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Honors Theses

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Protestantism, Liberalism, And Racial Equality, Abraham Uppal Feb 2014

Protestantism, Liberalism, And Racial Equality, Abraham Uppal

Honors Theses

In this paper, I will examine liberalism in Protestantism. Liberals who are Protestant, Mainline Protestants, are an interesting group who are different from the conservative, Evangelical Christian crowd. I will pay special attention to racial issues like affirmative action and racism. Liberalism in Protestantism is often called the social gospel, a theology in which Protestants believe Christian teachings mandate an active role in society in which values such as freedom, equality, and love are pursued. The social gospel contrasts with the theology called individual salvation, often identified with conservative or Evangelical Christianity, in which one’s personal relationship with God is …


Language Trends Of Spanish/English Dual Language Learners, Cailin Amundsen Jan 2014

Language Trends Of Spanish/English Dual Language Learners, Cailin Amundsen

Honors Theses

This honors thesis project explores past and current research on the language and literacy development and assessment of Spanish-English bilinguals. The researched differences between Spanish and English language acquisition, cross-language development patterns and phenomena found in bilingual children, and holistic approaches to accurate and authentic assessment of language acquisition of bilinguals have lent support to future research questions and methodologies. The following literature review provides clear connections from current bilingual language acquisition and literacy development studies to the future research questions and ideas they rouse. Said questions and ideas have been organized into a research proposal addressing the language trends …


Failures Of Chivalry And Love In Chretien De Troyes, Adele Priestley Jan 2014

Failures Of Chivalry And Love In Chretien De Troyes, Adele Priestley

Honors Theses

Although chivalry and courtly love have been imposed upon society as a framework for social interaction, Chrétien’s five stories ultimately promote the idea that the individual is top priority, and when involved in courtly love and chivalry each person should remember that they are using these ideals simply as a way to promote themselves.


Awareness, Agency, And Alternatives: Opportunities And Challenges For Conamuri And The Paraguayan Women’S Food Sovereignty Movement In An Age Of Social Media, Brianne Illich Jan 2014

Awareness, Agency, And Alternatives: Opportunities And Challenges For Conamuri And The Paraguayan Women’S Food Sovereignty Movement In An Age Of Social Media, Brianne Illich

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the influence and limitations of the use of social media by the Paraguayan female food sovereignty movement. Considering the Paraguayan campesino context of censorship and marginalization, it analyzes social media’s role as an alternative news source, a space for self-expression, and a vehicle for interactive engagement, outreach, and resistance. It focuses specifically on the experiences within CONAMURI, a Paraguayan women’s food sovereignty network. The study sheds light on the CONAMURI female campesino context, giving voice to the personal experiences, challenges, aspirations, and activities that make up everyday organizational resistance and motivate social media mobilization. Overall, this thesis …


Optimization Of A Chemical Genetic Screen To Identify Druggable Targets In U138 Cells Treated With Laromustine, Kathryn Coe Jan 2014

Optimization Of A Chemical Genetic Screen To Identify Druggable Targets In U138 Cells Treated With Laromustine, Kathryn Coe

Honors Theses

Laromustine is an experimental sulfonylhydrazine prodrug used in late-stage clinical studies against acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Despite initial promise for both indications, clinical trials for GBM have not been as successful as those for AML. To investigate methods for improving the effectiveness of laromustine in GBM and to learn more about the mechanism of action of laromustine, a chemical genetic screen will be conducted to identify agents that sensitize GBM cells to the anti-proliferative effects of laromustine. The library, which will include approximately 450 FDA-approved drugs, will be screened using a newly optimized high throughput assay …


The Role Of Underutilized Fish In New England's Seafood System, Taylor Witkin Jan 2014

The Role Of Underutilized Fish In New England's Seafood System, Taylor Witkin

Honors Theses

The global fisheries crisis has led to an increasing recognition for the need to relieve pressure on overfished, popular food fish stocks. Opportunities exist to shift consumer demand toward more sustainable choices, including fish that may be locally abundant. Attempts have been made to market underused fish (sometimes termed “trash fish”) that represent more sustainable alternatives; however, it is unclear whether consumers will choose to purchase these more sustainable options, particularly if underused fish are also unfamiliar. Chapter 1 reviews existing research and current issues surrounding sustainable seafood and the recent shift toward local, abundant, undervalued species in New England’s …


