Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Background Stress On Cardiovascular Responses To Acute Stress, Christine Malishka Jean Bocek

Honors Theses

The goal of this study was to investigate further the nature of the relationship between background stress and cardiovascular response to relationships between mood and background stress, and background stress and psychological distress were also explored. The background stress levels of 59 undergraduate students were measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Measures of psychological distress were taken using the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), mood was assessed with the Brief Mood Induction Scale (BMIS), and other relevant data were collected. Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were measured through three 8-minute test periods, an 8-minute Mood Induction …

The Cost Of Myth-Making: Racial Tension And School Desegregation In Memphis, Amy J. Barger

Honors Theses

In Memphis, the desire of white parents to keep their children out of integrated schools stemmed partially from their fear of contact with blacks. This push factor may seem obvious; surely misconceptions about race contributed to nearly every instance of white flight in the South. I argue that in Memphis, however, racial tensions caused many whites to harbor an especially acute fear of contact with blacks. By the time of the debates over busing, two traumatic events had lodged themselves in the recent memories of white Memphians: the sanitation strike of 1968 and the Black Monday school boycotts of 1969. …

Implicit Theories Of Relationships : Prediction Of Dating Strategies And Relationship Initiation, Heather Stone

Honors Theses

The present study aimed to merge research on initial attraction and implicit theories of relationships by examining how beliefs about relationships influence dating strategies. Research has examined role of implicit theories in the functioning of existing relationships but there is much room for growth in the area of initial attraction and dating strategies. Results revealed that destiny theory (theory that relationships are either meant to be or not) predicted increased likelihood of internet dating, a lower frequency of dating, and dating to avoid loneliness and missing opportunities. Growth theory (theory that relationships improve by cultivation and development) predicted dating to …

Effects Of Context Of Natural And Artifactual Objects On Categorization, Linsey Walker

Honors Theses

Categorization of animals and vehicles in different contexts was investigated in three experiments using event related potentials (ERPs). The presence of a background and congruency of the background in relation to the object were both manipulated in order to determine the effects of context on visual processing. In Experiment 1, adults were presented with images of animals and vehicles in two conditions: situated in a congruent context (e.g. an animal in a field) and in the absence of a context (an animal in a white homogeneous background). In experiment 2, adults were presented with images of animals and vehicles in …

Social Perceptions Of Underdog Job Applicants, Maggie Place

Honors Theses

Research demonstrates that there are several characteristics that could render someone an underdog as a job applicant, including gender, race, able-bodied or disabled, immigrant status, and age. Study 1 used a between-subjects design to examine support for the underdog and the top dog in a low-consequence and high-consequence scenario. The underdog was given more support in low-consequence than high-consequence scenarios, but most participants indicated a neutral response instead of offering more support for either when asked to choose between the two applicants. Study 2 employed a forced-choice task on SuperLab in which participants chose which applicant they would hire in …

The Ownership Of Cultural Objects : Means, Mechanics And Masteries, Anne Marie Salloum

Honors Theses

The issues surrounding cultural objects and their ownership have risen to greater prominence in the recent past. Consider the Elgin Marbles, to take a well-known and hotly debated example. They were taken from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin when Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire, and as soon as Greece gained its independence, it demanded their return. Even this relatively simple case raises questions about cultural objects and ownership. To whom do cultural objects belong? Why? What effect do the changing circumstances brought about by the passage of time have on ownership? And the Elgin Marbles are only one …

Maternal Experience And Alzheimer's Disease : Degenerative Differences In The Female Rat, Lindsay W. Victoria

Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative disease found in many aging adults. The presence of amyloid precursor protein (APP) is an early indicator of the onset of Alzheimer’s, primarily in memory-related brain regions like the hippocampus. Hormones accompanying pregnancy, such as estrogen, may provide the female brain with protection against neurodegeneration and deposits of APP. The present study will compare concentrations of APP in the brains of parous and nulliparous animals and examine the interaction of APP with estrogen receptor beta (ERβ). Young and aged animals will also be compared to determine any early effects of APP or ERβ. It is …

The Influence Of Auditory Stimuli On Judgements Of Word Valence, Chris E. Chandler

