Digital Commons Network^™

Conflicting Interests In The Swiss Alps: A Comparative Study Of International Environmental Governance, Shelley Clark

Honors Theses

I owe a great deal ofthanks to the people who helped with my thesis. First, my advisor Dr. John Sonnett helped shape and edit my thesis more than anyone else. My third-reader Dr. Ann Fisher-Wirth and my second-reader Dr. Kees Gispen should also be given credit for the completion ofmy thesis. Dr. Fisher-Wirth has been an inspiration to me since my first year at Ole Miss. She planted the seeds of environmentalism in my head and also fostered the exchange program with the University ofFribourg. Completing the thesis component for the Honors College and the Croft Institute has been an …

Chinese Popular Opinion Towards The One Child Policy, Alyssa W. Yuen

Honors Theses

Alyssa W. Yuen: Chinese's Popular Opinion Towards the One Child Policy (Under the direction ofDr. Gang Guo)

The One Child Policy has been implemented since 1980, and is the world’s longest implemented population control policy. Popular opinion towards the policy is inevitable. This thesis attempts to explain the rationale behind the One Child Policy, the impacts the policy has had on China socially, economically, and environmentally, and the effects the policy has had on the Chinese population. The research question for this thesis is, "What affects Chinese popular opinion about the One Child Policy?”

The first section ofthis thesis illustrates …

Under The Blow Dryer: A Study Of Three Fictional Beauty Shops, Leslie Johns Ray

Honors Theses

In this thesis I explore how the beauty shop provides economic and social power to the women who own, operate, and patronize the fictional beauty shops over a seventy Petrified Man," Robert Marling's play Steel year time span in Eudora Welty's short story Magnolias, and director Bille Woodruffs film Beauty Shop. 1 have researched historical and sociological studies on American beauty shops and hterai*y studies of these works to discover common themes between fictional and actual beauty shops. Within the beauty shop, women often create a space independent of gender, race, economic, and class barriers present outside the shop walls. …

Bridge Over The River Kawaii: Examining The Consumption Of Anime And Manga In The United States, Luke Daniel Schwalm

Honors Theses

The sale of manga, Japanese comic books, and anime, its animated counterpart, in the United States has become a multi-million dollar enterprise and both mediums have gained an increasingly large fandom. Based on the framework of Said’s conception of orientalism and using information gathered from observing seven popular anime and manga internet forums and five semi-structured interviews this thesis seeks to understand how a segment of this fandom, namely those of its members who are active in online discussion, consume manga and anime and how this consumption affects their views of Japan. In conducting this research I found that the …

The Mythic Method At Work In The Travel Writing Of Bruce Chatwin, Paul Theroux, And V.S. Naipaul, Benjamin Bryant Sloan

Honors Theses

Bruce Chatwin, Paul Theroux, and V.S. Naipaul travel to remove what V.S. Naipaul calls their “area of darkness," by which he means those places in the world and places within themselves that are unexplored firsthand. They are much more interested in subjective impressions of the world than objective representations. In fact, these writers strive for subjectivity. But with subjectivity comes doubt and chaos, and a tool that these authors use to order their worlds and their works is the mythic method. All three of these writers are highly influenced by literary modernism and by sources across the ages, but in …

Harry Potter And The Religious Right: An In-Depth Look At The Christian Undertones In J.K. Rowling's Series, Cody Pharr Hall

Honors Theses

This thesis involves an investigation of the Christian elements in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter book series. Methods and procedures included researching right wing religious responses to the Harry Potter series through media outlets. Each book was read and analyzed in response to religious objections. The series was explicated and studied for religious themes and ideas. The claims of the witchcraft content in the series were researched and expounded upon. Supplementary readers were used, and commentators were relied upon for certain cited ideas. The findings of this thesis are that fringe religious groups who oppose the Potter series are misinformed in …

A Study Of Attendee's Motivations: Oxford Film Festival, Taylor Elizabeth Thomas

Honors Theses

The obesity rate among Americans has been growing at an alarming rate in recent years; because of this, there has been much inquiry into the possible causes, interventions, and prevention methods for this problem. One major trend that appears to have an impact on this obesity epidemic is the large proportion of meals eaten outside the home namely, at fast food or sit-down restaurants. This trend is especially prevalent among college students, whose lifestyle is generally marked by an abundance of stress coupled with a lack of time and money. Because of this lifestyle and a lack of food preparation …

