Digital Commons Network^™

Mating Behaviors Exhibited By A Captive Male Pacific Walrus (Odobenus Rosmarus Divergens), Jessica M. Mccord

Honors Theses

Understanding mating behaviors of a species can be utilized to help protect the species. Results of population surveys have shown the walrus population to be on the decline, and over the history of walruses being held in captivity, few pups have been born or survived. Not much is known about Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) due to the isolated Arctic habitats in which walruses live making wild population studies difficult. Few studies have examined wild observations of walrus mating behaviors and virtually none for captivity. The purpose of this study was to observe a captive male Pacific walrus for mating …

Perceptions Of Campus Community Members Regarding Wrongful Convictions In Mississippi, Tera Wilson

Honors Theses

The American criminal justice system is a series of checks and balances meant to protect the American people. However, on occasion, the system fails, and innocent people are convicted of crimes, leaving the truly guilty perpetrator free to potentially commit other crimes. This study aimed to determine the beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes of university community members regarding the issue of wrongful conviction in Mississippi. This was executed by hosting a public forum including the Director of the Mississippi Innocence Project on the campus of Southern Mississippi. During this forum, participants were provided with the opportunity to complete two surveys in …

Gender Roles And Gender Stereotypes In Four Newbery Award-Winning Books, Alex P. Brower

Honors Theses

This research project examined the presentation of traditional gender roles and representation in four books that were awarded the Newbery Medal. The four books that were examined are the award recipients from 1922, 1923, 2014 and 2015. It was predicted that as gender equality has become a more prominent issue, and men and women have become more equal, one would expect this change to be reflected in children’s literature. A close reading was performed of these works, and special attention was paid to how the authors present the genders of the main characters in terms of personal interests, the roles …

Identifying And Preventing Insider Threats, Matthew D. Waters

Honors Theses

Insider threats, or attacks against a company from within, are a pressing issue both domestically and internationally. Frequencies of these threats increase each year adding to the overall importance of further research analysis. In fact, many case studies have been conducted which state that these employees who participate in insider attacks tend to exhibit certain personality and characteristic traits, as well as certain observable behaviors, that would indicate to other employees that an attack is imminent. It is hypothesized that companies will be able to take a more preventative stance of security as opposed to a reactive stance by identifying …

What Works? A Meta-Analysis Of Quantitative Studies Regarding Heroin Policy, Maddy R. Swiney

Honors Theses

This project aimed to aid legislators by presenting quantitative evidence on what policies existing literature supports as working in dealing with the problem of heroin use in order to shift policies to a more effective approach. Chi Square analysis of 100 quantitative studies revealed that there is a relationship between the type of approach and outcome of the study, indicating that maintenance-focused approaches are more likely to work than the other approaches examined. The study concluded that, while the literature finds consensus on the idea that “maintenance works”, the details of implementation cause disagreement between fields; overall, maintenance works for …

Analysis Of The Foreigner, Hannah Matias

Honors Theses

In my senior year at Western Michigan University, I had the privilege of portraying Catherine Simms of the university’s production of The Foreigner. I was never been more excited to play a role in my entire life. For me, this is where the rubber met the road. I have trained for four years in the acting program and I was more than ready to apply the skills I have attained in this performance. I did extensive bookwork for this character. From doing research, to creating a biography, finding out Catherine’s objectives, and so on, my bookwork is definitely a sight …

The Educational Experience: Understanding The Voices Of Students With And Without Specific Learning Disorders, Morgan A. Wood

Honors Theses

Elementary school is a pivotal time during a child’s development in cognition, social behaviors and relationships, and development of self. For students who may have significant academic disabilities, resulting in a diagnosis of a Specific Learning Disorder, this time can be more difficult than their “typical” learning peers. Intervention techniques have been developed and implemented; however, academic success is defined as increased standardized test scores. Little research has been done regarding these students’ emotional and social success within their prescribed intervention technique. It is the aim of this study to strive to understand the voices of students with specific learning …

Socio-Emotional Development In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Christiana K. Whitley

Honors Theses

The purpose of the present study was to determine which lesson from a social skills program would result in the greatest improvement in duration of social interaction for children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) between the ages of five and fifteen. The Superheroes Social Skills Program (Jensen et al., 2011) includes lesson plans that focus directly on helping children with ASD develop communication skills in group settings. The data indicate that one specific lesson, Participation and Joining In, was responsible for the largest mean increase in duration of social interactions of participants. Social skills lessons were introduced …

Clearing Up Calculus With Adaptive Learning Habits, Jennifer Patterson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Diagnostic Practices Of Autism Spectrum Disorders In Brazil, Ana Claudia Vesper Manier Dias

Honors Theses

In Brazil, in spite of over half a million students with special needs in primary education, little research has been conducted about ASD diagnostic practices. This involves learning about the training that professionals are receiving, what diagnostic practices are being implemented on the field, and whether those are being contextualized according to the Brazilian culture. Students with special needs are directly affected by the results of diagnostic practices, since identifying the individuals is one of the first steps. Lack of understanding about that stage may lead to the problematic realities of underidentification or overidentification, exclusion of children who should receive …

