Digital Commons Network^™

‘Maybe It's What We've Been Doing?’: Exploring Mtss For Emergent Bilingual Students With Disabilities, Crystal Nunez

Honors Theses

This qualitative study investigated the interpretation and implementation of Multi-Tiered System
of Supports (MTSS) as it related to emergent bilingual students with disabilities in one of the
largest suburban school districts in Upstate New York. The purpose of this study was to explore
the needs, experiences, beliefs, and practices (individual and collaborative) of teachers who
support a growing population of emergent bilingual students with and without disabilities and their
families in an increasingly diverse suburban community. The goal of this study is to inform best
practices as well as new directions in research, policy, and educators’ continued and supportive
professional …

Exploring The Role Of The Id2 And Rab11fip3 Pathway In X-Linked Chronic Granulomatous Disease (Xcgd) Through Comparative Gene Expression Analysis, Kaili Coenen

Honors Theses

X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (XCGD) is a debilitating immunodeficiency disorder primarily affecting men. The disease results from mutations in the CYBB gene on the X chromosome, which encodes the GP91^PHOX protein responsible for electron transfer from NADPH to molecular oxygen. Despite the identification of the CYBB mutation, the pathological mechanism underlying the reduction in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in XCGD remains unclear. We hypothesized that comparative gene expression analysis, combined with pathway analysis, could identify genes and signaling pathways contributing to reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in XCGD. In this study, we analyzed gene expression data from four …

The Relationship Between Sense Of Agency And Perceived Stigma In Those With Cognitive Disabilities, Scarlet S. Pardue

Honors Theses

The focus population of this study is those with cognitive disabilities, which limit in some way a person’s ability to complete mental tasks, such as communication, planning, or remembering. The primary purpose is to focus on the participants' sense of agency and perceived stigma. The Sense of Agency Scale (SoA) measures a participant’s consciously perceived control over their mind, body, and the immediate environment. The Perceived Disability Social Stigma Scale (PDSS) measures to what degree participants believe that people with disabilities are stigmatized in their respective communities. Confirmatory research into these two variables offers an interesting insight into how the …

“How Close To The Edge We Are”: Ecologically Reading The Frontiers Of Joan Didion’S Early Nonfiction, Mia R. Speller

Honors Theses

Joan Didion’s work is heavily regional and rooted in place, whether that be the place about which she writes or, by contrast, the place she leaves in order to do her writing. This place-based context takes root in many American ideologies and mythos, like that of the frontier mentality and golden dream. For this reason, exploring Didion’s use of natural metaphor and description as she discusses various cultural phenomena is essential to understanding the layers of her social critiques of 1960’s and 1970’s American culture, especially as they reflect on the failures of the frontier ideology. Further, looking at her …

Survey On Application Of Large Language Models In Network Attack And Defense, Prisha Purohit

Honors Theses

The emergence of Large Language Models (LLMs) has significantly transformed the technological and cybersecurity landscape, introducing both unprecedented opportunities and formidable challenges. With the public release of ChatGPT in 2022, LLMs have gained global prominence, redefining natural language processing capabilities and enabling advancements across various fields. In cybersecurity, these models represent a dual-use technology: while they offer powerful tools for threat detection, automated analysis, and security training, they also pose risks when leveraged by malicious actors for phishing, social engineering, and the creation of evasive malware. This thesis presents a comprehensive literature review exploring the dual roles of LLMs in …

Stop Asian Hate: Durable Political Efficacy From Crisis?, Kristina Thompson

Honors Theses

The Stop Asian Hate Movement emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic as a pivotal moment of Asian American social resistance and activism. This study examines the movement as a form of Asian American solidarity forged through racialized crisis, assessing whether that solidarity can be translated into a sustained sense of political efficacy. It begins with a brief account of the Asian American experience, contextualizing political development and barriers to participation. The analysis then turns to the Asian American Movement (AAM) of the late 1960s and 1970s, highlighting instances of Asian social and racial resistance in the face of traditional obstacles. From …

Bridging The Nature Gap: Understanding Barriers And Promoting Outdoor Engagement Among African Americans In Chattanooga, Kennie Almonor

Honors Theses

This paper outlines my process of writing a physical guidebook for outdoor engagement in Chattanooga. It explores the historical context of Black exclusion from outdoor spaces and examines the health disparities that disproportionately affect Black communities. The physical connection between outdoor activity and overall well-being will also be explained. Additionally, this paper details my methodology for conducting focus groups to better understand barriers to outdoor engagement and how participant insights could inform the guidebook’s development. This paper also outlines my research on best practices for structuring an effective guide, writing process, challenges faced, and considerations for extending this project in …

Improving Research Software Engineering In Mathematics, Abram Miller

Honors Theses

Research Software Engineering is critical to modern mathematical research, enabling the creation, maintenance, and dissemination of computational tools that bridge theory and practice. However, the field faces systemic challenges, including insufficient funding, lack of institutional recognition, and gaps in training and infrastructure. This thesis investigates these challenges through two approaches: (1) a comparative survey study focused on mathematicians and (2) hands-on contributions to an open-source research software project.

