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Investigation Of The Design Of A Bistable Micro-Chemical-Mechanical Device Utilizing Lateral Buckling, Susan Lyn Barnes

Honors Theses

The Gracias Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University has developed microgrippers which utilize chemically-actuated joints to be used in micro-surgery. These grippers, however, take up to thirty minutes to close fully when activated biochemicals in the human body. This is very problematic and could limit the use of the devices in surgery. It is the goal of this research to develop a gripper that uses theGracias Laboratory's existing joints in conjunction with mechanical components to decrease the closing time. The purpose of including the mechanical components is to induce a state of instability at which time a small perturbation would cause …

Surviving The Holocaust: A Life History Study, Greg Jones

Honors Theses

The aim of this thesis was to attempt to explain the inexplicable, thus coming to some concrete rationale as to why Murray was able to persevere unlike so many unfortunate victims who perished. The findings of this research attribute Murray's survival to three distinct categories; (1) Murray's geographical location and relationship to his hometown of Wierchomla, Poland (2) rare level of low anti-Semitic activity encountered and (3) a number of miscellaneous personal factors that included but are not limited to his diet, gender, age, psychological composition, family connections, agency, etc.

Audience Effects In Cognitive Task Performance In Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus Apella), Sean Patrick Coyne

Honors Theses

Primates as a taxonomic Order have the largest brains corrected for body size in the animal kingdom. These large brains have allowed primates to evolve the capacity to demonstrate advanced cognitive processes across a wide array of abilities. Nonhuman primates are particularly adept at social learning, defined as the modification of behavior by observing the actions of others. Additionally, primates often exploit resources differently depending on their social context. In this study, capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) were tested on a cognitive task in three social contexts to determine if social context influenced their performance on the task. The three social …

The Blue Of, Chrissy Reilly

Honors Theses

When I first started my thesis, I intended for my finished project to be a compilation of poems that aims to reflect and reveal several repeating themes of our society's collective unconscious, such as the relationship between the physical and spiritual aspects of being and the representation of women's lives, organized religion,adolescence, and mental illness. I proposed writing a chapbook of poetry that reflects an exploration of, and sensitivity to, the human unconscious mind, fears, and desires. Consulting other works of surreal, lyric, and confessional poetry, I sought to personallydevelop as both a poet and a psychology student. I made …

Semantic Categorization Of Unfamiliar Tunes In Older And Younger Adults, Samantha Ann Deffler

Honors Theses

The process of learning the categories of new tunes in older and younger adults was examined for this study. Tunes were presented either one or three times along with a category name to see if multiple repetitions aid in category memory. Additionally, toexamine if an association may help some listeners, especially older ones, to better remember category information, some tunes were presented with a short associative fact; this fact was either neutral or emotional. Participants were tested on song recognition,fact recognition, and category memory. For all tasks, there was a benefit of three presentations. There were no age differences in …

The Catholic Doctrine Of Transubstantiation: An Exposition And Defense, Pat Selwood

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to offer both an exposition and defense for the Catholic Church's traditional understanding of eucharistic transubstantiation. I hope to show how a belief in such a doctrine is in no way irrational nor is it indefensible; butinstead, the doctrine of transubstantiation makes sense when it is viewed in light of what Catholic Christians believe about who the human being is, what the human desires, and the special way in which God personally works in human history. The method I am following investigates how the doctrine of transubstantiation coheres with and follows the other beliefs …

Vibrational Spectroscopic Monitoring Of Co2-O Energy Transfer: Cooling Processes In Atmospheres Of Venus & Mars, Jakob Aaron Schaeffer

Honors Theses

The vibrational excitation of CO2 by a fast-moving O atom followed by infrared emission from the vibrationally excited CO2 has been shown to be an important cooling mechanism in the upper atmospheresof Venus, Earth and Mars. We are trying to determine more precisely the efficiency (rate coefficient) of the CO2-O vibrational energy transfer. For experimental ease the reverse reaction is used, i.e. collision of a vibrationally excited CO2 with atomic O, where we are able to convert to the atmospherically relevant reaction via a known equilibrium constant. The goal of this experiment was to measure the magnitudes of rate coefficients …

Tarnishing The Golden Stool, Fenna Maximiliane Wächter

Honors Theses

This thesis deals with the Asante federation (in modern-day Ghana ) in the nineteenth century, within the wider context of a general crisis of authority in African states in the later partof the century. African states were fighting against the external pressures of European imperial expansion while facing internal challenges to their structures of power. Asante was one of these states and this thesis examines why, because of a particular combination of internal and external challenges, Asante was unable to maintain its independence at the end of the nineteenth century.