Borderline Depravity: The Impact Of U.S. Immigration Policy On Human Smuggling At The Mexican Border, Chloe J. Gilroy Jan 2014

Borderline Depravity: The Impact Of U.S. Immigration Policy On Human Smuggling At The Mexican Border, Chloe J. Gilroy

Honors Theses

Human smuggling at the southwest border has undergone a series of dramatic changes following the advent of militarized enforcement after 9/11. These changes have culminated in drug cartels becoming involved in the market for human smuggling as service providers. This role constitutes a massive departure from the traditional working dynamics of the market, and has created a human rights crisis with far-reaching implications. Accordingly, this thesis attempts to answer the following questions: Why are Mexican drug cartels entering into human smuggling? What part has U.S immigration policy had in incentivizing their involvement? When did their involvement begin? To answer these …


The Relationships Between Local Food And Food Security In Maine, Erin Love Jan 2014

The Relationships Between Local Food And Food Security In Maine, Erin Love

Honors Theses

There is a food systems paradox in Maine: the State has one of the highest levels of food insecurity in the nation, while simultaneously experiencing a local agriculture boom. Maine has some of the largest percentages of young farmers and women farmers in the country and is home to the second highest number of artisan cheese makers of any state in the country. Amidst this exciting, sometimes quirky, agricultural activity there is a critical need for food systems development in the state, especially in the context of serving vulnerable populations. This thesis explores the ways in which Mainers are working …


Illusion Of Control: The Struggle For History And Humanity, Samantha R. Nystrom Jan 2014

Illusion Of Control: The Struggle For History And Humanity, Samantha R. Nystrom

Honors Theses

Through the increased amount of documentation occurring in the individual’s everyday life, through the government, through social media, etc., the question of history’s place in contemporary culture arises—who is the author of history, how is the struggle over authorship played out within contemporary literature, and where does humanity fit within this struggle? I argue that the struggle for authorship within contemporary society has suspended history. Contending authors constantly rewrite the pre-narrative, the event history records, prohibiting society from moving forward. Whoever gains the ultimate authorial role, whoever becomes the author of history, controls humanity. To examine this occurrence within contemporary …


The Effect Of Azo Textile Dyes On Gross Primary Production And Community Respiration In An Artificial Environment, Theresa L. Petzoldt Jan 2014

The Effect Of Azo Textile Dyes On Gross Primary Production And Community Respiration In An Artificial Environment, Theresa L. Petzoldt

Honors Theses

Azo dyes are the largest category of textile dyes in production today, with over 100,000 tons of dye produced yearly in the United States. Ten to fifty percent of this dye is not fixed to the fabric during the textile production process, and is therefore discarded as effluent. Because dye waste is difficult to process in wastewater treatment facilities, it is important to understand how this waste affects aquatic systems using a whole ecosystem approach. This study used an artificial stream to model the effects of four azo dyes on benthic biofilm production and respiration. Dyes were found to have …


A New Balance: National Security And Privacy In A Post 9-11 World, Russell B. Wilson Jan 2014

A New Balance: National Security And Privacy In A Post 9-11 World, Russell B. Wilson

Honors Theses

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 shocked the American security apparatus, placing greater pressure on the security actions of the U.S. government, particularly regarding information gathering. Laying out a framework that examines different notions of national security and privacy, this paper examine three case studies to illustrate the role of the government and the inherent friction between privacy and security that increased information gathering inherently creates. The shifting balance between the two variables forces us to reexamine how we want our government to protect us and what we will sacrifice in order to ensure our own well being. With …


The Economic Impact Of Shale Gas Development: A Natural Experiment Along The New York And Pennsylvania Border, Brendan Cosgrove Jan 2014

The Economic Impact Of Shale Gas Development: A Natural Experiment Along The New York And Pennsylvania Border, Brendan Cosgrove

Honors Theses

In the United States, the rapid increase in shale gas production has recently stimulated local economies. This paper investigates the regional economic impact of shale gas development. The border of New York and Pennsylvania provides a natural experiment for its economic impact because of the moratorium on fracking in NY and the supportive fracking regulations in PA. Using BLS data from 2001-2013, results show that shale gas development has a statistically significant impact at the industry level, but not across the entire economy. The findings contribute new evidence to the economic benefits and the boom-bust cycle of shale gas extraction.