The Improving Research Software Engineering in Mathematics survey, conducted from September 2024 to January 2025, adapts the survey framework developed by Carver et al. in A survey of the state of the …

Perceptions Of Power And Consent: The Role Of Gender, Race, And Sexual Orientation In Assessments Of Victimhood In High School Student-Teacher Relationships, India Campbell

Honors Theses

Sexual abuse, in all of its many forms, has been a controversial topic for centuries. This project looks at a specific subset of sexual abuse: high school student-teacher assaults. Victims of sexual abuse often face barriers to justice. This project addresses several demographic barriers. Research has shown that people of color and members of the queer community are typically reluctant to report due to police and societal perceptions of these groups. Teenagers face additional challenges, such as not know how their peers, parents, school, or community will react. Additionally, their abuser is an authority figure, meaning that these victims could …

Reap What You Sow: Using Historic Enrollment Data To Strategically Recruit Students, Hayden Cherry

Honors Theses

As the higher education landscape continues to become more competitive, adapting our marketing strategies to affordably recruit students will be imperative to maintaining both relevance and financial stability. Research has predicted an increase in tension as institutions weather the enrollment cliff, a period characterized by a steep decline in the number of college-age students in the United States. While this research is useful in informing our outlook in the coming years, there is little research surrounding the most efficacious methods for recruiting college students. Using data from Mississippi State University's Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness on student status and …

Media And Attitudes: Glp-1 Medications For Weight Loss, Wiio Meinheit

Honors Theses

This thesis aimed to explore relationships between media and attitudes toward using GLP-1/antidiabetic medications for weight loss. This survey-based study collected data on media usage, consumer behaviors, and attitudes from students attending a public, mid-major university in the southern United States. Data from the survey was statistically analyzed to find significant relationships and correlations between variables. The results showed that attitudes toward GLP-1/antidiabetic medications for weight loss had the strongest correlation with willingness to try these medications recommended by famous athletes. The results also showed that attitudes strongly correlated with willingness to try these medications recommended by social media influencers …

An Introduction And Examination Of Firm-On-Firm Activism, Martha Jimena Paredes Villela

Honors Theses

This research examines firm-on-firm activism, defined as public, coercive actions taken by corporations against another corporation to influence them socio-politically. I investigate how consumers evaluate this emerging form of corporate activism using costly signaling theory. I propose that consumers will perceive firm-on-firm activism as more authentic due to the financial and nonfinancial costs incurred by the firm, ultimately leading to increased consumer support. An online experiment will manipulate the type of corporate activism (firm-on-firm vs. traditional) and measure perceived costs, authenticity, and consumer support intentions. This study contributes to the corporate activism literature by introducing and examining a novel form …

Addressing The Gap: A Comparative Case Analysis Of The First Week Of School In Two Second-Grade Classrooms, Madeline Roberts

Honors Theses

The first week of school in the United States public school system constantly evolves as stakeholders strive to create the most functional programs for the students served. Multiple factors come into play during the first week, including classroom management, initial academic instruction, and socioemotional learning. This research project aims to compare and contrast these various factors through a qualitative comparative case study. The specific investigation examines similarities and differences in two public schools, second-grade classrooms at Southside Elementary School located in Lake View County School District, Mississippi (LCSD) and Local Elementary School located in Westbrook County Schools, Tennessee (WCS). Both …

Lateral Violence Awareness In Nursing Students At The University Of Southern Mississippi, Aika Owens

Honors Theses

The purpose of this honors thesis was to obtain descriptive data about how nursing students at the University of Southern Mississippi School of Professional Nursing Practice perceive lateral violence in their clinical rotations and educational environments. This Honors thesis is significant to nursing because although lateral violence is a well-researched topic among scholars of nursing practice, there is little gathered data regarding lateral violence among nursing students, specifically at the University of Southern Mississippi. Nursing students are a vital population to examine because nursing students are often first exposed to lateral violence within a clinical setting, leading to early internalization …

Technical Difficulties: An Investigation Of Problematic Social Media Usage And Well-Being Of Emerging Adults, Sarah Swan

Honors Theses

Grounded in previous scholarship investigating the relationship between social media use and psychoemotional outcomes, this study conceptualizes and tests a comprehensive model that constellates predictive factors (i.e., time spent, platforms selected, purposes of use, and emotional regulation abilities) and negative behavioral and emotional outcomes (i.e., addiction and emotional affect), specifically among emerging adults (ages 18-29). A survey of 591 respondents revealed that high usage of certain platforms (i.e., Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook), alongside individual emotional regulation abilities and passivity of social media use, predicts higher levels of addiction and negative emotional outcomes. Additional findings indicate significant differences in social media …

