Digital Commons Network^™

L’Expression Visuelle Durant La Seconde Guerre Mondiale : La Résistance, La Collaboration, Et Le « Juste Milieu », Jackie Sirc

Honors Theses

La Seconde Guerre mondiale a lancé un défi immense à l’humanité et au monde entier. Le niveau de violence était sans précédent et les conditions de vie ont changé complètement à travers l’immensité du combat. Une des choses qui a beaucoup changé était la production de l’art pendant cette période. Tandis que la violence du combat a eu une influence sur les thèmes et les sujets artistiques, le style du gouvernement en France devenait plus strict et règlementé. Par conséquent, la production de l’art, l’état de l’artiste, et la disponibilité de l’art pour le public se transformaient. Il y avait …

Gender Perception Of The Rationales Behind Vegetarianism, Nicholas Tallant

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Autoregulation Of The Glial Gene Reversed Polarity In Drosophila Melanogaster, Chase Suiter

Honors Theses

Autoregulation is the process where an encoded protein is able to bind to and positively or negatively regulate its own expression. Autoregulatory loops are crucial for sustained gene expression, and such loops have been demonstrated to be important for development in organisms ranging from Danio rerio to Arabidopsis thaliana and Drosophila melanogaster. The cells of the nervous system arise from progenitor cells that eventually adopt one of two fates: neuronal or glial. This decision is controlled by glial cells missing; however glial cells missing is expressed briefly at the beginning development. The glial gene repo is a gene that is …

L’Intégration De L’Immigré Africain Francophone Aux Etats-Unis Et En France : Opportunités Et Défis, Lily Calaycay

Honors Theses

Durant ces dernières années, l’immigration a considérablement augmenté dans plusieurs parties du monde, et par conséquent, l’intégration des immigrants dans la société est devenue un sujet largement discuté. Un immigré, selon la définition du Haut Conseil à l’intégration en 1991, est une personne résidant dans un pays qui est née dans un pays étranger (« Population immigrée » 96). Les mouvements migratoires africains ont une longue histoire, marquée par l’exploitation et la colonisation européenne du continent. L’histoire de l’immigration africaine est unique parmi les mouvements migratoires à cause des conditions qui ont accompagné un système brutal d’exploitation. La présence des …

Do Obsessive Beliefs Moderate The Relationship Between Obsessive-Compulsive And Depressive Symptoms?, Joanthan A. Teller

Honors Theses

There has been limited research investigating potential mechanisms that drive the association between obsessive-compulsive (OC) and depressive symptoms. Obsessive beliefs are implicated in the etiology and maintenance of OC symptoms and have been shown to correlate with depressive symptoms amongst OCD patients. I assessed whether obsessive beliefs moderate the relation between obsessive compulsive and depressive symptoms to replicate analyses from a study conducted by Teller et al. (2017). Forty-six participants with elevated OC symptoms were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Each participant completed the obsessing subscale of the Revised Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (OCI-R), Dimensional Obsessive Compulsive Scale (DOCS), the Revised Obsessive …

Violence And Edification In 19th Century Fiction: An Analysis Of The Novels Of Charles Dickens And Leo Tolstoy, Caroline Fassett

Honors Theses

This Thesis argues that violence is essential to the structures and plots of Charles Dickens’s Barnaby Rudge and A Tale of Two Cities and of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace and Anna Karenina, and is particularly essential to the edification, or the moral and intellectual improvement, of principal characters in these four novels. Additionally, this Thesis contends that this edification is both anticipated and reinforced by the novelists’ incorporation of counterparts whose demeanor and/or narrative overtly mirror that of the principal characters.

To support this argument, I bring the theory of Thomas Carlyle into conversation with the novels of Dickens …

If She Were A Man: The Role Of Gender In Perceptions Of Candidate Qualifications, Holly Caitlin Grosholz

Honors Theses

My thesis is interested in voter behavior and the role gender plays in their choice of candidates. Specifically, I seek to understand the significance of gender in voters' perceptions of candidates for higher office. First, I analyzed previous academic literature about voter considerations, political ambition, and the reasons for the representation gap in American politics. Then, I completed a qualitative study asking respondents about characteristics of preferred candidates to look for gender cues, and a quantitative study asking respondents to evaluate potential candidates for higher office. Because of the increasing importance of partisanship, I found that contrary to public perception, …

Nature And Human Flourishing In The Laws Of Manu And The Daodejing, Qijing Zheng

Honors Theses

By comparing the interpretation of dharma in the ancient Indian Laws of Manu (Manusmṛti) with the concepts of dao in the Chinese classic, Daodejing, this thesis discusses that, despite the plausible perception that the former represents despotic, hierarchical governance while the latter promotes freedom (and even anarchy), the two texts in fact share a similar envision of human flourishing through the following of one's nature, as well as a foundational belief that both laws and political ideals emerge from nature.