The Fundamental Gap For Hyperbolic Triangles, Dennis Stuart Fillebrown

Honors Theses

In 1983, M. van den Berg made his Fundamental Gap Conjecture about the difference between the first two Dirichlet eigenvalues (the fundamental gap) of any convex domain in the Euclidean plane. Recently, progress has been made in the case where the domains are polygons and, in particular, triangles. We examine the conjecture for triangles in hyperbolic geometry, though we seek an for an upper bound for the fundamental gap rather than a lower bound.

Exploring The Life Of Edith Fetherston Through Her Clothing, Breanna Eckley

Honors Theses

This research is an examination of the life of Edith Fetherston through studying her clothing and comparing her clothes to fashion history. The authors of Survey of Historic Costume, Tortora and Eubank, state that: 'Dress serves as a means of communication,' and that 'historic dress provides readers with some context for the period in which costumes were worn'. Most importantly, they state that clothing is 'a glimpse of attitudes and values as they were expressed by individuals of [a] period.' (4). Studying clothing history is a way to understand the attitudes of the times; it has a relationship with the …

The Blue Dog Coalition: Impact Of A Single-Issue Caucus From The 104th To The 110th Congress, Andrew James Clarke

Honors Theses

The Blue Dog Coalition is an informal organization of legislators within the House of Representatives that strives to influence policy on fiscal responsibility, attract the attention of the electorate, They are a group that elicits wide range of reactions covering the length of the political spectrum, but despite this, their claims of special defense of fiscal conservatism within the Democratic Party have gone relatively undocumented by the academic community.This project has integrated a party literature with a caucus literature, in the attempt of building a novel framework for research. Work on polarization, the significance of parties, the purpose and history …

Predictors Of Attitudes Toward Lesbians And Transgender Women In Relationships On A College Campus, Alishia Anne Wrubleski

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the attitudes which perpetuate intolerance toward LGBT individuals, and to recognize, in particular, the unique attitudes transpeople face as a minority in the nation and even in the LGBT community. This research contributes to the bodies of research concerning the interrelatedness of intrinsic religiosity, political conservatism, sexism, the rape myth, lack of effective legal protection, and the intolerance of gender non-conformists. I have identified distinctions between attitudes on the part of both women and men, as well as toward different gender non-conformists. I have also taken research as …

Person Perception Of Leaders With Adult Adhd, Maxwell P. Teschke

Honors Theses

Following this review of the literature this thesis describes three empirical investigations into people's beliefs about individuals who are diagnosed with the Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and the relationship between those beliefs and leadership perceptions and judgments. In addition to documenting the content of the ADHD beliefs, the work will also test the hypothesis that the qualities stereotypically associated with ADHD are incongruent with those qualities individuals spontaneously and intuitively associate with leadership. A third study then considers the experience of individuals who are diagnosed as experiencing ADHD but also hold positions of leadership. By the end of …

School Based Health Centers As A Provider Of Reproductive Health Services For School - Aged Children: A Study Of Parent-Teacher Perspectives In South Delta School District, Kayla Leeann Logan

Honors Theses

Problem - Recent data ranks Mississippi as number five in the nation for the highest rate of teen pregnancy and number one in the nation for highest teen birth rate (The National Campaign Against Teen Pregnancy, 2007). According to the Mississippi State Department of Health's County Health Profile for Sharkey County, the rate of teen pregnancy for this area was 118.5 per 1,000 population compared to Mississippi's overall rate of 81.5 per 1,000 lives births (2007). Sharkey and Issaquena Counties' rate of teen pregnancy is significantly higher than other areas of the state and is more than twice the national …

Gridiron Peers: An Analysis Of The Legendary Coaching Careers And Foundations Of Success Of Paul Bear Bryant And John Vaught Through Comparison And Contrast, David Luke Trewolla

