Digital Commons Network^™

Transracial Adoption; Cultural Pedagogy In The Context Of Social Work, Tianna Smith

Honors Theses

Through a mixed-methods survey of a convenience sample of social workers' attitudes, this paper investigates foster care and adoption social workers’ attitudes toward the process of transracial adoption. Survey responses were analyzed using groups made up entirely of foster care and adoption social workers. The findings of this study support previous research on social workers' attitudes toward transracial adoption and difficulties they face in finding a family with different cultural backgrounds.

Til Death Do Us Part, Amethyst Fanning

Honors Theses

This document will account the process, from research and analysis through post-production reflection, of writing, composing, directing, and producing an original musical as a part of not only Southern Illinois University Carbondale's School of Theater & Dance, but also as part of FIERCE: Musical Theatre. This paper highlights the steps taken by me as a playwright and composer, but also as a director, and as an officer of FIERCE, the musical theatre RSO. The first section introduces the musical as a concept and explores the ideas that came to fruition through this process. In the second section, you will find …

Chemical And Genetic Composition Analysis Of Organic And Nonorganic Tortilla Chips, Aubrey White-Day

Honors Theses

The aim of this study was to explore the chemical and genetic differences between organic and nonorganic tortilla chips using GC-MS and PCR. Twenty chip brands were selected: 10 organic and 10 nonorganic. A survey on shopping preferences was created and distributed to compare results of public opinion to experimental data. It yielded 212 responses. All organic chip brands, and one out of ten nonorganic chip brands, tested negative for GMOs. This study concluded that there are minimal chemical differences based on Jaccard similarity indicies and stark genetic differences between organic and nonorganic tortilla chips. In comparing statistical analyses to …

Fringes, Dantaye Walker

Honors Theses

Fringes is an experimental sound installation containing five stations, each representing unique experiences which shaped each associated personality The installation, though bearing witness to these personalities is seen from my own perspective. This creative journal explains the narrative and story behind each station, provides the artistic context that guided fundamental decisions, and details the final draft of each station and the overall experience of attending the exhibit. Additionally, it was created out of necessity for expression brought on by the traumas I experienced personally. The project also serves as an experiment in low-budget tools and methods for creating conceptual art, …

A Poetically Embodied Out-Of-Body Experience, Natalie Sunseri

Honors Theses

The choreographic project Euphoric Dysphoria emerged as a response to the choreographer’s gender dysphoria and personal observations about the way that feminine-presenting people are perceived and approached in dance spaces, particularly in comparison to masculine-presenting people. The dance originated as a choreographic exploration of extreme femininity and masculinity, and it evolved into a manifestation of performative gender and experiential gender. The choreographer was guided by her poem “Uneven Envy” when developing movement and building relationships among the dancers. She considered the contributions of Judith Butler, a scholar who writes about gender manifesting in the body due to socialization, and Laura …

The Interaction Of Loyalty Status And Need For Status On Rewards Donations Through Perceived Social Exclusion, Clancy Slay

Honors Theses

Rewards programs are commonplace with companies seeking a competitive advantage and creating consumer loyalty. A newer development in rewards programs allows consumers to donate points rather than personally receiving these benefits. With more than $48 billion moving through these programs annually, understanding how to encourage consumers to donate rewards points has tremendous implications for reallocating funds to support worthy causes (Dorotic et al., 2017). Research on consumer donations within rewards programs is virtually absent, and many unique factors to these programs suggest prior findings on charitable giving may not generalize. One of these factors is the prevalence of hierarchical or …

An Analysis Of Public Library Services To The Military Community, Rachel Brown

Honors Theses

The military community is an underserved population in many public libraries. Historically, military bases have had a dedicated military library on base, but in some cases budget cuts have led to their closure. The closure of military libraries provides an opportunity for public libraries to fill the gap and provide support to the military community. Despite not being equipped to handle many of the unique challenges that Service members and their families encounter, public libraries have been making great strides towards providing support to the military community as a whole. Current research focuses on how military lifestyle impacts psychosocial development, …

Cultural Folk, Political Lore: The Politics Of Folklore During The United States Occupation Of Haiti From 1915 To 1934, Cheyla G. Muñoz Ramos

Honors Theses

My project focuses on Haitian folklore in the early twentieth century in connection to the first United States’ occupation of Haiti. The United States’ Marine Corps occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1934. This nineteenth-year occupation brought violence and racial stereotypes towards the Haitian population, especially the peasantry. United States Americans coming to Haiti intensified these stereotypes. During this period, Haitian upper-and middle-class members heavily politized Haitian folklore and used it to defend Haiti against these stereotypes. Scholars have long discussed the anthropological works of ethno-anthropologist Jean Price-Mars as someone who tried to show the value of Haitian folklore, especially the …

