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Honors Theses

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The Ties That Bind: Candidate Appearance And Party Heuristics, Brandon D. Reilly May 2014

The Ties That Bind: Candidate Appearance And Party Heuristics, Brandon D. Reilly

Honors Theses

Studies on voting behavior have implications for academia and for real world applications. One of the main topics covered in studies of voting behavior is the use of heuristics to make voting decisions. A heuristic is a mental shortcut used to make a decision, and often times does not account for any careful consideration. According to the literature, an individual's party identification is the most commonly used heuristic in voting behavior. A voter will align with a political party based on preferences in policy (or perceived preferences) and vote for any candidate who bears the party's designation. There is also …

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The Sound Of Shadows: A Telling, Marla A. Schulz May 2014

The Sound Of Shadows: A Telling, Marla A. Schulz

Honors Theses

This research paper looks at the process behind creating the movie musical "The Sound of Shadows." Marla Schulz journals her experience as writer and director of the film, as well as exploring thematic elements. The research looks to different sources, such as movie musicals, biblical texts, and books exploring the human mind.

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Language Development Of Bilingual Russian/English Speaking Children Living In The United States: A Review Of The Literature, Jeanette D. Grosman May 2014

Language Development Of Bilingual Russian/English Speaking Children Living In The United States: A Review Of The Literature, Jeanette D. Grosman

Honors Theses

The number of bilingual speakers in the United States is increasing. Children in particular provide unique contributions and challenges to the English-speaking communities in which they live. Various aspects of the young bilingual population have been studied, including an emphasis on the communicative abilities and trends of such children. However, there is a paucity of research regarding communication of bilingual Russian/English-speaking children. The purpose of this project is to review the existing literature on the language development of bilingual Russian/English-speaking children as compared to that of monolingual English-speaking children to establish grounds for further research about this increasing population. The …

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Effects Of Multiple Exemplar Instruction On The Emergence Of Derived Relations In Children With Developmental Disabilities, Bridget E. Munoz May 2014

Effects Of Multiple Exemplar Instruction On The Emergence Of Derived Relations In Children With Developmental Disabilities, Bridget E. Munoz

Honors Theses

Multiple Exemplar Instruction (MEI) was evaluated, as an instructional protocol, on its effectiveness of establishing derived tact relations (B-A) in three children with developmental disabilities. Educationally relevant stimuli in the form of constellations were used as stimuli in this study. Following assessment of current listener (A-B) and tact relations amongst participants, listener training was implemented in which participants were asked to “Point to” a dictated constellation out of four choices. Participants needed to respond with 88% accuracy in order to be tested on tact relations. In the event that participants failed tact test probes, Multiple Exemplar Instruction was introduced. Results …

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Greek Life And God Attachment: The Interaction Of Sorority Influence And Religiosity On Women's Body Shame, Monica Burney May 2014

Greek Life And God Attachment: The Interaction Of Sorority Influence And Religiosity On Women's Body Shame, Monica Burney

Honors Theses

The present study investigated the relationships between sorority women’s internalization of Greek thin ideals and body image, and dimensions of sorority women’s religiosity and body image. A combined relationship among sorority women’s internalization of Greek thin ideals, body image, and religiosity was also examined. Based on previous research it was expected that women’s internalization of Greek thin ideals would be associated with worse body image (in terms of body shame, body esteem, and drive for thinness) and that women’s religiosity (in terms of secure attachment to God) would be associated with better body image. Combinations of Greek thin ideal internalization …

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Distress Disclosure And Personality In College Students, Elizabeth Rebecca Klunk May 2014

Distress Disclosure And Personality In College Students, Elizabeth Rebecca Klunk

Honors Theses

This study examined distress disclosure, the tendency to confide unpleasant feelings and experiences to others. Other factors under consideration were gender, personality factors (such as extraversion and one's general tendency to disclose), and the identity of the person to whom individuals were asked to disclose. The subject pool included 22 male and 34 female volunteers from Bucknell University. Participants were asked to complete a measure of basic demographics, the Distress Disclosure Index, and the NEO-FFI measure of personality. They were then asked to disclose about an aspect of their lives that they personally found stressful, as if they were confiding …

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"She Was Not Even Normal": Unreliable Narratives Of Female Insanity In Jane Eyre, Rebecca, And Wide Sargasso Sea, Carolyn Elizabeth Williams May 2014

