Digital Commons Network^™

Fall Risk Assessment Of Older Adults With Dementia Attending Goodwill Easter Seals Adult Day Services Programs, Jamie Wynk

Honors Theses

Background and Purpose: Elderly individuals, especially those with dementia, are at an increased risk for falls. These falls can result in extremely serious injuries. However, little is known as to what factors put an Alzheimer’s patient most at risk for falls. This study seeks to determine which known fall risk factors are experienced by adults with dementia who attend adult day services. By understanding what risk factors put an individual at an increased likelihood for falls, a specific intervention can be designed to prevent falls in this population.

Participants: To be included in this study, participants had to …

Can The Color Red Improve Men's Perceived Mate Value? Examining The Interactive Effects Of Facial Masculinity And Color On Female Evaluation Of Potential Mates, Alejandro Trujillo

Honors Theses

We manipulated facial masculinity (masculine-morph/feminine-morph) and color (red/white) through two independent studies—one in-lab at the University of Dayton and one online using Amazon’s MTurk—to examine its effect on social status and attractiveness for men when rated by women. We specifically aimed to see if the color red could serve a compensatory effect for feminine-faced men, who were least likely to be found attractive by women at peak fertility. When paired with red, women rated the masculine and feminine faces higher in social status. Through this increase in social status, the color red was also able to indirectly increase the physical …

The Effect Of Early Life Social Stress On Anxiety-Like Behaviors And Ethanol Drinking In Female Long-Evans Rats, Alyssa Roeckner

Honors Theses

Among women with Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs), women have higher rates of anxiety-disorders and are more influenced by early life stress compared to men. Preclinical models have been used to study the relationships between early life stress, anxiety-like behavior, and alcohol intake and preference. However, fewer studies have been done with female rats than male rats. To that end, chronic social instability was utilized as a model of early life stress in females. In this model Long Evans rats are placed in different pairs every day, and this has previously produced anxiety-like behavior in female rats (McCormick et al., 2008). …

Too Close For Comfort: The Effects Of Threatening Stereotypes On Perceptions Of Proximity, Anissa J. Maffett

Honors Theses

Do stereotypes influence how we perceive physical stimuli in our social world? The current project addresses this question by examining whether people differentially perceive targets based on whether a stereotype-based threat accompanies the target. Previous research finds that people evaluate physically threatening stimuli (e.g., spiders, aggressive people) as closer than non-threatening stimuli (Cole Balceitis, & Dunning, 2012). However, less is known about the role of stereotypes in activating a threat response. It was predicted that participants who are made aware of the threatening status of a group will perceive a member of that group as standing physically closer. Overall, the …

Test-Retest Reliability Of Self-Reported Lifetime History Of Aggression: A Unique Longitudinal Assessment Over One Year Using Mechanical Turk, Jenna Kilgore

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

First Person Accounts Of The Proyecta 100,000 Program, Adolfo Diaz

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Consent Search Warning Argument: Procedural Justice And What A Warning Might Do For Police Legitimacy, Alec Kraus

Honors Theses

In 1966, the Supreme Court delivered the landmark Miranda v. Arizona decision that created the Miranda warning, which reminds citizens of their rights to remain silent and have an attorney present during custodial interrogations. However, through Schneckloth v. Bustamonte in 1973, the Court decided not to create a mandatory warning that reminds citizens of their right to refuse a consent search. Through these cases and the others discussed, the Court has often argued over whether or not these types of warnings impair police work, whether the contexts surrounding these instances amount to coercion, and whether or not a warning is …

Exploring French Short Stories: Guy De Maupassant's Writing Style And Social Justice, Gielle Kuhn

Honors Theses

This project explores the connection between French author Guy de Maupassant’s pessimist writing style and his observations of 19th century French social classes. A literary analysis of two of Maupassant’s short stories, La Parure and Le Gueux, determines key elements of pessimism, naturalism, realism and an unequal class structure, which discriminates between the peasantry, the working class, and the rich bourgeois. My research aims to demonstrate evidence that Maupassant uses a pessimistic writing style to advocate for social justice.

The Effects Of Omega-3 Fatty Acids On Intracellular Inositol Levels In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Jee Yeon (Joanne) Lee

Honors Theses

Bipolar disorder is a severe and chronic debilitating mental disorder characterized by extreme mood swings between mania and depression. The current medications for bipolar disorder, lithium and valproate, have been associated with numerous negative side effects. Although the therapeutic mechanism by which lithium and valproate (VPA) exert their effect is unknown, a leading hypothesis implicates inositol depletion as a mechanism of action. On the other hand, omega-3-fatty acids have been shown to relieve symptoms of bipolar disorder. In this study, we compare the effects of VPA to the effects of decosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on Saccharomyces cerevisiae growth and intracellular inositol …

A Compartmental Model Of Animal Behavior, Saharsh Dass

Honors Theses

Animal behavior is integral to fitness and arises from complex interactions between internal and external factors. An understanding of how external environmental factors drive animal behavior is important for understanding the way organisms adapt to environmental perturbations such as climate change. Glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens) at Protection Island, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington display a variety of behaviors on the colony during the breeding season. The most common gull behaviors are sleeping, preening, and resting. I used a system of four differential equations to predict numbers of sleeping, preening, and resting gulls on the colony as a function of …

Procrastination, Motivation, & Flow, Reginald Desrosiers

Honors Theses

No Abstract.