An Analysis Of Personal Transformation And Musical Adaptation In Vocal Compositions Of Kurt Weill, Elizabeth Rose Williamson

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the compositional transitions in the musical career of Kurt Weill as seen in his Gcmian, French, and American works. Weill was a Gemian-bom composer who was forced to immigrate to France in the 1920’s. He then immigrated to America where he composed for both stage and screen. Specific vocal works by the composer in each country were studied. Research was conducted through the analysis of sheet music, recordings, and a vocal performance of the specific pieces studied. Recordings provided the important aspect of understanding the appropriate vocal style for the music as preferred by the composer. The …

Jewish Identity And Interaction In The American South, Amelia Bartlett Gamble

Honors Theses

There once was a significant Jewish population that settled throughout the South and made a life as prominent members of their communities. I wanted to know what life was like for these people, and I wanted to know why the Jewish population dwindled over time in the South. In short, I wanted to learn about the Southern Jewish experience. I read many scholarly articles about Jews in the South in order to see Jews in a historical context, and I relied on memoirs and autobiographies to provide personal accounts. I also watched documentaries on Jews in the South in order …

The Pendulum's Dance With Dictatorship And Democracy: A Look At Journalistic Successes And Failures Of The Twentieth Century Spanish Press, Margaret Whitaker Hutter

Honors Theses

The Spanish press has been compared by some to a pendulum, oscillating back and forth between a free press and a press subject to complete censorship by the Spanish government. This thesis is a study of the twentieth-century Spanish press between the years 1939 and 1989. In it I examine the swinging of the pendulum of the Spanish press between the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, the transition to democracy, and throughout the first decade of the established democratic Spanish state. I take a critical look at the journalistic successes, failures and trends of the Spanish press throughout this 50-year scope …

Seek Justice. Love Your Neighbor’: An Integrated Marketing Communications Campaign For International Justice Mission, Emily Jane Laird

Honors Theses

I luman trafficking, slavery, and similar forms of oppression plague millions ot people around tlie world—yet these problems are virtually unknown to much of the American population. International Justice Mission (IJM), a non-profit human rights agency based in Washington. D.C.. is working to defeat these issues in foreign nations by raising both funds and awareness of the issues within the United States. Like all non-profit organizations, IJM serves two types ot clients—those that receive assistance through its services and those that provide the resources necessary to serve the other client group. Finding the right balance to successfully serve both groups …

Comparative Analysis Of Salt And Water Fluoridation In Non-Industrialized Countries, Chelsea Elizabeth Mitchell

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Policies Addressing Obesity: A Comparison Of South Korea And The United States, Sarah Elizabeth Rogers

Honors Theses

The purpose of this project is to compare the actions taken by South Korea, one of the countries with the lowest obesity rate, and the United States, one of the countries with the highest obesity rate, and analyze the programs to draw lessons from which we can learn. Through this thesis project, I address the problem of the increasing prevalence of obesity in the United States, present information from available literature, compare the current programs and nutrition policies in South Korea and the United States, and justify ethical government intervention into nutrition. From the comparison between these countries and their …

Play By The Rules: An Allegroical Respons To The Contemporary Problems Faced By The Print Journalism Industry, Thomas Koonce Sanders

Honors Theses

My purpose for writing this type of thesis is to be to engage the reader first and foremost. Any attempt at allegoiy or personal opinion is immediately lost without an entertaining and believable stoiy. I sincerely believe that the best pieces of writing are the ones that inspire change rather than just advocating it. As with any work of fiction, hopefully the readers can find some amount of truth in the storytelling and apply it to their lives. In the case of Play by the Rules, even if the allegory seems brittle, I also hope as an author that readers …

Quintessense: B.F.A. Painting Exhibit, Sarah Elizabeth Story

Honors Theses

I have entitled this series Quintessence because it is defined as the pure and concentrated essence of a substance, the most perfect embodiment of something. As a result my subject matter is simplified to its most basic state without losing its Identity. This allows for a new awareness of a familiar object. By choosing subjects with crystal-like surfaces, the Interior emerges when light passes through it. The blending of colors creates beautiful distortions that alter our perception of what we see. Through close observation, what Is seen within the form are abstractions, transforming the viewer’s recognition of the image. The …

