Digital Commons Network^™

Opinions Of South Mississippi College Students Regarding Adolescent Sex Education, Mary K. Nobles

Honors Theses

Teen pregnancy and rates of sexually transmitted disease (STD) transmission among teenage Mississippians are disproportionally higher than the national average. These high rates are partially attributed to poor adolescent sex education programs in Mississippi (MS) schools. MS has a long history of inadequate sex education programs; until recently, sex education was not a required component of the curriculum. Most MS public schools teach abstinence-only education, which has been shown to be less effective than comprehensive programs. Most Mississippians probably assume that MS public schools teach the sex education programs of which the majority of Mississippians are in favor. A review …

Lgbt Parents On American Television, Heather Kahn

Honors Theses

Television is an ever changing medium used in mass communication, and people often rely on this medium for knowledge about different subjects. This study demonstrates how television depictions of marginalized groups can change over time. Focusing specifically on a subset of the LGBT community – parents – this study documents the evolution of LGBT parents on American television. A total of 14 television shows were selected for a qualitative analysis. The parents depicted in these shows were analyzed according to gender, race, class and sexuality. The results were then summarized and put into historical context. This study contributes to the …

‘My Freedom Is A Privilege Which Nothing Else Can Equal’: The Life And Writings Of Venture Smith And Phillis Wheatley, American Slaves, Donald Holmes Ii

Honors Theses

Slavery in the United States was an evolving institution that lasted nearly 400 years. To understand the colonial era of slavery within the United States, I examine the life and times of Venture Smith, as documented in his autobiography, A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, A Native of Africa (1798), and that of Phillis Wheatley using The Collected Works of Phillis Wheatley (1988). Both Smith and Wheatley were African-born slaves brought to America during the eighteenth century. In Smith’s narrative, he concludes by proclaiming “my freedom is a privilege which nothing else can equal” (31). This statement …

Determinants Of A Winning Season For Intercollegiate Football Based On Revenues And Expenses, Burke L. Ellzey

Honors Theses

The athletic departments of many colleges and universities serve as a significant source of revenue to the university. For most colleges and universities, football is the most popular program in the athletic department. The purpose of this research is to analyze different categories of revenues and expenses of each athletic department to investigate how these factors affect the winning percentage of the specific football team. In addition, BCS and non-BCS teams are compared to see how the BCS title affects these categories of revenues and expenses. Multiple regressions are run with the winning percentage being the dependent variable with the …

Does Knowledge Make A Difference? Assessing Nursing Students’ Knowledge Of Proper Hand Hygiene Techniques In Correlation With Their Progression Through Nursing School, Charika R. Carradine

Honors Theses

Proper hand hygiene techniques have been widely accepted as the most effective way for health care workers to prevent the spread of diseases. The main focus of this research was to determine differences between nursing students’ semester level and their knowledge of proper hand hygiene techniques. A convenience sample was obtained from the nursing student population. The sample population included nursing students enrolled in the second, third, and fourth semester in nursing school. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS version Twenty. A Parametric and descriptive statistics were used to measure the magnitude of relationships between variables, and describe students’ knowledge …

The Comparison Of The Effectiveness Of Using A Traditional Approach To Speech Therapy To Using A Traditional Approach To Speech Therapy Plus Non-Speech Oral Motor Exercises In Children With Articulation Disorders, Alanna D. Buckley

Honors Theses

This study focuses on an area of debate in the field of Speech-Language Pathology with little prior research on the topic. The thesis considers the use of non-speech oral motor exercises in children with Articulation Disorders. Understanding the reasoning behind the use of these exercises as well as the reasons that cause the exercises to be controversial are discussed. Data is collected from four clients at the University of Southern Mississippi Speech and Hearing Clinic. All four clients have Articulation Disorders; non-speech oral motor exercises are used in therapy with two of the clients in addition to a Traditional Approach …

Differences In Consumption Rates Between Juvenile And Adult Laccophilus Fasciatus Rufus (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) On Larval Culex Quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae), Carmen E. Bofill

Honors Theses

With the increase of global temperature and human populations, prevalence of vector-borne diseases is becoming an issue for public health. Over the years these vectors have been notorious for developing resistance to human regulated insecticides. Thus, other forms of control, including the use of natural predators, have become an important topic in research. Research on member of the family of predaceous diving beetles (Dytiscidae) and their predatory ability to decrease aquatic mosquito larvae populations has been of recent interest. The purpose of this study is to 1) quantify consumption rates of the dytiscid Laccophilus fasciatus rufus juvenile and adults on …

Choice And Control Of Enrichment For A Rescued And Rehabilitated Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Trunactus), Hannah Bahe

Honors Theses

Animals living under human care experience stress related to a lack of control over t environment. One way to remedy this is through the use of cognitive enrichment, su choice and control of enrichment. This type of enrichment has been shown to have benefits for animals under human care including increased activity and social interactions. To determine if choice and control was more beneficial than enrichmen alone, a three year old male Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) was ex to novel enrichment items in two experimental conditions. For the first condition, th animal was given a novel object. During the …

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.

