Digital Commons Network^™

Surviving And Thriving: The Indigenous Migrant, Danna Guzman-Rodriguez

Honors Theses

This literature and cultural study highlights the generation of children of indigenous immigrants and the relationship with their indigenous identity and culture. This unique experience is complex and encapsulates issues such as indigenous cultural survival, homogeneity, globalization, and lack of cultural identity. Exploring the Totonac community in La Chaca, Veracruz in Mexico, allows for a deeper explanation of this experience. Speakers of Totonac and other indigenous languages often migrate to countries such as the United States and carry such cultural ties with them. What happens to these ties after moving to a Western-dominated country where globalization favors English and Western …

Developing A Method For Controlled Substance Analysis Using Lcms For Future Dart Ms Applications, Carol N. Muñiz Silva

Honors Theses

Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is an analytical technique used to separate and identify compounds and is widely applied in forensic toxicology and controlled substance analysis due to its strong capabilities in detection, identification, and quantification. In this experiment, a method for analyzing acetaminophen was developed using mobile phases of 0.1% formic acid in water and 0.1% formic acid in methanol. Method development focused on adjusting elution time, mobile-phase gradient, and injection volume. The optimized method produced reliable analysis of acetaminophen across 100–7500 ng/mL. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through chromatograms and mass spectra of the prepared solutions. Although a …

Selective Remembrance: Constructing Nostalgia At The Park Chung Hee Presidential Museum, Abigail Shaw

Honors Theses

How and why does Park Chung Hee remain so potent in the minds of South Koreans, decades after his rule? Seungsook Moon (2009) describes the phenomenon as Park Chung Hee Syndrome: a cultural condition in which Park’s image circulates between glorification, demonization, and humanization, producing an unresolved and emotionally charged field of memory. Building on this, researchers have examined how a type of “Park Chung Hee nostalgia” operates through selective remembrance of developmental success, moral discipline, and national unity, ultimately creating a positive memory and longing for semblance of his long-ended rule (Park, 2011; Podoler, 2016; Lee, 2022).

Statues and …

Just War Theory And Coercive Non-Proliferation: Ethically Evaluating Nuclear Prevention Efforts, P. Walker Jacklin

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the ethics of coercively addressing non-nuclear states who are attempting to acquire nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons pose a serious danger on a global scale, so ethical analysis should balance these consequences with the coerciveness of state intervention. Just War Theory provides a useful framework that balances these considerations.  Using the criteria of Just War Theory, this thesis examines two 21st century non-proliferation operations: Operation Orchard and Operation Midnight Hammer. I find that Operation Orchard fails the criteria of Just War Theory, while Operation Midnight Hammer satisfies the criteria. Making this determination is ethically risky, however, because our …

Peace Agreements, Provisions, And Profit: How Peace Agreement Provisions Impact Foreign Direct Investment Inflows, Wendi M. Sheehan

Honors Theses

There are many provisions that post-civil war states may include in peace treaties. This paper seeks to analyze the inclusion of three specific provisions– political power sharing and political institutions, rule of law/property rights, and infrastructure and reconstruction– and their impact on the resulting foreign direct investment inflows into a post-conflict nation over the course of ten years. I hypothesize that states that include one or more of these provisions will subsequently experience higher FDI inflows. To test this theory, I used the peace agreement information from the PA-X Peace Agreements dataset and FDI inflow information from the United Nations’ …

Criminalizing Resistance: The Black Panther Party And State Terror In The U.S., Tyler Messinger

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the rise, suppression, and eventual collapse of the Black Panther Party (BPP) between 1966 and 1972, arguing that the organization was dismantled not primarily due to internal failures, financial issues, or criminal activity, but through a sustained campaign of state repression led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Using a document-based historical case study approach, the paper draws extensively on declassified FBI memoranda, COINTELPRO records, congressional testimony from the Church Committee, contemporary newspaper coverage, and the Black Panther Party’s own publications. Placing the BPP within the broader trajectory of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, …

Esports Cosmopolitan Canopy, Reice Hicks

Honors Theses

This thesis concerns the area of sociology. Specifically, it is a sociological study of a community on Ole Miss’s campus and how they form what is known within the sociology field as a “cosmopolitan canopy,” a term coined by Elijah Anderson. Using this term, I proceed to prove not only how the Ole Miss Esports club falls under this jurisdiction, but the effects of esports on the youth as a whole, both positive and negative. All of my data was extracted via literature review, online research, note-taking, visual observation, and one-on-one interviews with people involved with the club. The entire …

The Myth Of The Italiani Brava Gente In Cinema Since 1945, Bradley P. Reimer

Honors Theses

The myth of the italiani brava gente has been intertwined with cinema since the end of the Second World War. This thesis aims to examine the ways in which these movies, from neorealist classics to disregarded comedies, are influenced by this myth.