The Chinese Social Enterprise: A Global Phenomenon With Chinese Characteristics, Amanda Jingtong O'Malley Jan 2014

The Chinese Social Enterprise: A Global Phenomenon With Chinese Characteristics, Amanda Jingtong O'Malley

Honors Theses

Social entrepreneurship, a concept that integrates business strategies with achieving social goals, is gaining traction in China. However, it is a distinctly Chinese variant of an approach exported by Western entrepreneurs. The purpose of this thesis to is analyze the Chinese social enterprise by identifying China’s socioeconomic and political forces that create the unique environment in which this trend is taking root. By examining how these factors are changing in China’s progressively more market economy, I conclude that key characteristics of the Chinese social enterprise are also shifting in response—moving from a civil society- originated model to a market‐based social …


Perceptions Of Cold Case Work In Mississippi Law Enforcement, Lindsey Pittman Jan 2014

Perceptions Of Cold Case Work In Mississippi Law Enforcement, Lindsey Pittman

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to see whether law enforcement personnel in Mississippi believe cold case units and, specifically, analysts are beneficial and worthwhile. This study will focus primarily on whether having used the Mississippi Cold Case Unit (MCCU) has had an impact on people’s perception of analysts and analytical methods within the law enforcement community. The study was conducted through the use of an online survey using Qualtrics Research Suite (Appendix A).The responses were then analyzed using the statistical software GraphPad Prism 6. Responses showed that there is very little difference in perception of the MCCU between those …


Host-Specialization Of Bartonella In Flea Vectors Collected From Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs, Mark D. Massaro Jan 2014

Host-Specialization Of Bartonella In Flea Vectors Collected From Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs, Mark D. Massaro

Honors Theses

At least 22 species of Bartonella bacteria have been named and many are associated with one of a list of potential mammalian reservoirs and arthropod vectors. One example of such a system is the parasitism of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) of the Western U.S. by Oropyslla hirsuta and Pulex simulans fleas. These vectors are thought to maintain B. washoensis infection in these mammals, but little is known about their role in the specialization of this strain to this reservoir. We found that the more specialist O. hirsuta fleas were much more likely to be infected with B. washoensis than …


The Effect Of Race In Primary And Secondary School Achievement : Evidence From Virginia, Khanh Doan Jan 2014

The Effect Of Race In Primary And Secondary School Achievement : Evidence From Virginia, Khanh Doan

Honors Theses

A large body of literature has studied the achievement gap between white and minority groups in the United States. This paper contributes to this discussion by conducting a cross-sectional study of Virginia using data for 2011-2012. I analyze the impact of race/ethnicity (White, Black, Hispanic) on school district pass rates conditional on income per capita, population density, and a cohort effect in each school district. I find that the magnitude of the gap is largest in 3rd grade and smallest in 5th grade. There are little differences between Black-White gaps and Hispanic-White gaps. The gaps are neither widening nor narrowing …


The Case Of "Who's Looney Now?" : Psychologists, Psychiatrists, The Public, And Contested Notions Of Insanity In Turn-Of-The-Twentieth Century America, Amanda Lynn Haislip Jan 2014

The Case Of "Who's Looney Now?" : Psychologists, Psychiatrists, The Public, And Contested Notions Of Insanity In Turn-Of-The-Twentieth Century America, Amanda Lynn Haislip

Honors Theses

No doubt, “eccentric” is one word that describes John Armstrong Chaloner, a lawyer, entrepreneur, anti-Spiritualist, “scientific” medium, millionaire heir to the fur-trading fortune of John Jacob Astor, and, at one point, an incurably insane paranoiac. After he married and amicably divorced the Virginian novelist Amélie Rives, in 1888 and 1895 respectively, Chaloner discovered he could communicate with his subconscious, his “X-Faculty” as he named it, using a planchette, an early form of a Ouija board. He claimed to have changed his own eye color from brown to grey using this strange X-Faculty and boasted about winning $600 off of a …


The Effect Of Race In Primary And Secondary School Achievement : Evidence From Virginia, Khanh (Miki) Doan Jan 2014

The Effect Of Race In Primary And Secondary School Achievement : Evidence From Virginia, Khanh (Miki) Doan

Honors Theses

A large body of literature has studied the achievement gap between white and minority groups in the United States. This paper contributes to this discussion by conducting a cross-sectional study of Virginia using data for 2011-2012. I analyze the impact of race/ethnicity (White, Black, Hispanic) on school district pass rates conditional on income per capita, population density, and a cohort effect in each school district. I find that the magnitude of the gap is largest in 3rd grade and smallest in 5th grade. There are little differences between Black-White gaps and Hispanic-White gaps. The gaps are neither widening nor narrowing …