Trends Of Ovarian Cancer Incidence And Mortality In Mississippi Between 2003 And 2020, Angel Walker

Honors Theses

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in women, accounting for more deaths than any other gynecologic cancer (Arora et al., 2023). Over the past few decades, there have been several advancements in treating the disease. However, improvements in survival rates for ovarian cancer are not seen equally among women. For White women, the five-year survival rate for ovarian cancer has improved, while for Black women, it has worsened (Karanth et al., 2019). To further understand how ovarian cancer affects women, we aim to describe the trends of ovarian cancer incidence and mortality for White and Black …

Be Loved, Be Bold And Other Resources For Student Content Creators, Mary Patton Murphy

Honors Theses

The following thesis records the development of the student-produced podcast Be Loved, Be Bold, which ran intermittently from August 2020 to March 2023. Initially a hobby, the podcast became a project for investigating story-telling and marketing among college students, with the transition to project occurring in August 2022. This effort sparked a question, “What is the best way to produce, market, and maintain a faith-based podcast geared towards college students?”

The project was guided by two overarching goals: 1) Maintain the production and marketing techniques of the already existing podcast. 2) Explore other production and marketing techniques to improve …

Mental Health Among D1 Female College Athletes: Prevalance And Links To Athletic And Academic Performance, Mary Goebel

Honors Theses

Background. NCAA Division I female student-athletes are underrepresented in mental health research; existing research among female athletes tends to focus only on disordered eating and body appearance. This study aims to 1) describe the prevalence of mental health issues (i.e., anxiety, depression, and stress) among female Division I college athletes, and 2) assess the association between mental health issues and the student-athlete experience (i.e., athletic and academic performance).

Methods. This was a quantitative, cross-sectional study that used a self-administered online survey. The participants were NCAA Division I female student-athletes, mainly from the University of Mississippi. Demographics and sample characteristics were …

Evaluating The Impact Of Temperature And Artificial Light At Night On The Growth, Swimming Performance, And Corticosterone Levels Of Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates Sphenocephalus) Tadpoles, Skylar Alexander

Honors Theses

Anthropogenic activities caused by urbanization have considerably altered our world’s ecosystems which has led to a global amphibian population decline. Encroaching and unyielding urbanization by humans has contributed to a rise in artificial light at night due to light pollution as well as increased temperature due to climate change. Both rising temperatures and artificial light at night (ALAN) have been shown to individually have negative effects on amphibian physiology such as increased stress and decreased behavior. However, due to the drastic nature of human imposition, amphibians typically encounter these anthropogenic stressors in combination. Therefore, it is important to understand how …

The Role Of Narrative Medicine In Patient Healing And Meaningful Clinical Practice, Elizabeth Gray Duperier

Honors Theses

The patient-clinician relationship is one that relies heavily on trust and understanding—both of which are reached through effective communication. As medicine advances, it is increasingly important to prioritize the human interaction in the clinical encounter. Illness is more than just a set of diagnoses; it is the culmination of one’s way of being and interacting with the world while experiencing these diagnoses—it is a narrative. In order for physicians to provide quality care, trust and understanding are of the utmost importance, but oftentimes these are not at the forefront of medical practice due to logistical barriers that the US healthcare …

Sharing My Story Through Public Speaking: Young People And Mental Health, Alexandra Isabella Bush

Honors Theses

Recent years have shown a worsening mental health crisis in America. Between the high prevalence of mental illness, lack of treatment, high rates of suicide and overdoses, and increasing rates of substance use, the United States has an abundance of problems, all of which relate to mental health. One contributing factor is the insufficient education about mental health topics, also known as mental health literacy. Therefore, American citizens lack necessary knowledge, such as the signs and risk factors of mental illness, treatment options, and ways to improve mental health, to name a few. One impact of low mental health literacy …

Photophysical And Photochemical Processes In Small Molecules And Materials For Solar Energy Conversion, Ethan Lambert

Honors Theses

The work covered in this thesis all falls under the theme of photophysical processes after light and matter interact. Those of primary interest are Raman scattering induced vibrations and excited state dynamics probed by transient absorption spectroscopy. Small molecules are studied with Raman spectroscopy and computational chemistry. These studies unearth the shifts in vibrational frequency as a function of charge transfer or receipt and how a quantitative assay of natural orbital populations and delocalization can offer both the nature and magnitude of this charge transfer. Further, a method is presented that builds upon previous work within the academic family tree; …