By analyzing thirteen films of both Italian and American origin, clear trends begin to emerge between the socioeconomic state of Italy and the ways in which the myth is manifested on the silver screen. When Italy emerges from the war a rebuilding country, the films focus on the futility of war and the evil of Nazi Germany. During …

Romantasy's Inevitable Lasting Legacy, Devon T. Gibson

Honors Theses

The “romantasy” subgenre of YA literature has become influential for its novel combination of romance and fantasy as well as its popularity on Booktok, the book-based subsection of the popular social media app, Tiktok. This connection has become somewhat infamous in popular culture and has been underresearched due to how recently both concepts became significant forces within the publishing industry. This thesis argues that romantasy is a novel and lasting YA subgenre that is not dependent on Booktok to maintain it. The analysis of Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015) and Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing (2023) …

Rex Gothorum, Patres Conscripti, Et Senes Barbarorum: Balancing Monarchical And Aristocratic Power In The Ostrogothic Kingdom, Max Deloach

Honors Theses

The fourth and fifth-century migrations of “barbarian” peoples from beyond the Roman frontier to the heart of the Empire exacerbated an already unparalleled crisis of self in Roman society. With the settlement of these “barbarians” in the West, the facade of Roman dominion over its own territory and institutions had crumbled. In Italy, the Roman Senate, along with the Catholic Church and the Eastern Roman Emperor, became essential to the peninsula’s “barbarian” kings. At the same time, post-Roman monarchs were obliged to patronize their own nobility—the elite military class. This work evaluates the trilateral negotiation of power between post-Roman monarchs, …

Human Dignity In The Foundational Political Documents Of The United States, Kalista Roades

Honors Theses

Human dignity is integral to modern discussions of human rights and liberties, but this connection can be found stretching back through history to the early developments of human rights. This paper begins with modern philosophical definitions of human dignity, especially from Rosen and Kateb. Rosen discusses four “strands” of dignity- Intrinsic Dignity, Status Dignity, Manner Dignity, and Respect Dignity. This paper then uses that framework to find human dignity implicit within the founding documents of the United States including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, as well as “Common Sense” and the Magna Carta to …

Echoes Of Deception: The Historical Impact Of Propaganda And Disinformation On Public Opinion, Justina Zgaljardic

Honors Theses

This study reconceptualizes propaganda not as a collection of regime-specific messaging practices, but as a structured and adaptive system of perception management operating across political and ideological boundaries. Addressing fragmentation within existing scholarship, it examines how propaganda constructs legitimacy, organizes interpretation, and aligns individual cognition with state objects through recurring narrative strategies and disinformation mechanisms. Using a qualitative framework, the analysis draws on primary materials from four wartime cases: the Stalinist Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, the United States during World War II, and wartime Britain. The findings demonstrate that, despite variation in political systems, propaganda consistently operates through three interrelated …

The Use Of Cognitive Biases In Russian Cyber Operations, Emma Manning

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how Russia has employed reflexive control through cyber operations to influence decision-making in foreign states, focusing on disinformation campaigns during the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Reflexive control, a concept rooted in Russian military doctrine, seeks to shape an adversary's perceptions and decision-making by providing carefully crafted information that leads targets to make choices favorable to the initiator. This research argues that while the fundamental objectives of reflexive control have remained consistent, technological advances have significantly expanded Russia's ability to conduct operations in developing cyber domains.

Using qualitative analysis of open-source intelligence, …

Currents Of Culture: Exchange And Interaction In Early Cycladic Greece, Megan Garrett

Honors Theses

In this paper, trade networks and cultural exchange during the Greek Late Neolithic, Final Neolithic, and the Early Bronze Age will be tracked to better understand cultural interaction, seen through material parallels and synchronicities. Dating between the 5th and 3rd millennia BC, cultural practices will be traced geographically and through material cultures around the Cycladic islands, mainland Greece, and into the Aegean, specifically the exchange networks that include Euboea across each of these periods. Euboea is the second largest island in the Cyclades and is directly east of mainland Attica. Based on previous research, the Early Bronze Age material in …

Nazi Germany And Humanities Education As Propaganda, Sam Marie Smith

Honors Theses

One of the Third Reich’s most significant actions in their pursuit of the consolidation of power was the Gleichschaltung, in which all cultural, social, political, and economic goals were subordinated to that of the goals of the Nazi party. One of the most dramatic shifts to take place in the process of Gleichschaltung was in the realm of academia, where legitimate pedagogical and educational imperatives were overshadowed by an emphasis on perpetuating the Nazi regime’s agenda, especially racial ideology, even with the youngest students. While educators in the Third Reich carried this out in all subject areas, this project focuses …

