Digital Commons Network^™

Past Lessons, Present Strengths: Does Prior Experience Predict Greater Well-Being And Resilience Among Community-Based Learning Students?, Madison Fields

Honors Theses

This study examined the relationship between prior experiences, vicarious resilience, and psychological well-being of students enrolled in a community-based learning (CBL) course. Given that CBL has positive psychological benefits for students, I investigated the circumstances under which positive outcomes were more likely, specifically: To what extent does prior CBL-relevant experience improve students’ mental health outcomes as a result of a current CBL experience? The study consisted of N = 158 undergraduate students at the University of Richmond enrolled in a CBL course in Fall 2024. They completed self-reported measures of prior experiences, vicarious resilience, and psychological well-being. Results were analyzed …

Bringing A Ghost Story To Life: Actualizing A Production Of The Woman In Black, Benjamin Cudmore

Honors Theses

Working with the support of faculty mentors Maja E. White and Johann Stegmeir, Benjamin Cudmore helped develop THTR 312: Production and Collaboration to foster a collaborative environment where students could design a production of "The Woman in Black" and allow for student actors to be involved in the creative process from the beginning to the end. Benjamin worked as the Director, Makeup Artist, and headed publicity.

Loneliness By Choice Or By Circumstance?: Examining The Relationship Between Friendship, Need To Belong, And Loneliness, Yuting Hong

Honors Theses

A sense of belonging is a fundamental human need (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Maslow, 1943). On college campuses, students’ need to belong is often satisfied by interactions with peers. Friends comprise the largest component of college students’ social network, and good friendships provide a variety of resources, such as companionship, help, and emotional security. When students lack high-quality friendships, they are more likely to experience feelings of loneliness. However, there are likely important individual differences in the relationship between friendship quality and loneliness. The cognitive discrepancy theory of loneliness suggests that loneliness arises when there is a gap between the …

Shame On Us: The Democratic Costs Of Public Shaming, Elijah Han

Honors Theses

This thesis argues that contemporary public shaming—amplified today by the Internet and universal social membership—is unjustifiable because existing theories ignore its distinctly democratic harms. Defining public shaming as an intentional, collective act that weaponizes social opprobrium, I critique existing consequentialist and deontological defenses, showing they overlook how shaming erodes the conditions for democratic citizenship. Public shaming breeds mistrust, skews who gets to set social norms, chills political participation, radicalizes targets, and obscures what norms actually govern us; these six systemic costs undermine democracy and outweigh any social, economic, or moral benefits except in rare cases where public shaming averts existential …

From Prison To Progress: Evaluating The Impact Of Second Chance Act Grants On Recidivism, Alexandra Hall

Honors Theses

Recidivism in the United States is at an all-time high and significantly higher than in other developed nations. Past literature examines how conditions present in prisons and the criminal justice system affect recidivism and other outcomes of formerly incarcerated persons. Recognizing the need for reform, the Second Chance Act was passed in 2007, which aims to create or improve reentry programs by giving state, county, and tribal governments and nonprofit

organizations funding. Few studies have examined the effect of Second Chance Act grants,

though two studies published in 2016 and 2017 found that the grants generally decrease recidivism. This study …

The Impact Of Corporate Profits On Gdi Estimates: Forecasting And Data Revisions, Peterson Haas

Honors Theses

The National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs) produced by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) provide key measures of U.S. economic activity, including gross domestic product (GDP) and gross domestic income (GDI). Although conceptually equivalent, GDP and GDI often diverge due to differences in source data and revision timing. This study focuses on corporate profits—a small but volatile component of GDI that is frequently revised, especially during the BEA’s annual (A1) and benchmark (C1) revisions. I examine how revisions to corporate profits influence GDI revisions and whether they can improve real-time estimates of GDI. First, I document the size …

Les Femmes Dans Le Monde Médical, Emma Kane

Honors Theses

Cet essai est une investigation du rôle de femmes dans le monde médical avec les anecdotes de femmes des années 1800 a aujourd'hui. On affirme que les femmes avaient été traitées comme des objets de recherche et formation au lieu de patientes et égales. En outre, malgré le progrès de femmes dans le monde médical, elles ne reçoivent toujours pas la même estime que leur homologues homme.

