Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Tourism In Jamaica, Natalie Kearns

Honors Theses

Tourism is a fast and continuously growing industry throughout every region of the world. The effect that tourism has on a location usually isn’t the first thought when vacationers enter their destination location. In order to understand the effect of tourists and the tourist industry have had on Jamaica, I examined Jamaica’s historical development, including the tourist industry and the racial inequalities that developed as slaves were brought to the island. Then, using theories on place, identity, and authenticity, I conducted a content analysis of images tourists see while researching vacations to Jamaica.

This analysis confirmed that tourism to Jamaica …

The Difference Between The On Premise And Off Premise Craft Beer Experience: Implications For The Craft Beer Category, Karen Kalinski

Honors Theses

The differences between the on-premise and off-premise craft beer experience was researched in this study. The original research question was whether there is a relationship between on-premise and off-premise sales of craft beer. After initial research through semi- structured interviews the research questions were revised to three related questions: 1. What are the on-premise and off-premise craft beer experiences?, 2. Is there a significant difference?, and 3. Does the one behavior affect the other in purchasing behavior? Participants included 12 consumers of craft beer ranging from individuals with extensive craft beer experience to relative newcomers to the craft beer segment. …

Millennials In Southern Illinois, David C. Lynch

Honors Theses

In Spring 2014, the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale sponsored a poll of Illinois’ Jackson and Williamson counties with the University of Illinois Springfield Survey Research Office. The objective of the project was to examine at length how residents of the area felt about life, the economy, and a variety of other topics. In an effort to take the data collected by this survey and provide results that can be used and interpreted by the local community, especially politicians and leaders, this project seeks to examine the differences between young, voting-age citizens and the rest …

Learning From The Past: A Comparative Analysis Of The Influences Of The Great Depression On The Recent Financial Crisis., Shirish Bade Shrestha

Honors Theses

The Great Depression and the recent financial crisis are events that have changed the lives of many American and global citizens. In hopes of preventing similar mistakes in the future, we should study, analyze, and learn from these past events. This investigation attempts to do just that through a rigorous study of the past Great Depression and recent financial crisis. We will explore the two events separately, analyze their similarities and differences and then discuss what we have learned from the Great Depression and see how that knowledge has been used to combat the recent financial crisis. The Great Depression …

"..." Modern Silence, Sarah Maher

Honors Theses

Silence is remarkable, both in concept and in reality. The human ear is outstanding at doing what it was made for. Not only can it withstand loud sound, but can also recognize the softest and most intricate whisperings, as well as everything in between. The ear can recognize all of these sounds and passes them on to our brains for interpretation. Our ears collect all sound but our brains determine what to focus on and what to ignore. But what if there are no “important” sounds? What if you are sitting alone in an empty room, making no unnecessary sounds? …

Acting Technique And Clybourne Park, Dan Heise

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Plague Inc: Distribution Of Health Resources In The Modern World, Allison Rump

Honors Theses

Due to the ever increasing connectedness of our world, disease can spread faster than ever before. Therefore global health care is a pressing issue in the modern world. The Ebola epidemic of 2014, which infected an unprecedented number of people, was reminder of not only of human fragility but of the state modern medicine, especially when deployed in economically developing areas. Not only is medicine about the science and treatment of disease, it also is about economics and the ability to pay for treatment. This can manifest in many forms, for the Ebola epidemic there often were not enough equipment …

Development Of A Novel Portable Signal Acquisition Device For Use In Local Mining Industrial Applications, Jacob Walker

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Southern Illinois Ticks: An Ecological And Medical Overview, Madeleine A. Pfaff

Honors Theses

Ticks are of concern to southern Illinois residents because they are common in the forested landscapes of the region and have the capability to cause disease in humans and pets. There are several tick-borne illnesses of concern to southern Illinois residents. Prescribed burning is a potential method of tick control, but no significant results were found in the correlation of tick density with time since burn.