Supplementation Of Magnesium Glycinate: Testing The Acute Effects Of Magnesium Glycinate On The Stress Levels Of College Students, Meagan Bubeck

Honors Theses

he usage of supplements and vitamins to increase health has become a common practice in the United States. However, the true effects are not always well-known and can differ across brands, population, and other factors. In college, many students are functioning in high stress conditions, and some may result to going on anti-anxiety or depression medications. To see if Magnesium supplementation could be a potential first step in improving the stress levels present in the student population, the effects of Mg were studied in a population of 10 participants. Participant data was studied in both an Mg and placebo condition …

Public Building Accessibility: An Expanded Access Analysis Metric, Carolyn Wilkinson

Honors Theses

Quality accessibility features significantly impact the user experience in public service facilities; however, much of the research in this area tends to focus on code compliance, limiting the ability to analyze accessibility quality in depth. Additionally, studies often concentrate on common mobility challenges, leaving less focus on other disabilities, such as cognitive and visual impairments. As a public institution, the University of Southern Mississippi depends on students' abilities to access its services, directly linking the institution’s value to the quality of its accessibility. To address this, we developed a set of survey questions to evaluate the accessibility features of campus …

Relationships Between The Social Deprivation Index And Mental Health Outcomes In Sexual And Gender Minority Adults, Bea Twilbeck

Honors Theses

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations include individuals who identify as non-heterosexual and/or whose gender identity does not align with their sex assigned at birth. SGM populations experience higher rates of social deprivation—disadvantages including socioeconomic factors and living conditions—compared to non-SGM groups. While the current body of research highlights the negative health impacts of social deprivation, no work has yet assessed the extent to which SGM status moderates associations between social deprivation and mental health symptoms. This study aimed to fill that gap by examining associations between social deprivation and mental health symptoms, as well as whether this relationship varies …

A Survey On Faculty Summer Compensation In Accounting, Abby Box

Honors Theses

Many colleges and universities have paid faculty approximately one-ninth of their annual base salary to teach a summer course for years. Since more accounting schools and departments have become separately accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), there has been increased pressure to increase research output. Additionally, many states have seen reductions in higher education funding. Therefore, universities have tried to use summer school as a new funding source by increasing enrollment minimums in summer classes and reducing summer school pay rates for faculty. This study incorporates a 26-question survey sent to 580 directors and chairs …

The Effects Of Covid-19 On Educators In South Mississippi, Alexis Papp

Honors Theses

This study was focused on discovering what may have caused educators in kindergarten through 8^th grade classrooms in mid-south Mississippi to leave or consider leaving the profession as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic within different content areas. Participants identified issues within the system that diminished their abilities to educate their students effectively and this diminishment was related to the pandemic. Research from “Mississippi Teachers Are Eyeing the Exit” (Ballard, 2023) and “Teachers’ Dissatisfaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Factors Contributing to a Desire to Leave the Profession” (Gillani, 2022) showed that teachers were having strong difficulties during the pandemic …

Finding A Choreographic Relationship Between Music And Dance Performance, Grace Dugas

Honors Theses

The choreographic project increase emerged from a choreographic curiosity about how the relationship between dance and music can influence each other within a contemporary dance performance. The choreographer was also interested in whether or not the audience can perceive the choreomusical relationship. The exploration of literature considered the aesthetic, educational, and accessibility differences between dance and music. This is followed by a detailed exploration of related terminology and ideas that choreographers can utilize. Lastly, the literature studied how the audience can perceive the choreomusical relationship presented in a dance performance. The choreographer, with the assistance of the dancers, generated movement …

Privacy-Aware Ai-Based Agricultural Monitoring Using Internet Of Drones, Md Benozir Hossain

Honors Theses

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a vital tool for agricultural farming. AI-based image processing models utilizing different machine learning (ML) algorithms and deep learning (DL) offer advanced functionalities in disease detection, yield estimation, land use, etc. This thesis examines AI-driven techniques utilizing Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) with the addition of Federated Learning (FL) to analyze satellite and drone images for agricultural insights, especially in detecting Cotton diseases. The AI models improve agricultural farming in many ways, such as using data to make critical decisions, reducing labor costs, pest infestations, etc. Moreover, these models allow farmers to minimize yield losses by …

Cellular Telemetry For Real-Time River Flow Velocity Data From Fluvial Acoustic Tomography Loggers, Joshua Lee Seymour

Honors Theses

Streamflow is a critical element in understanding watershed processes and the effects of land use on those processes because it is the primary medium through which water, sediment, nutrients, organic material, thermal energy, and aquatic species move. Fluvial Acoustic Tomography (FAT) systems offer accurate direct measurements of river section-averaged flow velocity by measuring reciprocal acoustic travel times between at least two acoustic nodes positioned on opposite riverbanks. However, similar to many in-situ sensors used in estuarine and riverine environments, FAT loggers require manual data retrieval, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and limits real-time access and increases maintenance costs. This project presents …