"She Was Not Even Normal": Unreliable Narratives Of Female Insanity In Jane Eyre, Rebecca, And Wide Sargasso Sea, Carolyn Elizabeth Williams

Honors Theses

In my thesis, I interrogate narrative reliability related to depictions of female insanity in Jane Eyre, Rebecca, and Wide Sargasso Sea. By subjecting the trustworthiness of her storytelling to criticism, especially as regards the concealed madwoman, Bertha Mason, Jane's narration is revealed as unstable, offering problematic insight into a character long considered unflinchingly honest. In du Maurier's later literary adaptation of Jane Eyre, Bertha's parallel character, the eponymous Rebecca, comes to the fore, while the novel's unnamed narrator remains in the shadows, and bases much of her storytelling upon hearsay, rather than the "autobiography" of Jane Eyre. The most transparent …

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Trends In The Association Between Socioeconomic Status And Obesity In U.S. Adults: 2002-2012, Amanda Elaine Ayers May 2014

Trends In The Association Between Socioeconomic Status And Obesity In U.S. Adults: 2002-2012, Amanda Elaine Ayers

Honors Theses

Since the 1980s, the prevalence of obesity has more than doubled to over 30 percent of the adult population (Thorpe, 2004). Obesity is a key contributing factor to continually rising national healthcare costs. Addressing its negative implications is essential not only from a cost perspective, but also for the betterment of our nation¿s general health and wellbeing. Obesity is reportedly associated with a 35% increase in inpatient and outpatient spending, as well as a 77% increase in related necessary medications (Sturm, 2002). Obesity, which some have argued should be classified as a disease in itself, has roughly the same association …

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Locational And Temporal Risk Associated With Campus Sexual Assault, Julianne Elizabeth Valdes May 2014

Locational And Temporal Risk Associated With Campus Sexual Assault, Julianne Elizabeth Valdes

Honors Theses

The present study investigates the rates of victimization of sexual assault reported by undergraduates at Bucknell University. Specifically, the study aimed to determine where and when sexual assault took place, in order to pinpoint both temporal risks and locational risks associated with certain events on campus. Results of the survey were analyzed for victimization rates across class year, time of year, where victimization took place, as well as where victims and perpetrators met. Data for the study was gathered by means of anonymous survey, sent out to 1752 randomly selected undergraduates via email. Participants filled out the survey which asked …

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Restructuring Justice: Moving Towards Gender-Responsive Programming And Alternatives To Incarceration For Non-Violent Female Offenders, Julia Ellouise Bonnell May 2014

Restructuring Justice: Moving Towards Gender-Responsive Programming And Alternatives To Incarceration For Non-Violent Female Offenders, Julia Ellouise Bonnell

Honors Theses

The United States¿ Federal and State laws differentiate between acceptable (or, legal) and unacceptable (illegal) behavior by prescribing restrictive punishment to citizens and/or groups that violate these established rules. These regulations are written to treat every person equally and to fairly serve justice; furthermore, the sanctions placed on offenders seek to reform illegal behavior through limitations on freedoms and rehabilitative programs. Despite the effort to treat all offenders fairly regardless of social identity categories (e.g., sex, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, ability, and gender and sexual orientation) and to humanely eliminate illegal behavior, the American penal system perpetuates de facto …

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Must We Forgive?: Exploring The Limits And Possibilities Of Forgiveness And Resentment, Margaret Adele Schneiderman May 2014

Must We Forgive?: Exploring The Limits And Possibilities Of Forgiveness And Resentment, Margaret Adele Schneiderman

Honors Theses

Conflict has marked civilization from Biblical times to the present day. Each of us, with our different and competing interests, and our desires to pursue those interests, have over time wronged another person. Not surprisingly then, forgiveness is a concern of individuals and groups¿communities, countries, religious groups, races¿yet it is a complex idea that philosophers, theologians, political scientists, and psychologists have grappled with. Some have argued that forgiveness is a therapeutic means for overcoming guilt, pain, and anger. Forgiveness is often portrayed as a coping mechanism¿how often we hear the phrase, ¿forgive and forget,¿ as an arrangement to help two …

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Attachment And Coping With Two Kinds Of Relationship Stressors, Kate Elizabeth Liebman May 2014

Attachment And Coping With Two Kinds Of Relationship Stressors, Kate Elizabeth Liebman

