Digital Commons Network^™

No, I’M Really, Really Bad At Math: Competition For Self-Verification, Alexandra E. Wesnousky

Honors Theses

In their theory of self-verification, Swann and Read’s (1981) postulate that people like feedback that is consistent with their self-concept. Researchers have yet to examine what happens when two individuals are both seeking feedback from each other to verify their self-concept on the same domain. When individuals are competing against someone to verify a similarly held self-concept, they should try to seek more polarized feedback, especially when the domain is highly important. In two experiments, participants expected to receive computer feedback on their responses to identity-related questions, either based on their own responses or on how they compared to the …

Soviet Education: Communism In The Classroom, Alison W. Berryman

Honors Theses

My thesis examines the Soviet Union’s educational system during Stalin’s rule. It proves that the goal of the Soviet educational system in the 1920s and 1930s was to instill strong Communist loyalty from a very early age and to expedite the process of industrialization by educating future workers in “socially useful” labor.

A Disappearing Boundary?: The Changing Distinction Between Combatants And Civilians From The First World War To The Present Day, Aimee Kidder

Honors Theses

The issue of terrorism has stimulated intellectual debate regarding the rights and protections that should be afforded to civilians. However, the practice of targeting noncombatants in warfare extends far beyond terrorism and has roots deep in the historical past. This study looks at violence against civilians over a series of case studies from the First and Second World Wars as well as the French-Algerian War of the 1950s and 1960s. By looking at the changing legal distinctions between combatants and noncombatants, the study first establishes a trend in international law toward increasing protection of civilians. Yet, these legal advances are …

Understanding Rejection Across Ingroups And Outgroups, Prasant Dubey

Honors Theses

Black and White male undergraduates from the University of Richmond participated in a study addressing rejection. The purpose was to discover how responses to rejection vary amongst individuals who are rejected by their in-group versus their out-group. In other words, is a white male more likely to be impacted by rejection from another white male (a member of the in- group) or a black male (a member of the out-group)? Likewise, it was interesting to note how black individuals respond differently to rejection by the in-group and out-group. Responses to rejection feedback, regarding self-esteem, attributions to rejection, cognitive capacity, and …

Campus Architecture And Student Culture In American Higher Education, Alexandra R. Troxell

Honors Theses

Human-environment interaction theory, as it specifically relates to architectural determinism, has an indispensible impact on student culture on college campuses. Under the assumptions of architectural determinism, this thesis examines the relationship between architecture and student culture on 30 American college campuses. Specifically, this thesis looks at uniformity of architectural style and color and the prevalence of traditional styles of architecture in relation to the institutions' campus cultures. The results of the study found that a significant relationship exists between student culture and uniformity of building color, but not between student culture and uniformity of style or the prevalence of traditional …

An Argument For The Moral Obligation Of Physicians To Practice Healthy Behaviors, Kathryn A. Skimming

Honors Theses

Obligations of physicians to practice healthy behaviors are analyzed through three ethical frameworks. Physicians can be considered public benefactors and are able to influence patients to adopt healthier habits and increase total utility. Society creates a moral obligation for physicians to follow the norms regarding a physician's appearance. Kant's categorical imperative also shows physicians have a moral obligation to practice healthy behaviors. Finally, a healthy lifestyle can be considered a mean between extreme behaviors. The medical community should try to promote an environment in which physicians are better able to practice healthy behaviors, because a situation can influence our behaviors.

Hurricane Katrina : An Act Of God?, Juliette M. Jeanfreau

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I plan to present a framework of four theodicies which organizes various responses to and attempted explanations of the suffering experienced during Hurricane Katrina; to examine several post-Katrina sermons in which pastors and priests address suffering within each theological framework; and to discuss the important leadership implications that the ideas expressed on the pulpit carry for how citizens understand the rebuilding of New Orleans. Although the city is home to citizens from a diversity of faith traditions including Judaism and Islam, this thesis will focus on responses expressed within Christian contexts. In the following pages, I will …

Surviving The Holocaust: A Life History Study, Greg Jones

Honors Theses

The aim of this thesis was to attempt to explain the inexplicable, thus coming to some concrete rationale as to why Murray was able to persevere unlike so many unfortunate victims who perished. The findings of this research attribute Murray's survival to three distinct categories; (1) Murray's geographical location and relationship to his hometown of Wierchomla, Poland (2) rare level of low anti-Semitic activity encountered and (3) a number of miscellaneous personal factors that included but are not limited to his diet, gender, age, psychological composition, family connections, agency, etc.

