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Honors Theses

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Public Building Accessibility: An Expanded Access Analysis Metric, Carolyn Wilkinson May 2025

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 …


Engaging Scientific Sense-Making: An Analysis Of Participation Within Informal Science Interaction, Spencer Barbier May 2025

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. …


Supplementation Of Magnesium Glycinate: Testing The Acute Effects Of Magnesium Glycinate On The Stress Levels Of College Students, Meagan Bubeck May 2025

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 …


The Effect Of The Black Ink Red Ink Testing Method On Anxiety Levels, Test Performance, And Note-Taking Behavior Among College Students, Peyton Murphy May 2025

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 …


The Effect Of Gender On Career Success In Remote Work Settings In The Accounting Profession, Ashlyn Roche May 2025

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 …


Transcendental Blooms: Margaret Fuller And The Radical Language Of Flowers, Jenna Mcclain May 2025

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 Interplay Between Attribution Bias And Psychotic-Like Experiences: The Role Of Social Media, Jordan Leggett May 2025

The Interplay Between Attribution Bias And Psychotic-Like Experiences: The Role Of Social Media, Jordan Leggett

Honors Theses

Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are perceptions, thoughts, or beliefs that resemble symptoms of psychosis but are less severe and not necessarily related to a mental disorder. A plethora of research has found associations between PLEs and hostile attribution bias, the tendency to over-interpret situations as hostile, aggressive, or intentional. Some work suggests viewing certain types of content online may be linked to hostile attribution bias. Yet, limited research has examined hostile attribution bias and PLEs through the lens of social media. This study aimed to explore these relationships by modifying a measure of hostile attribution bias using social media vignettes. This …


Implementing Storytelling Into The Elementary School Classroom: A Best Practice Guide With Adaptable Lessons, Cali Reinhart May 2025

Implementing Storytelling Into The Elementary School Classroom: A Best Practice Guide With Adaptable Lessons, Cali Reinhart

Honors Theses

Incorporating storytelling projects and activities in the elementary classroom helps students become more engaged and interested in what they are being taught. Often, there is not enough time in the day to cover all the material, let alone teach students these concepts in fun and engaging ways that every student deserves. Therefore, teachers should be given the resources to help their students learn the material in a fun and appealing way, such as through storytelling. Previous research has shown that storytelling is a multisensory project that reinforces literacy and language skills, increases students’ retention of the information presented, and increases …


American Girl(Hood): Gender Performance, Tween Media, And Social Media Content, Mary Carol Dassau May 2025

American Girl(Hood): Gender Performance, Tween Media, And Social Media Content, Mary Carol Dassau

Honors Theses

The American Girl brand of eighteen-inch dolls presents narratives of young girls throughout historical and contemporary settings, as well as manufacturing a line of dolls designed to look “just like you.” Despite the company’s commitment to female empowerment, these narratives still fall into certain tropes of societal expectations for women and are not inclusive of all girls’ experiences. Young American Girl fans and teen collectors on YouTube then take these narratives to create their own original video content, often in stop-motion animated format. These animations typically consist of original stories and characters, which both reinforce the narratives presented by the …


The Sexual Assault Survivor Experience Of Medical Forensic Examinations, Brielle Simonsen May 2025

The Sexual Assault Survivor Experience Of Medical Forensic Examinations, Brielle Simonsen

Honors Theses

Following a sexual assault, survivors may seek medical forensic examinations (MFEs) at hospitals. MFEs can be important in identifying and prosecuting the assailant and in receiving necessary physical and psychological care, yet many survivors choose not to undergo the examination. In this qualitative study, I explored survivor experiences of MFEs at United States hospitals to identify possible areas for improvement of the MFE experience. Understanding these experiences is essential to reducing barriers to care, minimizing further harm, and supporting survivor recovery.


The Factors That Affect Usm Student Experience In The General Chemistry Classroom, Emma Dickerson May 2025

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 …


Nostalgia, Economic Revitalization, And Community Relationships In Hattiesburg's Recent Historic Preservation Efforts, Jordan Jones May 2025

Nostalgia, Economic Revitalization, And Community Relationships In Hattiesburg's Recent Historic Preservation Efforts, Jordan Jones

Honors Theses

This paper examines the reasons behind the modern interest in historic preservation in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and argues that its supporters are driven primarily by nostalgia towards what they envision as “Old Hattiesburg” and its aesthetics, interest in economic opportunities, and the strengthened sense of community made possible through historic preservation. From the foundation of Hattiesburg to today, there have been shifts in interest in Downtown and its historic districts, and they fluctuate based on changing political, economic, and social trends. In order to contextualize Hattiesburg’s historic preservation, this thesis draws upon secondary scholarship on historic preservation, economic revitalization, and historical …


Evaluating The Effects Of Social Ostracism On Attentional Control And Episodic Memory, Colby Brown May 2025

Evaluating The Effects Of Social Ostracism On Attentional Control And Episodic Memory, Colby Brown

