Digital Commons Network^™

"She Had A Bok To Print, And It Was Her Own Case": Elizabeth Cellier's Malice Defeated As A Critical Contribution To 17th-Century Political Discourse And Postwar Pamphlet Culture, Serena Desai

Honors Theses

Born in London, England during the 1640s-- the peak of the English Civil War-- Elizabeth Cellier was no stranger to political and religious conflict. Rumors flooded the seventeenth-century newsstands: not only was King Charles II a Catholic-apologist who favored the tiny "Jesuitical" faction over the Protestant majority, but he refused to allow Parliament to check his monarchical power. By 1680, the legislature was actively attempting to disrupt his line of succession by preventing the heir presumptive, the Duke of York, from ascending the throne. Ignited by this Exclusion Crisis, several known Protestant "tricksters"--Thomas Dangerfield, William Bedloe, and Israel Tonge, and …

"It’S Just Another Thing”: Perceptions Of Well Water Quality And Barriers In An Arsenic Hot Spot, Linzy Rosen

Honors Theses

Privately owned water is the primary source of drinking water for 43 million Americans. Although residential or private wells are susceptible to a variety of contaminants, the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 positions individuals as responsible for the testing, remediation, and management of this water. Despite the elevated presence of arsenic in Maine, which is linked to various cancers, cardiovascular disease, and neurological damage, little is known about how private well owners perceive the safety and quality of their own water.

This study takes a qualitative approach to understanding concerns and opinions by conducting semi - structured interviews with …

“…To Represent The Needs Of The Residents—Not The Needs Of The Outsiders” California’S Housing Crisis And The Dilemma Of Local Control, Ravi S. Joshi-Wander

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the role played by city-level governments in determining the availability of housing within their locale. I propose an overarching hypothesis that features of government which provide greater opportunity for the public to influence their local governments will lead to a decreased availability of housing. This hypothesis is tested over the course of two chapters. First, through an analysis of cities throughout California, the effect of different structural features of government are tested against several dependent variables which measure housing availability in a series of linear regressions. A statistically significant positive correlation is found between the presence of …

“They Were Planning On It”: Recasting The 1967 Buffalo Uprising As A Student-Driven Insurgency, Matthew P. Gawley

Honors Theses

The past two decades have witnessed a critical re-analysis of the many African American urban “ghetto revolts” of the 1960s and 1970s. This paper analyzes one of the one hundred fifty-seven violent incidents of the “Long Hot Summer” of 1967, the Buffalo Uprising (June 26 – July 1, 1967). Building from recent research which indicates this incident had deeply political overtones, this work demonstrates the student-driven nature of the five-day rebellion, and the internal collaboration participants engaged in during their violent and non-violent activities. Drawing upon personally conducted interviews, interviews from 1967, newspaper testimony, and various publications, this new understanding …

The Legislative Branch Revolves Around The White House: A Copernican Understanding Of The Evolving Relationship Between The President And Congress, Lukas K. Alexander

Honors Theses

Executive-centered partisanship is a new scholarly idea that focuses on the growing centrality of the president in party and governmental affairs. Scholars have looked at the president’s growing electoral, administrative, and organizational responsibilities to support the theory. While the evidence is compelling, there is a key aspect of our Federal government that is omitted in their theory - the president’s role in Congress. In this thesis, I look at the effect that the president has on legislative voting behavior between the 107th and 116th Congresses. To analyze the data, I examine the effect of the president on Senator voting behavior …

Sequencing The Mitochondrial Dna Of Lagenidium Juracyae, Kunal Kanwar

Honors Theses

Lagenidium oomycetes are fungus-like eukaryotic microorganisms that are closely related to diatoms and brown algae. One defining characteristic of Lagenidium oomycetes is their ability to act as a parasite during the larval stage of mosquitoes. Thus, over the past few decades, mosquito infecting Lagenidium oomycetes have been considered to serve as pesticides in various industries. However, some Lagenidium oomycetes have been linked to new mammalian skin conditions, particularly in dogs. As more research has been conducted about these skin conditions, there has been new data showing the presence of new species of Lagenidium oomycetes aside from the most popular Lagenidium …

Signs In Sophocles: Modern Approaches To Ptsd In The Ajax, Charlotte Simon

Honors Theses

This project explores the relationship between ancient Greek tragedy and modern psychology, specifically focusing on instances of PTSD, both through the descriptions of symptoms and the cultural reaction to such trauma responses in both ancient and modern sources. The case study from ancient Greece is Sophocles’ play, Ajax, a dramatic depiction of a post-PTSD soldier who has a mental break and is faced with either living with what he has done or committing suicide. The primary objective of this project is to illustrate what modern psychological theory can reveal about the portrayal of PTSD in Greek tragedy and therefore also …