Audience Effects In Cognitive Task Performance In Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus Apella), Sean Patrick Coyne

Honors Theses

Primates as a taxonomic Order have the largest brains corrected for body size in the animal kingdom. These large brains have allowed primates to evolve the capacity to demonstrate advanced cognitive processes across a wide array of abilities. Nonhuman primates are particularly adept at social learning, defined as the modification of behavior by observing the actions of others. Additionally, primates often exploit resources differently depending on their social context. In this study, capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) were tested on a cognitive task in three social contexts to determine if social context influenced their performance on the task. The three social …

The Blue Of, Chrissy Reilly

Honors Theses

When I first started my thesis, I intended for my finished project to be a compilation of poems that aims to reflect and reveal several repeating themes of our society's collective unconscious, such as the relationship between the physical and spiritual aspects of being and the representation of women's lives, organized religion,adolescence, and mental illness. I proposed writing a chapbook of poetry that reflects an exploration of, and sensitivity to, the human unconscious mind, fears, and desires. Consulting other works of surreal, lyric, and confessional poetry, I sought to personallydevelop as both a poet and a psychology student. I made …

Semantic Categorization Of Unfamiliar Tunes In Older And Younger Adults, Samantha Ann Deffler

Honors Theses

The process of learning the categories of new tunes in older and younger adults was examined for this study. Tunes were presented either one or three times along with a category name to see if multiple repetitions aid in category memory. Additionally, toexamine if an association may help some listeners, especially older ones, to better remember category information, some tunes were presented with a short associative fact; this fact was either neutral or emotional. Participants were tested on song recognition,fact recognition, and category memory. For all tasks, there was a benefit of three presentations. There were no age differences in …

Predictors Of Attitudes Toward Lesbians And Transgender Women In Relationships On A College Campus, Alishia Anne Wrubleski

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the attitudes which perpetuate intolerance toward LGBT individuals, and to recognize, in particular, the unique attitudes transpeople face as a minority in the nation and even in the LGBT community. This research contributes to the bodies of research concerning the interrelatedness of intrinsic religiosity, political conservatism, sexism, the rape myth, lack of effective legal protection, and the intolerance of gender non-conformists. I have identified distinctions between attitudes on the part of both women and men, as well as toward different gender non-conformists. I have also taken research as …

Freedom's Disciple : The Life, Music, And Impact Of Hazel Dickens, Kelly Landers

Honors Theses

The work of Appalachian musician Hazel Dickens sheds light on many of the musical and cultural changes in our country. Dickens used her music as a voice for the disadvantaged, advocating for improvements in the lives of miners, working-class people, and women, and pushing for all to be treated equally. A wonderful songwriter, performer, and overall musician, Dickens saw her career, music, and beliefs as inextricably linked, and so this thesis will explore her leadership by analyzing her songs and her history.

Person Perception Of Leaders With Adult Adhd, Maxwell P. Teschke

Honors Theses

Following this review of the literature this thesis describes three empirical investigations into people's beliefs about individuals who are diagnosed with the Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and the relationship between those beliefs and leadership perceptions and judgments. In addition to documenting the content of the ADHD beliefs, the work will also test the hypothesis that the qualities stereotypically associated with ADHD are incongruent with those qualities individuals spontaneously and intuitively associate with leadership. A third study then considers the experience of individuals who are diagnosed as experiencing ADHD but also hold positions of leadership. By the end of …

Persuasion And Rhetoric In Cable News Commentary: A Philosophical, Zachary Mark Cruthirds

Honors Theses

There is currently a growing cynicism about objectivity in cable news reporting and commentary, and there have been many allegations of pandering and bias on the part of and concerning commentators on 24-hour news outlets. There have been changing trends in how many American citizens acquire information and analysis from these mediums—leading to what has been coined the '‘infotainment*' of certain comedians, extremists, and any network, corporation, or commentator who would give consideration to giving a target audience what they desire or expect. In the following thesis, we will offer definitions for rhetoric and persuasion founded in a type of …