This thesis explores the role of women in the world of medicine through female narratives from the 1800s to present. The essay argues that women have been objectified for research and education purposes …

Comparing Spatial Interfaces Of The Tower Of London Task, Paean Luby

Honors Theses

Executive functioning involves key mental skills like self-control and problem-solving, which are often impaired by brain injuries. The Tower of London (TOL) task is a problem set commonly used to assess planning, but both traditional and digital versions can lack consistency, and, in the case of digital versions, realism and physical engagement. Research shows that 3D tasks, such as a 3D version of the Tower of Hanoi, engage the brain in distinct and meaningful ways, likely due to increased spatial involvement. By merging immersive 3D environments with the consistency of digital tools, virtual reality (VR) has the potential to enhance …

Isolation And Identification Of Active Antimicrobial Compounds In Alcaligenes And Chromobacterium Strains, Hannah Lwin

Honors Theses

ESKAPE pathogens comprise six bacteria that can be highly virulent and are likely to develop antibiotic resistance to many of the currently available antibiotics. New antibiotics are needed to combat these pathogens. Our approach was to isolate and identify antimicrobial compounds from bacteria isolated from soil. Two isolates demonstrating antimicrobial activity were identified as Chromobacterium sp. and Alcaligenes parafaecalis. Preliminary extraction of their antimicrobials was performed.

Left Turn? Progressive Caucus Characteristics & Influence In The 117th Congress, John C. Paschold

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I address three critical questions about the Congressional Progressive Caucus. First, which characteristics are associated with whether a House Democrat is more likely to be a member of the Progressive Caucus? Second, are Progressive Caucus members more effective as lawmakers than other House Democrats not part of the caucus? Third, how much influence does the Congressional Progressive Caucus exert influence over their party’s legislative agenda in Congress? The answers to these questions are important because this research helps provide a further understanding of characteristics and influence that party caucus members share in the contemporary Congress. My research …

Hegemony And Homophobia Drive Conservative Men’S Heightened Endorsement Of Adverse Relationship Conflict Responses, Abigail Smith

Honors Theses

Conflict is inevitable in romantic relationships, and men vary widely in the strategies they use to resolve such conflict. The present study tested the roles of sexual orientation, political orientation, and masculine norm conformity in predicting men’s endorsement of adverse conflict responses in romantic relationships. In this pre-registered experiment, 403 cisgender men (200 straight, 203 queer-identifying; 44% racial/ethnic minority) first indicated their conformity to stereotypical masculinity norms then were presented with four randomly-ordered vignettes of a couple in an argument—each depicting a target man engaging in one of four conflict responses (physical violence, psychological aggression, withdrawal, compromise). After each vignette, …

The Fragility Of Belonging: Interpersonal And Institutional Factors Shaping Student Experiences In Higher Education, Ziran (Ted) Zhou

Honors Theses

Belonging is a core human need that shapes students' emotional well-being, motivation, and academic persistence (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Strayhorn, 2019). Students who experience a strong sense of belonging in higher education report lower levels of stress and depression, greater engagement, and higher academic achievement (Gillen-O'Neel, 2021; Meehan & Howells, 2019). Yet belonging remains a fragile and uneven experience, shaped by social relationships, campus climate, and institutional structures (Covarrubias, 2024; Valdez & Golash-Boza, 2020).

This study addressed two primary research questions: (1) How do experiences of belonging differ across students with varying social and identity backgrounds? (2) What factors foster …

A World Without Prison: The Role Of Policy In Prison Abolition, Kristen Davis

Honors Theses

As concerns about mass incarceration persist, prison abolition offers an innovative approach to safety and justice. The prison abolition movement has been active in the United States since the 1970s. Despite increasingly critical attitudes of the prison system, prison abolition is yet to be accepted in mainstream policy making. Instead, policymakers focus on reform, which problematically legitimizes and reinforces locking people away as criminals. One reason why reform takes precedent may be that prison abolition is often understood in negative terms, as a movement that only advocates ending incarceration. However, its essence is better captured in positive terms, such as …

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Outbreak Preparedness In The United States: A Scoping Review, Emma J. Gurley

Honors Theses

In order to gauge preparedness for an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) in the United States, a scoping review of the current literature was conducted. This process involved (1) identifying the research question, (2) identifying studies relevant to the topic, (3) selecting studies for inclusion (4) charting the data, and (5) analyzing and reporting the final data. Ultimately, seventeen studies were deemed appropriate for examination within this scoping review and several key themes were identified. The results emphasize the importance of adopting a One Health approach, the key role that vaccination may well play in preventing the spread …

Spanish Language Accessibility Within Mississippi Courts, Meredith Dudte

Honors Theses

As the Hispanic population continues to rise in Mississippi, Spanish language access in the public sector is of increasing importance. This thesis will specifically explore Spanish language access in Mississippi courts, identifying strengths and weaknesses and recommending policy solutions based on the results. To gain a better understanding of court interpretation in Mississippi, I interviewed ten Spanish language court interpreters and two court clerks either working in Mississippi courts or courts in similar southern states. Responses highlighted two themes as strengths: the federal court interpreter test and compensation, four themes as weaknesses: compensation, standards, omissions, and dialects, and four themes …

The Benefits Of Different Graphic Design Elements And What Satisfies Consumers, Kathryn R. Marston

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the principles, elements, methodologies, and emerging trends of website design. It has a focus on user experience and design elements such as color, shape, and fonts. As websites have evolved from being a place to share information to a place where goods are bought and sold, design directly impacts the satisfaction of the consumer using the website. This study explores the connection between graphic design and user experience elements and satisfaction of consumers.