When Worlds Collide: Feminism, Conservatism And Twentieth Century Authors, Madison Cooney

Honors Theses

Two streams of literary narratives appearing during the Great Depression grew from personal and historical experiences of their women authors with overlapping but very different perspectives on American cultural history. These were: 1) The accounts of rural frontier Midwestern regional experiences of Laura Ingalls Wilder, as edited and shaped in part by her daughter and writing partner Rose Wilder Lane, in retrospect during the New Deal era; and 2) the 1920s urban African-American experience of Zora Neale Hurston in the context of an emerging national black artistic and intellectual scene. Through a shared feminism emphasizing freedom for women, these authors …

As Good As Niu: Food Sovereignty In Samoa, Emily Gove

Honors Theses

Samoa’s history as an island nation, with its cultural heritage of migratory peoples, followed by settler colonialism and missionaries, has resulted in its uniquely amalgamated food system. Cuisine varies from traditional crops and recipes to imported canned goods, although dependence on the latter has led to wide-ranging health problems. A way to confront these problems is through reclaiming local cuisine, renewing its popularity and promoting the concept of food sovereignty. Through fieldwork based on surveys, interviews, and participant observation in Apia, complemented with a study of activist Robert Oliver’s new cookbooks on Pacific cuisine, this project examines current themes …

Le Bénévolat Introspectif: Une Réflexion Sur Médecins Sans Frontières, Tony Gonçalves Da Lomba

Honors Theses

Cet essai explore la théorie de faire du bénévolat tout en explorant aussi la mission de M.S.F. et son infrastructure. En même temps, c’est une occasion de juger que M.S.F. n’est pas une exagération du complexe du sauveur blanc mais un organisme qui sert bien d’autres personnes. Essayons de comprendre d’abord pourquoi on fait des services volontaires. Il faut remarquer comment l’identité collective, que ce soit l’éducation, la question de race ou la situation économique, influence les vraies raisons pour lesquelles on participe au bénévolat. Puis, le discours déconstruit comment ces fondations superficielles créent une illusion morale nourrie par la …

A New Almost Difference Set Construction, David Clayton

Honors Theses

This paper considers the appearance of almost difference sets in non-abelian groups. While numerous construction methods for these structures are known in abelian groups, little is known about ADSs in the case where the group elements do not commute. This paper presents a construction method for combining abelian difference sets into nonabelian almost difference sets, while also showing that at least one known almost difference set construction can be generalized to the nonabelian case.

The Progression Of Lyme Disease In The State Of Virginia, Margaret Michel

Honors Theses

Lyme disease has spread in the United States from the northeast to more southern and western parts of the country. It has been shown that the tick which most often carries the Lyme disease pathogen (Borrelia burgdorferi) in North America, Ixodes scapularis, has also spread to these new areas of concern. In Virginia, the disease has progressed from the eastern shore to the western, more mountainous regions. Through obtaining historical museum specimens of mice from 11 locations in Virginia, we seek to determine whether the Lyme disease causing pathogen, B. burgdorferi, has always been present in …

From New York To The World : The American Jewish Committee And The Meaning Of India, 1945-1956, Ryan Charles Mcevoy

Honors Theses

In the 1940s and early 1950s, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) sought to develop an international vision in response to a world in flux. This project represents the first attempt to triangulate the relationship between India, Israel, and Jewish-American civil society, employing the case of India as a means for understanding the way in which the AJC shaped its worldview in the decade after World War II. Although Americans had been in contact with India well before the war, the AJC brought with it a unique lens for constructing meaning out of a new postcolonial space. A variety of factors …

Differential Equations Models Of Pathogen-Induced Single- And Multi-Organ Tissue Damage, Fiona Lynch

Honors Theses

The rise of antibiotic resistance has created a significant burden on healthcare systems around the world. Antibiotic resistance arises from the increased use of antibiotic drugs and antimicrobial agents, which kill susceptible bacterial strains, but have little effect on strains that have a mutation allowing them to survive antibiotic treatment, defined as “resistant” strains. With no non-resistant bacteria to compete for resources, the resistant bacteria thrives in this environment, continuing to reproduce and infect the host with an infection that does not respond to traditional antibiotic treatment.