Honors Theses

The present study examined the link between affect and auditory stimuli in three parts. The first sought to determine the affective norms for the auditory stimuli. The second assessed the influence of a musical note’s register on the evaluation of a positive or negative word, while the third assessed the influence of harmonic musical intervals. Participants were simultaneously presented with auditory stimuli and a word, and their task was to judge as quickly as possible whether the word was positive or negative by pressing a corresponding key. It was hypothesized that congruence between auditory valence and word valence would facilitate …

Imagining Anti-Semitism : Artistic Representations Of The Dreyfus Affair, Alexa Stemmler

Honors Theses

The industrialization and large-scale urbanization of France in the nineteenth century drove many working-class people to Paris. With new disposable income and leisure time, they flocked to the boulevards, department stores and cafes of the capital to amuse themselves or simply to wander around the city. Though 1848 was to be France's last real political revolution, Paris remained the scene of cultural and social innovations due largely to this street culture; the mob was as powerful at the tum of the century as it had been in 1789. Vanessa Schwartz writes, "The crowd and the experience of belonging to an …

Narses And The Birth Of Byzantine Egypt : Imperial Policy In The Age Of Justinian, Marion W. Kruse Iii

Honors Theses

Late Antiquity has long been portrayed as a period of transition between the classical and medieval worlds. Its history, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, has been forced to fit the contours of a transitional model, and no figure has been as ill-treated by this interpretive schema as the Emperor Justinian (r. 527-565 AD).

Justinian is known both as the last Roman and first Byzantine emperor; in fact he was neither. It is true that he ruled an empire which was both physically and intellectually the heir of Augustus' Rome and that he introduced wide-ranging reforms which were maintained by …

Excitable Boys: Gender And Redemption In The South, Emily Denton

Honors Theses

Literary critic Leslie Fiedler argues in Love and Death in the American Novel that within classic American novels there is a reoccurring pattern of the pure female and the aggressive male. These texts give rise to the reoccurring scenario in which an innocent young woman brings about the salvation of the sinful, aggressive male. These men are saved through the good works and kindness of these women. Fiedler argues further that these women are an embarrassment to their literary tradition; he says that they "proved almost everywhere a blight, a universal influence which was also a universal calamity" (45). These …

The Death Of The Virtuous Heroine As Social Criticism In Clarissa And Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Carmel Rosanna Nunan

Honors Theses

While Samuel Richardson meticulously documents the slow decline of his heroine in the novel Clarissa, other characters in the novel struggle to understand a death that for them has no rational explanation. The novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos, also epistolary and published thirty-five years after Clarissa, allows for a similar interpretation. Contemporary French reactions to Madame de Tourvel’s death cannot compare to the English response elicited by Clarissa’s, but, like Richardson, Laclos also introduces certain social forces that seal his heroine’s fate from without while her own psychological experience of virtue works to destroy her …

Description And Analysis Of Bilingual Programs Implemented In Kalamazoo Public Schools, Jessica Glover

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to answer the question "How does Kalamazoo's bilingual education program align with the standards established by Intercultural Development Research Association?" In this study I list and researched the current bilingual programs implemented in Kalamazoo Public Schools, and then I analyze Kalamazoo Public Schools' overall bilingual program using a rubric designed by Montecel, Cortez, Cortez, and Villarreal (2002).

The Interaction Of Nuclear Fiction And Leadership Studies, Kathryn Elberson

Honors Theses

This project is not solely a commentary on leadership studies, nor is its significance exclusive to the field of English. Rather, it is an effort to unite the two fields in a way that offers valuable contributions to both areas of study while pointing out the necessity of further interaction between the topics of leadership and literature. The few works which are traditionally regarded as having something to contribute to leadership studies are those which are either included in the canon of English literature, or those which directly demonstrate a leader-follower relationship and have a particular lesson to teach about …

Integration Of The Stereotype Content Model And Implicit Theories : A Dynamic Understanding Of Stereotyping Against Obese Individuals, Jenna Sorge

Honors Theses

The current paper integrated Fiske and colleague’s (2002) Stereotype Content Model (SCM) with the implicit theoretical approach to investigate the stereotyping process against obese individuals. Two studies evaluated the proposition that implicit theories of weight, the belief that weight is fixed (entity theorist) versus malleable (incremental theorist), and implicit person theories, the belief that human attributes are fixed or malleable, will predict how people categorize and discriminate against obese individuals. A pilot study found that entity and incremental theorists of weight have equal knowledge of societal stereotypes against obese individuals. Study 1 revealed those whose endorse an entity theory of …