Honors Theses

This study evaluated the relationship between recalled parental treatment, attachment style, and coping with parental and romantic stressors. A group of 66 undergraduate students completed the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) (Parker, Tupling, & Brown, 1979), a measure of attachment style (Simpson, 1990), general questions regarding the intensity and frequency of parental and romantic stressors, and their typical ways of coping with each type (Vitaliano, Russo, Carr, Maiuro, & Becker, 1985). Data analysis showed that attachment scores were significantly correlated with coping with both kinds of stress. The most significant correlations were found between attachment and coping with romantic stressors. Overall, …

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Relationship Repair After Infidelity: Looking At Other Perspectives, Cherra Mina Mathis May 2014

Relationship Repair After Infidelity: Looking At Other Perspectives, Cherra Mina Mathis

Honors Theses

Prior research examining relationship repair after infidelity scenarios tends to focus primarily on heterosexual relationships, and often does not take into consideration the nuance between emotional and sexual infidelity, which, according to evolutionary psychology theories, tends to be salient to individuals based on their reproductive challenges. This research intended to rectify that dearth, hypothesizing that non-heterosexual participants would be more likely to repair a relationship where a partner has committed sexual infidelity than they would be to repair a relationship where a partner has committed an emotional infidelity. As well, based on prior research, there were expectations for sex differences …

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Funny Or French: How Humor Varies Across Cultures, Audrey Mefford May 2014

Funny Or French: How Humor Varies Across Cultures, Audrey Mefford

Honors Theses

This paper examines the works of four cartoonists (Saul Steinberg, Jean-Jacques Sempé, Roz Chast, and Claire Bretécher) in order to determine similarities and differences between French humor and American humor. It incorporates compiled data from each of the above artist's lifetime works, as well as knowledge from the fields of cartoons and comics, sociology, and cross-cultural psychology, to answer the question "What is funny?" in each of these two disparate cultures.

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‘Liberty Is The Word With Me’ The Ideologies And Allegiances Of Civil War Soldiers In Hamilton County, James J. W. Scott May 2014

‘Liberty Is The Word With Me’ The Ideologies And Allegiances Of Civil War Soldiers In Hamilton County, James J. W. Scott

Honors Theses

This case study of Hamilton County, Tennessee investigates Civil War soldiers to determine how the county was divided and why men chose to fight for the Union or the Confederacy. Using descriptive statistics and Grounded Theory Method, this study analyzes census data, military records, and personal correspondence to show that Confederate soldiers were concentrated in urban areas as wealthy businessmen or poor laborers, while Unionists dominated rural areas mostly as middleclass small farm owners. This research reveals that Confederates adopted an identity and ideology similar to other states in the Confederacy through railroad and business connections, and Unionists resented a …

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Defining A Cross Content, Cross Cultural Curriculum For Foreign Language, Hannah P. Seage May 2014

Defining A Cross Content, Cross Cultural Curriculum For Foreign Language, Hannah P. Seage

Honors Theses

This thesis posits a 4th grade foreign language curriculum emphasizing cultural content in a parallel structure to social studies content as a means of addressing the interdisciplinary literacy stressed in the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Both the cultural content element and the parallel curriculum structure are compared to viable alternative emphases or structures prevalent in contemporary pedagogical material and practice. Standards of comparison for content foci are derived from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages aligned with the CCSS and standards of comparison for curriculum structure are derived …

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Developing A Cross-Cultural And Cross-Content Foreign Language Curriculum, Sophia R. Seage May 2014

Developing A Cross-Cultural And Cross-Content Foreign Language Curriculum, Sophia R. Seage

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to clarify the implementation of the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary French curriculum described in the associated work, Defining a Cross-Cultural and Cross-Content Foreign Language Curriculum (Seage). Using Social Studies as the primary source of cross-content exchange, the proposed curriculum is composed of three units of entry level French instruction that position the learner to acquire a second language through the broader process of acquiring an understanding of a second culture. By connecting the underlying philosophy outlined in the accompanying work to the recently implemented Common Core State Standards and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' …

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Are We The Ones To Blame?: Ideological Polarization And Voter Choice, Robert J. Williamson May 2014

Are We The Ones To Blame?: Ideological Polarization And Voter Choice, Robert J. Williamson