"Why Do We Laugh When We Should Cry?...Is It Only Here In This Sad Island?": Gender, Affect, And Empire In Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea And Johnston's Fool's Sanctuary, Kylie Dennis

Honors Theses

British colonial literature has produced no shortage of the silent woman: she has surfaced in a variety of disguises as the domestic wife, the colonial woman, and the mysterious, exoticized other. For contemporary women writers interested in countries occupied by British forces, the prominence of the silent woman has produced a dilemma of writing agentic female characters and women's voices into literature without centuries of historical precedent for doing so. For Jean Rhys and Jennifer Johnston, dissatisfaction with the representation of women's narratives has inspired novels that engage with iconic colonial women, revising their stories and reconsidering the space for …

How To Save A Life: The Effect Of Message Format And Strength On Persuasiveness In Public Safety Messages, Katherine A. Lauber

Honors Theses

Public Safety messages aim to get important messages out to the general public. This study seeks to examine how message format and content are interconnected and the role they play within persuasion. The study is a 2x2 design, with the tested variables being central message versus peripheral message and text format versus video format. Participants will self-report interest level in the topic of toxins in household products before viewing a message on the topic, then self-report after. Results concluded that those with high initial interest were less persuaded than those with low initial interest, but central cues were more persuasive …

A Noble Dream: The Inter-American Studies Program At Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (1958-1985), Colin T. White

Honors Theses

This essay explores the rise and fall of the Inter-American studies program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The Inter-American Studies Program attempted to bridge two distinctive bodies of academic literature when Dr. Albert Bork first envisioned it. Unlike other programs founded in the 1950s, SIU’s Inter-American Studies program was an academic experiment challenging that emerging trend. Regardless of its failure, the program’s original idea was innovative.

Innovation And Leadership Development For The Millennial Generation, Savannah L. Mccord

Honors Theses

Millennial college students’ leadership development is imperative for the future success of US society. If utilized consciously, the university can serve as a container of self-cultivation for the aspiring Millennial leader. Keys to leadership development are combining theory, practice, and mentoring. By utilizing the work of Joseph Campbell combined with other cutting-edge leadership development theories, this autoethnographic research shows the synthesis of theory and practice for a successful Millennial leader. This research is offered as a service to future Millennial college students and potential leaders.

Emotional Resistance In Kim Addonizio's "Jimmy & Rita": Representing The Negative Effects Of Baby-Boomer Values On Generation X, Raquel G. Olive

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Anxiety Break: A Smartphone Application Used To Examine The Mediating Effects Of Metacognition On Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Devon L. Ruhde

Honors Theses

Worry is the highlight characteristic of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). While worry is very common in anxiety disorders, it is important to note that worry is common in non-clinical populations as well. The current study focused on the metacognitive model of GAD (Wells, 2005). Various intervention types available for those with GAD have been examined. However, with the surge of technological advances being integrated into the field of psychology, it is important to examine technology-based treatments, more specifically smartphone application interventions. The purpose of the current study was to use a smartphone application (Anxiety Breaks; Habib, 2013) that targets worry …

The Effects Of The Alexander Technique On The Performance Of Music Students, Heather Amos

Honors Theses

This honors thesis paper looks into the injuries commonly experienced by musicians and how the addition of the Alexander Technique affects both the injury and the performance of the musician. The purpose of this research was to attempt to find a solution to the pain musicians suffer from Repetitive Strain Injuries through either a treatment or prevention process of using the Alexander Technique. Throughout the research, the main questions that guided the findings were: what is causing the injuries many musicians seem to develop, what are the current uses of the Alexander Technique, has anyone experimented with using the Alexander …

The Influence Of Task Specific Factors On Quantity Discrimination By Brown Capuchins (Cebus Apella) And Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri Sciureus), Alison Rose Billas

Honors Theses

Previous studies have revealed that non-human primates discriminate quantities. However, their performance is highly variable both within and between species. Discrepancies in performance may be the result of a variety of factors, including species-specific cognitive differences or task specific factors such as representational format of the choice stimuli, motivation to perform that task, or tolerance for task delays. Six brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) and six squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) were presented with two numerical quantities in three different conditions, replicating Schmitt and Fischer's (2011) study with baboons and macaques. Primates were rewarded with a quantity of food corresponding in …

Students Perceptions Of Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities And The Impact Of Inclusion, Marissa Visse

Honors Theses

The objective of this study is to determine if inclusion of people identified with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) has an impact on their typically developing peers as well as determining the perceptions that college students at EKU have of people with IDD. A survey was conducted online through Surveymonkey.com and was sent out to EKU students through email. There were 82 respondents to the survey. The survey consisted of questions on age, gender, and status at EKU of each participant and asked them questions about the perceptions they have of those with IDD and if they have been involved …

Rescuing Victims Of Human Trafficking: Strategies And Solutions, Andrew J. Pullins

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to research and investigate how victims of human trafficking are removed from exploitative situations. There are three main methods of removal, which are raids, purchases, and escapes. Each method has its own unique characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. The research was conducted in the form of a literature review. The findings of this research indicate that there is no one “right” way to rescue a victim of human trafficking. Each rescue must be carefully researched and planned before being executed, or the consequences can be severe.