"Of Good Blood In Good Standing”: Nation-Building And The Politics Of Belonging In The Stockbridge-Munsee Community, Caleb Molseed

Honors Theses

Between 1734 and 1856, the Stockbridge Mohicans and Munsee Lenape endured five major displacements from their ancestral homelands in Massachusetts and New York to their present-day reservation in Wisconsin. Despite shifting federal structures and nation-to-nation policies, these two distinct peoples formed a unified political entity: the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. This thesis examines the colonial systems that enabled, complicated, and recorded how this community engaged in their own nation-building through their interpretation and production of religious, economic, and political documents. This documentary culture is highlighted by the exclusion of John Lewis from the nation following his 1856 killing of a fellow tribal …

Ethical Attitudes Of Emerging Entrepreneurs: Unethical Business Practices And Informal Entrepreneurship, Reuben Mcdonald

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to analyze the connection between how entrepreneurs’ ethical attitudes impact their intentions in pursuing informal entrepreneurship practices. The research question of this thesis is, “To what extent do the ethical attitudes of pre-venture entrepreneurs affect their willingness to engage in informal business practices?” To answer this question, the researcher utilized both previously validated and developed scales to measure how ethical attitudes impact the informal entrepreneurship intentions of college students. Within this thesis, the researcher discusses the creation of the measurement instrument, the results of the data measured by the instrument, and the impact of ethical attitudes on …

Synthesis And Photophysical Studies Of Coumarin-Quinoline Derivatives, Nishrenika Pokhrel

Honors Theses

A new family of oxime-functionalized coumarin-quinoline derivatives, 5a and 5b, has been synthesized through a five-step procedure in high yields (45-98%). Compound 5a is designed as the sensing probe, while 5b serves as a model system to support mechanistic understanding. The sensing approach is based on the reactivity of the oxime group, which can undergo phosphorylation in the presence of organophosphate nerve agents. Based on this behavior, it is hypothesized that 5a can react irreversibly with a nerve agent mimic. The structures were fully characterized by NMR, FTIR, and HRMS. Photophysical properties of 5a were studied in various solvents, …

La Mode Comme Arme À Double Tranchant : Construction Et Déconstruction De L’Indochine Coloniale, Sasha Hanson

Honors Theses

Cette thèse explore la façon dont la mode façonnait le pouvoir, l’identité et la résistance dans l’Indochine française à travers trois oeuvres littéraires : Un barrage contre le Pacifique (1950) de Marguerite Duras, Métisse blanche (1989) de Kim Lefèvre et The Book of Salt (2003) de Monique Truong. En appuyant sur les théories postcoloniales de Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Frantz Fanon et Homi K. Bhabha, j’argumente que la mode et les vêtements font plus que révéler les hiérarchies coloniales de race, classe et genre ; ils les renforcent activement. Alors que dans son récit, Duras expose les inégalités socio-économiques à l'intérieur …

“What Are The Security Issues Surrounding Cislunar Space And Lunar Resources? How Do Theories Of International Politics And Territory Apply To Those Issues?”, Ina Loka

Honors Theses

In the recent decades, cislunar space has attracted significant interest among the biggest spacefaring nations, Russia, China, and the United States. Cislunar space is no longer a distant subject solely associated with scientific studies. It has become a crucial domain in the conduct of military operations and its importance has been increasingly emphasised in these states’ military doctrines. In an environment where the intentions of other actors are hard to determine and where there is a high degree of uncertainty, these three states are ramping up their (counter)space capabilities in order to protect themselves from any adversarial attacks, and to …

Russian Cyber Disinformation In Mexico And Spain, Isabella Lafranchise

Honors Theses

Disinformation campaigns are being spread throughout Mexico and Spain by Russia, and these campaigns are among the tools most used by a foreign country to manipulate societies, weaken democracies, and deepen divisions. This research seeks to answer the question: How does Russia use cyber tools to spread disinformation in Mexico and Spain? To address this question, the paper will examine government reports and academic research of recent Russian influence operations. Variables will include the types of cyber tools used, platforms used, the narratives/themes being promoted, audiences targeted, and the political or social outcomes observed. Data will be analyzed using a …

A Story Of Life Through Death: An Osteobiography Of Two Individuals From The Late Saxon Period, Isabella Ragazzi

Honors Theses

The Anglo-Saxons were the most influential inhabitants of the British Isles in the years AD 450-1066, reigning during a time marked by much warfare, pestilence, and famine. Their impact on British history is still seen through archival materials as well as the archeological and bioarchaeological records. A recent development in the field of bioarchaeology is the osteobiography, which places skeletal analysis in context of the overall culture to create the most complete interpretation of the individual and their life history. Involving both traditional bioarchaeological evaluation and isotopic analysis, this method was applied to two Anglo-Saxon skulls donated to the University …