The Dual Ownership Structure: A Model To Connect The Cooperative Model With Financial Markets, Davis Seung Rok Nam Jan 2014

The Dual Ownership Structure: A Model To Connect The Cooperative Model With Financial Markets, Davis Seung Rok Nam

Honors Theses

In business literature, the conflicts among workers, shareholders and the management have been studied mostly in the frame of stakeholder theory. The stakeholder theory recognizes this issue as an agency problem, and tries to solve the problem by establishing a contractual relationship between the agent and principals. However, as Marcoux pointed out, the appropriateness of the contract as a medium to reduce the agency problem should be questioned. As an alternative, the cooperative model minimizes the agency costs by integrating the concept of workers, owners and management. Mondragon Corporation is a successful example of the cooperative model which grew into …


Macroeconomic Surprise, Forecast Uncertainty, And Stock Prices, Alphonce M. Mshomba Jan 2014

Macroeconomic Surprise, Forecast Uncertainty, And Stock Prices, Alphonce M. Mshomba

Honors Theses

This paper evaluates the effect of surprises in economic data on stock prices. “Surprises in economic data” refer to the difference between the forecast and initial release actual values relative to the sample forecast error. The analysis addresses three questions. Do surprises in economic data affect stock prices? If there is an effect, is the magnitude of that effect symmetrical for positive and negative surprises? If surprises affect stock prices, how does market forecast uncertainty affect the magnitude of the effect on stock prices?


Application Of Carhart Four-Factor Model To The Aaii-Generated Portfolios, Teo Lagvilava Jan 2014

Application Of Carhart Four-Factor Model To The Aaii-Generated Portfolios, Teo Lagvilava

Honors Theses

American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) provides stock screens that follow the investment strategies of some of the most well-known investors. This paper uses Carhart’s Four Factor Model and adjusts returns for transactions costs to see whether these portfolios generate abnormal returns. I find that number of portfolios with excess returns significantly decreases under the restrictions of the four factor model and transaction costs assumptions. In addition, I find that a momentum is a statistically significant factor in explaining the returns of these portfolios. The results of this study suggest that markets are inefficient in the weakest form.


Queering La Politique Lgbtq En France : Entre L'Universalisme Et La Particularité, L' HéTéRosexualité Et Les IdentitéS Non-Normatives, Le Mariage Et La LibéRation Totale De La Communauté Queer, Erik Lampmann Jan 2014

Queering La Politique Lgbtq En France : Entre L'Universalisme Et La Particularité, L' HéTéRosexualité Et Les IdentitéS Non-Normatives, Le Mariage Et La LibéRation Totale De La Communauté Queer, Erik Lampmann

Honors Theses

Après avoir institutionnalisée une diversité des sexualités et genres à travers le système du pacte civile de solidarité (PaCS) et – plus récemment – avec l’adoption du projet de loi pour le mariage des personnes du même sexe, la Ve République a rompu avec beaucoup d’autres pays en offrant à ses citoyens l’accès aux différentes types d’unions consacrés par l’état. En évoquant la libération des communautés des personnes lesbiennes, gays, bisexuelles, trans*, et queer (LGBTQ), la France s’est dit prête à élargir sa conception de citoyenneté ; elle a décidé de valorisé une nouvelle Marianne – celle d’une auto-identification qui …


The Forces Of Value: Structure And Content Of Self-Reported Values By Civilian And Military Science Students, Shelly Holland Jan 2014

The Forces Of Value: Structure And Content Of Self-Reported Values By Civilian And Military Science Students, Shelly Holland

Honors Theses

Upon graduation, students in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs are commissioned to lead the individuals tasked with protecting the American people and their ideology. This project examines the values of leaders and followers in military and nonmilitary contexts to determine if students in military education programs endorse values that are different from the values of students in non-military programs. First, this paper discusses the concept of values, and how values are defined and differentiated from other concepts. By providing an overview of past literature on values within the military and in general, the importance leaders place on values …


What Was He Thinking? Dr. William Cooper's Decision To Increase The University Of Richmond's Tuition By 31 Percent In 2005, Rooney V. Columbus Jan 2014

What Was He Thinking? Dr. William Cooper's Decision To Increase The University Of Richmond's Tuition By 31 Percent In 2005, Rooney V. Columbus