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 …

From Marilyn Monroe To Cindy Crawford: A Historical Analysis Of Women’S Body Image Depicted In Popular Magazines From 1952 To 1995, Jayme S. Nobles

Honors Theses

For this study, the researcher viewed advertisements in popular magazines from 1952 to 1995 that focus on women’s body image. The sample consisted of advertisements found in Life and Cosmopolitan magazines. Instead of observing every issue throughout the forty-three year period, the researcher chose a few issues from each magazine every five years. 180 advertisements were viewed in this study. The researcher observed three different elements found in the advertisements: the product being sold, the appeals of sexuality, if any, in the ads, and the appearance of the advertisements’ models. This research attempted to prove that over the course of …

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 …

“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 …

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 …

Precious Lord, Take My Brand: Consumer Analysis Of Branding Effectiveness Of First Hattiesburg, Kelsey D. Walsh

Honors Theses

This study provides insight into consumer perception of First Hattiesburg’s image strategy, physical space/environment, and personnel/human factors and how they have enticed the community to attend and even become partners at First Hattiesburg. Furthermore, this study provides a unique look at integrated marketing communication (IMC) in a religious organization. Results of this study indicate that First Hattiesburg’s branding style, particularly the consistency of its IMC, contributes significantly to members/attendees’ positive view of the church. Because First Hattiesburg’s branding is so different from most southern Baptist churches and the church is currently experiencing a season of growth, it can be inferred …

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 …

‘Longest Way Round Is The Shortest Way Home:’ Escapism In The Fictions Of James Joyce And Wyndham Lewis, Justin R. Noble

Honors Theses

In the early 20th century many ideas existed about the figure of the artist, and what the artist should do. There arose the idea that the artist should be removed from society so that he may more effectively critique and effect it in his art—that the artist should be an escapist figure. The development of the idea of escapism can be seen in James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses, and Wyndham Lewis’s Enemy of the Stars. These texts show the development of the artist as escapism, the limits of escapism as an artist, …

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 …

Successfully Selecting Performance Repertoire For Concert Festival Evaluation, Kristopher R. Chandler

Honors Theses

Since Lowell Mason introduced the idea of modern day music education, music specialists like Dr. Acton Ostling, Jr. and Dr. Frank Battisti have aided in the evolution of music education to meet the needs of our ever-changing society. Dr. Ostling and Dr. Battisti published ground breaking research regarding selection of wind band repertoire that included a list of research-based guidelines such as choosing music that has clear melodic content, contrasting rhythms, and contrasting tonal textures, among other specifications. This study focuses on the prior research conducted by Dr. Ostling and Dr. Battisti. A survey consisting of a series of questions …

Are The Voting Patterns Of College-Aged Students And The General Public Influenced By Award-Winning Celebrities’ Political Opinions In Presidential Elections?, Andrew S. Blouin

Honors Theses

This thesis study is entitled “Are the Voting Patterns of College-Aged Students and the General Public Influenced by Award-Winning Celebrities’ Political Opinions in Presidential Elections?” This thesis examines primary data from award shows, government campaign financing data, and student survey data obtained at the University of Southern Mississippi. The study investigates both whether award-winning celebrities have a political impact on presidential elections and specifically whether celebrities have a political influence on college-aged people. Data analysis from this study reveals that celebrities do not have a substantial impact upon either presidential elections or upon the voting patterns of young people. This …

Body Mass And Depression Among Mississippi Women With Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Laurel A. Bruce

Honors Theses

Objective

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between body mass and depression among Mississippi women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

Methods

Ten women participated in this study. Data was collected by online survey. The survey was distributed to eligible participants on pcoschallenge.com, a support network for women with PCOS. The survey included the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) questionnaire as well as five additional questions that asked the participants to report their weight, height, comorbidities, age, and race. The CES-D score provided a measurement for depression while the participant’s weight and height allowed the researcher …

Awareness, Education, And Prevention Of Chronic Kidney Disease In The Older Adult, Torrel R. Bridges

Honors Theses

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become a major issue in our nation. Many of our neighbors, family, and friends have concerns and a call for our attention is necessary. CKD does not have a specific target, but individuals with diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and obesity are all at increased risk. Adults older than 65 years of age are especially at increased risk for developing CKD due to decrease in kidney function and other physiologic changes. In light of this, awareness, education, and prevention of CKD in the older adult population is important.