A number of strategies have been proposed to tackle the problem of antibiotic …

Differential Privacy For Growing Databases, Gi Heung (Robin) Kim

Honors Theses

Differential privacy [DMNS06] is a strong definition of database privacy that provides indi- viduals in a database with the guarantee that any particular person’s information has very little effect on the output of any analysis of the overall database. In order for this type of analysis to be practical, it must simultaneously preserve privacy and utility, where utility refers to how well the analysis describes the contents of the database.

An analyst may additionally wish to evaluate how a database’s composition changes over time. Consider a company, for example, that accumulates data from a growing base of customers. This company …

The Familiarity Factor: How Semantic Similarity Affects Associative Memory In Older And Younger Adults, Paige Warner

Honors Theses

The role of semantic knowledge and familiarity on retrieval processes were investigated in a test of the associative deficit hypothesis (ADH), and the data were interpreted from the perspectives of fuzzy trace theory and source monitoring errors (Naveh-Benjamin, 2000). Younger and older adults (N=60) studied pairs of words for two recognition tests – an item test, for recognition of individual words, and an associative test, for recognition of word pairs. In the associative test, four word pairs were presented with a forced-choice response requirement (4AFC; Patterson & Hertzog, 2010). In addition to the studied, intact cue-target pair, three cue-target pairs …

Toward A Scientific Investigation Of Convolutional Neural Networks, Anh Tran

Honors Theses

This thesis does not assume the reader is familiar with artificial neural networks. However, to keep the thesis concise, it assumes the reader is familiar with the standard Machine Learning concepts of training set, validation set, and test set [1]. Their usage is intended to help ensure that the Machine Learning system can generalize its training from input examples used during its training to “similar” kinds of examples never used during its training.

The concept of a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is one of the most successful computational concepts today for solving image classification problems. However, CNNs are difficult and …

Study Of The Neutron Detection Efficiency Of The Clas12 Detector, Keegan Sherman

Honors Theses

One of the central physics goals of Jefferson Lab is to understand how quarks and gluons form nuclei. The 12 GeV upgrade is nearing completion and a new detector, CLAS12, is being built in Hall B. One of the approved experiments will measure the magnetic form factor of the neutron (Gn ). To make this measurement, the ratio of electron-neutron (e-n) to electron-proton (e-p) scattering events will be extracted from deuterium in quasi-elastic kinematics. A major source of systematic uncertainty is the neutron detection efficiency (NDE) of CLAS12. To better understand the NDE I used the Monte Carlo …

Eating Your Feelings: The Relationship Between Core Affect And Food Choices, Kana V. Rolett

Honors Theses

The psychology of eating behavior is increasingly important given that more than one- third of Americans are obese, with 74% of men considered overweight or obese (Overweight and Obesity Statistics, 2012). This study examines the relationship between core affect and healthy food choices. Though previous research has examined relationships between specific emotions and eating behavior, little is known about core affect or about these relationships in more naturalistic settings (outside the lab). To evaluate the role of core affect in healthy food choices, a field study was conducted in the University of Richmond (UR) dining hall to measure UR students’ …

Development And Evaluation Of Quercetin Nanoparticles And Hot Melt Cast Films For Retinal Neuroprotection, Chau Truong

Honors Theses

The aim of this study was to prepare optimized nanoparticles and hot melt cast films of quercetin and to investigate the release and permeability profile across corneal membranes. The results demonstrate that all formulations can be successfully employed for delivery of quercetin into the eye through the topical route of administration, with films showing significantly better transcorneal permeability.

Dewey's Democratic Economy: A Pragmatic Justification For Uber, Christopher Nard

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the changing regulatory environment around the ride-sharing platform, Uber. As Uber continues to expand, it poses a challenge for existing regulatory systems. This thesis offers a policy recommendation for regulatory agencies under the framework of a Deweyan Democratic Economy. Research was conducted in the three steps: a literature review; quantitative analysis of Uber's wage, demographic, and surge pricing data; and a series of interviews with Uber drivers, consumers, and policy experts. In the literature review, it was found that a company could move towards a more democratic economy by increasing public access to information and economic participation. …

The Effect Of Font Type On Memory For Instruction, Courtney Upchurch

Honors Theses

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether or not one font type promotes superior memory retention for order over another. Participants were presented with one of three sets of instructions each displayed using a different style of font. They were asked to read the instructions and, following this, were provided with the instructions presented in a different, random order. Their task was to place the instructions back in the order in which they were originally presented. Results indicated that one font style led to better memory for order than the others. In addition, based on participant self-reports, …

