans goal to introduce middle school students to historiography, which is the history of how history has been written across time. Within this unit plan, students are placed in an inquiry-based environment to dissect varying source materials; during this process, students will focus on three central components that are essential to understanding how history is told, these being content, perspective, and form of writing. Though this subject matter is rarely introduced to students at this age, through the use of an interdisciplinary approach incorporating the strengths of both English and History, careful scaffolding, a collaborative learning …

Delyte Morris' Furniture- A Collection Of Mid-Century Modern Ideas, Emily Muszynski

Honors Theses

In the 1970s, gone were the days of a rapidly increasing student population and major building projects and gone were the days of an only 3,006 student body. Instead, there was a world-class academic university with an environment rooted in innovation and advancement. The pieces from Delyte Morris’ presidency show a dedication to a very specific vision he had: to create a university that is both supporting of the students and pushing towards advancement. He and C. D. May, the associate architect for the university, supported this idea by buying furnishings that were manufactured in Illinois and sticking to a …

Occupational Differences In Play Between Monolingual And Bilingual Children In Kentucky, Miranda Massey

Honors Theses

This study looked at the occupational differences between monolingual and bilingual children in the state of Kentucky. The children were ages 7-12 years old and were divided into three categories: monolingual English-speaking, monolingual Spanish-speaking, and bilingual English and Spanish-speaking. Each child and their parent/guardian was interviewed to collect data on play habits to determine if language was a factor in the play choices. Subjects were selected through convenience sampling over social media and by word-of-mouth. From all possible participants collected, one child from each category was chosen for the interview process.

The process itself consisted of a 50 question child …

Mindfulness In Education: A Literary Analysis And Program Proposal, Halle Graham

Honors Theses

The purpose of this work is to understand the potential impact of introducing mindfulness meditation and other contemplative practices to the United States Public Education System. Broken into two main components, the first section of this work is a literary analysis. Relevant studies on mental health in children and adolescents are analyzed in order to understand the state of mental wellbeing among the sample group. Research studies on integrating mindfulness into institutions (public and private schools, children’s summer camps) are also evaluated in order to understand the applications of mindfulness practices in terms of children and adolescents. Overall, the research …

Suffering Sappho! Female Friendships In Superhero Comics, 1940s To 1960s And Today, Hannah R. Costelle

Honors Theses

Comic book superheroines are the goddesses of modern times; they are the ideal beautiful, powerful women of America’s collective imagination whom girls have looked up to and emulated for decades. But these iconic examples of womanhood usually lack one of the key elements of humanity that enrich real women’s lives, an element that has been proven to increase women’s autonomy and confidence: female friendships. Wonder Woman may have led armies of female friends in the 1940s when superheroines first appeared in the comics pages, but by the 1950s and ‘60s, female characters confiding in one another and working together in …

"Literally Psycho"--Empathy For Those Who Have None, Through The Use Of Literature, Tyla Poindexter

Honors Theses

In today’s society, the word “Psychopath” gets thrown around very easily. But does society really know what it means to truly be a clinically diagnosed Psychopath? This thesis is all about uncovering the truth about what Psychopathy looks like, how Psychopathy is handled in the courtroom, and why people should not despise, but have empathy for Psychopaths. This was accomplished by writing a thrilling short story about a young clinical psychologist by the name of Dr. T Campbell who is assigned to interview a very charismatic man named Peter Vetrov for the court. Peter has been deemed guilty of 3 …

A Visual Representation Of Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Heather Leigh Hoskins

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Prison Stories: A Qualitative Study Of Women’S Experiences In Prison, Lizeth Chapa

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study to provide a meaningful profile of women offenders that will deliver a comprehensive understanding on the problems women face while in prison so that treatment can address these issues. Qualitative methodology, specifically the use of an open-ended questionnaire is used to examine the lives and issues that women in prison face. The sample consists of females who have previously been incarcerated in the state of Texas. They completed a semi-structured open-ended questionnaire in order to assess their perceptions of: (a) factors that contributed to their criminal behaviors, (b) how being incarcerated has positively or negatively …

Sbar, Communication, And Patient Safety: An Integrated Literature Review, Kathryn R. Stewart

Honors Theses

Communication errors are a common cause of adverse patient safety events in the healthcare field. The Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) communication tool was introduced in 2002 to guide the communication of critical patient-care information. The purpose of this integrated literature review was to determine how the use of the SBAR tool during handoff of critical information affects communication between healthcare providers and patient safety. An integrated literature review approach was chosen due to the varying methodologies and multiple variables that have been used in the study of SBAR. The combined search terms of “SBAR”, “Communication”, and “Patient Safety” were entered into PubMed, …

The Employability Of Former Criminals, Miranda Donnell

Honors Theses

This thesis presents a view into the way employers view hiring decisions with particular focus on the hiring of former criminals, and what information these hiring professionals require in order to make what they would consider an educated hiring decisions related to the risks associated with hiring individuals with prior criminal histories. While there are thousands of people looking for jobs in the United States, there is a parallel employment gap for former criminals. For numerous reasons, the unemployment rate is much higher for former criminals. Abundant research has found that, in general, employers and the public believe two very …

Teenagers Need Drugs Too: Attitudes On The Accessibility And Acceptability Of The Hpv Vaccine From Parents Of Different Socioeconomic Statuses, Kristen Angell' Dupard

Honors Theses

Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of death among women around the world and is linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV). Strains HPV-16 and-18 are linked to the causes of cervical cancer. Research shows that HPV vaccination in adolescent females projects a 70% non-contraction rate. However, only 57.3% of girls between the ages of 13-17 in the U.S. have received their first HPV vaccination dose. Researchers have begun speculating that factors such SES and race could be contributing to low vaccination participation. Answers to such information can aid in improving federal and state vaccination policies and prevent the …