Resistance In The Congo Free State: 1885-1908, Calvin C. Kolar

Honors Theses

This research examines resistance in the Congo Free State from 1885 to its purchase by Belgium in 1908. Focus centers on two prevalent forms of resistance - revolt and migration. By examining various accounts, including state agents, local peoples, and missionaries, this paper highlights the colony’s oppressive conditions and the significant responses it provoked.

Pre-Service Teacher Perspectives On Bullying By Middle School Girls, Nicole Lyn Stoodley

Honors Theses

The present study focuses on pre-service teacher perspectives of bullying in schools, specifically on the prevalence, characteristics, and interventions of bullying by middle school girls. Participants in the Teacher Education Program of Southern Illinois University Carbondale completed a questionnaire that asked them to estimate the prevalence of bullying by girls compared to that of boys and to identify the specific behaviors that characterize bullying by girls. They described their obligations to address bullying in school and provided identification and intervention strategies. The results show that female pre-service teachers overwhelmingly report that bullying by girls is more common or considered crueler. …

Unlikely Heroes In Despair: Existentialist Narrators In The Novels Of Albert Camus, Jean Paul Sartre, And Don Delillo, Courtney Mullis

Honors Theses

Existentialism is a field of philosophy concerned with questions about existence, death, God, and consciousness. It is "a doctrine that concentrates on the existence of the individual, who, being free and responsible, is held to be what he makes himself by the self-development of his essence through acts of the will" (OED Online). Writing by existentialist philosophers "often belongs more to literature than to philosophy" (Bigelow 173). Existentialist characters in literature are autonomous agents who tend to lack religious faith, constantly ask existentialist questions, and struggle with their own existence and relationship to the world around them. Additionally, existentialist characters …

An Overview Of Cancer Care And Survivorship: Advocacy For The Strong Survivors Program, Hollis Johnson

Honors Theses

With many lives affected by cancer every day, research and resources are used extensively to enhance patient quality of life. With medical advancements continuing to develop, attention to the psycho-social needs of cancer survivors is often neglected. Survivorship programs aid cancer survivors and their loved ones in creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. These organizations drastically improve quality of life and create a community of understanding among survivors. In particular, the Strong Survivors program utilizes community resources and student involvement to offer nutrition information and exercise guidance to cancer survivors and their caregivers. This program has greatly impacted the Southern …

Spaghetti Versus Burgers: A Nutritional Comparison Of Italy And The United States, Cecily A. Haase

Honors Theses

The United States and Italy provide a stark contrast to one another in terms of diet and lifestyle.This research proves that by comparing traditional diets, health care, and nutrition education of these two countries. Through surveys of both American and Italian students and a thorough review of current research, lifestyle changes and suggestions are recognized. The aim of this comparison of Italy and the United States is to open the doors for more comparative research and international collaboration to improve the health of each nation.

Comics As Film, Film As Comics: The Examples Of Alan Moore, Daniel Clowes, And Harvey Pekar, Rachel A. Atherton

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

A Theatrical Approach To Raising Awareness Of Human Sex Trafficking Across The Globe, Gwenn Gideon

Honors Theses

As a culmination of my theatrical studies and other academic and personal interests developed over my four years at Bucknell University, I conducted a yearlong project that raised awareness of human sex trafficking in the 2014-2015 academic year. My project was composed of three distinct parts that included facilitating in-class workshops, public workshops, and directing a staged reading. The overall goal of this project was to raise awareness of human sex trafficking, get people interested and involved in the project, and give people the information they need to do more. This project was a THEA 319 Independent Study that was …

Beyond The Black Flag: Modernism, Ideology, And The Rise Of Isis, Justin Patrick Burnham Marinelli

Honors Theses

ISIS is not just the "new face" of Salafi jihadism. It is a new breed of extremism, with elements from previous fundamentalist movements but also with an infusion of both modernist and post-colonial influences that make it more properly understood as a "reactionary modernist" movement. The failure to properly conceptualize it as such is a retardant on our ability to properly understand this group. This attempt to correct this misunderstanding is thus of extraordinary necessity. Additionally, the implications of ISIS's rise run deeper that is commonly realized. The same factors that gave birth to ISIS are likely to manifest themselves …