Making A Difference Through Design, Haley Brooke Hill

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I discuss the following four novels: Meridian by Alice Walker, Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine by Bebe Moore Campbell, The Summer We Got Saved by Pat Cunningham Devoto, and Four Spirits by Sena Jeter Naslund. In these novels, I look at the relationships between black female characters and white female characters. I analyze the ways in which their relationships are formed, the historic background that provides the setting for their relationships, and the author’s personal relationship with the text. Looking at cross-racial relationships among women in these novels shows that the authors attempt to reconcile relationships in …

Molecular Analysis Of Endophytic Bacteria Associated With Lettuce., Shelly Leigh Osborn

Honors Theses

Bacteria associated with lettuce and spinach have been linked to outbreaks of infectious diseases in humans. While studies have examined the culturable bacteria residing on lettuce surfaces, few have evaluated the non-culturable bacteria within the plant. This study used molecular techniques to examine the bacterial community present in five different salad greens (green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, and baby spinach). Both conventionally and organically grown samples of each salad type were examined, and samples were processed as purchased and following surface sterilization. DNA was extracted from homogenized samples and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used …

The Development Of Renewable Energy Policy In The European Union: The Cases Of Spain, Germany, And The United Kingdom, Michael Impey Aubrey

Honors Theses

This thesis is concerned with the development of renewable energy policies in the countries of Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom. By examining these three diverse countries, this thesis attempts to determine whether renewable and/or environmental policies are more influenced by national (domestic) factors, in terms of public opinion and media attention, or by supranational (international) factors, in terms of European Union directives, international obligations, and access to fossil fuels. The thesis hypothesizes that domestic factors are the primary catalysts for renewable energy promotion within their respective countries. The theories of nationalism and supranationalism are examined in a theoretical framework. …

Candidate Non-Emergence Or Voter Bias? Explaining The Scarcity Of Female Politicians In The Southern United States And The Impact Of Cultural Conservatism On Gender Representation In American Politics, Lily Catherine Hall

Honors Theses

Historically, the United States has consistently elected a smaller percentage of women in all levels of political office when compared to the population at large. Today, the average percentage of American females in politics lags behind the world average. However, some United States regions have fewer female representatives than others; presently, all but one of the Southern states have a smaller percentage of women in politics than the national average. Because of the American concurrence of the importance of equal rights, a lack of female political representatives specifically in the South is of cultural and political significance. In this study, …

Charming Politics: Magic And Power In Medieval And Early Modern Texts, Grace Elaine Mcmahen

Honors Theses

In this thesis, 1 look at three works: The Sorcery Trial of Alice Kyieler, an account written in 1324 by Bishop Ledrede about his time in Ireland; Dr. Faustus, a play by- Christopher Marlowe published in 1604 but first performed in 1592: and The Tempest, a play written by William Shakespeare in 1610. 1 am reading these works as literary texts, even The Sorcery Trial of Alice Kyieler because of how a literary representation can reveal information about the subconscious and can speak m code about a subject, where historical texts do so to a lesser extent. 1 explore the …

Mississippi: Striving For Average, Policies And Suggestions To Combat The State's Obesity Epidemic, Emily Marie Morton

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Urbanization Fo Chinese Citizenship: A Case Study Of Shanghai And Suzhou, Ryan James Parsons

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Water, Water Everywhere: An Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of World Bank's And Unicef's Efforts To Provide Access To Clean Water In Nigeria, Jessica-Phillips Tyson

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the debate surrounding the effectiveness of international aid organizations’ efforts to reduce poverty and promote economic development. Its goal is consider two major international organizations, World Bank and UNICEF, in order to make a judgment on which approach is more effective: direct government aid or community-based efforts. Specifically, this thesis examines World Bank’s and UNICEF’s efforts to provide access to clean water in Nigeria. In the first chapter, it reports on the significance of clean water to an individual, the United States, developing nations, and the world at large. This thesis provides its own criteria for an …

The Best Intentions: The Failure Of International Intervention In The Bosnian Genocide, James Michael Buchanan