Oprimido, Censurado, Controlado: Authoritarian Censorship Of The Media In Spain Under Franco's Dictatorship, Darby Hennessey

Honors Theses

Francisco Franco is one of the most formidable dictators of the 20th century, and his overwhelming control over the press and other media in Spain during his 36 years as an authoritarian dictator is among the most notable forms of press censorship in history. This thesis examines the various measures Franco's regime took to censor the press and other media platforms (print news, non-news print media and digital media) and explains that, through these measures, Franco's regime fits and even expands the Authoritarian Theory of Mass Communication. This theory has historic and philosophical backgrounds, but by applying the basic principles …

Development Of Standard Operating Procedure: Admicellar Polymerization Of Polystyrene Thin Film (Aibn) On Polysciences 30-50Μm Glass Beads Using Cetyltrimethyl-Ammonium Bromide Surfactant, David Langford

Honors Theses

Poly(1-phenylethene), commonly referred to as Polystyrene, is one of the world's most common polymers. Made from the monomer styrene (ethenylbenzene), this polymer is used in a wide range of products from packing peanuts to disposable cutlery. The method of polymerization used in this research project is called admicellar polymerization. This process consists of four main steps: admicelle formation, adsolubilization, polymerization, and removal of admicelle and polymer. Admicellar polymerization has a number of advantages over related methods of thin film polymerization including simplicity and low cost of components and process.

Thermal Denox Optimization: A Case Study In Fluid Catalytic Cracking, David E. Rozier

Honors Theses

This thesis will first provide background information on fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), a highly important unit operation to the process of petroleum refining, and a description of Thermal DeNOx, an environmental treatment system common to FCC units and other process units where high temperature furnaces are used. Next, this thesis will detail a project which I had the chance to lead as a process engineering intern at ExxonMobil's Baton Rouge Refinery in the fall of 2016. The objective of the project was to optimize Thermal DeNOx systems installed on two FCC units at the refinery. Experiments were conducted on these …

Mississippi Choctaw Women: Preservation And Adaptation From Post-Removal To The 1970s, Elisabeth H. Pepper

Honors Theses

This project analyzes the processes of adaptation and preservation utilized by Choctaw women in Mississippi from the post-Removal period to the end of the 1970s. It focuses specifically on the areas of women's lives concerning work, the domestic sphere, leadership roles, and recreational activities. To inform my research, I used a variety of primary and secondary sources concerning the Mississippi Choctaws, even covering the period before Removal. I studied archival documents, microfilm, newspapers, magazines and pamphlets, as well as secondary resource books concerning this topic. From my research, I concluded that women actively engaged in strategies to preserve their Choctaw …

Everybody's Story: Gertrude Stein's Career As A Nexus Connecting Writers And Painters In Bohemian Paris, Elizabeth F. Milam

Honors Theses

My thesis examines how the combination of Gertrude Stein's career, Paris, and the time period before, during, and after The Great War conflated to create the Lost Generation and affected the work of Sherwood Anderson and Ernest Hemingway. Five different sections focus on: the background of Stein and how her understanding of expression came into existence, Paris and the unique environment it provided for experimentation at the beginning of the twentieth century (and how that compared to the environment found in America), Modernism existing in Paris prior to World War One, the mass culture of militarization in World War One …

We The People: An Analysis Of The Supreme Court's Jurisprudence Relating To Constitutional Personhood, Emma Jennings

Honors Theses

This thesis studies the Supreme Court's jurisprudence on the issue of constitutional personhood and its historical lack of clarity and uniformity. I focus on three groups of persons who historically and frequently bring claims of constitutional protection before the Court: aliens, children, and felons. Across these three classes of claimants, case analysis shows that the Court lacks a clear framework for answering questions of constitutional personhood, instead relying on an individualistic approach in their decision-making, rendering a defined understanding of constitutional personhood impossible. I argue that the Court's current methods of decision- making produce inequality and second-class citizenship, and further, …

Please Accept My Love: Race, Culture, And B.B. King's Live In Cook County Jail, Eugene Brinson Polk Iii

Honors Theses

This thesis uses a specific event, B.B. King's performance in 1970 and subsequent album from Chicago's Cook County Jail, to study the intersections of race, music, and American culture. First, I trace the events leading up to the performance and album and contextualize both within King's career and the history of race relations in the South and in Chicago. Second, I detail the history of Cook County Jail and King's subsequent prison activism. All in all, this thesis argues that the sense of racial bondage shared between the blues, King, and the inmates at Cook County Jail, is the primary …