The Leveling Spirit: Violence And Inequality In Postwar Iraq, Griffin Perrault

Honors Theses

The Iraq War (2003–2011) constitutes by some estimates one of the deadliest and most destructive conflicts of the 21st century (Hagopian et al., 2013). In addition to the disputed figures of excess violent civilian casualties––generally ranging from 180,000 to 210,000 deaths––the war has created one of the major refugee crises of modern times, with 1 in 25 Iraqis estimated to have been displaced from their homes by the 2003 invasion (Costs of War, 2021). While much of this violence has been wrought by American and Iraqi coalition troops, violence against civilians has also been perpetuated by insurgent groups and paramilitary …

Finding Identity In The Intersections: Transnational Feminism And The Non-Human Primate, Kailyn Carr

Honors Theses

This project examines how the conversations among feminism and primatology offers a unique critical lens into how “man” dominates other identities, whether that be woman or non-human primate, specifically within the rigid colonial structures of Western society. Donna Haraway’s landmark post-humanist work joins these conversations, especially with her earlier work Primate Visions and Simians, Cyborgs, and Women. While Haraway has changed the narrative surrounding feminist theory within the biological sciences – what has now become recognized as feminist science and technology studies –, this shift in perspective continues to emphasize Western ideological practices and their attention to primatology. My …

Integration For Integration?: The Implications Of Varying Refugee Integration Strategies On Future European Union Integration, Giuliana Ferrara

Honors Theses

This study explores whether the best practices of refugee integration policies, as supported by scholars, are present in the European Union (EU) and some of its Member States between 2014 and 2021, accounting for the responses of these governments to the 2015 refugee crisis in Europe. In addition, it seeks to reveal the likelihood of future collective governance of refugee integration at the EU level. It claims that there are four central benchmarks to examine the strength of a country’s refugee integration plans as well as two integration theories to consider the possibility of deeper EU decision-making on a policy …

Environmental Racism In Baltimore: A Geographical Study Into The Connections Between Environmental Toxins And Public Health, Genevieve Block

Honors Theses

An investigation into the relationship between environmental toxins and environmental racism in Baltimore City, Maryland.

Blacking Out, Hooking Up, And Sexual Assault On Bucknell's Campus, Lily Shorney

Honors Theses

Sexual assault is a prominent issue on college campuses across the United States with detrimental impacts for individuals as well their surrounding communities. Two prominent risk factors for campus sexual assault (CSA) identified in the literature are alcohol use and partaking in hookup culture. However, existing research fails to address the specific role of alcohol-induced blackouts within hookups and how this phenomenon is related to CSA. The present study explored the prevalence of alcohol-induced blackouts as well as the relationship between blacking out, hooking up, and CSA. Based on quantitative survey data from 445 university students, analyses indicated that alcohol-induced …

Analysis Of The Epidemiology Of Playground-Related Injuries In Relation To Existing Playground Safety Standards: How Should We Address Safe Play?, Drew Filchner

Honors Theses

Play is widely acknowledged to provide children with various physical, emotional, social, and intellectual benefits. However, playgrounds are reported to be the leading location of unintentional recreation injuries to children aged 1-10. Over 185,000 children annually are being treated in emergency departments for playground injuries. These play-related injuries have remained stagnant according to epidemiology studies of the past three decades. Past epidemiological studies for playground injuries have been based on emergency department data, resulting in an underrepresentation of the magnitude of injuries occurring. This study utilizes the unique setting of an entire school district, providing a more comprehensive understanding of …

[ ___ ] Was Here: An Exploration Of Graffiti In London, Alex Iannone

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I explore the art of graffiti through its culture and process as it thrives in London, England. I utilize footage of London as well as my own filmed performance art in order to reveal themes related to memory and remembrance that are expressed through both the creation and removal of graffiti. I seek to explain its existence and importance as it pertains to societal structures and placemaking. I delve into the topic of personal and spatial identity in relation to graffiti. This thesis works to investigate the controversies surrounding graffiti that act as catalysts for its creation …

Sustainable Polylactic Acid Foam Development Through Solid-State Processing, Philip Onffroy

Honors Theses

Plastics play a vital role in global materials industries, but they contribute to environmental and ecological toxicity effects that accelerate climate change. One important category of plastic material is polymer foams, which have widespread applications in insulation, packaging, and storage. Current bio-based plastic foams that originate from natural, non-petroleum feedstocks are potential solutions but do not yet have adequate properties to supplant petrochemical-based plastic foams. This project aims to generate, test, and analyze bio-based polylactic acid (PLA) polymer foams developed through methods involving solid-state processing such as solid-state shear pulverization (SSSP) and cryogenic milling. SSSP has previously been shown to …