The Influence Of Network Effect On The Valuation Of Online Networking Companies, Yi Xu

Honors Theses

Online networks are having an enormous economic impact, both at the micro and the macro level. The growth of the online networks involves the participation of users, advertisers, and platform providers. This paper argues that the optimal revenue is directly proportional to user population, which is a key factor driving the online networking firms forward. Also, different companies are able to generate different value from each individual user. These arguments are supported by our empirical tests analyzing the current online networking giants. Empirical models further suggest that our theoretical model performs best when we look at the relationship between growth …

Predicting Protein Contact Map By Bagging Decision Trees, Chuqiao Ren

Honors Theses

Proteins' function and structure are intrinsically related. In order to understand proteins' functionality, it is essential for medical and biological researchers to deter- mine proteins' three-dimensional structure. The traditional method using NMR spectroscopy or X-ray crystallography are inefficient compared to computational methods. Fortunately, substantial progress has been made in the prediction of protein structure in bioinformatics. Despite these achievements, the computational complexity of protein folding remains a challenge. Instead, many methods aim to predict a protein contact map from protein sequence using machine learning algorithms. In this thesis, we introduce a novel ensemble method for protein contact map prediction based …

Moral Education In Plato's Gorgias, Wenhui Xie

Honors Theses

In this thesis I argue for the theme of moral education as an important theme for Plato's Gorgias. The Gorgias has been commonly understood in terms of politics and philosophy either separately or jointly. I argue that the theme of moral education is equally important and deserves attention. I first contextualize the Gorgias into the cultural background of late 5th century BCE when the decline of traditional morality stimulated the Greeks to ask whether virtues (which were traditionally conceived to be hereditary traits exclusive to members of noble family) were teach-able (and thus, could be learned). Next, I analyze the …

Beyond The Physical:Exploring The Function Of Disease In Selected Words Of 19th- And 20th- Century French Literature, Cassandra Maria Ricci

Honors Theses

My thesis, Beyond the Physical, is a project that aims to investigate the function of disease in 19th and 20th century French literature through the analysis of the narrative techniques of three fictional novels and secondary sources. This work is an interdisciplinary study that combines the social and scientific aspects of Public Health with literary elements present in French and Francophone Studies. In La Cousine Bette (1847), a Realist novel by Honoré de Balzac, Valérie Marneffe's obsession with greed and attention leads her to pursue various extramarital affairs in her efforts to augment her financial status. Her death by syphilis …

The Ecstasy Of Economics: The Evolution Of Sergei Eisenstein's The Old And The New, William Hays Persing

Honors Theses

In my thesis, I analyze the development of the most often forgotten work by Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein ¿ The Old and the New. The production of the film from 1926 to 1929 was during a tumultuous period of economic transition during the Soviet Union when the socialist state moved from the mixed markets of the New Economic Policy (NEP) to the centralized planning of the First Five-Year Plan. The development of The Old and the New mirrors the economic period. I analyze how Eisenstein actively adapted his cinematic practice to accommodate the changing landscape of Soviet economic policy. Additionally, …

Testing Marginal Value Theorem In Saimiri Sciureus, Evan T. Sloan

Honors Theses

Marginal value theorem (MVT), a key component of optimal foraging theory, aims to model how an individual will most efficiently utilize a resource distributed in patches of varying size and value throughout a habitat. Among the fundamental assumptions of MVT is that foragers will maximize their net energy gain by foraging in a resource patch until reaching the average rate of intake for the habitat. This "give-up time" (GUT) per patch, defined as the time between the final prey capture and departing the patch, should remain constant throughout the habitat as a whole, but vary across habitats of different quality. …

Soft Power And Cultural Exchange: The Obama Administration And The Impact Of U.S. Public Diplomacy On The Beliefs Of Estonians, Kadri Lutter