Engaging Scientific Sense-Making: An Analysis Of Participation Within Informal Science Interaction, Spencer Barbier

Honors Theses

While science learning in formal educational settings has been extensively examined using frameworks such as Bloom’s Taxonomy, its application to informal science educational environments remains underexplored. Informal science education—occurring outside traditional classrooms—presents unique challenges for evaluation due to its unstructured nature and diverse audiences. This action research study aimed to address this gap by developing and testing a framework that categorizes learner responses into high-order and low-order answers, based on Bloom’s six cognitive domains. The study was conducted at the Hattiesburg Zoo, where a docent volunteer presented two separate docent boxes, or mini science lessons, to members of the public. …

The Effect Of The Black Ink Red Ink Testing Method On Anxiety Levels, Test Performance, And Note-Taking Behavior Among College Students, Peyton Murphy

Honors Theses

Anxiety among students has emerged as a pressing concern due to its significant impact on academic performance and mental well-being (Chen, 2004; Davis, DiStefano, & Schutz, 2008) and is particularly evident in student performance within STEM-related courses (Magula, 2019; Vakili & Pourrazavy, 2017). Previous research has explored various factors influencing test anxiety, including testing methods. The present study examined a testing method called "Black Ink Red Ink" (BIRI), proposed by Rodgers and Rodgers (2011). The effects of the BIRI method were examined on (1) test anxiety, (2) test scores, and (3) note taking motivation and behaviors. Thirty-eight students in a …

Archival Literacy Principles As Facilitated By University Websites: A Webometric Content Analysis, Abigail Bowers

Honors Theses

Archival literacy, the skills and knowledge one needs to effectively utilize an archive or special collections, is often taught to undergraduate students during one-shot instruction sessions or semester-long courses. For users who do not attend these sessions, archives may be inaccessible due to a lack of archival literacy. In the digital age, one way for institutions to bridge the gap between archives and users who do not attend these instruction sessions is by creating websites that align with principles of archival literacy.

This study utilizes a webometric content analysis methodology to analyze how well the homepages of institutions of higher …

Divine Condemnation And Psychological Flexibility: Viewing Psychological Distress Through A Religious Lens, Abby Chittenden

Honors Theses

Recent research has shown the widespread prevalence of psychological distress. Religion can operate both as a resource as well as a problem or barrier to good mental health. Given that some individuals attribute mental distress to religious or spiritual causes, such as punishment from God or demonic involvement, this research examines how these beliefs influence emotional regulation and mental health outcomes. The study surveyed 1,304 participants, including 686 undergraduate students and 618 online participants, to assess their religious attributions, psychological flexibility, and level of distress. The results indicated that those in the general sample who viewed their mental health struggles …

Transcendental Blooms: Margaret Fuller And The Radical Language Of Flowers, Jenna Mcclain

Honors Theses

Situated between the literary periods of American Romanticism and Transcendentalism, Margaret Fuller’s writings vary in their topic and medium, offering a unique fusion of literary style as well as a refined yet radical social perspective. Fuller’s work frequently employs flowers as tools for communication rather than as mere symbols, with flowers acting as transmitters of Fuller’s philosophical message in her many sketches and poems. In “The Magnolia of Lake Pontchartrain,” one of her most famous prose sketches, Fuller explores flowers in a nuanced way that exemplifies how floral representations function more like characters than objects in her work. While scholars …

The Effect Of Gender On Career Success In Remote Work Settings In The Accounting Profession, Ashlyn Roche

Honors Theses

This study analyzed the career success assessments of hypothetical male and female public accountants working in remote and traditional office settings to determine if gender and work location affect work assessment. Subjects, practicing public accountants, were randomly assigned resumes of hypothetical accountants that included indications of either remote work or traditional office work and the gender of the assigned hypothetical accountants. Resumes of hypothetical accountants were otherwise identical. After initial assessments of assigned hypothetical accountants’ future career success, subjects were asked to recommend activities that would increase the likelihood of the accountants’ future career success. Subjects were then told that …

The Impact Of Hazardous Noise Levels On The Hearing Mechanism Of Marching Band Students, Margaret Westbrook

Honors Theses

Marching band participants are exposed to hazardous noise levels, and they are at risk of developing hearing loss. In this study, the impact of marching band noise on the hearing mechanism of marching band students was examined. Participants who were not in the marching band and were not exposed to noise were used as controls. Detailed case history and noise exposure history were collected using a noise exposure questionnaire (NEQ). The pure tone audiometry test was conducted to examine their hearing, distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) were recorded to examine the inner ear function, and auditory brainstem responses (ABR) were …