On Cleopatra Vii: From Horace And Shakespeare To Self-Representation, Silja M. Hilton

Honors Theses

This thesis explores and analyzes Horace’s Ode 1.37 and Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra in context of their poetic and theatrical narratives, word choice, and grammatical structures in an effort to form a clearer image of Cleopatra VII. While each work is placed within its historical settings, I do not pursue their historical ‘truths.’ Rather, I draw from the authors’ literary conceptions about the Ruler, from Horace’s inpotens (“a woman lacking in self-control”) to fierce agency in deciding death (“deliberata morte ferocior”), to Shakespeare’s ‘othering’ of Cleopatra as tawny, gypsy, and whore, to his portrayals of her as Goddess …

Graduating Greener: Analysis Of A Non-Price Intervention To Encourage Pro-Environmental Behavior Among College Students, Jillie Santos

Honors Theses

According to the Yale Program on Climate Communication, a majority of Americans report worrying about climate change, yet the proportion of Americans who discuss climate change often with friends and family is around half of the worried percentage. This discrepancy illustrates a habit of climate avoidance and climate inaction. Drawing upon psychology and human-centered design, I assisted Dr. Michael A. Smyer in developing Graduating Greener, a workshop aimed at disrupting climate avoidance and promoting pro-environmental behavior through a sequence of social, environmentally-based activities. In this thesis, I investigate concepts from the field of behavioral economics which inform and align with …

Where Girls Rule The World: Lessons For Pakistan In The Bangladeshi Educational Phenomenon, Chanze Ahsan

Honors Theses

In tune with the UN's Sustainable Development Goal and the widespread acceptance of education as a fundamental human right, the deprivation of female education in Pakistan presents an alarming assault on its female population. With this, the historical accident that was the separation of Pakistan and Bangladesh serves as a natural experiment into differences between the countries before and after partition. Despite facing two colonizations, Bangladesh has emerged on the other side of history with promising results regarding the elimination of gender disparities in education. How has it managed to do so? And what can Pakistan learn from its journey? …

Mapping Ancient Women: An Analysis Of The Catalogue Of Heroines Through The Digital Humanities, Rachel Milio

Honors Theses

The Catalogue of Heroines (Odyssey 11.225-330) presents a thorough corpus of prominent mythological women as Odysseus recounts the stories of each woman he encounters in the Underworld. In this thesis I apply digital humanities tools and methods to the Catalogue of Heroines in order to center ancient women in a discussion of the Odyssey and to determine how the relationships between the heroines contribute to the Catalogue’s overall purpose. First, I examine the history of the digital humanities with particular attention to contributions to the field made by classicists; I identify the need for further digital humanities projects centered …

The School-To-Prison Pipeline: A Method Of Social Reproduction, Tyler E. Rifkin

Honors Theses

The American public-school system pushes many low incomes and minoritized learners out of school and into the juvenile justice system through its disciplinary practices. The school-to-prion pipeline (STPP) puts a name on this cycle, explaining how zero-tolerance policies are directly or indirectly causing students to drop out of school and leading them into prison. This thesis utilizes existing literature too deeply asses zero-tolerance policies, as well as other apparati of the STPP within schools today. It examines how the STPP discriminates against students based on social class, race, gender, and disability. This project is directed by a theoretical framework of …

Supporting Teacher Retention Through A Trauma-Informed Lens, Nicole C. Reddig

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between trauma-informed practices and teacher burnout and turnover. For the past decade, schools across the United States have seen high levels of burnout and turnover amongst their educators. At the same time, young children are experiencing high levels of exposure to traumatic events in childhood, affecting their behavior, social and emotional health, and ability to learn. While teachers play an important role in the support system for these students, they are also at risk for experiencing secondary trauma and burnout. To mitigate the effects of trauma, trauma-informed practices have been introduced in schools to respond …

Perceived Stress Of College Students During Covid-19: Adverse Childhood Experiences, Kristina Morreale

Honors Theses

ACEs are adverse childhood experiences experienced in the first 18 years of life. They are present in over a third of the population and lead to adverse health outcomes (Karatekin, 2017). The goal of this study was to examine whether ACEs could be used to identify stress levels of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on ACEs and stress levels were collected from students actively enrolled at a college or university (N= 183). Findings indicated that high ACEs were predictive of high stress, specifically considering stressful factors experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study suggest the …

Personality Dimensions Of Male And Female Law Enforcement Recruits Related To Academy Success, Chantel Duda