The Ethics Of Environmentalism For The Individual Consumer, Molly Collins

Honors Theses

Climate change harms the well-being of humans. It is the poor choices of individual consumers that contribute to climate change. I argue that it is immoral to cause harm to others, thus climate change is an ethical dilemma for individual consumers. I begin with a pluralistic discussion of harm, before discussing the duties of individuals to make choices that will mitigate the current harms of climate change and the wrong moral assumptions that individuals make regarding their contribution to climate change. I discuss the principles of ethical consumerism, specifically in housing, food, and transportation. Lastly, I argue that climate change …

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, …

Health Care Agency: Statewide Awareness Of Patient-Centered Care In Maine’S Mental Health Care Facilities, Holly Hogan A

Honors Theses

This research project focuses on patient-centered care (PCC) in the context of inpatient acute psychiatric units. Hospitals have been claiming their renewed outlooks on health-care via PCC. It has become an increasingly popular term to use on hospital websites and in presidential statements. The technologies and practices surrounding psychiatric care have evolved in such a way that patients are more welcomed to have an input in their care. This project discusses the discourse around PCC at Mental Health Care Facilities in Maine. There is no consensus on the definition; the meanings ascribed to it are derived from the individual institutions. …

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, …

Park Politics: Political Influences On Frederick Law Olmsted & The Creation Of Central Park, Kathryn Chow

Honors Theses

Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. (1822-1903), renowned landscape architect and journalist, was also a political activist who saw urban parks as a way to facilitate social reform. This study focuses on Olmsted’s role as Superintendent of Central Park (1858-1861), evaluating the impacts of politics throughout his campaign for Superintendent and during the construction of Central Park. Politics, in this study, refers to both the interactions between Republican and Democratic parties, and the interactions between Olmsted and his constituents, in both the government and the intellectual sphere. This study will provide readers with a fuller understanding of how local political disputes, ideas …

Don't Know, Do Not Resuscitate: A Principle For The Creation Of The Kingdom Of Ends In The Icu, Griffen Isaac Allen

Honors Theses

In the United States today 20% of all Americans die in Intensive Care Units, or ICUs. These were developed in the 50s, 60s, and 70s to centralize medical resources to help treat critically ill patients with new technologies like ventilators, dialysis, and other tools that are now commonplace. This occurred simultaneously with the emergence of individualistic autonomy, understood as the patient's right to dictate their treatment, as the dominant force in medical ethics. Ostensibly both of these developments would seem beneficial for patients. However, the ultimate result is overly aggressive care that strips patients of their dignity and ensures that …

Are Tax Exemptions For "Churches" A Blessing Or A Curse For Taxpayers?, Hannah Bauman

Honors Theses

This paper focuses on the rules and requirements governing the participation of religious organizations as defined in IRC § 501(c)(3) in the political process. Included in this is a study of historical events and case law both for and against the participation of religious organizations in politics.

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, …

Beautiful Minds : Exploring The Healing Potentional Of Self-Refexive Art In Facing A Campus Mental Health Crisis, Molly Chapman Rossi

Honors Theses

This interdisciplinary study of mental health seeks to do three things:

1. Identify and investigate the issue of mental health among students within the University of Richmond campus community, through both statistical and ethnographic data,

2. Apply trauma theory to redefine the crisis as a community trauma with unique aspects, and

3. Make a case for hope by proposing a plan that uses self-reflexive art, specifically theatre, to address the individualized community trauma and second-wave trauma.

I explicate new theories in this work, among them the notions of “individualized community trauma,” “second-wave trauma,” and “traumatic fusion.” Another critical concept is …

Dognition : The Effect Of Pet Ownership On Cognition In Older Adults, Molly Mcsweeney

Honors Theses

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of pet ownership on cognition in older adults. Previous research has indicated that interactions with pets are associated with improved mental and physical health in humans. We predicted that these benefits of human-pet interactions will extend to expose superior cognitive functioning in cat-owning or dog-owning older adults as compared to older adults who do not own pets. More specifically, we hypothesized that dog-owners would perform significantly better than cat-owners and non-pet owners on cognitive tasks as owning a dog requires exceeding attention, training, and exercise. We tested this effect …

Breaking The Language Barrier : The Spanish Translation Of The Barriers To Access To Care Evaluation (Bace), Yosmary Rodriguez

Honors Theses

The Hispanic/Latino population in the United States has been identified as a high-risk group for mental health problems. Unfortunately, due to commonly reported factors such as lack of linguistically and culturally appropriate services, many fail to seek treatment. While growing research has focused on identifying and addressing the different barriers to accessing mental health care experienced by this community, there continues to be a lack of validated Spanish assessments to aid in the evaluation of these barriers. In hopes of overcoming this barrier, and working towards better quality of care for this growing population, this project translated the Barriers to …

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 …

Economic Enchantment In Eudora Welty's A Curtain Of Green, Elizabeth Moore

Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes Eudora Welty's short story collection, A Curtain of Green, and the interactions between its characters and the Mississippi economy. The paper takes into account Eudora Welty's work with the WPA during the Great Depression and her experiences photographing Mississippians throughout the state. Additionally, this thesis uses Welty's terminology when describing her experience of shopping as a child, specifically the enchantment of goods. This material is used to argue that Eudora Welty does address economic elements in her early short stories. Furthermore, this collection demonstrates a difference between gender participation in the economy, particularly among salesmen and female …

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 …

Boredom And Psychological Time Perspective On Cognition, Alyssa Erin Invergo

Honors Theses

This study investigated psychological time with regards to a memory recognition task. The participants rated images on a 5-point scale of attractiveness. There were two different conditions, one having 40 male faces and the other containing 40 female faces. After they finished rating the faces, they made a retrospective time estimate of how long they thought they spent viewing the faces. Following this they took the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS) to test what state of boredom they were currently experiencing. Finally they performed a memory recognition test. We noticed statistically significant differences between the two conditions based on target …

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 …