Honors Theses

Political polarization is the social process by which the ideas and values of a politically moderate majority are slowly replaced by an uncompromising political ideology. In the American context, the term ‘polarization’ is meant to conjure an image of Americans moving from the moderate center to the uncompromising ideologies of modern conservatism or liberalism. This study examined whether a group’s level of political polarization can be a reliable predictor for its voting patterns. To do so, a two-part questionnaire was disseminated to a sample of undergraduate students at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). The first section determined if a …

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“Birth Order’S Effect On Language Delay Detection In Young Children”, Victoria C. Souhlas May 2014

“Birth Order’S Effect On Language Delay Detection In Young Children”, Victoria C. Souhlas

Honors Theses

In the field of Speech-Language Pathology, research has shown that the earlier a child is diagnosed with a speech and language disorder, the better the prognosis is for a favorable therapy outcome (Carroll, Bowyer-Crane, Duff, Hulme, Snowling, 2011). This researcher concentrated on how the birth order of a child can affect the prognosis of a speech and language delay. For this study, the goal was to collect quantitative data in order to view the extent of the correlation between birth order and the age of diagnosis. A sample population was found at the DuBard School of Language Disorders at the …

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Risk Propensity And The Aviator Shortage, Timothy S. Seales May 2014

Risk Propensity And The Aviator Shortage, Timothy S. Seales

Honors Theses

This is an exploratory research study of the possible similarities in risk propensity between aviators and potential aviators and to determine the feasibility of using focused marketing strategies to increase the number of annually issued pilot certificates. This exploratory research was chosen for its significance in that there is a steady decline in the number of pilot certificates being issued annually (Blair, 2012), and there is also a dramatic increase in the number of airline pilots reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65 (Cary, 2012). The result of these two combined circumstances may cause an acute aviator shortage in the …

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Don’T You Be Telling Me How Tah Talk: Education, Ebonics, And Code-Switching, Laquita N. Gresham May 2014

Don’T You Be Telling Me How Tah Talk: Education, Ebonics, And Code-Switching, Laquita N. Gresham

Honors Theses

Ebonics, currently referred to as African-American English (AAE), is a highly-controversial topic inside and outside of the classroom. Many educators, scholars, and legislators debate how teachers should approach students who speak AAE and how they can fill the gap between African-American English and Standard English in a way that disbands the dialectal prejudices that may exist. This thesis focuses on code-switching as a pedagogical tool to help teachers instruct Black students in mastering Standard English on a proficient level, particularly Black students who speak AAE. This study explores current problems and practices in the way that English teachers approach AAE …

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Humor As A Buffer For Stress In Nurse Anesthesia Students, Kayla C. Forbis May 2014

Humor As A Buffer For Stress In Nurse Anesthesia Students, Kayla C. Forbis

Honors Theses

This simple, quantitative study was carried out on 18, first-year, CRNA students to determine if humor could act as a buffer for some of his or her perceived stress. Before an impending final exam, when stress levels would most likely be at their highest, the students were broken into three groups: a control group, a non-humorous group, and a humorous group. The students in the control group ranked their level of stress on a 0-10 scale without any other intervention. The other two groups watched a video clip, either humorous or non-humorous, while ranking their perceived stress on a scale …

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A Look Into Informal Science Education And Students With Individual Education Plans, Ashleigh M. Davis May 2014

A Look Into Informal Science Education And Students With Individual Education Plans, Ashleigh M. Davis

Honors Theses

Informal science education is a field of study that is becoming increasingly popular and important in the world of science, especially regarding elementary students. It is important to understand how students with learning disabilities and individual education plans react to informal learning experiences. This case study seeks to reveal the experiences of two students with an individual educational plan due to Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) when participating in an informal nature hike associated with the Over, Under, and Through: Students Informally Discover the Environment (OUTSIDE) program. The two students demonstrated increased attention and interest in science during and …

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Persuasion In Higher Education: Recruitment Of High Ability Students, Ann Marie Chilcutt May 2014

Persuasion In Higher Education: Recruitment Of High Ability Students, Ann Marie Chilcutt

Honors Theses

Recruiting high ability students to institutions of higher education varies from university to university and is one of the most important variables for the continuing of successful colleges. This study focused on the variables that were most important to the current cohort of high ability freshmen at the University of Southern Mississippi. The aim of this study was to identify attitudinal and normative communicative components that are most effective for recruiting high ability students to the University of Southern Mississippi. By surveying this cohort of students, and using the Theory of Reasoned Action as a tool in creating questions for …

