Digital Commons Network^™

An Unexpected Verdict: Exploring The Economic Implications Of An Expanding Chinese Presence In Dakar's Informal Market, Georgina Hurst

Honors Theses

Through examination of literature, statistical analysis, and field research in Dakar, Senegal, this study explores the economic implications of an expanding Chinese presence on Senegalese retailers in the informal market of Dakar, and on Senegalese consumers of cheap goods that shop primarily in this market. Since the early 1990s, a neighborhood of Chinese storefronts selling cheap goods has developed in the Centenaire region of downtown Dakar. The Chinese entrepreneurs, primarily in Dakar for wholesale, have adapted to the demands of low-end Senegalese retailers and consumers, focusing their products on basic necessities, such as clothing, and imitation commodities, such as Islamic …

Through The Eyes Of Urban Students: Educational Inequality And Socioeconomic Disparities In Santiago, Chile, Hillary Sapanski

Honors Theses

This project explores student perceptions of educational inequality in Santiago, Chile. Educational inequality in Santiago is statistically well documented; this study is novel in that it gives voice to the students. Despite a major emerging middle class, across all classes there is an overwhelming awareness of inequality. The results in this study are two-fold: not only do the diverse student experiences illustrate the stark divisions in the Chilean education system and society, but their experiences also demonstrate the development of a critical consciousness empowering students to act. Although there are limitations, student contributions to the ongoing conversation about inequality and …

Notes On The Politics Of The Auteur: Stanley Kubrick, Wes Anderson, And The Spectator, Michael Perreault

Honors Theses

What is an author, and what does it matter? Questions about authority in the cinema have been the subject of debate since the late 1940s, when Alexandre Astruc posited the notion of the camera-stylo in France. A slightly reductive understanding of the term “auteur”—a term that Cahiers du Cinéma would later adopt—states that, with the shadow of the World War II era of censorship still looming in the 1950s, the many individual voices of the cinema needed to be both heard and promoted. Namely, the director should be regarded as (and should consider his or her primary objective to …

Gender, Nature, And The Fairytale Structure In Robin Mckinley's Works, Molly Rogers

Honors Theses

Robin McKinley is an American fantasy author who uses fairytale structure to explore themes of gender and nature. Her first book, Beauty, a retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” was published in 1978. She continues to write fairytales and other fantastic fiction, utilizing the fairytale form and structure. She has won a few awards, including the Newbery Award in 1985 for her novel The Hero and the Crown. Her latest book, Pegasus, was published in 2010. Jack Zipes describes McKinley’s heroines as "self-confident, courageous young women who take the initiative in a world which they help to define with men…it …

Remapping Nature: Motherhood, Autonomy, And Anti-Mining Activism In Íntag, Ecuador, Ellicott K. Dandy

Honors Theses

This honors thesis explores the social changes that women engaged in anti-mining activism bring to a region in rural Ecuador. I discuss the ways in which they incorporate their activist techniques into everyday life, using their status as mothers to access public discourses of environmentalism, and ultimately rewrite gender roles locally. Framing the mining conflict as a catalyst for social change, I draw parallels between this movement and indigenous politics in Ecuador, propose new interpretations of the mestizo ethnic identity and assimilation in the Spanish Empire, and finally, make the case for a nature-centric cultural analysis in anthropology.

Relationship Of Cross-Linking Potential To Mechanism Of Cell Death, Adam N. Spierer

Honors Theses

Mechlorethamine (HN2), a nitrogen derivative of mustard gas, was the first synthetic anti-tumor chemotherapeutic because it forms covalent cross-links between strands of duplex DNA. HN2 represents a class of bifunctional alkylating agents that are both chemotherapeutic and carcinogenic: diepoxybutane (DEB), the active form of the pro-drug treosulfan, and epichlorohydrin (ECH), a structural hybrid of HN2 and DEB, also form covalent cross-links between DNA. While HN2 and DEB are clinically used as anti-tumor chemotherapeutics, ECH is a structural hybrid of these two compounds not used in a clinical setting. Accordingly, we aimed to understand the relationship between the cross-linking potential of …

We Came! We Stripped! We Conquered! The Sextremist Feminists Of Femen In Ukrainian Historical Context And Contemporary Controversy, Jayeon Kim

