Digital Commons Network^™

Brains Versus Brawn: Militarization And Women In Modern Policing, Emilee Shae Eversole

Honors Theses

This work explores the paramilitarism that has taken policing by storm over the last few decades, the adverse effects caused by it, and what women in policing do to counteract them. Previous research has shown that some individuals believe this type of militarization of policing has severed the relationship between law enforcement officials and their communities, and false beliefs regarding the ability of women to serve as police officers seem to run rampant. However, newer research suggests that women in policing provide a refreshing contrast to this paramilitarism through less invasive tactics, resulting in a more trusting relationship between officers …

Role Of Forensic Chemistry And Analytical Intrumentation In The Identification Of Designer Drugs, Mariah A. Barko

Honors Theses

This thesis describes the overall issues that designer drugs are causing in society today. There are three main types of structural differences between designer drugs and the parent drug they are created from. The substances can be direct or indirect regioisomers with the same atomic components as the parent drug or isobaric compounds containing different atomic components than the parent drug. These substances are slowly becoming classified as stimulants, sedatives, dissociative, psychedelics, or synthetic cannabinoids, and scheduled into one of the classes set in place by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, appropriately once enough information is known about them. …

Nurses' Perceptions Of Person-Centered Care In Long-Term Care, Sophia A. Lefevers

Honors Theses

Over the years, the average lifespan of Americans has slowly increased, nearing almost 79 years of age. This increase has resulted in individuals ultimately becoming more likely to experience one of many underlying health conditions, such as dementia. The result of a condition like dementia is the requirement of more specialized care than an individual or their family can provide for them. This results in them seeking more skilled and focused care, such as within long-term care facilities. One of the goals of long-term care facilities is to provide individuals with a high level of care that promotes their quality …

The Socioeconomic Background Of Europe During The First Half Of The Twentieth Century Reflected In Select Violin Works Of Violinist-Composers Kreisler, Ysaÿe, And Bacewicz, Carlie D. Geyer

Honors Theses

A number of violinist-composers lived and composed during the twentieth century, yielding an abundance of notable violin compositions. During the first half of the century, socioeconomic changes brought about by World Wars I and II significantly impacted culture, including violin repertoire by European violinist-composers. Responses to the socioeconomic climate of a given time and place is very likely to be reflected within art, music, and culture of that time and place. In this study, I will focus on the lives and violin compositions of three violinist-composers of the twentieth century, Fritz Kreisler (Austria-Hungary), Eugène Ysaÿe (Belgium), and Grażyna Bacewicz (Poland). …

Fact-Checking Of Claims From The English Wikipedia Using Evidence In The Wild, Aalok Sathe

Honors Theses

Automated fact checking is a task in the domain of Natural Language Processing that deals with the verification of claims using evidence. Fact checking is becoming increasingly important as large amounts of human-generated information accumulate online. In the recent past, our society has witnessed large-scale spread of disinformation via the internet that has time and again led to noticeable disruptions in the fabric of society. Fact-checking would help mitigate the spread of disinformation by allowing large magnitudes of content to be automatically evaluated for disinformation. In this work, we construe and tackle multiple subtasks of fact checking using labeled data …

Honors Project, Zachary M. Murray

Honors Theses

Accounting is an essential function of the operation of all businesses. Accounting is a vital function in the internal operations of all businesses because it is used to manage all monetary transactions. The American Accounting Association defines accounting as, “the process of identifying, measuring, and communicating economic information to permit informed judgments and decisions by the users of the information” (American Accounting Association). In the United States, the market size of the accounting industry as measured by revenue is $110 billion (Statista). For as long as humanity has been participating in trade and the process of buying and selling goods …

The Intersection Of Art History And Graphic Design, Caitlin Anessa Childers

Honors Theses

A study of Graphic Design provides an excellent opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary field, particularly when paired with a degree in Art History. Over the course of my time at Coastal I have had a challenging time trying to unite the two parts of my degree, as well as finding a project that best suits my style of design. Both parts have inspired the other, but only now has the project been entirely focused on uniting the two. In considering my capstone I decided to create an art museum exhibition for a graphic designer.