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A Rhetorical Criticism Of Anti-Era Cartoons, Josie A. Burks May 2014

A Rhetorical Criticism Of Anti-Era Cartoons, Josie A. Burks

Honors Theses

Over the course of American history many battles have been fought to ensure that equality was extended to the citizens of the United States. With momentum from the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, a bill was introduced to Congress in 1923 that sought to ensure equality for the women of the nation, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Though this bill was later reworded and reintroduced in every subsequent session of Congress, it would not be until 1972 that the bill would become a household name. This thesis analyzes the rhetorical elements that are at play within a selection of anti-Equal …

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Party Building Factors To Encourage Third Party Support Among 18-24 Year Olds, Amy Timmerman May 2014

Party Building Factors To Encourage Third Party Support Among 18-24 Year Olds, Amy Timmerman

Honors Theses

Third parties have always existed within American politics, yet have never claimed the ultimate political victory: the Presidency. Third parties often enjoy support from a strong, concentrated group of serious devotees and brief flashes of public support, but they often fail to attract the larger, more consistent backing enjoyed by the two major parties. A significant source of third party patronage is also found on the university campus, yet this support often fades shortly after college. Using survey data, this research analyzes the potential impact party building and media campaign strategies would have on third parties in gaining the lasting …

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Faith And Homosexuality: Grace, Religious Problem-Solving Styles And The Internalized Homophobia Of Homosexuals, Maria R. Matty May 2014

Faith And Homosexuality: Grace, Religious Problem-Solving Styles And The Internalized Homophobia Of Homosexuals, Maria R. Matty

Honors Theses

The current research examines the grace-orientation and problem-solving styles of gay and lesbian people of faith relative to their relationship with God and the extent, if any, of their internalized homonegativity. This issue was investigated using psychological measures involving a) the style of religious problem-solving, b) internalized homonegativity, c) feelings of shame and guilt and d) personal experiences of grace. Statistical analyses found that having less homonegativity toward oneself and the disclosure of homosexuality is associated with higher levels of experienced grace and lower feelings of shame and guilt. Collaborative and deferring religious problem-solving styles correlated positively with both experienced …

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Emotional Intelligence In Nonprofit Hiring Practices: A New Criterion, Monica Shubert May 2014

Emotional Intelligence In Nonprofit Hiring Practices: A New Criterion, Monica Shubert

Honors Theses

In the most basic sense of the concept, Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the level of ability to identify, understand, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, others, and groups. It is a concept that has received popular acclaim over the past three decades since the term was first coined. Much of the growing literature on EI is in managerial and organizational behavior fields. The primary goal of much of this literature is to determine the extent to which EI can affect workplace outcomes. Suggestions that EI has a significant impact on workplace success have led to increased interest on how …

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How Do They Stay: An Exploration Of The Factors Contributing To College Completion Amongst African-American Women At The University Of Mississippi In The 21st Century., Hope Myriah Owens-Wilson May 2014

How Do They Stay: An Exploration Of The Factors Contributing To College Completion Amongst African-American Women At The University Of Mississippi In The 21st Century., Hope Myriah Owens-Wilson

Honors Theses

This study considers the factors that help increase the chances of black women continuing their studies at the University of Mississippi. Using a snowball method to contact participants and a video camera to record participants, findings showed that the black women who perceived their time at the University of Mississippi positively had previous contact with the University of Mississippi and clear academic goals within the university. Overall, the findings, while mostly consistent with the previous literature, point to areas that this research can delve deeper.

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The Orphan Train Adventures Series: The Kelly Siblings’ Trek To Responsibility, Ashten T. Redell May 2014

The Orphan Train Adventures Series: The Kelly Siblings’ Trek To Responsibility, Ashten T. Redell

Honors Theses

The Orphan Train Adventures, a series of historical novels by Joan Lowery Nixon (1927-2003), is concerned with the responsibility exercised by its child characters during the antebellum and Civil War periods. This thesis examines how Nixon, by illustrating the positive effects of responsibility through her child characters, suggests the value of cultivating responsibility in children of the contemporary period. Nixon’s use of the mid-nineteenth-century setting and the rearing practices associated with this time allows her to demonstrate positive acts of responsibility in her main characters—six siblings sent west from New York City on …

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