Honors Theses

In 2008, Anna Hutsol, an economist by training, founded feminist organization FEMEN (Megginson 2011). Comprised mostly of university-educated women, FEMEN has received international media coverage, encountered controversy, and received death threats for their topless protests. For their activism, French magazine Madame Figaro ranked one of the founding members Inna Schevchenko on the 13^th position in their list of Women of the Year (Madame Figaro 2012). They have delivered lectures on their movement at international forums and universities. FEMEN now has chapters in Brazil, Tunisia, France and Germany. FEMEN activists attribute their visibility to “sextremism,” their tactic of using the …

When The Confederates Terrorized Maine: The Battle Of Portland Harbor, Carter Stevens

Honors Theses

Saturday, June 27, 1863, dawned brightly over Portland, Maine. As the city’s residents began to go about their weekend business, they suddenly realized that the Caleb Cushing, the United States Revenue Cutter (U.S.R.C.) which had been stationed in Portland Harbor on and off again since 1853, was missing. Rumors flew about a traitorous Southerner on board, the work of pirates on the coast, and more. Before the day was over, the revenue cutter would be destroyed and the Casco Bay area would be transformed forever, a victim of one of the northernmost events of the Civil War on the periphery. …

Finite To Fail, Infinite To Venture: Interactivism And Relational Ethics, Rachel A. Rosenbaum

Honors Theses

This project tells the story of a group of anonymous activists at Colby College that I call 'The EDFC.' To tell the story of The EDFC I build a theory of activism that I call 'Interactivism as Anarchism' that reveals how certain structures and processes affect activism. My goals are to highlight the subjectivity of the members of the group, the creation of the collective, and the process of our activism in ways that reveal the broader implications that this group has on: 1) what makes activism effective, 2) what inhibits and incites activism at Colby, and 3) what does …

Conservation Easement Policies Across New England, Virginia A. Keesler

Honors Theses

This thesis examines conservation easement policies across the New England states. Conservation easements are legal agreements through which landowners donate or sell some or all of their properties' development rights to conservation entities, typically government entities or land trusts. I specifically ask: How do conservation easement policies compare across the New England states? How can conservation easement policies be reformed to enhance the use of easements as a conservation tool? Although easements allow conservation entities to conserve more land for less money, the ecological and social implications of the increased use of easements have been debated.

I evaluate data availability, …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Trickster Figure In Africa, The Caribbean, And North America, Douglas Odom

Honors Theses

Nearly every society or ethnic group on the planet possesses a literary culture uniquely tied to the customs of that group. Additionally, each of these literary cultures has a folk tale tradition, which encompasses parables, songs, praise poetry, didactic stories, and many other characteristics of oral literature. One of the more engaging sub genres of the folk tale is the trickster tale. This thesis specifically focuses on three distinct trickster figures: Ajapa, a tortoise popular in Yoruba culture in Nigeria; Ananse, a spider whose exploits attempt to undermine the social order of the Akan ethnic group and has also been …

Synthesis Of A New Scytovirin Protein Derivative, Sd1-Sd2-Sd2, To Decrease Hiv-1 Binding Affinity, Alexandra M. Wood

Honors Theses

Scytovirin is a novel anti-viral protein isolated from the cyanobacterium Scytonema varium. This protein has produced great scientific interest for its anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activity. Scytovirin disrupts the mechanism of HV infection by binding to HIV-1 proteins glycoprotein 120, glycoprotein 160, and glycoprotein 41. It does not bind to the CD4 receptor on human immune cells. The wild-type protein consists of a single 95 amino acid chain. When folded, Scytovirin's amino acid sequence is arranged into two distinct domains, each with a high degree of sequence conservation. This implicates the importance of both domains in anti-HIV activity. Primers were …

The Extension Process Of National Panhellenic Conference Sororities On Southeastern Conference College Campuses, Stevie Farrar

Honors Theses

The definition of a sorority has evolved significantly from its origins in the mid-1800s. From their beginnings as secret literary societies to their current standing as corporate networks of sisterhood, sororities have grown from groups of a handful of women to chapters of over three hundred members. The National Panhellenic Conference's outline of the formal extension process has helped structure this growth, enabling the process to meet the needs of growing collegiate Panhellenic communities and allow NPC member sororities to continue to expand the reaches of their sisterhood. The process can be highly competitive, characterized by applications, interviews, and presentations, …

An In-Depth Comparison Of Three Fast Food Industry Giants: How Chick-Fil-A Differs From Mcdonald's And Wendy's In The Growth From Humble Beginnings To Become Multi-Billion Dollar Companies, Jonathan Cardwell