The number of older individuals …

Religious And Ceremonial Microartifacts From The Winterville Archaeological Site (22ws500), Caitlyn E. Burkes

Honors Theses

The Winterville Archaeological Site (22WS500), located near Greenville, Mississippi, served as a ceremonial center during the Mississippian Period (approximately 1000-1500 AD). Originally consisting of twenty-three or more mounds, Winterville was a significant social and religious gathering place and was home to the elite classes of the society. This study analyses microartifacts from two locations on the site, leading to comparisons and conclusions of the types of religious activities occurring at each. Mound C was home to an elite group while Mound B likely served as a temple or religiously significant mound. The findings indicate that elites and elite mounds played …

Role Of Il-17 In Cd8+ T Cell Mediated Clearance Of West Nile Virus, Jordan E. Lowery

Honors Theses

West Nile virus (WNV), a positive sense single stranded RNA flavivirus, is prevalent in many countries worldwide and is a growing threat in the United States. Some patients infected with WNV develop severe neuroinvasive disease including meningitis or encephalitis which may lead to death. The recently characterized cytokine interleukin-17 (IL-17) has been implicated in several autoimmune diseases, neuroinflammatory conditions, and immune responses to various microbial infections. Previous research has indicated that a known contributor to IL-17 production, interleukin-23, is produced in response to WNV infection, but the role of IL-17 during WNV infection has not been studied before. This study …

Auditory Versus Cursive Writing Drills In Learning New Vocabulary In 4th Grade Children, Rachel S. Tyrone

Honors Theses

Vocabulary acquisition is fundamental in order for children to succeed not only academically, but also socially. Throughout the years, many scholars have researched various techniques to aid children in learning new vocabulary. Two of the techniques to aid vocabulary can be seen by utilizing an auditory and a writing technique. A teacher will present the students with several vocabulary words multiple times throughout a regular school year. These words are vital to the success of the child. Consequently, there is a need to discover a technique that will aid the students in learning the new vocabulary words. In order to …

Study Of The Function Of The Mold Specific Gene Ms95 In Dna Repair In The Pathogenic, Dimorphic Fungus Histoplasma Capsulatum, Erin M. Smith

Honors Theses

Histoplasma capsulatum (Hc) is a dimorphic fungus that is the etiologic agent of the respiratory infection Histoplasmosis that is mediated by a shift from the mold phase to the pathogenic yeast phase. Genes have been identified that are specific to the mold or yeast phase in order to study the molecular biology of this shift. MS95 was identified in a subtractive cDNA library that was enriched for mold-specific genes, and has been found to be homologous to the DNA damage-responsive gene DDR48, which functions in DNA repair in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In order to elucidate the function of MS95, a …

Examining The Relationship Between Parental Overprotection, Use Of Assistive Technology, And Independence With Routines Among Children With Physical Disabilities, Kelsey I. Shinnick

Honors Theses

The primary purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationships between parental overprotection/overindulgence, assistive technology utilization, and independence with routines among children with physical disabilities. Participants included 26 primary caregivers of children with physical disabilities age 6 to 12 (M = 8.65, SD = 2.00). Data regarding demographic information, parenting practices, the child’s gross motor functioning, assistive technology (AT) use, independence with routines, and frequency of routines were obtained from the primary caregiver via an online survey. While no significant relationships between the variables of interest were observed after controlling for the child’s age, gross motor functioning, and …

“No On 26” And @Ms4healthyfams: A Study Of Excellence Theory Public Relations In The Magnolia State, Karelia L. Schmitz

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to better understand how public relations campaigns that are designed to influence public policy can incorporate principles from James E. Grunig’s Excellence Theory to improve campaign effectiveness and relevance. In this case study of the Mississippians for Healthy Families campaign in opposition to Mississippi Proposition 26, social media distributed was viewed to analyze its content messages and practices. The study’s research question was designed to understand communication methods used by Mississippians for Healthy Families through the “No on 26” campaign, and the question was examined through a content analysis of materials collected from MS4HealthyFamilies …

An Economic Impact Analysis Of A Youth Softball World Series, Robert Tanner Jones

Honors Theses

Sporting events can have a large impact on an economy. From the Olympics to the Super Bowl to the World Cup, these events bring in millions of dollars of new revenue to a region. Extensive research has been conducted on the economic impact of these mega-events. However, smaller sporting events, such as a fishing tournament, youth sports tournament, or 5K race, can also boost local economies and influence future tourism choices. However, limited research has been conducted to understand the economic impact of these events, despite the significant resources needed by communities to host these smaller events. This economic impact …

Letters Home: Change In Mental State Of Soldiers During The American Civil And Vietnam Wars Seen Through Their Letters Home, Austin W. Hill

Honors Theses

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, has only been studied since its diagnosis after the Vietnam War. However, soldiers have always felt the affects of the wars they fought. These affects are physical, mental and emotional. Currently, PTSD is one of the most common affects of war on a soldier. While PTSD has only been studied since its discovery after the Vietnam War, symptoms almost exactly like PTSD have been present in soldiers for decades. This thesis uses letters from soldiers in the Vietnam War to create a basis of trauma that could create PTSD in soldiers. Using this base of …