Honors Theses

Research has found that male and female law enforcement recruits complete academy training at different rates, with female recruits typically completing at lower rates than male recruits. While the literature on the topic demonstrates a variety of training characteristics that explain some of the difference, it is possible that typical personality differences between men and women play a role in some of the unexplained disparities in academy passing rates. This study attempted to discern differences between personality characteristics among male and female academy recruits using survey data from two major metropolitan law enforcement academies. It was hypothesized that male cadets …

More Than An Athlete: A Qualitative Analysis Of How Student-Athletes Develop Self-Authorship Through Their Experiences In Athletics, Haley Kate Webb

Honors Theses

Within the context of the newly instituted NCAA Name, Image and Likeness legislation, student-athletes are able to profit from their personal brands. This legislation presents newfound exposure to student-athletes. In order to assess the preparedness of student-athletes to benefit monetarily from their personal brands, an analysis of student-athlete development provides beneficial insight regarding their cognitive development. Using self-authorship theory as a guide, this qualitative research used long interviews to explore how student-athletes are developing their identities through their journeys with athletics. The research analyzes the lived experiences told by five athletes from a medium-sized faith-based NCAA Division II university. The …

The Struggle For Self-Determination: A Comparative Analysis Of East Timor And Western Sahara, Emma Baratta

Honors Theses

Self-determination is accepted as an international right of all people, yet in many cases it still takes decades of struggle to achieve it. Through comparative analysis of the selfdetermination and independence struggles of East Timor and Western Sahara, conclusions can be drawn as to why some former colonies are able to achieve these goals while others do not. In order to better understand the challenges associated with self-determination, I evaluate the two cases based on four overarching factors which influence the process: statehood criteria and imagined community status, colonialism and occupation, presence of natural resources, and international recognition. I argue …

Unpacking Political Identity In First-Time Voting Christian Women: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Mary Grace Golden

Honors Theses

As political science tends to focus on polling and statistical analysis to examine individuals’ voting behaviors, the reasoning behind constituents’ decision-making process is often left in the dark. This is particularly true in first-time voting women who come from religious backgrounds that uphold complementarian gender values. This study focuses on the following research questions: How do women experience their political identity in relation to their gender identity? How do women experience their political identity in relation to their religious or faith identity? How do women experience their political identity in relation to voting for the first time? I answer these …

World Changers: Social Justice At The Heart Of Middle School Language Arts Curriculum, Mackenzie Mcclain

Honors Theses

English classrooms, at their best, are safe places for adolescents to critically engage with difficult issues presented in novels and the real world. One such issue is human trafficking, which is expected to soon become the world’s most profitable criminal industry (Knudsen, 2015). Incorporating values and instructional approaches from social justice pedagogy, I have designed a sixth-grade language arts unit plan about human trafficking based upon Francesco D’Adamo’s novel, Iqbal (2003). My purpose was to create resources, such as standards-based learning objectives, text sets, lesson plans, and student projects to use in my own classroom, as well as for teachers …

Public Opinion And Knowledge Of Marine Biodiversity In A Coastal Community - Horry County, South Carolina, Arianna R. Trapp

Honors Theses

There is very little research that explores the public attitude toward marine biodiversity loss as an environmental issue. This study aims to provide insight into the disparities in marine conservation education in order to better provide meaningful education opportunities for coastal communities. The data for this research was collected using a series of semi-structured interviews that were conducted as focus groups of participants from Horry County, South Carolina. Residents from North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, Loris, and Bucksport were recruited to three focus groups based on their geographical residency. Horry County retirees and students attending Coastal Carolina University were also …

Covid-19: Coping Strategies Predicting Mental Health Outcomes, Crystal Lim

Honors Theses

The rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths caused are increasing. Studies have been reporting the inclining rate of psychological distress during the pandemic, which calls for attention to how the pandemic has impacted mental health outcomes. Coping strategies are helpful when it comes to predicting mental health outcomes. However, limited studies looked at coping strategies predicting mental health outcomes longitudinally. The study hypothesized that psychological distress would decrease during mid-pandemic and adaptive coping strategies such as active coping, acceptance, positive reframing, instrumental support, emotional support, religion, humor, and planning decrease psychological distress while maladaptive included denial and venting, behavioral disengagements, …

Examining The Healthcare Journeys Of African American Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes Amid Covid-19, Lei Edmerson

Honors Theses

The overall purpose of this study is to explore the pandemic experience of African American’s with Type 2 Diabetes. This study was done to highlight a specific group of people who live with a chronic illness and the steps they took to ensure their safety during a pandemic. The COVID- 19 pandemic had been shown to adversely and disproportionately impact minorities and those with diabetes in regards to mortality rates. This study aims to bring light to the stories of those dealing with more than just the pandemic. It wanted to explore how they made it thus far, and if …