Honors Theses

From humble beginnings to industry giants, three companies have combined for over 163 years of implementing innovative business models and growing sales across the globe. Chick-fil-A, McDonald's, and Wendy's have accounted for tens of billions of dollars in sales revenue since their respective inceptions. Chick-fil-A is a family-owned company started and run by S. Truett Cathy and his children. McDonald's is an industry juggernaut created by Ray Kroc, and Dave Thomas founded Wendy's. Over the years, Chick-fil-A has prioritized its growth by maintaining their high quality standards in exchange for a slower growth rate. McDonald's has grown rapidly to an …

Effects Of Micro-Solvation On Room Temperature Ionic Liquids, Joseph Wellington Golden

Honors Theses

Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) have received much attention lately. These compounds are made completely of ions and are liquid at or near room temperature. These liquid salts have a number of unique properties that make them an interesting system to study. These properties include almost zero vapor pressure, thermal stability, large liquidus range, etc. Due to these properties and others, ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted much attention in the emerging field of green chemistry as potentially new solvents for many of the hazardous and volatile solvents currently in use. Moreover, the complex interactions of the anion and cation systems …

Roles Of Speech-Language Pathologists In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Katy Lane Greenlee

Honors Theses

This thesis examined the roles of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) within the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). In 2004, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association published a set of policy documents regarding speech-language pathology practice in the NICU. Research compiled in the literature review explained and supported each of the roles listed in the ASHA policy documents. The literature also revealed that very few sources specific to the speech-language pathology field addressed roles other than those related to feeding and swallowing evaluation and intervention. This research investigated ASHA-certified, masters-level SLPs' familiarity with each of their possible roles in the NICU, as well as …

The Differential Effects Of Mandatory And Voluntary Auditor Rotation On Investors' Expectations Of Financial Reporting Aggressiveness And Willingness To Invest, Kelsey Maynord

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Social Media On Marketing Strategy; Insights From Retail Organizations And Consumers, Margaret Anne Mcdonald

Honors Theses

The rise in the popularity of social media platforms has been the catalyst for businesses to take notice of this new marketing tool that facilitates the interaction with potential target markets. Consumers of all demographics have begun integrating social media into their everyday lives, recognizing that participating in a social media platform is an efficient use of their time. No longer is social media only for the young and techsavvy; All markets can find a platform that caters to their interests. Businesses are having a hard time when trying to figure out how to use social media in a way …

A Level Playing Field: The Big Business Of College Sports And Recommendations For Reform, Orry Stephen Thomas Mcdonald

Honors Theses

"A Le\-el Playing Field: The Big Business of College Sports" was inspired b} the controversies that e.xist \\'ithin collegiate sport. B>' using both primaiy and secondar}- sources, information v\’as gathered to help shed light on the true nature of college athletics. This infonuation was primarily of a historical or financial nature. .Ufter close examination, it appears nearly impossible to detemiine whether or not most college athletic programs generate substemtial revenues, although man\- uni\’ersities seem to benefit from the indirect benefits of fielding "big-time” sports teams (increased enrollment, increased alumni donations, economic stimulation, etc.). However, the college athletes are left …

A Pseudo-Panathenaic Amphora By The Nikoxenos Painter, Robert Christopher Miller

Honors Theses

A pseudo-Panathenaic amphora in the University of Mississippi Museum poses many interesting questions to the modem viewer. By whom was this vase made, where, and for whom? This monograph is an attempt to shed light on these questions. A sustained inquiry will be made concerning the artist, the Nikoxenos Painter, as well as the iconography of the amphora. We shall consider the Panathenaic Festival of Athens, the prize amphorae that were awarded to victors in athletic competitions, and “pseudo- Panathenaic amphorae,” those amphorae with the shape of a Panathenaic amphora but a different iconography. In the process of this examination, …

The Effect Of The Economic Crisis Of 2008 On The Basque And Catalan Nationalist Movements In Spain, Anastasia Artiom Varenita

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Mixed Record: Water Privatization In Latin America, Brianna Nicole Van Stekelenburg

Honors Theses

This thesis examines to what extent the Latin American experience suggests privatization is a promising path to deliver a reliable and affordable water supply. In order to address this question, the thesis studies whether water privatization has worked in Latin America by examining three case studies. The countries that are used for the case studies are Bolivia, Chile and Peru. The thesis is made up of five chapters. The first chapter contains general information on water as a human right and an economic good. Each case study is comprised of a chapter and focuses on five main dimensions that serve …

An Assessment Of Primary Care Physician Shortages In Mississippi, Megumi Diane Mathis