Honors Theses

This study examined the relationships between social pain, attentional control, and episodic memory. Fifty-five University of Southern Mississippi undergraduates (Mage = 19.78 years; Range = 17-29) wrote responses to one of three prompts designed to elicit feelings of social pain, physical pain, or no pain (i.e., control). Participants then completed a battery of attentional control (AC) and episodic memory (EM) tasks consisting of the Stroop squared, Flanker squared, Simon squared, and dual-list recall tasks. Participants also completed a series of questionnaires including Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) to assess any change in affect caused by the writing prompts and …


Synthetic Efforts Towards An Analog Of Ly426965, Macy Sproles May 2025

Synthetic Efforts Towards An Analog Of Ly426965, Macy Sproles

Honors Theses

The 5-hydroxytryptamine1A (5-HT1A) receptor is a key target in the treatment of various neuropsychiatric conditions, and the development of selective antagonists offers promising therapeutic potential.24 This study aimed to develop a synthetic analog of LY426965, a selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist. The synthetic route was initiated from dimethyl-2-phenylmalonate, employing pig liver esterase (PLE) as an enantioselective biocatalyst to achieve regioselective hydrolysis of one ester moiety in the malonic diester intermediate.17 Through a series of stereochemically controlled transformations, a new intermediate was successfully synthesized. Although the target molecule was not obtained, a new compound was synthesized …


The Dark Core Of Humanity: The Influence Of Dark Tetrad Traits On Activism, Hannah L. Cundiff May 2025

The Dark Core Of Humanity: The Influence Of Dark Tetrad Traits On Activism, Hannah L. Cundiff

Honors Theses

In times of growing concern for the future of humanity, levels of overall activism are increasing. Thus, it is important to determine the personality types drawn to engage in either peaceful or violent forms of activism. Previous studies have focused on the Dark Triad traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism) and the Big Five personality traits as variables influencing the amount, and type (i.e., peaceful vs. violent), of participation in activism, overlooking the influence of sadism. The current study aimed to expand on existing literature through a conceptual replication of Zacher (2024), who found that the Dark Triad traits and left-wing …


Animation Therapy, Leah Bernhardt May 2025

Animation Therapy, Leah Bernhardt

Honors Theses

Can viewing a meditative animation help student athletes with their mental health? My creative project involves seven one-minute animations that are based on the concept of the seven chakras found in the physical body. Each chakra has specific characteristics that can affect our emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. If we can learn how to keep these energies stable within the body, we can learn how to become mentally and physically balanced. My animation consists of animals that best represent each chakra's characteristics. The viewer can imagine themselves as that animal and incorporate those characteristics into their daily life. I presented …


The Relationship Between Sense Of Agency And Perceived Stigma In Those With Cognitive Disabilities, Scarlet S. Pardue May 2025

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 …


Stop Asian Hate: Durable Political Efficacy From Crisis?, Kristina Thompson May 2025

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 …


Nutrition, Sleep, And Training Habits Enhance Endurance Race Performance, Anna F. Breed May 2025

Nutrition, Sleep, And Training Habits Enhance Endurance Race Performance, Anna F. Breed

Honors Theses

In recent years, marathon and ultra-marathon participation has grown substantially. Past research has shown that a range of variables influence the performance of endurance athletes. This study included participants of the Forgotten Florida 50-mile and 100-mile race and the Chattanooga Erlanger Half-Marathon and Marathon. These athletes were questioned about their sleep, nutrition, and training habits implemented for the races they completed. The results show the significance of carbohydrate consumption throughout the race for energy maintenance and shortened race times. Also, it was found that hill repeats and tempo runs brought about more successful race times for the runners who implemented …


Bridging The Nature Gap: Understanding Barriers And Promoting Outdoor Engagement Among African Americans In Chattanooga, Kennie Almonor May 2025

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 …


Sexism In Syntax: Language And Its Relationship With Female Leadership, Kyle Rains May 2025

Sexism In Syntax: Language And Its Relationship With Female Leadership, Kyle Rains

Honors Theses

Despite a global trend towards more equal gender representation, not every country has improved at the same pace or to the same level. This study investigates language as a potential tool for better understanding the differences between countries regarding the presence of female managers. By using language as a tool, I arrive at two primary results: (i) pronoun drop is significantly and inversely associated with the presence of female managers, but gendered language structures have little association, and (ii) a gender intensity index can produce misleading results. These results suggest that language structures, such as pronoun drop, which are associated …


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 May 2025

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 …


Using Eeg To Measure Attentional Spreading Across Objects, Dawson L. Green, Michael Pratte May 2025

Using Eeg To Measure Attentional Spreading Across Objects, Dawson L. Green, Michael Pratte