Honors Theses

This thesis is a comparison and contrast of the sources of the on-the-field success of Paul Bear” Bryant, head coach at the University of Alabama and John Vaught, head coach at the University of Mississippi, in their respective coaching careers in college football. The first two chapters of the thesis simply give a brief biographical background of the two coaches. In Chapter Three, their respective coaching styles as it pertains to game planning and strategy, practice, and their adjustment to the changing style of the college game in their careers are analyzed and compared and contrasted. Chapter Four is an …

The Boy Who Lived: An Examination Of The Hero's Journey In J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series, Victoria Laine Applewhite

Honors Theses

The prevalence of the mythic hero’s journey in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series was investigated in order to determine how an archaic mythic form manifests itself in a contemporary literary series. Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces was consulted for a detailed account of the mythic hero’s journey, and several scholarly analyses were consulted for a closer examination of Rowling’s series. The journey of Harry Potter closely correlated with the majority of the components of Campbell’s mythic hero’s journey: unusual birth, call to adventure, crossing of the threshold, aid from a protective figure, a series of tests, …

Creation And Application Of Mississippi Tort Reform Law, Lauren Elizabeth Delap

Honors Theses

This study is an investigation of the power of the tort reform issue to drive the Mississippi legislature to create new tort reform statutes and drive the court to determine their proper application. It explores the issue’s influence through the channels of interest groups and the media prior to the passage of tort reform legislation. The study also looks at how the issue continues to drive debate through the state judiciary. In the study of interest groups, this investigation analyzes campaign contributions through PACs and by the individual and national organizations, as well as examining non-flnancial tactics used by these …

Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost: The Long Way Home In The Works Of Lee Smith, Emily Louise Haadsma

Honors Theses

I read the majority of Smith's novels on a mountain in Mentone, Alabama last summer at a eamp for girls. Though Lookout Mountain is a baby, a foothill of Smith's Appalachia, my environment helped me imagine Ivy Rowe's setting. Fair ami Temier Ladies struck me with its sense of loss. This key word of loss drove my preliminary research. It wasn't until reading later novels that I discovered the hope Smith brought to the discussion. I chose Ivy. Florida Grace, and Molly because they build upon one another's characters well. Their stories wander and return to their changed homes as …

The Dilemma Of The Small State: Written Rules Vs. Traditional Power In Mercosur, Amy Laura Goodwin

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Weirded: A Collection Of Short Fiction, Rosalynn Laporishia Stovall

Honors Theses

The Weirded is a collection of short fiction and illustrations that explores the writing process and the use of symbols and imagery in the art of storytelling through organization and the juxtaposition of short stories, vignettes, and collages.

On The Ethics Of Human Genetic Engineering, John Ryan Speights

Honors Theses

In this paper I propose a guideline that we may use to determine when it is ethical to take advantage of the technology that we call human genetic engineering. I first clarify the purpose of the paper by explaining the science behind the technology, defining much of the debate in the process. In short, manufactured DNA is introduced into the human genome for the purpose of modifying the expression of the genes and the person that they produce. I indicate that this is a value theory paper rather than a detailed policy paper. This is significant because it merely addresses …

The Use Of Torture As A Tool Of Anti-Terrorism: Deriving Lessons For The Future Through A Comparison Of Argentina’S Dirty War To The United States’ Global War On Terror, Kent Douglas Ford

Honors Theses

KENT DOUGLAS FORD: The Use of Torture as a Tool ofAnti-Terrorism: Deriving Lessons for the Future through a Comparison of Argentina’s Dirty War to the United States’ Global War on Terror (Under the direction ofDr. Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez)

A frequent criticism ofinternational law, particularly the area concerning human rights, is that it attempts to create order in an anarchic state without the analogous counterpart of domestic law’s enforcement agents. This thesis looks at how the international human rights legal regime has developed since World War II in order to understand its role in the systematic use of enforced disappearances and torture …

Investigation Of Mutations Affecting Axon Guidance At The Midline In Drosophila, Laura Frances Bennett

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Euskal Herritarrak Gara: A Study Of A People And Their History, Culture, And Identity, Madison Rebekah Halbrook