Autism Spectrum Disorder And The Criminal Justice System: An Interdisciplinary Study, Erin T. Brown

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to advocate and raise awareness of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to SIU law students and to inform communication disorders and science (CDS) students of some basic facts about the criminal justice system in the United States. To accomplish this, an interdisciplinary session was conducted in which three CDS students taught ten law students about characteristics of ASD and three law teacher assistants taught thirteen CDS students about disability law and other intricacies of the justice system. Fifteen question pre-surveys were distributed to the participants upon arrival. CDS students answered questions about court …

"The Soul Becomes": Heuristic Emerson, James Alexander Hallam

Honors Theses

My research on Ralph Waldo Emerson centers on Emerson's assertion in "Self-Reliance" that "the soul becomes." In other words, the individual is engaged in a dynamic process of growth throughout his or her lifetime. Concentrating predominately on four of Emerson's main texts, my research explores the ways in which Emerson performs this process of growth within his essays. I argue that his inner struggles with himself and the world around him manifest themselves in various ways within his texts, both productively and unproductively. Productively, Emerson writes through his self-doubt and uncertainties, allowing him to arrive at new truths and new …

Examination Of Personality And Game Preference, John Pollock

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of University Community Members Regarding Alcohol Restriction Policies, Katherine A. Meeker

Honors Theses

There has been a growing concern regarding sexual assaults on college and university campuses. The push to decrease sexual assaults has lead researchers and universities to examine alcohol abuse as a contributing factor. Many colleges and universities have developed new policies for alcohol restriction, but they have done so without taking into consideration the views of the campus community. In the absence of collaboration between the campus community and university administration, such policies will likely be ineffective. This study explores the beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes of the campus community regarding alcohol restriction policies at The University of Southern Mississippi.

An Analysis Of Gender Effects And Career Choices In Public Accounting, Amanda M. Odom

Honors Theses

Public accountants and students evaluated career success before and after career actions by public accountants, represented by resumes that were randomly assigned traditionally male or feminine names. Bias in favor of the resumes with a traditionally male name was initially detected, but after implementing recommendations from subjects, subject assessments favored resumes with a traditionally female name. This suggests that career choices matter and that choices can mitigate or even overcome gender bias in public accounting.

The Impact Of Amputation On Body Image, Anna C. Gilg

Honors Theses

There is a lack of history regarding appearance-related concerns in healthcare. There are roughly two million people living with limb loss in the United States with nearly 185,000 amputations occurring each year. Alterations in body image are due to individuals being unable to adapt to appearance change and can take them far from their ideal body image. It has previously been discovered that amputees generally disclose negative feelings regarding their bodies.

The sample included 207 adults aged 21 years and older with lower-limb amputations. The participants completed a survey composed of demographics and the Amputee Body Image Scale. Statistical analysis …

The Role Of Context And Memory Strategies In Prospective Memory Commission Errors, Iain A. Scott

Honors Theses

Within the field of prospective memory (memory related to future tasks), the repetition of an already completed task has recently been of great interest within the field. Referred to as a commission error, the cognitive mechanisms and specific risk factors that relate to this memory error have been the focus of research in this area of memory. For example, research suggests that a well-established behavioral strategy for improving prospective memory, termed implementation intentions, also elicits higher levels of commission errors, particularly for older adults (Bugg, Scullin, & McDaniel 2013). The impact of commission errors on everyday life can have extreme …

Alkaloids In E-Cigarettes: Their Effects On Cell Growth And Gene Regulation, Maxwell H. Marlowe

Honors Theses

E-cigarettes have become increasingly popular in the past decade. They are marketed as smoking cessation aids. These products have not been well regulated or researched with respect to health concerns and safety issues. A number of toxic compounds have been discovered in refill solutions, and the long-term effects of e-cigarette use are still largely unknown. Nicotine is one of the primary alkaloids within e-cigarette refill solutions. Nevertheless, other tobacco alkaloids are present including; cotinine, myosmine and anabasine, even though these compounds are not disclosed on the packaging. This study uses known amounts of tobacco alkaloids, in an in vitro culture …

Millennial Skepticism And Susceptibility To Media Persuasion, Olivia K. Lee

Honors Theses

This study examines the disconnect between millennials' perceived and actual skepticism toward news media outlets as well as the Third Person Effect in millennials' attitude toward others' skepticism. This body of work includes survey research to examine these theories in the context of millennial news consumption.

Robert Frost’S Ulteriority: Saying One Thing In Terms Of Another – The Inexpressible, Nicolette S. Stackhouse

Honors Theses

Robert Frost’s poetry, which is famously rich in double meaning—saying one thing but meaning something else—is also concerned with pragmatism. Pragmatism implies that there is no one fundamental universal truth. I contend that Robert Frost’s poetry says that duplicity of meaning, or ulteriority, is something to be embraced. Frost wants the uncertainty of meaning to be understood by the reader as vital to life and the mind’s processes. The simple fact that so many readers search for the hidden meanings in his poetry justly proves this point. As a pragmatist, Frost was aware that the process of getting to a …