The Lgbtq Health Disparities Gap: Access To Healthcare For Lgbtq Individuals In The United States And The Impact It Has On Their Health, Clarissa E. Dennis

Honors Theses

Within the United States, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals statistically face a higher health disparity rate than heterosexuals. Studies show that LGBTQ individuals are often hesitant to seek care, or do not return for follow up care because they experience unwelcoming environments or uncomfortable encounters with healthcare providers. The advancement of medical education in order to create more culturally competent healthcare providers, as well as a more welcoming healthcare environment, could begin the process of closing this health disparities gap. Not only do negative encounters affect the physical health of LGBTQ individuals, but there is also adverse …

It’S All About The Ferns: A Literature Review Of Species Concepts Referenced In New Pteridophyte Species Described Since 1989, Nicholas A. Koenig

Honors Theses

Taxonomy is the field of science responsible for giving names to all living organisms. These names are given based on the data available or discovered, and the foundational knowledge about related organisms. All fields of science are theory-laden with testable hypotheses made atop, and taxonomy is no exception. However, trends in descriptions of new species point towards an implicit citation of the underlying theories (species concepts) and hypotheses (proposed species) rather than explicit statements that are common for other fields of science. Therefore, to assess the status of pteridophyte taxonomy, we conducted a literature review of all new pteridophyte species …

Meat, Masks, And Medicine: Covid-19'S Impact On Supply Chains, Autumn Robinson

Honors Theses

Over the past year, the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted every aspect of our lives. The entire world saw mass shortages and shutdowns all through 2020. While 2021 has seen an exponential increase in vaccine distribution, the new variants of COVID have been running rampant through the United Kingdom and the United States. How does all of this impact our supply chains across all industries? This thesis will explore the basic foundations of supply chain management and the year-long history of COVID-19. Additionally, this thesis will discuss the current scholarly opinions regarding COVID-19’s impact on supply chains for products such …

Making The Comeback From Combat: An Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Occupational Therapy For Combat Veterans, Julia A. Hickey

Honors Theses

Combat veterans have been found to experience difficulties with community reintegration after coming back from their deployments. Many of them experience physical and mental injuries from their deployment, such as mild traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and amputations. Combat veterans not having effective treatment for these injuries can contribute to issues with community reintegration. These issues can consist of marital and financial problems, problems with alcohol or substance abuse, homelessness, and motor vehicle accidents. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the United States military have put forth efforts with improving community reintegration for combat veterans; one of those efforts …

Mental Health Related Benefits And Barriers Of Exercise Among College Students, Madison Hamilton

Honors Theses

It is very clear that college can be a very stressful time. These high levels of stress can lead to negative coping mechanisms. However, there is a positive coping mechanism: exercise. The purpose of this study is to examine mental health related benefits of exercise and discuss any differences between males and females. This study examined raw data from a previously done study with a large sample size of college students (n=629). The data included their answers to the Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale (EBBS), along with other measures of fitness. The EBBS consists of forty three statements that the participants rated …

Analysis Of Business Capstone Consulting Report: Willamette Valley Vineyards, Inc, Allison C. Beirne

Honors Theses

My capstone course consisted of a group consulting report on conceptualizing a business, analyzing the internal and external factors, and implementing potential strategies for said business. There are four milestones that my team, Palmetto Consultants, completed over the course of the semester, delegating out the tasks and tools needed to conclude our report. Our team performed very much like a high-functioning business, as we utilized a written contract and interchanged specific roles for each milestone. Before starting on each section of the report, we planned and recorded the work each team member was responsible for and adhered to these plans …

Associations Among Academic Motivational Styles, Purpose In Life, And Depressive Symptoms In College Students, Linnea V. Anderson

Honors Theses

Students vary in three motivational styles when pursuing academic attainment: (1) amotivational style (lack of motivation), (2) extrinsic style (contingent upon external influences), and (3) intrinsic style (dependent upon internal influences) (Froiland, 2018). Research has demonstrated that individuals who are intrinsically motivated are more likely to report higher rates of meaning and purpose in life (Chalofsky & Krishna, 2009) and higher rates of psychological well-being (Huang & Wu, 2016). While this relationship between intrinsic motivation, purpose in life, and psychological well-being has been supported, research has yet to explore the relationship between extrinsic motivation, purpose in life, and psychological well-being …