Grit Games: Do Incentives Play A Role?, Kaylee Markham

Honors Theses

Grit is a personality trait defined by persistence in reaching long-term goals despite difficulties (Duckworth, 2021). Angela Duckworth introduced the topic through her research and creation of the grit scale. The purpose of this research was to assess the grit levels of athletic groups at a southern university, using Duckworth’s scale. The hypothesis was that NCAA athletes would have higher grit levels because they have more incentives to gain by persevering through difficult times. The three groups surveyed were Club sports, Esports, and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sports, which have a range of included benefits in their programs. These …

An Examination Of Financial Accounting Through Case Studies And Discussion, Andrew Meyer

Honors Theses

This thesis is a collection of eleven case studies completed over the course of the 2021-2022 academic year in the Patterson School of Accountancy in the ACCY 420 course, under the direction of Dr. Victoria Dickinson. The cases cover a broad array of concepts within the field of accounting. A few examples of topics include the impact of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on business in America, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financials of Pfizer Inc., and an interview with a successful entrepreneur. From Case 6 on, the thesis is comprised of an analysis of the …

Diffusion Of Ionic Liquid-Modified Polymer Nanoparticles Through Nasal Mucus, Mary Vanlandingham

Honors Theses

Mucosal barriers are a natural defense system for preventing the entry of foreign objects into the body; however, they pose as obstacles for effective drug delivery. Coated polymer nanoparticles have been proven to possess improved rates of diffusion across mucus compared to their uncoated, or bare, counterparts. When choline-based ionic liquids (ILs) are introduced to an aqueous system, their dissociation leads to an increase in solution conductivity which ultimately reduces the viscosity of mucus without significantly affecting its structure. Additionally, ILs are highly tunable, so they work well in a range of pHs and conductivities, making ILs an ideal choice …

The Associations Between Adolescent Motives For Social Media Use With Body Dysmorphia, Eating Disorder, And Anxiety And Depression Symptoms, Kaylan Melvin

Honors Theses

Adolescents spend a large amount of time on social media sites. This is notable, as adolescence is a crucial time for body image development. Additionally, recent findings suggest that using image-oriented social media sites, such as Facebook and Instagram, is associated with more body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Among previous studies, certain social media motivations have been found to have an association with poor body satisfaction and well-being in adolescents. To our knowledge, no studies have directly examined the association between social media motivations and eating disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, and anxiety and depression symptoms in adolescents. The current study …

Dextromethorphan/Quinidine For The Pseudobulbar Affect In Neurological Disorders And Injuries: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Magnolia Livingston

Honors Theses

AVP-923, commonly known as Nuedexta or Zenvia, is a drug that has recently been suggested as a potential treatment for Pseudobulbar Affect in patients affected by different neurological disorders and injuries. Studies have been done to examine the effectiveness of AVP-923 on PBA, but the results of these studies don’t seem to be comparable. The goal of this meta-analysis is to assess the efficacy and safety of AVP-923. 781 individuals from six trials were included in the analysis. The analysis's findings revealed that AVP-923 considerably lowered the Center for Neurological Study Lability Scale (CNS-LS) scores and the frequency and severity …

Aging An Ancient Maya Population From Actuncan, Belize Using Dental X-Rays, Kaitlyn Nicole Cash

Honors Theses

My goal is to determine an accurate age at death estimation of an ancient Maya population from the archaeological site of Actuncan, Belize. This was done by measuring the lengths of the coronal pulp cavities in the individuals’ teeth. I used X-Ray images to measure the coronal pulp cavities of the teeth and estimated age using multiple regression formulae for premolars, molars, and incisors to make age estimations. The formulae came from two studies, Ikeda et al. (1985) and Drusini (2008), that form the basis of my research. Ikeda et al. (1985) was the first to use this aging method, …

Identification And Assessment Of Fixed Versus Growth Mindsets In Human And Anatomy Physiology Undergraduate Students, Jayanti Shukla

Honors Theses

Fixed mindsets and growth mindsets are present in individual’s attitudes, affecting their motivations to complete responsibilities or overcome challenges. In this study, we aim to identify and assess the mindsets of undergraduate students partaking in the Human Anatomy and Physiology (HAP) undergraduate course at the University of Mississippi, the gateway course being well-known for its difficulty and being described as “daunting” to many allied-health majors. By utilizing Carol Dweck’s growth mindset model, we are interested in determining whether students possess a “fixed” mindset versus a “growth” mindset, in conjunction to assessing their classroom performance correlating with that demonstrated mindset. An …

Accompanied Solo: A Singer/Songwriter's Look Into The Music Industry From Design To Debut Album, Vivienne Mccracken

Honors Theses

Vivi McCracken is my self-titled debut Extended Play Record (or EP) that consists of five original songs. This project encompasses all of my creative passions, with the aim of gaining knowledge of the music industry and what it takes to debut an album from concept to completion. I wrote the music, sang the songs for the recordings, and, for my BFA thesis exhibition, I designed all the graphics, merchandise, and collateral.