Honors Theses

I have so many people to thank for helping me through this grueling process. The first and foremost is my Thesis Mentor, Dr. Jacob Kathman. Without his advice and prodding, I never could have turned a “piece of garbage” into a decent scholarly work. I also need to express my gratitude to Dr. Gispen, who has been pushing me to exceed my expectations since my Freshman year. Dr. Schenck: Thank you so much for answering all ofmy incessant questions throughout this arduous process. I have really appreciated it. Dr. Allen, thank you so much for agreeing to help me with …

Religious & Political Attitudes Towards Women In Power, Jason T. Miller

Honors Theses

This paper examines the influences of religious and political attitudes on attitudes towards women in power. Specifically, I measure the ideology and general favorability of Conservative Christians (Seventhday Adventists) towards various political candidates and ideological positions. This question is worth analyzing, considering relatively recent events regarding the role of women in politics and corresponding discussion in religious circles on the role of women in church leadership. A survey method was used to test whether there is a relationship between attitudes towards women in power in politics (female political candidates) and women in power in religion (women's ordination), as well as …

The Important Role And Benefits Of Academic Research In Musical Interpretation: An Application To The Performance Study Of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition, Denny Hong

Honors Theses

The ultimate duty of a performing musician is to share a transcendental experience of aural artwork with society. Before doing so, the musician is obligated to conduct thorough research on the cultural, historical, and artistic components of the repertoire in order to create a holistic picture that can then be used to shape a convincing and thoughtful interpretation. My study explores and analyzes the creative tools and analytical methods involved in musical interpretation as applied to my own personal interpretation of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition through public performance. My goal is to validate the multifaceted benefits that research …

Performance Techniques For Four Avant-Garde Piano Pieces By Henry Cowell, Gabrielle E. Smith

Honors Theses

Using a traditional approach or technique to perform nontraditional works may lead to a deviance in the way the pianist plays the music. This research hypothesis is to demonstrate how applying an understanding about Henry Cowells life and Irish heritage, while practicing and eventually in the performance, can lead to a more meaningful and accurate presentation of his works. Instructions of practice techniques are provided with each piece to help facilitate the desired effect. Henry Cowells works were chosen because they are relatively unknown to most music students, in addition to a personal interest in 20th-century music of this genre.

The Tyrant And The Rogue: Political Implications Of Redemption In William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, Jonathan Barrett Koch

Honors Theses

Starting with the negative behavior exhibited by Leontes and Autolycus, this paper traces the process of redemption through the experiences of both characters, considering material both from the play and the Stratford production. The political and civic effects of Leontes‘ tyranny will be contrasted with Autolycus‘ roguery, followed by a comparison of the various agents of redemption. These characters and the offers of redemption they make have a profound effect on their respective redemptions, but only so far as Leontes and Autolycus receive them. The paper closes with a discussion of the results of the redemptions, and the interrelated meaning …

The Gatekeepers: An Evaluation Of Clergy Knowledge, Attitudes, And Perceptions Regarding Mental Health Issues, Collaboration, And Referral To Treatment, Alix R. Sandman

Honors Theses

The data from which this analysis originates is part of a an evaluation project which was designed to assess how clergy from various denominations collaborate with mental health service providers and refer church members to needed services. A survey of 215 clergy in Kent County, Michigan was conducted to gain a better understanding of clergy knowledge and perceptions of mental illness and their willingness to make referrals to mental health professionals. Initial frequencies, bivariate and Chi-square analyses were conducted using SPSS v. 16. Findings indicate that, compared to Caucasian clergy, ethnic minority clergy were less willing to make referrals and …

An Examination Of Parent-Child Relationships And Teen Substance Use, Brianna Johnson

Honors Theses

What is the relationship between parent-child relationships and teen substance use? Our relationship with our parents can impact our lives for the better or the worse. To study this we analyzed a survey done by the Community that Cares. Alcohol use, marijuana use and tobacco use were determined by the respondent's self-reported substance use within the last within their lifetime on a 7 point Likert scale that ranges from 0 times to 40 times. Parental Relationships was measured by the respondents' feelings about how close they felt to their parents on a 4 point Likert scale ranging from no to …