Honors Theses

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, there are Health Professional Shortage Areas in all states and territories of the United States.' Since fewer students graduating from medical school are choosing primary care," it is imperative that future graduates in the field know which regions are in greatest need of primary care physicians. In a joint effort with the Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, this thesis used data obtained from the Mississippi Department of Health, the United States Census Bureau, the Mississippi State Medical Association, and the Mississippi State Board of …

Resolving The Structural Paradox Of Retail Transnational Corporations: A Case Study Of Walmart In Latin America, Arlissa Nicole Whisenant

Honors Theses

This research focuses on the structural paradox of retail transnational corporations through a case study of Walmart in Latin America. The structural paradox is defined as the struggle to find a successful balance between localization and standardization efforts. Through the analysis of the failures and successes of Walmart in Latin America and supplemental examples of Walmart in other markets, I argue that intense localization efforts in areas with direct customer contact (front-end operations), as well as in areas without direct customer contact, like management and planning (back-end operations), are necessary in order to be successful in international markets.

Welcome To The "Backstage" Of Musical Theatre, Emily Erin Wicks

Honors Theses

Unlike most fields, performing is an occupation that does not require formal education. However, most performers need training to perfect their craft in order to be successful. Higher education is one training outlet that is used by some performers, but not many. In a performance degree program at an institution of higher education. performers are not just trained in the art, but they are also taught about the business of the theatre industry. Although, often, what is taught is not enough knowledge for performers to truly succeed and make theatre a lifetime career. This thesis is directed towards an audience …

Recycling Behavior In Germany In The Early 1990s: Person-Level And Contextual Determinants Of Recycling, Jacqueline Grace Boyce

Honors Theses

Although there is an abundance of information about recycling determinants and the effects of German reunification, this thesis combines these two areas to fill in a gap that has not previously been researched. This research aims to investigate factors that make a person more likely to recycle, particularly a German in the early 1990s, while especially targeting the difference between eastern and western Germans. This project involves background research, statistical analysis and interviews and reaches two conclusions. Firstly, recycling behavior is difficult to explain in Germany at this time because of the high rates of recycling in place. Secondly, recycling …

Shifting Local Ecologies: Biocultural Interactions And Ecuadorian Public Health, Sabrina Bradford

Honors Theses

Though biology is considered universal, this thesis argues against the assumption of the universal applications of biomedicine in favor of a biocultural approach, emphasizing shifting local ecologies in an increasingly globalized world. This research investigated Ecuadorian health within an ecological context in coordination with an international public health internship that was completed through the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and the Ecuadorian Ministerio de Salud Pública. Throughout this thesis, examples are provided demonstrating that globalization, though appearing as a homogenous process on the international level, creates heterogeneous effects on the local scale. To explain the mechanisms and implications of these …

Human Rights In Transit: Nationality, Anti-Haitianism, And The Reactionary State In The Dominican Republic, Ryan Keith Ezelle

Honors Theses

The Dominican Republic and Haiti share a long and troubled history in which race, ethnicity, and culture have been the primary factors in each country’s contrasting national narrative and identity. For many decades Haitians living in the Dominican Republic and their descendants have suffered from lack of recognition from the Dominican government, but since the 1990s this ensuing condition of statelessness has become more widespread and has been greatly aggravated by several actions taken by the Dominican State. In the first decade of the 2000s, the State introduced new laws and policies, including the Law 285 on Immigration, the civil …

Congress And Its Other Budget Problem: An Examination Of The Effect Of Campaign Contributions On Congress' Decision-Making, Joe Hollis Higdon

Honors Theses

While there is significant study concerning the source of money in Congressional campaigns, comparatively little is geared towards demonstrating the link between Congress’s decision-making and the interests of the donors. By examining individual statements made during the Congressional “Supercommittee” meetings and the overall voting behavior of the Congress during specific debates, this paper finds that the link between donors’ interests and members’ votes are varyingly correlated due to other factors, but in general the link is more tenuous than is popularly believed.

The Great Depression In Wilkinson County Mississippi: A Collection Of Oral Histories, Ashley Ann Johnson

Honors Theses

This research studied the time period of the Great Depression in the lives of seven individuals who lived in Wilkinson County, Mississippi. The individuals answered a series of questions, all the same, in an attempt to distinguish the differences and similarities in their lives during the Great Depression. The research focuses on the belief that many of the individuals went through the same experiences. The research discovered that even though the Great Depression caused much suffering across the nation, the rural people of Wilkinson County already suffered from bad times and the Great Depression did not alter their lifestyles negatively, …