Honors Theses

“Skyrocketing,” a word frequently and hyperbolically used by columnists in the present age, is the verb du jour when describing the increasing price of college tuition in America over the past thirty years. The media does not seem to be exaggerating in this case, though. The cost of attending a collegiate institution, in the year 2013, has increased by 631 percent since the year 1978, two and a half times the national rate of inflation.1 In essence, the increase of price of a degree is well over twice the increase in the price of groceries during the same timeframe. Thus, …


A Bad Following: The Big Five Factors Of Personality And Follower Reactions To Unethical Leader Behavior, Rose Wynn Jan 2014

A Bad Following: The Big Five Factors Of Personality And Follower Reactions To Unethical Leader Behavior, Rose Wynn

Honors Theses

Leadership research currently lacks significant attention to followership as an essential component of leadership. Existing literature addresses leader traits and behaviors more than those of followers, but also falls short by offering greater focus on ethical rather than unethical leadership. The current study attempts to fill this gap by examining not only followers as an overlooked yet essential influence, but also unethical leadership, particularly as it relates to follower perceptions of such behavior. The investigation uses follower personality (defined by the Big Five Factor Personality Dimensions) as a potential predictor for follower support or rejection of unethical leadership. Findings of …


The Effects Of Coal Mining On Health In Appalachia : Global Context And Social Justice Implications, Adrienne Schmidt Jan 2014

The Effects Of Coal Mining On Health In Appalachia : Global Context And Social Justice Implications, Adrienne Schmidt

Honors Theses

The purpose of this report is to investigate the environmental and health effects of coal mining in the Appalachian region of the United States in the context of global natural resource extraction, explore existing regulation for the reduction of negative environmental health effects of mining in Appalachia, and explore the social justice implications of current mining practices. The research for this report was limited to literature published in English. It was found that there are widespread negative health effects of mining in Appalachia due to environmental toxins, a toxic social environment of limited economic opportunity, and occupational health hazards. The …


Leadership With Liberal Arts : From Ehebia To Jepson, Shaye Ellis Jan 2014

Leadership With Liberal Arts : From Ehebia To Jepson, Shaye Ellis

Honors Theses

“Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena.” Despite his extensive research and knowledge in the field, James MacGregor Burns still professes the complexity of the concept of leadership. The abstract nature of the topic does not lend itself to a brief synopsis or a limited understanding of a specific aspect of leadership. In many ways it eludes being confined to a particular category and exists across and between different academic disciplines. In the absence of a prescribed curriculum or method of study, institutions of higher education establish programs and departments that disseminate a distinct model or …


Life After Nursing School: A Qualitative Study Examining The Traditional B.S.N. Student's Experience Of Choosing An Initial Area Of Practice, Charlsie Nicole Murphy Jan 2014

Life After Nursing School: A Qualitative Study Examining The Traditional B.S.N. Student's Experience Of Choosing An Initial Area Of Practice, Charlsie Nicole Murphy

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the traditional BSN student's experience in choosing an initial area of practice and influences on this choice. Understanding of this experience is important for educators and healthcare agencies so they may utilize this information to improve the initial area of practice experience. This qualitative phenomenological study was based on van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Data were collected through participant interviews that were analyzed for themes related to participant experiences of choosing an initial area of practice. The data were simultaneously transcribed and analyzed to extract themes for each participant. Analysis identified three …


Defining College Experiences And Changing Drinking Trends Over The Course Of One Freshman Semester, Cipriano Louis Apicelli Jan 2014

Defining College Experiences And Changing Drinking Trends Over The Course Of One Freshman Semester, Cipriano Louis Apicelli

Honors Theses

The first semester of college is a formative stage in the lives of young adults. It is a period of transformation and adaptation, and certain experiences may set the tone for the rest of the student's college career. It has long been apparent that a number of problems at the level of secondary education can be traced to the use and, particularly, the abuse of alcohol. Problems with alcohol consumption as one of the contributing factors range from poor grades, emergency room visits, to events such as unwanted sexual advances and in extreme cases, even assaults. In this study, I …


Corporate Strategy And Its Use In Solving Issues In The Accounting Field Of The Financial Services Industry, Clark Lisa Jan 2014

Corporate Strategy And Its Use In Solving Issues In The Accounting Field Of The Financial Services Industry, Clark Lisa

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.