Honors Theses

Abstract: Attention may not solely be restricted to a spatial area or a feature of an object, but rather can “spread” across all parts of an object in space, enhancing the processing of its features collectively (Duncan, 1984). This phenomenon suggests that attention operates at the level of whole objects, enhancing the representation of all features associated with the attended object while suppressing competing stimuli. Building on this object-based framework, the present thesis examines the functional and neural dissociation between attention and awareness using steady-state visually evoked potentials (SSVEPs) as a frequency-tagging method in EEG. Leveraging the high temporal resolution …


An Introduction And Examination Of Firm-On-Firm Activism, Martha Jimena Paredes Villela May 2025

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 …


Replication Of “Assessing The Student Nurses’ Knowledge Of Oral Health Care”, Heaven Mcnalty May 2025

Replication Of “Assessing The Student Nurses’ Knowledge Of Oral Health Care”, Heaven Mcnalty

Honors Theses

Oral health is an important part of overall health and well-being. In nursing care, maintaining good oral hygiene helps prevent infections, improves comfort, and supports nutrition especially in patients who are extremely sick, elderly, or unable to care for themselves. Nurses play a key role in assessing and promoting oral health as part of the daily care that they provide to patients. Even though oral health is important, it is often not emphasized enough in nursing education. Many nursing students may not get enough training or experience in this area, which can lead to gaps in their knowledge and confidence …


Perceptions Of Identity And Blame Attribution In Sexual Harassment Scenarios, Avarie Lambert May 2025

Perceptions Of Identity And Blame Attribution In Sexual Harassment Scenarios, Avarie Lambert

Honors Theses

Sexual harassment is a widespread issue influenced by societal attitudes that stem from victim blaiming and rape myth acceptance. These perceptions are often shaped by the identities of the parties involved, however there is limited research on how gender and race influence blame attribution. The purpose of this study is to examine how different identities shape public perceptions of victims in sexual harassment scenarios. Through using a nationwide sample and survey experiment, participants were randomly assigned to receive one of eight different hypothetical scenarios that differed by the race and gender of the victim, and the gender of the perpetrator. …


Toujours Beaucoup: Representations Of Childhood And Education In 20th Century French Literature And Cinema, Delaney Drury May 2025

Toujours Beaucoup: Representations Of Childhood And Education In 20th Century French Literature And Cinema, Delaney Drury

Honors Theses

The Third Republic’s reforms established France’s public education system on several foundational ideals: upholding republican values, resisting autocratic authorities, promoting critical thinking, and promoting personal liberty and freedom of thought. This project explores French literature and cinema with significant representations of education for the purpose of examining to what extent such ideals are upheld or undermined in their portrayals of education. Such an examination of French education and its underlying values is significant in such a time in history when France is experiencing a “contemporary crisis of republican schooling” (Sachs 179). Alongside the historical significance of such studies, the more …


Public Opinion And Judicial Decision-Making: A Relationship Explored Through Interviews With Local, State And Federal Judges Within Mobile County, Alabama, Bella Gin May 2025

Public Opinion And Judicial Decision-Making: A Relationship Explored Through Interviews With Local, State And Federal Judges Within Mobile County, Alabama, Bella Gin

Honors Theses

Civilians and legal scholars alike often speculate how judges rule and what contributes to their decision-making. Acknowledging this conundrum and combining it with my own interests in the legal field, I attempt to explore how some judges located within Mobile County perceive public opinion and what factors direct their rulings over their respective case dockets. Through seven, semi-structured interviews, I ask each judge a series of questions regarding their backgrounds, decision-making methodologies, thoughts on public opinion relevancy, and application of their approaches to their judgeships. Analysis of the interviewees’ responses reveals data that suggests the judges have a somewhat ambivalent …


Comparing Online And In-Person Social Support And Its Effects On Suicidal Ideation, Alexander J. Potter May 2025

Comparing Online And In-Person Social Support And Its Effects On Suicidal Ideation, Alexander J. Potter

Honors Theses

According to the interpersonal theory of suicide, thwarted belonging and perceived burdensomeness are proximal causes of suicidal ideation (Van Orden et al., 2010). Studies show that a lack of social support can lead to higher levels of thwarted belonging and perceived burdensomeness (Sparks et al., 2023). This relationship between social support and suicidal ideation has been studied in the literature, but the relationship between online and in-person social support with suicidal ideation has not. The purpose of the current study is to examine the effects of in-person and online social support on different factors of the interpersonal theory of suicide. …


An Ethical Defense Of Puberty Blockers As Gender Affirming Care For Adolescents, Alexander Konigsberg May 2025

An Ethical Defense Of Puberty Blockers As Gender Affirming Care For Adolescents, Alexander Konigsberg

Honors Theses

In this paper, I give an overview of the varying perspectives on gender affirming care, which disagree on who has the right to decide for the adolescent. I offer the psychological model as the perspective providers should take to avoid imposing their own morals on the patient. Next, I explore adolescent wellbeing and determine that since no adolescent specific goods exist, we should treat adolescents by child or adult wellbeing if you believe child wellbeing exists). I find that with these arguments, physicians should prescribe puberty blockers to adolescents as it gives more access to wellbeing. Finally, I explore objections …