Pressure Perturbation Calorimetry And Guest-Host Chemistry Of Ndmg And N-Map With P-Sulfonatocalix[6]Arene, Cassandra Newell

Honors Theses

The aim of this project is to provide an explanation for recently obtained binding constants for two similar guest molecules, NDMG and N-MAP, with a p-sulfonatocalix[6]arene host in ammonium acetate buffer. This work was done primarily using pressure perturbation calorimetry, which is a technique that determines the coefficient of thermal expansion, α, which is in turn related to the solute molecule's effect on the order of the surrounding water molecules. A series of experiments were designed to test the effects of suspected confounding variables on the validity of PPC data. PPC was then used to study NDMG and N-MAP in …

Advocating At The Margins: Women’S Ngos In China, Ling U

Honors Theses

The development of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in China has been unprecedented in the past fifteen years. The 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW) and parallel NGO Forum in Beijing, China, opened the door for the first time for the establishment of women’s NGOs in China. This paper examines the development of Chinese women’s NGOs with a particular focus on two organizations in Beijing for marginalized female populations: one focusing on lesbians and the other helping women with HIV/AIDS. I examine the structure and growth of each NGO; however, on a more personal level and perhaps more importantly, I use …

Effect Of Observed Biological And Non-Biological Movement On Human Action And Coordination, Walter L. Campbell

Honors Theses

Recently, it has been demonstrated that an individual’s rhythmic limb movements exhibit greater variability when viewing spatially incongruent biological limb movements, but not when viewing spatially incongruent non-biological movements. Some researchers have concluded that a ‘mirror-neuron system’ might mediate the intrinsic bidirectional link between perception and action underlying interpersonal, but not environmental, coordination (e.g., Kilner et al., 2003; Tognoli et al., 2007). The current study aimed to: 1) contest this recent finding; and 2) demonstrate that the self-organized entrainment processes of coupled oscillators can explain the differing influences of biological and non-biological movements. In the first experiment, participants intentionally coordinated …

Self-Destructive Behaviors Of Adolescent Girls And Boys, Carolyn A. Curtis

Honors Theses

From a social constructionist perspective linked with a feminist standpoint, I examine three forms of adolescent self-destructive behaviors: eating disorders, self-mutilation and substance abuse. The social construction of adolescents’ norms, values, and beliefs, as based upon their interactions with family, peers, and the media, helps explain these self-destructive actions. In addition to a comprehensive literature review, I interviewed five adults who work with adolescents in the state of Maine, and used these professionals’ experiences and knowledge to support the current theories pertaining to these acts of self-harm. To better understand what drives some adolescents to harm their own bodies, I …

In The Absence Of Family: How Ideas Of The Substitute Family In Honduran Children's Homes Shape Perception Of The Needs Of At-Risk Youth, Stephanie Bowman

Honors Theses

Through an interdisciplinary analysis of children’s homes in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, this project reflects on how conceptions of family affect the prioritization of the needs of the homes’ beneficiaries. One consequence of the impoverished nature of Honduras are orphaned, abandoned, mistreated, malnourished, abused, neglected and disowned children who have come to live in group children’s homes that, for the most part, meet their short-term physical needs. But what about children’s developmental, social and educational needs? In this study, we analyze what needs homes meet according to the kind of familial substitute they provide as either a group home or …

Language Of Sex: Moral Socialization And Reproductive Education In Public Schools, Melyn Heckelman

Honors Theses

This thesis is the product of my five weeks of ethnography in three classrooms in Waterville, Maine and the surrounding area, in addition to individual and group interviews with both students and the educators themselves. It seeks to understand why, in a culture so saturated with images of sexuality and naked bodies, the teachers I observed were largely unwilling or unable to discuss human sexuality in public schools as anything more than a public health issue. Since the 1960s sex educators have been fighting to teach about contraceptives. Recent longitudinal studies have confirmed what proponents of comprehensive education have been …

Textbook Bundling : Is It Really Worth The Sum Of Its Parts, Kati Simmons

Honors Theses

Studies have been conducted examining the impact of commodity bundling on company profits and the premium prices charged for these bundles. With recent news of the skyrocketing costs of higher education, it is critical to highlight the specific effects of commodity bundling on the prices of textbooks. A study performed by the Government Accountability Office in 2005 cited that a main cause of increasing textbook prices is the recent inclusion of textbook supplements such as software and workbooks. This paper investigates the impact that different types of supplements have on the overall price paid for the bundle. Aggregate sales data …