The research uses qualitative research to discover the impact of graphic design elements of a website including color scheme, button shapes, and font styles …

From Basel (1989) To Busan (2024): Developments And Contradictions In The Global Plastic Waste Trade, Megan E. Hughes

Honors Theses

In 1989, the international community convened in Basel to adopt groundbreaking, legally binding legislation on the transboundary movement of hazardous waste. Plastic waste was notably absent from the initial Basel Convention due to the perceived economic value in plastic recycling despite social, economic, and environmental harms. Consequently, the transboundary sale of plastic waste for recycling– known as the Global Plastic Waste Trade (GPWT)– has proceeded largely unregulated, enabling unsustainable plastic consumption while exacerbating environmental justice divides between developed and developing nations. Recent commitments in the GPWT, such as the European Commission Circular Economy Action Plan (2015), China’s National Sword policy …

Political Socialization In Generation Z, Audrey E. Seibel

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the political socialization experienced by Generation Z. With the twenty-first century of American politics characterized by intensely negative emotions, affective polarization, and the augmentation of social media as a means to communicate and engage politically, this thesis argues that the modern political environment has led to a “hot” political socialization. The primary objective of this research was to measure political socialization, and explore the effects of this on current engagement, emotions, trust, and polarization within Generation Z, as well as how the cohort potentially differs from previous generations. The research for this thesis was conducted through the …

Extended Program Notes On Works By Bach, Beethoven, Dett, And Liszt, Helena J. Rosa

Honors Theses

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Honors Thesis consists of a sixty minute piano recital of advanced repertoire from the Baroque period through the 20th century, prepared over the course of the senior year. The Senior Piano Recital is a culmination of a course of study demonstrating an advanced level of musical proficiency. The thesis also contains extended program notes of the senior recital that occurred on April 3, 2025. The purpose of program notes is to engage the audience’s understanding and listening experience of the pieces to be performed and their composers. A recording of the recital will be …

Quasipseudometric Value Functions With Dense Rewards, Khadichabonu Valieva

Honors Theses

Goal-conditioned reinforcement learning (GCRL) serves as an extension of reinforce- ment learning (RL) that focuses on goals that can be adjusted, making it useful for many applications, especially in complex robotics tasks. Recent research has established that the optimal value function of GCRL, denoted as Q∗(s, a, g), has a quasipseudometric structure. This finding has led to the development of targeted neural architectures that respect such a structure. However, prior analyses have predominantly focused on sparse reward settings, which are known to increase challenges related to sample complexity. In this work, I with the guidance of my advisor show that …

Cache-Augmented Generation In Rag Pipelines: Fast And Memory-Efficient Approach To Multi-Agent Knowledge Query Systems, Yaju Gopal Shrestha

Honors Theses

This thesis presents an implementation and evaluation of Cache-Augmented Generation (CAG) for knowledge query systems, building upon the approach introduced by Chan et al. (2024). Traditional Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems (Lewis et al., 2020) face challenges including high latency, excessive memory usage, and complex infrastructure requirements. By implementing a cache-augmented architecture that preloads relevant knowledge and eliminates real-time retrieval, our approach significantly improves response time while reducing resource requirements. The research demonstrates the effectiveness of CAG through a comprehensive implementation for The University of Southern Mississippi's chatbot system, achieving a 49.02% improvement in response time compared to traditional RAG approaches. …

Culturally Relevant Or Cultural Cover: Understanding Acue’S Fostering A Culture Of Belonging, Drew Le

Honors Theses

Colleges and universities are increasingly utilizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Diversity training (DT) is one kind of DEI initiative designed to help faculty and staff, but it is understudied, especially for higher education. This study seeks to expand the literature by examining the Association of College and University Educators’ (ACUE) Fostering a Culture of Belonging (FCB) course, its participants’ experiences, and its effect on students rooted in Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP). Using mixed methods, this study collected faculty participant interviews and contextualized any changes based on analyses of student course evaluations. I report …

The Factors That Affect Usm Student Experience In The General Chemistry Classroom, Emma Dickerson

Honors Theses

Chemistry has a reputation for being a challenging discipline for many students. Enrollment in chemistry courses is much lower than that of other disciplines due to “chemophobia”, which can be caused by many aspects of chemistry.^1-2To increase enrollment in chemistry, it is important to understand how to improve the student experience in the classroom. To determine the factors that affect a student’s experience in their current chemistry class, the Chemistry Attitudes and Experiences Questionnaire (CAEQ) was adapted and given to students in General Chemistry I and II classes at The University of Southern Mississippi. Descriptive statistics, an Analysis …

Verlan: Resistance To French Linguistic Standards By Maghrebi Communities, Phaedra Dunnigan

Honors Theses

From the moment language is acquired, it comes with implicit rules that structure communication and establish social expectations. “Proper” speech is linked to compliance and is often used to assess a person’s intelligence, identity, and social status. For this reason, language moves beyond communication and is used for deeper associative meanings that can group, judge, silence, and empower individuals.