The cover art is intentionally minimal. I wanted the imagery to be the main focus, so I chose a condensed sans serif typeface that felt playful enough to complement …

Hungry For Student Food Security: A Comparative Analysis Of University Food Pantry Policies, Anastasia Jones-Burdick

Honors Theses

This undergraduate research thesis aims to explore the relationship between public institutions of higher education and the operational policies of their university food pantries. The increasing rates of nontraditional students entering public universities correlate to an increasing population of students facing food insecurity, placing strain on institutional interventions, especially university food pantries (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015; Nazmi et al., 2019, p.2). This research conducted a qualitative comparative case analysis of university food pantry policies and semistructured interviews with pantry informants through a USDA-adapted evaluative framework to understand the evolution of public universities’ interventions (Barale et al., 2017). The …

Odyssey Of A Renegade Queen, Annabelle Harris

Honors Theses

After a violent shipwreck, Savannah washes up on the shores of Outis with no memory of her past. She is found by James, who she thinks is a suave but ill-tempered merchant. Outis turns out to be a more dangerous place than Savannah had thought. Through the aftermath of a traumatic encounter with another islander, she learns that James is a notorious pirate, and she is stuck on an island populated by his dangerous crew. James gives Savannah an ultimatum, and with no choice but to join his crew, she becomes the ship surgeon on the Cyllenia. During their sea-faring …

Predictors Of Future Physician Practice Location, Allegra Latimer

Honors Theses

Healthcare disparities exist throughout the United States. While Mississippi does not stand alone in the maldistribution of physicians and medical practices across the state, it does exist as a state that has been historically medically underserved. According to data collected by The County Health Rankings Model developed by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, in 2019, the ratio of population to primary care physicians in Mississippi was 1860:1. This is nearly 30% higher in disparity than the national average. It is also important to note that of Mississippi’s 82 counties, 79.3% are considered rural with the majority of physicians …

Investigating Reactivity Of Artificial Copper Peptides With Small Molecules, Allyson Bryant

Honors Theses

The design of artificial enzymes has been a topic of significant interest in the field of biochemistry, as they can provide new opportunities for catalytic processes and drug development. De novo protein design has emerged as a promising approach to create such enzymes, and the study of metalloproteins, particularly copper-binding peptides, has become a focus of this research. This thesis investigates the reactivity of a mutated copper-binding peptide, I5A-3SCC, with oxygen and its implications in the development of artificial enzymes.

The parent peptide, 3SCC, was mutated by replacing Isoleucine residues with smaller Alanine side chains, which was hypothesized to enhance …

Key Barriers To University-Enrolled Student Parents Enhanced By The Covid-19 Pandemic, Khadeejah Franklin, Alexa Saval

Honors Theses

Student parents, both undergraduate and graduate, already face the difficult task of balancing their studies and raising children. The COVID-19 pandemic enhanced already present issues student parents face, such as virtual-schooling, daycare costs and closings, staying home with sick children, and potentially not having a local support system, among others. Further, students who are performing laboratory research to fulfill their STEM educational requirements had their
research progress come to a halt when the country locked down. This study aims to identify the struggles student parents faced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, what issues the pandemic exacerbated, and what new problems …

The Biological Activity Of Dual-Responsive Glycopolymers For Intracellular Codelivery Of Antigen And Lipophilic Adjuvant, Micaela Shields

Honors Theses

Subunit vaccines present themselves as an attractive alternative to traditional approaches to vaccines, which utilizes whole organisms to trigger an immune response. While these traditional approaches have proven themselves reliable within the history of vaccinations, they generally deliver subpar robust cellular-mediated immunity and pose many safety risks. Composed of proteins and /or peptides, subunit vaccines are safer and more precise alternatives to traditional approaches. However, the pharmacokinetic properties of the macromolecules that make up these vaccines hinder the subunit vaccine’s level of immunogenicity [d1] Examples of this hindrance include but are not limited to aggregation at the injection site and …

The Interhemispheric Auditory Tract Connectivity And Autism Spectrum Disorder, Josie Long

Honors Theses

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can have abnormal responses and hypersensitivity to sounds (Haesen et al., 2011). ASD is also related to inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive behaviors (Bradley & Isaacs, 2006). One study by Stansberry et al. (2022) found that a higher fractional anisotropy (FA) of interhemispheric auditory white matter is associated with higher impulsivity. Our study examined the interhemispheric auditory tract (IAT) to determine whether it is impacted by ASD. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data from Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange utilizing two datasets so that we could replicate primary findings. We first isolated the IAT …