Crisis Rhetoric : A Theory Of Communication In Times Of Crisis, Eric D. Loepp

Honors Theses

We conducted an experiment to assess the effect of presidential rhetoric in a time of crisis. Our study was based in part on terror management theory, which posits that subtle reminders of death (mortality salience) lead to increased support of leaders an authority figures. Subjects were randomly placed in either a mortality salient condition or control condition. We also composed two speeches - one charismatic and one non-charismatic - and subjects were randomly assigned to hear one of the two. Based on elements of terror management theory, we hypothesized that in a time of crisis the charismatic speech would be …

Democracy In The Workplace : Leadership In Cooperative Business, Jordan Wade

Honors Theses

It is the intent of this thesis to explore alternatives to the current methods of corporate governance and to examine business models that apply democratic ideals in the economic sector. Specifically I address one normative and three empirical questions. First, why should democratic principles and ideals be a part of the economic sector? After addressing this normative question by presenting several theoretical responses, I address three practical questions related to worker-participation: Is it possible for democratic and alternative businesses to function successfully in the capitalist market? What would a democratically organized firm look like to the common laborer? What type …

Fostering Leaders For Social Justice : Ally Identity Development And Efficacy, Allison M. Duval

Honors Theses

The goal of this thesis is to develop a conceptual understanding of ally identity and effective and sustainable ally behaviors in order to analyze ally development at the University of Richmond and synthesize brief recommendations for practical applications for cultivating allies. This first chapter on "Enduring Inequality and the Need for Allies" defines allies, explores privilege and constructions of difference in terms of race and gender, exposes the reality of current injustices, and demonstrates the need for allies as leaders of dominant social groups to work alongside leaders of non-dominant social groups in effecting broad social change. The second chapter …

A Designer’S Portfolio, Hallie Landon Marshall

Honors Theses

The professional graphic design portfolio is a window into the graphic designer’s soul: reflecting both the personal style of the artist and the artist’s ability to adapt their skill and creativity to the needs of a particular project. The designer’s portfolio is also his introduction to the interview and career processes. This portfolio was created to reflect the designer’s lifelong interest in publications and to become the first step in a graphic design career. The project included development of the design pieces; printing and mounting the portfolio; and creating a digital portfolio by designing a website in Adobe Flash. The …

At The Roots Of Faith: A Comparative Analysis Of The History And Appeal Of Buddhism And Christianity In Comtemporary China, Megan Christine Rogers

Honors Theses

In the late 1970s, China emerged from its Cultural Revolution as a society ostensibly free from religion. In the subsequent years, however, religious belief has grown at an astounding rate, so much so that by the year 2005, around 31.4% of Chinese adults identified themselves as religious. Given the size of China’s population, this percentage translates to over three hundred million believers. Perhaps most remarkably, not only traditional religions such as Buddhism but foreign ones—Protestantism in particular—have reflected this increase. Such rapid growth has often astonished observers and left them struggling to explain the phenomenon: in a largely secular society …

The Rationality Of The Green Knight: Testing, Tempting, And Culture In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight, Vincent Peter Rotkiewicz

Honors Theses

This work focuses on the societal and textual context of the alliterative, 14“ century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Personal preparations for this work included studies in translating the unique dialect of the poem, research in the British Library for the purpose of finding relevant analogs to and critical works on the text, and extensive interaction and discussion with my thesis advisor. Dr. Gregory He)^orth. The primary problem of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight lies in the motivations of its protagonist and antagonist. Because Gawain clings to the formulaic responses of his society and religion, he fails …

Object Usage Processing Improves Memory, Joseph C. Tann

Honors Theses

JOSEPH C. TANN: Usage as a Beneficial Method of Encoding

Many psychologists have attempted to find the most effective method of processing information in human memory. For years, the pleasantness method of processing was considered to be among the best methods for enhancing memory performance. One recent theory (Nairne, 2007) has suggested that processing items in terms oftheir survival value may be an even more proficient method of processing. Another theory (Reysen & Adair, 2008) attempted to prove that survival may not be the reason for the enhanced performance, but the individual’s connection with the specific object’s usage. My experiment …

A Study Of Race Policy In Fidel Castro's Cuba, Lee Andrew Taggart

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.