Therefore, those who diverge from linguistic norms, whether by choice, necessity, or exclusion, often face significant social consequences. Language becomes an indicator of social conformity, while deviation can be a form of resistance. This resistance is particularly common among marginalized communities …

Seasonal Detection Of Coliphages In Freshwater Bodies At Coastal Carolina University, Ella Caldwell

Honors Theses

Bacteriophages, commonly referred to as phages, are non-living viruses that only infect bacteria. As the most abundant biological entities on Earth, understanding their role in regulating microbial populations is essential. This ongoing research aims to identify naturally occurring bacteriophages that could effectively control bacteria blooms. The primary objective of this study is to detect coliphages on Coastal Carolina University's campus and determine their viral families. Coliphages are a subgroup of bacteriophages that specifically infect coliform bacteria. Water samples were collected across multiple sites on campus, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed to amplify the viral DNA from the potential …

Dr-4429: Social Perceptions And Narratives Of The 2019 Mississippi Delta Flood, Lily B. Langstaff

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the social perceptions and narratives surrounding the 2019 Mississippi Delta flood. Recognizing flooding as a “wicked problem,” the research highlights how socioeconomic and cultural identities relate to access to resources and assistance for affected communities, with an emphasis on infrastructure. Through qualitative analysis, including thematic coding of journalistic media sources covering the flood, the study explores the perceptions and experiences as well as the concept of ‘deservingness’ and its relationship with government resources and assistance. Findings indicate that the Mississippi Delta community faced temporal barriers to post-flood recovery due to disparities in representation and perception, underscoring the …

A Voice For The People: Hybrid Arabic In The Political Oratory Of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Tate E. Bell

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the political oratory of Gamal Abdel Nasser through the lens of Arabic sociolinguistics, arguing that his speeches are best understood not as simple alternations between Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA), but as instances of hybridization—a strategic and fluid interweaving of registers across a linguistic continuum. While earlier studies by Clive Holes and Nathalie Mazraani have identified register variation and code-switching in Nasser’s rhetoric, this project expands upon their findings by applying El-Said Badawi’s five-level framework to track intra-utterance blending of MSA and ECA. Drawing on a transcription and linguistic analysis of a key …

America’S Criminal Justice System Interaction, Housing Opportunities, And Job Sustainability: Perceptions From Residents Of The Greater New Haven Area, Sarah Gaudreau

Honors Theses

This study explored the perceived relationship between criminal justice system (CJS) involvement and housing and employment outcomes among residents of the Greater New Haven area. Prior research has demonstrated that individuals with criminal records or histories of incarceration often face significant obstacles when attempting to secure stable housing or employment. Through qualitative analysis of survey responses from 47 participants, this study highlights how increased contact with the justice system is perceived to negatively impact job sustainability and housing opportunities, while limited or no contact appears to serve as a form of privilege. Using an inductive coding method, recurring themes were …

Bacterial Microbiomes In Different Depths Of Sand At The Mississippi Gulf Coast, Hays S. Roth

Honors Theses

Microbial communities in sand play essential roles in their ecosystems, yet little is known about how bacterial diversity and function vary across different sand depths. This study investigated bacterial microbiomes at varying depths (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 cm) on Biloxi East Beach, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and assays of extracellular enzyme activity. 11,161 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were identified across all samples, with the most abundant bacterial phyla being Planctomycetota, Gammaproteobacteria, and Bacteroidota. Depth had a significant impact on bacterial community composition, with surface layers having more diverse bacterial communities. Microbial diversity …

K-12 Special Education In The South: Where Are We And Where Should We Be Going?, Jack G. Walker

Honors Theses

Throughout the past century, special education has undergone significant transformation and increasing accessibility to those who need it. However, persistent challenges remain. Some of these challenges include but are not limited to teachers still challenged with job stress and paperwork overload, schools faced with lack of funding for the program, and the lack of importance seen by administration on close relationships with parents of said students. These problems can affect all involved and especially the students who deserve the best education experience they can receive. The purpose of this thesis is to look into what has gotten policymakers to where …