School Based Health Centers As A Provider Of Reproductive Health Services For School - Aged Children: A Study Of Parent-Teacher Perspectives In South Delta School District, Kayla Leeann Logan

Honors Theses

Problem - Recent data ranks Mississippi as number five in the nation for the highest rate of teen pregnancy and number one in the nation for highest teen birth rate (The National Campaign Against Teen Pregnancy, 2007). According to the Mississippi State Department of Health's County Health Profile for Sharkey County, the rate of teen pregnancy for this area was 118.5 per 1,000 population compared to Mississippi's overall rate of 81.5 per 1,000 lives births (2007). Sharkey and Issaquena Counties' rate of teen pregnancy is significantly higher than other areas of the state and is more than twice the national …

Communicative Development Through A Comparative Lens: A Snapshot Of Foreign Language Education In The United States And France, Halley Anne Hargrave

Honors Theses

This thesis is an examination of external influences on the foreign language classroom. I evaluate national policy and legislature, textbooks, and national tests as possible determinants of foreign language teaching methods used in the United States and France. I chose to compare the American system to the French system as a result of the relative success of foreign language education in France and my ability to read policy and curriculum in French. By comparing the foreign language education systems in the two countries, I hope to determine what types of weaknesses in American foreign language instruction practices hinder language acquisition. …

Reality's Unrealities: The Magical Real In Selected Plays Of Tennessee Williams, Elena Lee Mcpherson

Honors Theses

After a semester of studying more than ten of Tennessee Williams plays, 1 decided to explore a selection of his plays in the context of magical realism. Initially, the connection between a playwright from the Southern United States and the literary tradition of Latin America seemed distant Upon further research and closer readings, however, I found that Tennessee Williams's plays The Glass Menagerie, Orpheus Descending, and Camino Real all exemplify various characteristics of the magical real within new contexts. In keeping with the tradition of magical realism. each of the plays uniquely exhibits the fantastic to speak to larger truths …

On The Ethics Of Human Genetic Engineering, John Ryan Speights

Honors Theses

In this paper I propose a guideline that we may use to determine when it is ethical to take advantage of the technology that we call human genetic engineering. I first clarify the purpose of the paper by explaining the science behind the technology, defining much of the debate in the process. In short, manufactured DNA is introduced into the human genome for the purpose of modifying the expression of the genes and the person that they produce. I indicate that this is a value theory paper rather than a detailed policy paper. This is significant because it merely addresses …

Harold Burson: A Legend In Public Relations In The 20th Century, Megan Heather Smith

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Five Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know, Ann K. Vaught

Honors Theses

Operating under the assumption that the average college student knows little to nothing about the Supreme Court and significant cases in the field of American constitutional law, the author hypothesizes that this ignorance is due not to an inability to understand the material, but an unwillingness on the part of the average student to expend the effort necessary to decipher the "legalese" of an average Supreme Court opinion. The author also hypothesizes that it is the high and lofty language of the opinions that generally disenchants the reader, and not the information itself. Therefore, as a means of testing this …

Fruit And Vegetable Consumption Of Elementary Students In Serve Only Service And Offer Versus Serve Service, Margaret Louise Harbison

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference in fiiiit and vegetable consumption among fourth and fifth grade elementary students who participate in the NSLP Serve Only service compared to the Offer Versus Serve (OVS) service. Methods Weighed and visual plate waste data were collected for five consecutive days at two elementary schools. School A used Serve Only service (students are served all five food components of the lunch meal) and school B used OVS service (students may select as few as three of the five food components of the lunch meal). Costs disposed …

From Degenerate Monsters To Revenge Of The Big Mac: A Study Of French Anti-Americanism, Jill Peets

Honors Theses

Jill Peets: From Degenerate Monsters to Revenge of the Big Mac: A Study of French anti-Americanism (Under the direction of Dr. Anne Quinney)

Franco-American relations date back to the eighteenth century and are a topic that historians have studied for years. France has never been to war with the United States, yet the French are ardently anti-American. The phenomenon of French anti-Americanism is what this thesis seeks to understand and explain. Through various secondary sources, historical data, and public opinion polls, the thesis examines events throughout time, from the American Revolution in 1776 until the Haitian earthquake in 2010. By …