Healing Hands: J. R. R. Tolkien’S Germanic Understanding Of Medicine And Monarchy, Elizabeth Lucas

Honors Theses

In The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien uses Aragorn’s healing abilities to solidify his identity as the rightful king. While it is made clear that this ability to heal is a sign of kingship, it is never clarified from where this belief arose. There is no other lore in The Lord of the Rings, The Appendices, or in The Silmarillion to suggest that healing hands were at all common among the kings of Númenor, Arnor, or Gondor, so the rhyme remembered by the old wife in the House of Healing may be surprising. Aragorn’s abilities, however, do …

Impact Of Antibiotic Alternatives On Concentrations Of Escherichia Coli Harbored By Broiler Chickens Challenged With Coccidiosis, Emma King

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Modulation Of Interleukin-4-Induced Immune Responses By Prostaglandin D2 And Its Glyceryl Ester, Hannah Scheaffer

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Bio-Printed, Bio-Functionalized Plga-Kgn Scaffolds As An Augmentation To Microfracture, James D. Warren

Honors Theses

Microfracture is a commonly performed surgical procedure that aims to regenerate damaged cartilage in patients with focal cartilage lesions. Though fairly successful, microfracture is limited by the produced fibrocartilage, which is mechanically inferior and less durable than normal hyaline cartilage. The proposed augmentation to microfracture aims to improve its clinical outcomes by introducing a bio-printed poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) scaffold functionalized with kartogenin (KGN), a small bioactive molecule known to induce mesenchymal stem cell differentiation into hyaline cartilage. The scaffold’s release characteristics were evaluated over 40 days by HPLC, which confirmed sustained release of KGN from the scaffold. Tensile testing results …

Development Of A Novel Chemical Timer, Mitchell Harvey

Honors Theses

The goal of this thesis is to develop a chemical timer for Chem-E Car (Chemical Engineering Car), that is as inherently safe as possible. Chem-E Car is an undergraduate competition held at the regional and national conferences of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers that, “increases awareness of the chemical engineering discipline among the public, industry leaders, educators, and other students” (“Chem-E-Car Competition,” 2020). Students are tasked to build a shoebox sized car powered and stopped by chemical reactions and this car must travel a distance between fifteen and thirty meters in under two minutes. Teams are scored on traveling …

Transit-Oriented Inclusionary Mixed-Use Development, Sarah Hoing

Honors Theses

The focus of this project is to resolve several lacking aspects that currently plague the city of Jackson. First and foremost, the city needs more affordable housing so that life and cash flow are infused back into the city. Secondly, downtown Jackson is a food desert. Current residents must travel miles in order to acquire basic necessities because there are no in-city grocers. And lastly, the lack of inner-city residents has made the current public transit system an underutilized financial burden. Through the creation of inclusionary housing units and an accessible grocery market, sited in close proximity to Jackson’s Union …

Loss, Reckless Behavior, And Jane Austen’S Realism In Sense And Sensibility And Persuasion, Lindsey Downs

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Is It Harder To Run For Office As A Republican Woman? Attitudes Among Republican Voters Towards Women Candidates, Georgiana Swan

Honors Theses

The 2018 and 2020 elections saw large gains in women running for political office and winning. In general, there is an upward trend of more women being elected to political office, regardless of party. Yet, there still seem to be disparities between Democratic and Republican women. This raises an important question: Are women in the GOP disadvantaged when they run for office, and does this disadvantage come from Republican attitudes? More specifically, are there differences between Republican men and women in how they view female GOP candidates? I analyzed a unique survey of 500 registered Republicans before and after the …

Designing An Urban Funeral Home In Downton Jackson, Matthew Murphy

Honors Theses

Humans have been dealing with death since the beginning of time. More specifically, architects, artisans, designers, and engineers throughout the ages have had to create structures to handle the practical and emotional processes associated with saying goodbye to members of their societies. While not always a welcome subject to discuss, death and mourning are very real in everyone’s lives, and these facts must be addressed thoughtfully by a new generation of designers to accommodate the needs of today’s society more fully and appropriately. This programming document seeks to look at a wide array of practices, projects, and people that will …