Honors Theses

America's engagement with the world in the years following 9/11 is often criticized for being arrogant, conducted in a top-down fashion, and paying too little attention to listening and creating meaningful human interactions. Since 2009, President Obama has emphasized his belief in people-to-people contacts and soft power: the idea that a country can achieve what it wants in world politics by the power of attraction. Public diplomacy programs such as cultural and educational exchanges are believed to be valuable in creating lifelong friends for the United States, but there is little empirical evidence of their effectiveness as a foreign policy …

Exploring The Art Of Connections: Directing Sarah Ruhl's Dead Man's Cell Phone, John Patrick Brunner

Honors Theses

In the March of 2014, the Department of Theatre and Dance at Bucknell University selected me to conceive and direct a production of Dead Man's Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl. This production would be the winter Main Stage show of the university's artistic season in February 2015. This project would not only serve as an honors thesis project, but also as a THEA 319 Independent Study for the culminating experience of my theatre degree. In preparation for this project, I conducted significant research of both the play itself and the initial design concepts that I felt best supported the piece. …

Undressing The Power Of Fashion: The Semiotic Evolution Of Gender Identity By Coco Chanel And Alexander Mcqueen, Sveva Marcangeli

Honors Theses

The use of clothing reinforces gender roles culturally assigned to men and women by emphasizing individuals' biological sex and encouraging them to behave in specific ways based on their sex. However, individuals can manipulate their clothing to challenge the gender roles assigned to them. 20th century Gabrielle Coco Chanel and 21st century Alexander McQueen are two designers who have freed women from binding and restricted clothing, which set women as objects and not as strong assets with knowledgeable contributions. I use various studies of semiology and sociology through a gender theory and linguistic standpoint to understand the signs found within …

Are There Shared Characteristics Among Children With Autism Who Develop Speech While Training With The Picture Exchange Communication System?, Katherine Neidhart

Honors Theses

It is clear in the literature that there are many factors that may contribute the development of speech as a possible outcome of training with the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). Research has indicated a need for more data on the characteristics and skills of children with autism that may contribute to their success while using PECS, and the possible development of speech while receiving PECS training.

This study sought to identify common characteristics and skills of children with autism that acquired speech while receiving PECS training through creating an inventory of demographics, pre-requisite skills, and other characteristics of children …

“Architects Of Their Own Solutions:” A Comparative Study Of Gender In Environmental Justice Work, Ellen Olack

Honors Theses

Backgrounds, identities and beliefs of the people within a group can dictate the direction a movement takes and whether or not that movement will be able to endure. Using a series of interviews, I aim to determine how gender plays a part in shaping a person’s role within the environmental justice movement by studying if and how gender constructions influence the mindsets of not only the people working to end environmental injustice, but also of the community members living in zones affected by environmental injustice.

Engendering Epic: Heroism As Constructed Masculinity In The Epics Of Gilgamesh And Beowulf, Rachael Scott Poe

Honors Theses

When considering epic heroes like Gilgamesh and Beowulf, it is readily apparent that they are products of patriarchal societies, and, consequently, masculinity is an inherent consideration when defining heroism. Gender is not a neutral aspect of the human experience, nor is it uniform across socio-cultural boundaries; rather, individual cultures determine the range of appropriate and desirable behavior for each gender. Thus, the concept of gender is central to every human being, and especially to the epic heroes Gilgamesh and Beowulf whose masculine achievements shape the course of their tales. Though these heroes come from extremely different times and places, there …

Solicitation Of Identity In Cien Años De Soledad, Marinda J. Cauley

Honors Theses

In this thesis I intend to analyze Gabriel García Márquez’ canonical, magical realist novel, Cien años de soledad (1967), which is the fictional (and historical) account of several generations of the Buendía family in their town of Macondo. Cien años de soledad made its debut in 1967 at the height of the Latin American “Boom Era” of literature (1960-1970). This novel, García Márquez’ most commercially successful work, has elicited much response in the form of articles and books of literary critique. Due to its complex and repetitive nature, many critics have traditionally sought to uncover possible allegorical and/or symbolic meanings …