The Creation Of Socially Significant Theatre, Rachel Leah Daniel

Honors Theses

The goal of this project was to examine socially significant theatre that the audience. In addition to studying considered socially significant, I chose to undergo the successfully entertains, interests, and motivates several examples of plays that are process of writing, directing, and producing a play dealing with a pertinent social issue . I wanted this piece to I gathered the in this case, the foster and adoptive care system stories of foster children through interview and loosely adapted these stories into a one- , directed, and produced at The University of Mississippi, the creation of socially significant act play, which …

Fitgerald's American Dream: It Happens To One, Not The Ninety-Nine, Cara Kathleen Troiani

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the American Dream in his fiction and how he establishes the inequality of the class system as the force which ruins the American Dream. Since we normally perceive America to be a land of opportunity and a land of equality, we often overlook the hierarchy of social classes in America. By describing the American elite’s aristocratic-like beliefs and behaviors and, in some works, transporting the wealthy Americans to Europe, Fitzgerald compares the social system in America to the rigid class structures of Europe. It is the European-like view of class in Fitzgerald’s …

Nature's Bastards: Hybridity, Grafting And Miscegenation In The Renaissance Imagery, Erin Elaine Doctor

Honors Theses

In this thesis I examined the various perceptions and permutations of hybridity in the context of a collective Renaissance imagination. The success of this thesis depends on the adherence to and analysis of a clear definition of hybridity, both real and metaphorical, as established in the introduction. Once this definition was established, I considered the implications of hybridity on a collection of Renaissance bodies, exemplified in the vegetable bodies of the garden and the social group of the gypsies. By using an extensive sample of primary sources, including plays, contemporaneous popular manuals and guidebooks, short stories, laws, edicts, paintings and …

Tennesse Williams' Web Of Deception In The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire And Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Holly Nicole Henning

Honors Theses

While many themes appear in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, the theme of deception emerges as one of the most prominent. To determine exactly how deceit impacts the lives of the characters in each play, an analysis of deception from both a psychological and philosophical standpoint is given. Based on the findings of this analysis, Williams effectively employs three general categories of deception in his plays, including deception with self-awareness, deception of others requiring deception of the self and self-deception regardless of another’s presence. Williams also implements one of …

Assia Djebar And The Algerian Woman: From Silence To Song, Mary Maher

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the work of Assia Djebar in terms of its context, content, and objectives. Djebar's writing is lyrical and captivating, yet its grounding in experience gives her words a quality of truth and wisdom. To fully understand the function of her work and the significance of its content, the context in which Djebar writes is momentous. Outlining a brief history of the Algerian woman's experience gives a practical understanding of the individual and collective struggles of Algerian women. The violent and unique participation of women in the Algerian War of Independence and their subsequent insignificance under the patriarchal …

I'M Not A Math Person: An Examination Of How Parents And Peers Affect The Ways In Which Students Engage With Mathematics, Samantha Jean Grey

Honors Theses

Culture plays an important role in influencing the ways in which students engage '^ith mathematics. This study sought to examine the ways in which the culture of the home influences the mathematics identities that students bring to the classroom. The researcher recruited participants from a college algebra class taught at a public university. The researcher interviewed four participants from the sample to collect their narratives for analysis. The results of this study indicate that parents and peers influence students’ mathematics identities in powerful and unexpected ways, especially when there is disagreement between the explicit and implicit messages that they communicate …

Greater Frequency Of Sorority Meal Consumption Results In Higher Food Group Intake And Lower Body Mass Indices In Sorority Members, Blair Stevens Harris

Honors Theses

College women are at increased risk of developing poor eating habits and disorders due to a higher frequency of dieting and obesity; therefore, due to the large number of women who are active in college sororities, these subgroups warrant significant attention concerning their nutritional knowledge and behaviors. Research points to a need to study sorority women’s eating patterns and diets in relationship to MyPyramid national recommendations for daily food consumption. The purpose of this study was to determine sorority members' frequency of meal consumption versus meals offered at University of Mississippi sorority houses and to identify resulting health outcomes in …