Breaking The Ice: China And Lawfare In The Arctic, Sophia Toner

Honors Theses

This thesis examines China's engagement with international legal frameworks in the Arctic through a lawfare lens, using a structured analytical framework to assess whether Chinese activities constitute lawfare. Focusing on two key cases—China's involvement in submarine cable infrastructure and its navigation of the Northern Sea Route—the research applies Andrea Beck's three-part definition of lawfare: "(1) the misuse of the law in order to, (2) achieve a military objective, and (3) undermine the legal framework." The analysis reveals that China's Arctic engagement does not fully constitute lawfare according to this definition. Rather than misusing legal frameworks, China operates within existing structures …

Creative Expression Through Worldbuilding: A Study On The Connections Between Literature And Music Through Analysis Of Brandon Sanderson's The Stormlight Archive, Lauralei S. Palmer

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the worldbuilding connections visible throughout fantasy literature and musical works. Though their tools seem different, authors, composers, and performers use equivalent techniques to draw in their audiences and produce an immersive, emotional experience. This research focuses on American author Brandon Sanderson’s highly detailed worldbuilding in his epic fantasy series, The Stormlight Archive. The Stormlight Archive exhibits the three pillars of worldbuilding: completeness, invention, and consistency. This research also examines Franz Liszt’s Les Préludes, a symphonic poem based on Alfonse Lamartine’s poem, Ode. Finally, this thesis culminates in the fusion of literary and musical worldbuilding in description …

Case Studies In Modern Accountancy: Exploring Financial Ethics, Corporate Influence, And Regional Development Through An Interdisciplinary Lens, Caroline Klocke

Honors Theses

This thesis compiles five case studies researched and completed during the 2023-2024 academic year, each exploring a different topic pertaining to the accounting profession today. With the guidance of Dr. Victoria Dickinson, professor at the University of Mississippi, these case studies were completed throughout the Accountancy 420 class to fulfill the research requirements of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and the Patterson School of Accountancy. The first case emphasizes reliable international financial reporting, while exploring the exposure of fraudulent Chinese companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges that costed American investors billions of dollars. The second explores U.S. military spending …

The Impact Of Technological Advancements On The Likelihood Of Conflict, Miriam King

Honors Theses

There are a multitude of variables that result in the occurrence of militarized conflicts. This paper seeks to analyze the impact of one specific variable: the adaptation of a technological advancement. To isolate this relationship my study controlled for a country’s form of government, gross domestic product, and number of military personnel by year. A regression of ordinary least squares was used to investigate the correlation between conflict initiation and military technologies. A country-year data set was constructed using data from the Correlates of War Militarized Interstate Dispute Data and data from Hariri and Wingender. Three case studies were analyzed …

Beyond Victory And Settlement: Rethinking War Termination Through Post-Conflict Conditions, Emery C. Thigpen

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how different war termination types—decisive military victory, negotiated settlement, and ceasefire—shape long-term political stability through the mechanisms of enforcement, political inclusion, and economic recovery. While much of the existing literature focuses on civil wars, this study applies those insights to interstate conflicts, arguing that stability depends not on how wars end, but on whether post-war structures support compliance, legitimacy, and economic resilience. The central claim is that post-war peace is more likely to endure when enforcement mechanisms deter spoilers, inclusive political frameworks prevent renewed grievances, and economic recovery restores state capacity and legitimacy. Using a most similar …

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 …

Bases Of Influence: Military Installations And Partisan Realignment In The American South, Regan Steen

Honors Theses

Attributable to the First and Second World Wars, the 20^th-century military mobilization of the American South caused significant change in the region as the previously rural locale was economically and socially transformed. During this period, the American South also experienced a major shift in partisan politics as traditional voter patterns changed and party alignments were reshaped. This transformation, or realignment as it is called, took place as rooted Democratic-leaning voting behaviors were altered by increasing trends of Republican support. Previous literature discusses the history of the military and realignment, with both fields recognizing the significance of economic development. …

Assessing The Behavioral Impact Of Pyridostigmine Bromide In Rats, Noah A. Martin

Honors Theses

Pyridostigmine bromide (PB) is an organophosphate (OP) nerve agent prophylactic used to protect warfighters against chemical warfare agents. OPs inhibit the neural enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the brain. This leads to the buildup of acetylcholine, causing respiratory failure, seizures, and death. PB functions by inhibiting ~30% of peripheral AChE temporarily, protecting the enzymes so that the body is able to restore sufficient cholinergic function post-exposure. PB does not cross the blood-brain barrier, though it may still indirectly affect toxicity in the brain due to repeated AChE inhibition throughout treatment, or by inhibition of non-target ChE’s in the blood. The aim …