Honors Theses

Throughout history, Basque nationalism has constantly been defined by a series of struggles to protect their unique culture and identity and by a reaction of the Basque people to resist outside change and influence. This thesis will identify, examine, and discuss both the causes and the effects of this sentiment, and also why and how it has developed the way that it has. There are a number of factors in which this struggle can be seen. They include the fight to protect the Basque region fi'om foreign invaders, the struggle to retain political autonomy within a larger group, and certain …

The University Of Mississippi: Marketing And Managing For Improvement During A Recession, Christine Marie Sims

Honors Theses

The objective of this thesis is to provide gthe University of Mississippi during a recession erms recession and social marketing. Then, a statement on the university s position and a SWOT Analysis; an analysis of an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; are provided for the University of Mississippi- Following the background SWOT Analysis, ten problematic areas and ten associated benchmarks are presented. both of which were developed from a personal audit of the university s management. Finally, ten goals are proposed with the intent of guiding the university to success highly marketable university over the next fifty years. Each …

The Mobilization Of China’S Legal System And Religious Bureaucracy As A Means Of Combating The Threat Of The Falun Gong, Cooper Reves

Honors Theses

In 1992, Li Hongzhi, an obscure man from the northern Chinese province of Jilin, introduced to the world a set of five Qigong exercises which would form the basis of the Falun Gong movement. In the years that followed, the Falun Gong quickly grew to an estimated 100 million practitioners worldwide that expeditiously spread from China to the rest of the world. Though the group was pacifistic in its ideology, the Chinese government was never quite comfortable with the Falun Gong's presence, and in 1999, the government began a widespread effort to discredit the Falun Gong, culminating in the arrest …

Greater Frequency Of Sorority Meal Consumption Results In Higher Food Group Intake And Lower Body Mass Indices In Sorority Members, Blair Stevens Harris

Honors Theses

College women are at increased risk of developing poor eating habits and disorders due to a higher frequency of dieting and obesity; therefore, due to the large number of women who are active in college sororities, these subgroups warrant significant attention concerning their nutritional knowledge and behaviors. Research points to a need to study sorority women’s eating patterns and diets in relationship to MyPyramid national recommendations for daily food consumption. The purpose of this study was to determine sorority members' frequency of meal consumption versus meals offered at University of Mississippi sorority houses and to identify resulting health outcomes in …

The Political Mobilization Of Afro-Ecuadorians: A Comparison To The United States And Brazil, Sederia Gray

Honors Theses

SEDERIA NATASHA GRAY: The Political Mobilization of Afro-Ecuadorians: A comparison to the United States and Brazil (Under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Jackson)

In this thesis, I will use the theory of political mobilization in Brazil by Edward Telles. Telles argues that skin color, social class and residential concentration are the three main factors in politically mobilizing a community. When there is one, distinct race (skin color) and/ or social class political mobilization is high. Telles argues that skin color is an ethnic identity marker that causes political mobilization. In the case ofsocial class in Brazil, Telles argues that groups …

The Relationship Between Young Women's Self-Perceived Body-Esteems And Calculated Body Compositions, Alyssa Kay Ashmore

Honors Theses

Beginning at an early age, girls realize self-conscious feelings after being confronted with the issue of accepting their changing bodies (Halpem, Udry, Campbell & Suchindran, 1999). In the university setting, young women’s self-perceptions of body- esteem are sensitive to outside influences and peers (Heinberg & Thompson, 1992; Giles, Helme & Krcmar, 2007, Shomaker & Furman, 2007). This study observes the relationship between calculated body compositions and self-perceived body-esteems among female students at the University of Mississippi. Eighty-five female students between the ages of 18 and 23 volunteered to participate in the study. A questionnaire assessed body-esteem levels of the participants …

Understanding Rejection Across Ingroups And Outgroups, Prasant Dubey

Honors Theses

Black and White male undergraduates from the University of Richmond participated in a study addressing rejection. The purpose was to discover how responses to rejection vary amongst individuals who are rejected by their in-group versus their out-group. In other words, is a white male more likely to be impacted by rejection from another white male (a member of the in- group) or a black male (a member of the out-group)? Likewise, it was interesting to note how black individuals respond differently to rejection by the in-group and out-group. Responses to rejection feedback, regarding self-esteem, attributions to rejection, cognitive capacity, and …