Neurodiversity And Online Communities: Why They Matter, Laura Ingouf

Honors Theses

Neurodiversity is an approach that accepts and embraces neurological differences as a natural variation, and neurodivergent people are those whose brains work differently from what is considered the norm by society. This thesis examines the impact of online neurodivergent communities on the neurodivergent people that participate in them through the use of a qualitative online survey distributed via Twitter and Mastodon, a decentralized Twitter alternative. It is informed by the researcher’s experience as a neurodivergent person in these online communities and analyzes the functions that these online communities serve for the neurodivergent people who participate in them and how this …

Potential Of Biochar For The Removal Of Waterborne Microbial Contaminants, Shankia Musser

Honors Theses

A Guadua chacoensis bamboo biochar, which has shown efficacy for heavy metal, organic and inorganic compound remediation, was tested for its capacity to remove Escherichia coli, heterotrophic bacteria, and total coliform bacteria to determine if the biochar is a viable option for removal of pathogenic microbes in drinking water applications. Two distinct approaches were used to perform this assessment. In the first approach, an axenic culture of E. coli was treated using varying amounts of biochar and E. coli survival was assessed. In the second approach, environmental water samples taken from surface water at the Mississippi State University campus were …

Buddhist Environmentalism: How Buddhist Values And Practices Offer Hope For Escaping The Climate Crisis, Alexa Rae Rohrkasse

Honors Theses

The 2015 United Nations' Paris Climate Agreement signed by 191 parties and the 1997

The Kyoto Protocol currently agreed to by 192 international parties, state that the fate of

humanity depends on its ability to recognize its self-destructive actions and act rapidly to reverse

their effects (UNFCC, 1). Throughout our time on earth, the same internal struggles and external

battles have persisted and continue to repeat. It is only recently that these battles have begun

impacting everyone and everything on earth in way that must be urgently addressed for survival.

These events have always been detrimental to our internal struggles …

College Football Recruiting And The Correlation To Success, Bryce Mclaughlin

Honors Theses

This research paper will explore the recruiting aspect of college football and its importance regarding the overall success of the team. The introduction will inform the reader of the recruiting aspect of college football and the basics of the recruiting world. Following this will be a section discussing schools within the Power Five conferences (more specifically the Big Twelve, Pacific-12 Conference, and the Southeastern Conference) including their recruiting budgets that lead to fruitful results based on the talented recruits that they pull in. After an examination of these schools, the following section will discuss schools in the Group of Five …

Cultivation Effects From Television Crime Dramas To Forensic Practices, Stephanie P. Mobley

Honors Theses

Television and its effects have been frequently studied due to the prevalence of television in today’s society. Cultivation theory examines these effects by claiming that people’s perceptions of the real world are shaped by the social reality portrayed on television. This paper used this theory to examine a link between college student’s viewership of television crime dramas and their opinions about forensic practices. It used quantitative survey questions and previous research to come to conclusions for the research questions. The three research questions asked whether frequent viewing of crime dramas cultivated false beliefs about three forensic practices, (fingerprint analysis, polygraph …

The Influence Of The Gut Microbiota And Alzheimer’S Disease, Mackenzie E. Gibbs

Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that effects the neurons in the brain and can lead to cognitive impairment and death. The main aspects of Alzheimer’s research focus on genetic factors contributing to the disease, but the microbiota gut-brain-axis may be playing a potential role in Alzheimer’s development. The human body has an abundant microbiota to help our bodies carry out daily needs, but the amount of microbiota present has to be kept in a tolerance range by the immune system. If there is an increase in the amount of gut microbiota present in the human body, inflammation can occur …

Dijkstra’S Pathfinder, Taylor F. Malamut

Honors Theses

Dijkstra’s algorithm has been widely studied and applied since it was first published in 1959. This research shows that Dijkstra’s algorithm can be used to find the shortest path between two stations on the Washington D.C. Metro. After exploring different types of research and applying Dijkstra’s algorithm, it was found that the algorithm will always yield the shortest path, even if visually a shorter path was initially expected.